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Thread: Venice advice

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Durham, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by davekay1971 View Post
    Our best dining experiences came with wandering the streets and stopping in places whenever we were hungry.
    My experience as well. I studied abroad in Venice one summer, and so we had many opportunities to wander and explore the city. The best meal we had was at a little pizza place on our walk back from the train station, but we didn't pay attention to the location and were never able to find the restaurant again.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York, NY
    Wife and I spent 2 nights in Venice this past August. Stayed here: http://www.alpontemocenigo.com/. Modest room, great location near San Stae ferry stop and away from the mayhem of San Marco (but not too far to walk), great breakfast.

    We had one nice dinner on our first night: https://www.allamarone.com/. The rest of our visit, we almost exclusively ate cicchetti, a neat aspect of Venetian drinking culture.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicchetti

    There are lots of resources online that make recs regarding bars that offer cicchetti, but we didn't really have a bad experience at any of them. I think the highlight was this place: https://osteriaalsquero.wordpress.com/

    Granted, the August weather lent itself nicely to snacking outside with a glass of Aperol Spritz (or 6); may not be an option this time of year.

    Final rec - the rooftop bar / pool area of the Hilton on Giudecca is open to the public (perhaps unofficially) and offers great views of the entire area. When we were there, we shared a sunset view with the UConn women's basketball team.

  3. #23
    Sorry for the late arrival here, but we visited Venice in June 2016 for three nights and had a delightful time. We stayed at the Boscolo Venezia, a Marriott-affiliated property, which is ideally located away from the crowds in the Cannaregio (north quadrant) of the island. It's not cheap (unless you can use Marriott Rewards points), but the rooms and facilities are excellent, the breakfast in the garden pavilion each morning is priceless, and there is easy access to the vaporetto water taxi where the back of the hotel fronts on the lagoon at the Madonna dell'Orto stop. For dining, I highly recommend Osteria L'Orto dei Mori: http://www.osteriaortodeimori.com/ It's a favorite of the locals, situated off the beaten path but an easy walk from the hotel, that was suggested by a staff member at the hotel; the food and ambience was so fine that we dined there twice during our stay. But make reservations a day or two in advance if you can, because it's small and very popular.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Colorado
    I've been to Venice a couple of times and really like it. Venice can be crowded and crazy but it is pretty easy to get on some interesting back streets.

    Depending on the time of year, a boat trip to the Lido is fun and interesting. I have done that a couple of times in the summer and have enjoyed walking the beach which seems to be full of Eastern Europeans with very few Italians.

    I have also spent a couple of nights in Padua which is a very interesting university town just inland from Venice. Good food and very interesting history involving Galileo.

    Have fun.

  5. #25
    One further piece of advice: Download the Google Map of Venice to your smartphone so that you can access and use it when offline. There's no place on the planet that's easier to get lost among the maze of streets and canals than Venice -- and just wandering around aimlessly there is certainly one of the most memorable experiences for tourists. But sooner or later, you'll probably want to figure out your location and find the way back to a familiar spot. When you reach that point, being able to open your phone's Google Map and let the GPS show your location and the direction in which you're moving is a priceless benefit of technology.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Spent four days there this June and enjoyed it immensely. I was prepared to dislike St. Mark's Square, but I found it to be the most beautiful urban space I have ever seen -- st. Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace, Bridge of Sighs, etc.. Favorite quote about the square: Napoleon -- "the drawing room of Europe." I'd spend most of a day there, which I will do when I return.

    As always, I would get a local guide to help you walk around the city for most of a day. We walked great distances, and only got lost a couple of times Venice is not very big -- and there are NO vehicles present -- all deliveries are by boats, which make their way down very narrow waterways.

    Check NY Times travel section from six months ago on adventurous dining in and around Venice.

    By all means, go to Peggy Guggehheim's museum. Also, the rather plain-on-the-outside 14th C. church, Santa Maria Gloriosa, is stuffed full of Titians, but be sure to drop bread crumbs when you visit, so you can find your way back.

    Traveling the Grand Canal is a treat, if the crowds on the vaporettos aren't too great. "Gondola rides" are just a historical curiosity -- take one for 45 minutes or an hour.

    We stayed near the train station, but on returning, I would stay closer to St. Mark's.
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    northern Virginia

    Nearby Treviso worth a visit

    A number of years ago I attended a conference in Treviso, an ancient walled city about a 30 minute train ride from Venice. A few of us took the train in to Venice for an afternoon. We didn't have time to see all the sites, but I agree with others that a couple of days should allow you enough time to take in the highlights and a bit more. My reason for posting is to put in a plug for Treviso. It was beautiful and different from anything I'd seen before, and I enjoyed it more than Venice. So you may want to check out Treviso when doing your research.

    One note - While my group was in Venice, the train operators decided to go on strike, so getting back to Treviso was an adventure. We were later told such strikes were common. This was 15 years ago, so hopefully the trains are more reliable today.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    I continue to be thankful for all of the great suggestions and advice.

    FWIW I have found DBR to be a good resource when planning trips. We are everywhere, and have been everywhere, it seems.

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Thinking of excursions, and Venice comes to mind. The DBR travel guide has not let me down yet. Any advice ...?
    Don't jaywalk ...

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Winston’Salem
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post

    FWIW I have found DBR to be a good resource when planning trips. We are everywhere, and have been everywhere, it seems.
    I'll give that a hearty +1.
    "Amazing what a minute can do."

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