I Love Venice
I Love Venice
What you absolutely have to taste if you come in italy
Send a virtual postcard from Italy
VENICE VENEZIA
History and Culture
Interesting facts
Venice
Things to Know
Here is a list of good things to know:
- Walk the
streets of Venice at 6am, it is different from any other time. or late
at night when the lights twinkle on the water.
- Toilets.
There are several public toilets (Servizi igienici pubblici) around
Venice in popular tourist areas; they all charge 1 euro but are kept
clean and tidy. All cafes and bars have toilets and whilst, in law,
they should allow anyone to use them, in practice it is customary to
buy at least a cup of coffee.
- Bring
a small, pocket flashlight to look at your map after the sun goes down.
The streetlights are quite dim. The effect is very romantic and mysterious,
but nothing is worse than being lost and unable to read your map because
you can't see.
- If you
are staying more than a day or two, especially in spring and summer,
mosquito repellent is a good idea. (It may even be a good idea in fall
and winter.) Many of La Serenissima's stunning casement windows do not
have screens, so you may wake up in the morning with nibbles. Do ask
your hotel, B&B or apartment agent for the small, electric, plug-in-the-wall
mosquito repellers.
- If a boat
from a hotel travels to the glass factories om Murano, it may return
on the other side of Venice.
- If the
someone offers you a free boat ride to MURANO to see the glass blowing
factories, should you decide not buy anything, they will NOT return
you back to where you came from. They will give you a "ticket"
to take the public boat - if you are lucky, otherwise you are just left
to your own devices. It is easy to go to Murano on your own on the 41
or 42 water buses (Tickets 6.50 euros for a 60 minute voyage in any
one direction). Get off at the Colonna or Faro landing stages for many
glass factories or at the Museo landing stage if you wish to visit the
Glass Museum in Palazzo Giustinian or the lovely Veneto-Byzantine church
of Santi Maria e Donato with a fine mosaic floor of 1140AD
- The glass
at MURANO is overpriced. Make sure you check ebay before leaving to
see the prices of the vases to be able to buy at the right price. Example:
A 1000 Euro vase at Murano can be found at Piazza San Marco for 200
Euro in one of the more upscale expensive stores. There is more competition
at the stores by San Marco because they are near each other hence they
cannot put totally outrageous prices. The same vase though sells for
40 Euros at Burano! If the seller gives a 30% discount...laugh at that
because you should be getting 95% discount. Beware that some unscrupulous
people sell glass imported from the East and sell it as Murano glass.
- The concierge
and the boat men get a cut when you buy something at Murano.
- Burano
cannot be reached on the 41 or 42 water buses. You have to take the
Linea N ferry which sails from Fondamenta Nove, calls at Faro landing
stage on Murano and then sails on to Mazzorbo before reaching Burano.
The Linea N continues its journey and could, if you wish, take you on
to Treporti and Punta Sabbioni before returning to Venice. See www.actv.it
for details of timetables. There is an interesting small Lace Museum
on Burano but sadly very little hand made Burano lace is available nowadays.
Almost all the lace on sale in the shops on Burano is machine made lace
imported from abroad.
- The gondola
rides are expensive tourist attractions or romantic tours, depending
on your personal opinion. 80 Euros for 20 to 30 minutes is outrageous!
The official rates for gondolas, published on The Gondola website is
80 euros for a 40 minute ride, plus 40 euros for every further 20minutes.
After 7 p.m. the official rate goes up to 100 euros for 40 minutes,
and a further 50 euros for every extra 20 minutes. For this you hire
the whole gondola, which will take a maximum of 6 passengers but the
cost is no greater if you only have two of you in the gondola.
- Planning
to take a coffee and sit at St Mark? Beware of the hidden covercharge.
The sign said "8 Euro" for the coffee. So that means 16 Euro
for 2. However, when the bill arrives, don't get shocked to see 55 Euros
for 2 coffees. The explanation? The place charges for sitting on their
chair and listening to their orchestra! If you wanta reasonably priced
coffee or a spritz or a glass of prosecco there are many other fine
campos in Venice - try Campo Santa Margherita or Campo San Polo for
instance. You will not have the orchestras to listen to but they are
still lovely spaces in which to sit and watch the world go by.
- Fixed
price "tourist dinner" may be cheaper than ordering a plate
of spaghetti because the latter does not include the famous cover charge!
But no guarantees about quality with Menu Turistico. "Pane e Coperto"
is charged per head and many restaurants now make a service charge of
10 or even 15 % on top of everything else. Do read the menu posted outside
very carefully before entering so you know what you are commited to.
- The famous
Venetian masks are also overpriced, look for them online.
- Take out
your camera at sunset for truly stunning pictures.
- Be very
careful when ordering food, especially fish, from sidewalk cafes. The
quality of the food may well be outstanding and delicious, but the price
may give you a heart attack. Read the menu and you will see that fish
is often sold by weight, not by the piece. 7 Euros means 7 Euros per
etto (100 grams), so 1 piece of fish weighing 5 etto will cost 35 Euros.
No fish, no matter how good-tasting, is worth that much money. Do enquire
before ordering such a dish.
- Beware
the jewellery being sold in the boutiques near St. Mark's square. The
items are very costly and upon closer examination you will find they
are quite junky.
- Do check
out the wine shops the locals frequent . They have these big glass bottles
in a basket and pump the wine out into any receptacle you have , be
it a water bottle or anything else . These wines may be better value
than any regular bottled you can buy though not necessarily better quality.
It is what the locals use as their daily wine ,and sometimes better
than regular bottled .In any case its a lot of fun and worth a visit.
Of course they have many different types and prices.
- Do use
the free hotel monthly exhibition booklet. It provides details of concerts,
shows around the town for that month , exhibitions and other useful
information. "Un'ospite di Venezia (Guest in Venice) is published
fortnightly in high season and monthly at other times. It is available
free of charge in most Hotels.
- A Rolling
Venice Card is charged at 4E but can give you great discounts for certain
sites. It is only avaialble for 15-29 year olds (Juniors). Buy this
with the 3day transport pass at Marco Polo airport for 22E each.
- A free
Venice map was given out along with the transport ticket pass at the
airport (essential for first timers). Everywhere else, they seem to
charge for the map, including the tourist office.. Many Hotels will
have free copies of Venice street maps available at their Reception.
-
Some unreliable websites advertise kinds of accommodations which are not in line with the standards indicated by the regional laws and acts. So it's advisable for the tourists in search for accommodation through the internet, in Venice and surrounding areas, to make a cross-check, also verifying the presentation of the dwellings by visiting the web sites of the local tourism authorities, such as
www.turismo.provincia.venezia.it;
www.turismovenezia.it
Transportation in Venice:
The
main public transport in Venice are the vaporetti, boats that ply the
principal waterways. The #1 goes along the Grand Canal from the train
station and makes many stops, so its a good way to cruise the main canal
and get a good overview of the city. There are also more expensive water
taxis and gondolas.
Tourist Information Offices in Venice:
The
train station tourist office is almost always very crowded but has lots
of information and can help with hotel reservations. The main tourist
office is by St. Mark's Square and also has lots of information. Most
staff speak at least some English.
Venice's Neighborhoods:
Venice
is divided into six sections or sestieri. The Cannaregio is near the station.
Also on the same side of the Grand Canal are San Marco and Castello. Santa
Croce is across the Grand Canal from the train station and San Polo and
the Dorsoduro are across the canal from St. Mark's.
Festivals:
Venice's Carnevale celebration is one of the most lively and colorful carnival festivals in Italy, held 40 days before Easter. The Venetians don festive masks and costumes for a 10-day street party. The Redentore Regatta is an important festival in July held on the Grand Canal.
Food Specialities of Venice and the Veneto:
Seafood is a big part of Venetian cuisine as are polenta and rice. Seppia, cuttlefish, is popular and risotto nero is a rice dish colored with its ink. Try zuppa di pesce fish soup here, too. Radicchio trevisano, red chicory, comes from nearby Treviso. Cicchetti, little appetizers, are found in the bars in Venice and are often eaten before lunch
Venice Hotels:
Choose
your Venice hotel by neighborhood and price with .....(coomin soon), a
site I often use for hotel bookings. They have information and guest ratings
for about 200 hotels in Venice, ranging from 1-star to 5-star luxury,
as well as apartment and bed and breakfast listings.
What to Buy in Venice:
Venetian glass, especially from the island of Murano, is a specialty. Carnevale masks make great gifts or souvenirs. Venice is also known for its marbled paper and you might find some good lace here, too.
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