Venice

February, 2015.

Travelling into Venice from Venice Marco Polo Airport

As you may already be aware, in Venice, the only source of transport is boat. You may see a bike, but I doubt it. It’s a strange place to visit. No roads, no cars.

So, your next question will likely be – how does one get into Venice? Well, from the airport you can jump a bus, which takes you to the train station, or to the port to jump a water bus that takes you down the Grand Canal. We chose the latter.

Hotel Becher

We struggled to find our hotel at first. Not because we lack navigation skills, but because Venice is like a big maze.

Hotel Becher is located in the neighborhood of San Marco – a great area close to many popular Venice attractions. The hotel is right in the centre of Venice, and next to the Opera House ‘Le Fenice’, also surrounded by the usual monuments, churches and of course, shops. It is a short walk from Saint Mark’s Square, the central meeting place in Venice.

Our room was decorated in authentic Italian decor, exactly how I imagined it would be. It was clean, had a great shower, a comfy bed and a good enough continental breakfast to set us up for the day. When choosing your room you can have a canal view or street view room.

The staff were fabulous. They gave us all of the information that we needed, everything from guided tours to transfers and water taxis to gondola rides. The Reception desk had someone there to help 24 hours a day, so you will never be stuck for tourist information.

The Lido

If you are wanting a cheaper place to stay in Venice. Try the Lido, a 7 mile long sandbar in Venice which is essentially an island off Venice and a short ferry ride over.

Venice is a very ‘touristy’ city to visit. So if you want a bit of peace and quiet away from all of the hustle and bustle, try the Lido. It’s more of a residential area than a tourist location, but it still looks like Venice, decorated in small canals and beautiful architecture.

Lido is actually famous for its annual Movie Festival, which runs from August to September.

Getting to Lido is relatively easy. If you travel to Aeroporto Marco Polo, there is a waterbus station call Alilaguna (which is a short walk from the airport) and that boat will take you directly to Lido. With a few stops, it takes around 30 minutes on the boat – which I’m sure will make for some incredible views!

There are loads of things to do in Lido. There’s the sandbar for example, which can be seen from the beach of Venice. Also, because Lido is more of a relaxed, leisurely tourist destination, it’s common to partake in a game of golf or tennis – which wouldn’t be on offer to in Venice.

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe is located at Bacino Orseolo, San Marco, 1192, I-30124 – behind the famous St Mark’s Square. The restaurant overlooks a canal – which is one of the main places to go to for a Gondola ride.

This Hard Rock Cafe was one of the smallest HRCs I have visited. You walk straight into the shop (like most) – on your right is where you are served to be sat down, and directly ahead is a stage where they hold live music nights.

I would say seating downstairs is primarily for those who are having a snack at the bar, which we did one night. Downstairs has smaller tables, ideal if there are just two of you. Upstairs is the main seating area.

We visited HRC Venice twice. The first time we went for a meal to celebrate my 21st birthday – so Rich obviously had the restaurant sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. The second time, we went back for the live music night. We ordered a sharing platter which consisted of: onion rings, hot wings, potato skins, chicken tenders etc. We then watched a band that covered songs like ‘Toxic’ by Brittany Spears, but sang it as a rock song. It was boss!

Vino Da Pintos

Vino Da Pintos was recommended to us by the hotel concierge on our first night – it was that good we went back another two times, one of those being our Valentines Day meal.

We actually have a funny story about this restaurant – one of those stories that we tell to anyone who is talking about funny holiday or restaurant stories. So all you lucky people are going to hear it. So here it goes…

When checking into our hotel, we asked the concierge if he could recommend any nice restaurants in the area. In a flash, he presented us with a Vino Da Pintos business card, which he scrawled the name “Mr George” onto in pen. He slid it across the desk to us and said “Go to Vino Da Pintos and ask for Mr George… he will take care of you.”

Scared, but curious, we went to Vino Da Pintos and took a seat. Rich whispered across the table to me, “should we ask for Mr George, just to see what happens?” Eventually a waiter came to our table to take our order, Rich then said “are you Mr George by any chance?”

Baffled, the waiter raised his eyebrows in disbelief that a mere waiter could be mistaken for Mr George, who at this point seemed to be somewhat of a big cheese. The waiter replied “me, Mr George, no, no, no, I am not Mr George, he is the owner, one moment please.”

The waiter walked to the other side of the restaurant to a shadowed area, where a man sat on his own at a table, cloaked in darkness, continuously igniting and extinguishing a Zippo lighter. This was Mr George.

The waiter whispered into his ear, to which Mr George gave a knowing nod towards our table. A moment later, the waiter came to our table with a complimentary glass of white wine and prosecco, each. And that was it. Strange.

The food was actually delicious – we got typical Italian meals, lasagne, bolognese, pomodoro. You have to though. It was so tasty.

Al Ponte Del Megio

We called by Al Ponte Del Megio for a quick bite to eat. Based in the San Polo area, it overlooks a busy canal, where you can watch boat-goers working up and down the canal.

I had the Spaghetti Pomodoro – I always go for this option because you can’t really go wrong with it and of course, Rich had lasagna. We both enjoyed it here.

The restaurant isn’t anything especial – it’s set out more like a cafe to have a coffee stop more than a bite to eat. We were the only people in the restaurant as it was early afternoon, so the quick service was exactly what we needed.

The Carnival of Venice

I’m so happy we visited Venice when we did, because this Carnival was something different, and something to remember. This carnival has been an annual event for many, many years and ends with the Christian celebration of Lent.

It’s famous for its elaborate costumes and masks, which participants spend a ridiculous amount of time planning and sorting.

Events for the carnival take place at St Mark’s Square, where you will see all kinds of stage shows, performances and costume competitions. As well as all of the contestants competing with their fabulous consumes in the square – you will see them walking the streets wherever you go.

We spent the majority of our time here because it was just so fascinating, and we had our photos taken with many different contestants.

Face painting

As part of the Venice Carnival, everyone either gets dressed up or has their face painted (they have face painters dotted around).

So, I obviously got my face painted. When in Venice, hey.

It took no longer than 10 minutes and only cost 6 euros – and it lasted all day. I didn’t want to wash it off, it looked so pretty.

Photoshoot on the Rialto Bridge

For a few moments we decided to just stop at the top of Rialto Bridge and look down the Grand Canal. We like to get a good selfie, but with my big camera, it is a struggle.

Struggling away, a man of about 60 comes over to us, who looks like he is part of a group having a guided tour. He offers to take a photo for us. Great!

Many pictures later, he is still holding my camera. We then find out he is homeless and wants some money for taking the pictures for us. CONNED! We gave him about 70 cents as that was all the change we had. It was scary at the time, because my camera is everything, but looking back, I love these pictures.

Mask shops

Worrying if you’ll be able to buy yourself a Venice mask? Don’t, they are everywhere!

Because Venice is famous for its extravagant carnival each year, everywhere you go you will see mask shops – more so when you visit around the time of the carnival.

These shops scare me a little, I have no fear of masks, there is just something a bit spooky about all of these blank expressions looking at you.

We did end up getting ourselves a mask each as a souvenir.

Grand Canal

The Grand Canal is vast and you will likely find yourself constantly bumping into it.

The canal is the major water-traffic corridor in Venice. You see tons of boats, water-taxis, water-buses (Vaporetti in Italian and Vaporeti in Venetian) and gondolas passing by at all hours of the day.

We traveled down the Grand Canal as transport to and from the airport, so we saw some incredible sites when first travelling into Venice. 

Saint Mark’s Basilica

Known as the Saint Mark’s Basilica, The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is one of Venice’s most famous churches. It’s the main feature at Piazza San Marco and is connected to the Doge’s Palace. Fact for you – it was originally ‘the chapel of the Doge’ and has only been a cathedral since 1807.

It’s absolutely beautiful, full of wonderful architecture and gold mosaics, which is a status symbol of Venetian wealth and power. The cathedral has a nickname meaning Church of gold – Chiesa d’Oro.

Piazza San Marco

As most of you will know, when you visit a city, there is always ‘the square’ where everything happens. Well, Piazza San Marco is that square and it sits in front of St Mark’s Basilica and holds St Mark’s Campanile, which is the separate bell tower to the basilica.

Piazza San Marco also plays host to the famous Venice Carnival – which I have spoken about above.

We spent a lot of time around this area because there is lots to do and see, whether it’s to have a drink of coffee or a bite to eat, and maybe a mooch around some of there shops. The square overlooks canals, so it’s nice to grab a gelato and watch ‘canal-goers’ go by.

Doge’s Palace

Doge’s Palace is based right at Piazza San Marco.

A single ticket will let you look around Doge’s Palace, Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale and the Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

A ticket will cost 20 euros for an adult and 13 euros for a child, student and citizen over 65.

To give you some context, the Doge’s Palace is a palace built in a venetian gothic style and was residence of the Doge of Venice – former Republic of Venice.

Rialto Bridge

Rialto Bridge is one of the sights to see in Venice ( and is seen as the true heart of Venice) – I know this because of the amount of people that flooded the bridge in length and width – and this was in February! Rialto Bridge travels the width of the Grand Canal, so it’s the ultimate photo opportunity.

It’s not your average bridge though. Unlike Westminster Bridge in London, where you just walk over it, this bridge has three walkways; two that run along each side of the bridge, and then a wider walkway right down the middle. The walkway down the middle is in between shops that sell numerous tourist souvenirs, including jewellery, clothing and the famous Murano glass.

A note for any Hard Rock cafe fans out here – there is a separate Hard Rock Cafe merchandise shop on the bridge. It is smaller than the one in the cafe, but it sells the same items.

Natural History Museum

Like any Natural History Museum, you know what to expect. Once you’ve been to one, you’ve kind of been to them all. I do enjoy a good museum though, and this one was good. It had a great set up and came across as one of the most modern out the ones I have visited. It was very interactive, and came across very well that children would enjoy.

Between November and May opening hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm Saturday to Sunday. June to October hours are 10am to 6pm. The museum is closed on Mondays, December 25th, January 1st and May 1st.

I thought price-wise, they were good – I mean free is always best, but still. A full price ticket is 8 euros and 5,50 euros for children between 6 to 14. They have deals for groups and families and you have the option to buy an audio guide to talk your way through the museum.

San Marco Campanile

If you want somewhere to go to overlook Venice – standing 99 meters high San Marco Campanile is the place to go.

It’s the highest viewing platform in Venice, and has unbelievable views.

You can go up the tower between the hours of 9.45am to 4pm October to March; 9.30am to 5pm April to June and 9.45am to 8pm July to September. However, this may change. It will cost your 6 euros to ascend up the lift to see the spectacular views over Venice.

Murano

Murano is one of the islands just off Venice, in the Venetian Lagoon. The Island isn’t very big and is known for glass making, so if you have heard of Murano Glass – this is where it’s from.

Getting over to Murano is simple. Once you are at the port, there are kiosks where you can purchase tickets to travel to and from each of the Islands, or just get information like ferry times. All you can see when walking through Murano is beautifully-stained glass…everywhere.

Each shop you pass sells Murano glass products, be it ornaments, ashtrays, bowls, vases, you name it! Because of all the colourful glass, this makes Murano a very bright and colourful island to be at. Murano carries the same theme as Venice, with canals running through the streets. Visiting Murano, you can find much more to do other than visiting glass shops. One of the main attractions is the Museo del Vetro (Murano Glass Museum) which displays all of the history of glassmaking. Also, there are famous glass factories to see.

And just when I thought St Helens was cool for making glass haha!

Gondala Ride

A gondala ride has always been a dream of mine – and after finally having one in Venice, it was everything that I hoped for.

One thing I didn’t realize was the set up of how the prices work. Per gondala it can cost anything between 80 euros to 100 euros. You will pay that price, unless you share with other people. If you share with other people, then you split the cost. I can’t stress that enough  – you pay per gondala, not per person.

We had been trying to see if anyone would like to share with us, but no one could understand why it was better value for money doing it this way, until our last day when two girls approached us asking if we would like to share with them. YES! Someone has sense! We actually ended up going on a Gondala ride a few hours before we were due to catch our flight home.

The ride was great. It was quite tricky getting on and off the Gondala. I never realized how narrow and thin they were until I tried stepping on one – it’s so easy for it to topple over. The Gondala guys appropriately sit passengers based on weight. I don’t know how they do this job day in, day out.  Such a strenuous job, but they must have a laugh with tourists.

The Gondala man sang typical Italian songs like ‘The Corneto Song’ and ‘That’s Amore’ with other Gondala men passing by. It was so much fun and I highly recommend you fit it in at some point.

Nightlife

We visited some really stripped back and authentic bars here – and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

One bar we visited was called ‘Al Merca’ which was located near the entrance to the Rialto market, you simply stand outside in a square, whilst the bar is ran over a very small counter. It was great because it made us feel local, we were stood with loads of Italians and just people watching – one being a drunk man cartwheeling the whole square. Drinks where served in plastic cups, for obvious reason, prices where very cheap, and measures where are the large side – i’ll have coke with my Jack Daniels please…

Another bar we visited, we didn’t get the name of. We bumped into it, while following some musicians playing music around the streets. This bar I can only describe as being the coolest. Again, because it was tiny inside, everyone tends to stand outside in the street. They had a Tina Turner live DVD on a TV, and turned the volume up so you can imagine what it was like after a few drinks and Proud Mary comes on. We both had a Prosecco, Amaretto and mint cocktail. Which is just far too tasty.

I can only imagine that nightlife in Venice is tame, quiet and respected from what we experienced. Everything and everyone was so chilled and were drinking sensibly, which is what I enjoy most.

Cafes

I know a few people who had been to Venice and moaned about how expensive it is – my response is always ‘well you’re going to the wrong places’.

In St Mark’s Square is oldest cafe in Europe called Caffé Florian – so as expected, it was on the pricey side – like 30 euros for a cup of coffee pricey – not quite that, but you get my point. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful inside with lots of hustle and bustle. But yes, pricey.

We were having a little walk around the back streets of Venice where all of the locals live – which is totally different to the main parts of Venice. We found a coffee shop that looked small, but it opened up to be quite a vast place. I got thee most amazing hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted – for 2 euros – need I say more. It was pure, thick chocolate, exactly what hot chocolate is described as and Rich got a coffee that cost 3 euros.

So, the moral of the story is, have a mooch about Venice and you will find small and quiet cafes that will sell products just as amazing as the famous ones.

Padua AKA Padova

We were in Venice for Valentines day and because it was towards the end of our time in Venice, we thought we would travel out to the next city – which was Padua, which is also known as Padova in Italian.

Padova was very Italian and minimalistic. We got there early, so it was pretty empty walking through the town centre, apart from some young boys who were carrying bunches of roses.

While we were in Padova, we visited a market. The market takes place on Prato Della Valle each Saturday. It’s nothing touristy in the slightest as it’s for the local’s, so no rip-off prices. It had everything you could want to buy from fresh fruit and vegetables, household items, clothing and leather goods.

Padova is seen as one of the oldest cities in Northern Italy, and is famous for its university, which is one of Europe’s oldest.

Overall

Venice treat us well. I would recommend anyone to visit. It’s the most romantic city as everywhere you go is picturesque, even the run-down buildings.

The streets are what you will expect, but when you are walking them thinking ‘as if this is real’, ‘as if people actually live like this’ I know I was.

I think it will be the most unusual place I’ll visit – don’t quote me though because I haven’t been everywhere … yet.