Italy: Venice

We planned on spending Amanda's birthday week in San Francisco and Napa Valley this year, but then we discovered a mistake fare and decided to forgo our original travel plans for Italy.  In Italy, we visited Venice, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Milan.

Part 1 - Planning & Introduction
Part 2 - Venice
Part 3 - Rome
Part 4 - Florence
Part 5 - Tuscany
Part 6 - Cinque Terre
Part 7 - Milan

"To travel is worth any cost or sacrifice." 

-Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love.

Venice was our favorite city to visit. It was romantic and had a way of capturing us everywhere we looked, from the narrow alleys and canals to the colorful old buildings.

To Get There

We took the Malpensa Express from the airport to Milano Centrale Station (10€). From Milano Centrale, it was a three hour train ride to Venezia Santa Lucia (37,50€). 

Train tickets are cheaper if you book ahead of time, but we didn't want to risk it in case of weather or other flight delays. To book tickets ahead, viRail, Trenitalia or Loco2 are great resources for the best prices. Otherwise, it is easy enough to just show up at the station, purchase tickets, and look to see which platform your train is leaving from, remembering to validate your ticket before you hop on the train.  

Where We Stayed

Venice is an expensive city. It was Carnivale (festival leading up to Lent) while we were there, so it was a busy time for the off-season. We booked a private room with a private bathroom at Hotel San Geremia for 70€ (plus an additional 4€ for the off-season city tax). It was very basic, but clean and close to the train station which was convenient. I loved opening the window at night for fresh air and hearing the sounds from the canals and street. Surprisingly, the seven hour time change didn't affect us much. The only evidence was being awake the first night between 1:30-3:30 a.m. Other than that, we adjusted well.

What We Did

We took the Rick Steve's Grand Canal tour on slow water bus Line 1. It left from the Ferrovia stop near the train station and went all the way to St. Mark's. Prior to the leaving, we downloaded audio tours from the Rick Steves Audio Europe app to the iPhone. Instead of purchasing audio guides at each sight or hiring a tour guide to take you around, this is a great, free alternative to still tour and learn as you go.

There are a few sights around or nearby Piazza San Marco. 

Amanda's favorite activity: chasing the pigeons in the piazza.

St. Mark's Basilica was completed in 1093 and is where the apostle Mark is buried. It was under construction/restoration while we were there. It is free to enter and walk around, but the three interior sights charge admission, so we skipped those. There is a dress code and pictures were not allowed inside, but like most churches in Italy, it was beautiful.

The Campanile Bell Tower stands in the square. For 8€ you can take an elevator up for the view. We skipped this, but the view is probably spectacular.

The Bridge of Sighs is located right behind St. Mark's Basilica leading to the Doge's Palace. It was built in 1602. Prisoners would cross over it to get their last view of Venice before being imprisoned. It is a famous bridge to photograph.

The Rialto Bridge is one of four bridges that span over the Grand Canal. The present bridge was finished in 1591 and features shops and good views of the canal.

We spent the evening with no agenda: wandering the alleys, strolling over canal bridges, and enjoying the views and grandeur of this city.

Where We Ate

On layover in Newark, we made a meal of the free snacks available in the United Club lounge. We had free passes that were expiring at the end of March, so it was nice to get a meal and shower before the long plane ride. We also received dinner and a light breakfast on the airplane, since we left the east coast Sunday evening and arrived in Milan Monday morning.

Our first meal was dinner on Monday evening. It can be expensive to eat in Venice, and from our research, good food here can be hard to find. Seafood is plentiful due to the city's location. Unfortunately, we are not seafood fans, so we decided to try out pizza instead for our first meal. Our friend Adam is a pizza connoisseur, so he helped us pick a place. We decided to eat at Pizzeria Trattoria all'anfora located at Lista Vecchi dei Bari, 1223 San Croce. It was delicious. 

We would have loved to try Arte Della Pizza at Calle dell'Aseo, 1896 Cannaregio as well, but it is closed on Mondays.

We tried two gelaterias in Venice. It is helpful to look for the words artigianale or produzione propria which indicate that they make their own gelato. Typically you order 2-3 flavors. We tried out Paolin on Campo Santo Stefano which was okay, but Suso Gelatoteca was our favorite in this city (located at San Marco 5453). Sometimes we shared a cup of gelato which allowed us to try a few gelaterias each day and save some money in the meantime.

We also visited a local grocery store to pick up water, granola bars, and clementines for breakfast(s) and snacks. There are two grocery chains near the train station: Piazzale Roma and Billa on Campo San Felice. We went to Billa. It was a small grocery store, but we found what we needed. Water is so much cheaper to purchase in a grocery store than from a vendor or restaurant. Each large bottle was 0,39€ compared to at least 1-4€ on the street.

If you have been to Venice, please let us know what you loved most or if you have any advice for visiting this city. We would love to return someday!