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| Things to do in Venice, Italy |
Venice (Veneto region)
Rivers and Canals
The city is built on 118 small islands
connected by 455 bridges over 177 canals,
the biggest being the Grand Canal and the Giudecca canal.
in the northern Adriatic Sea.
the Po and the Piave rivers (more exactly between the Brenta and the Sile)Neighborhoods
historic center, made up of seven areas:- San Marco (best for first-timers, most major attractions are here),
- San Polo (small but lively, home to the Rialto Market),
- Cannaregio (home to the world’s first Jewish ghetto),
- Dorsoduro (nightlife, art museums),
- Castello (best for families, with public gardens and a historic shipyard),
- Santa Croce (the bus station is here),
- Giudecca (young, artsy vibe, tends to be quiet).
Sights
- Rialto bridge and market
- Frari Church (San Polo barrio)
- San Giorgio Maggiore
- Accademia museum, bridge (Dorsoduro district)
- St. Marco square
- Flavian cafe
- Clocktower - 1st digital clock
- Leonardo davinci museum
- Correr Museum
- Doge’s Palace
- TEATRO LA FENICE
- PUNTA DELLA DOGANA
- Campanile Di San Marco (viewpoint)
- palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
- Giardini
- Sculpture “Support”
- Arsenal
- Bianale
- Peggy Guggenheim
- Maximilian tower
- Bridges
- Rialto bridge
- Ponte dei Sospiri
Surrounded islands
Burano Murano San Giorgio MaggioreMovies and tv shows
Indiana Jones: the last crusade Tourist Inferno Casino Royale Casanova Death in Venice, Don't Look Now, The Talented Mr Ripley The Merchant of Venice From Russia with loveTransport
Vaporetto Train station: Santa Lucia (in Santa Croce neighborhood) Alilaguna: airport to Muralla ACTVMy long-awaited trip to Venice happened in late September 2021.
Right after we got out of the plane we went to the Tourist information stand and got Water bus tickets.
Water bus in Venice is called vaporetto and it has several lines.
We took a boat to Murano Island from the water bus stop,
which is only a 5-minute walk from the airport.
We got 2 tickets ¨Venezia unica¨ per person:
1 ticket to leave the airport and
1 24-hour-pass to get around the islands
Since Murano and Burano are the more distant islands,
we chose to see them first before heading to Venice.
Murano is a small island famous for glass making.
During the 15th century, they invented the finest glass in the world called cristallo.
Today Murano houses numerous glass factories and a few individual artists' studios.
There is even a Glass Museum with exhibits on glassmaking's history.
The island is full of shops with different items made out of glass,
for instance we got ourselves a beautiful bottle stopper. A very handy thing if you ask me...
On Murano you can also see a beautiful 7th century Basilica di Santa Maria e San Donato.
Another small island we visited was Burano. We arrived there via vaporetto as well, but this time with a 24-hour pass.
This island is known for its lace-making and Instagram-worthy fishermen's houses.
It's also linked to Mazzorbo Island.
After we got to the waterbus station and boarded the vaporetto to Venice.
Also known as "La Dominante", "La Serenissima",
"Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks",
"City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals".
Venice really stands out from other places I’ve been. It’s certainly one of the most romantic places.
It was just like I had imagined with lots of water canals, palazzos, bridges, boats and gondolas.
It is really mind-blowing to see the buildings standing on water.
I had never seen anything like it before.
There are no cars, no motos, no bicycles, only boats and gondolas.
In fact, Venice is Europe's largest urban car-free area and it's a fully functional city.
Vaporetto took us to a station in the north of Venice.
From there we walked towards the city’s central area called Rialto where we had our hotel.
In the area we saw the famous Rialto market which is nearly 1000 years old
and the monumental Rialto bridge across the Grand Canal.
This area used to be the commercial and financial center of the Venetian republic.
After lunch we took vaporetto along the Grand Canal to Giardini station.
It is one of the last stations on the south east of Venice.
I wanted to see that area first and then make our way back by vaporetto and by foot.
As we were traveling along the Grand Canal we saw all these beautiful palazzos and museums
just like floating on water and it just blew our minds, they all looked so incredible.
How could people build something so awesome?
Among the palaces we saw were:
Cavali, Bernardo,
Grimani,
Pisani Moretta,
Giustinian Persico,
Mocenigo
Casa Nuova,
Ca' Rezzonico,
Grassi,
Palazzo Malipiero,
Casanova Museum,
Palazzo Giustinian Lolin,
Galerias dell'Academia,
Palazzo Contarini Polignac,
Palazzi Barbaro,
Palazzo Barbarigo,
Peggy Guggenheim collection,
Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto,
Palazzo Salviati,
Palazzo Contarini Fasan,
Casa di Desdemona,
Ca' Giustinian,
and massive Basilica de Santa Maria della Salud.
Then, we passed the Royal gardens, the famous Saint Mark's square and the Arsenal.
And the Next station was Giardini. Right by the station there is a park called Giardini della Biennale.
It is the biggest park in Venice and it contains gardens
with art exhibitions and 30 pavilions of different countries.
The entrance to the pavilion area was 25€ (check the opening hours) but the park around it is free.
Then we took vaporetto from Giardini to Arsenal station which is just 1 station away.
Venetian Arsenal was Europe's largest industrial complex before the industrial revolution,
producing the majority of the Venetian republic's naval power and merchant ships.
Next stop was to the famous piazza San Marco.
But first on our way we saw the famous Ponte di suspiri. Or The Bridge of Sighs.
It was built by Antonio Conti in 1602 and is decorated in a Baroque style.
The bridge links the Doge's Palace with the former prison of the Inquisition.
The “sighs” were not lovers’ sighs, but the sad sighs of the condemned
who passed over the bridge and took one last look at Venice before being executed.
The most important building in the city is Palazzo Ducale o r Doge's palace;
it was the residence of the Doges of the Republic.
It was also the meeting place of The Grand Council and the Senate
as well as the Supreme Court and the secret police.
The ground floor also housed lawyers' offices, censorship services and a maritime department.
The top-floor balcony served as a celebratory platform
from which the Doge presented himself to the people.
And the visitors of the city, who arrived at the palace from the Piazzetta side,
found themselves at the feet of the Republic's ruler.
Piazzetta is an adjoining open space connecting
the San Marco water bus station on the Grand Canal to the Piazza San Marco.
Two granite columns standing on the piazzetta are called
Columns of St. Mark and St. Theodore (Italian Colonne di San Marco e San Todaro)
Piazza San Marco was once the political and religious center of the city.
It was formed in the 9th century as a small space in front of St. Mark's Cathedral.
It was expanded to its current size in 1177
for the meeting between King Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Alexander III.
Later, it became the typical site of the city's major festivities,
including the well-known Venetian carnival.
Three long buildings joined to each other delimit and shape the square are
the Old Procuracies to the north, the ala napoleónica to the west
and the New Procuracies to the south.
On the ground floor there are several cafes, including the famous Florian cafe.
Correr Museum occupies some spaces of the Napoleonic Wing
and part of the New Procuracies (Attorney offices)
In a corner of the square there is Saint Mark’s campanile
- a bell tower independent of the temple.
It is undoubtedly one of the symbols of the city.
It is 98.6 meters tall.
In the upper part of the bell tower, there is a cube with lions
and the female representation of Venice (the Giustizia).
A golden weather vane with the figure of the Archangel Gabriel
adorns the top of the construction, which is crowned by a pyramidal needle.
The winged lion is the emblem of St Mark and can be seen all across Venice.
St Mark's Basilica is the most famous of the city's churches
and one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture.
This massive cathedral, adorned with numerous Byzantine-style mosaics,
is the home of the relics of the Apostle Mark
and many valuable art objects removed from Constantinople during the Crusades.
Torre dell'Orologio or The Clock Tower is an Early Renaissance architectural monument.
One of the city's most well-known landmarks.
On each side of the building, there is a clock tower and lower buildings.
The tower's location was chosen so that the clock could be seen from the lagoon's seas,
demonstrating Venice's richness and magnificence to all.
Behind Saint Mark's square there are Royal gardens open to the public.
Although the park is only half a hectare in size, it is a haven of greenery and peace.
There are various benches along the walks, which are covered with climbing plant pergolas.
Places of interest Surrounding the park are the Correr Museum, the Royal Palace,
the Archaeological Museum, and the Marciana Library.
Located near St Mark's Square, Calle Larga XXII Marzo, is a popular street for luxury shoppers,
as it features the city's most important boutiques,
such as Saint Lauren, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana and more.
Its name is linked to a very significant date in the history of the city:
March 22, 1848, when the Venetian people revolted,
expelling the Austrians from the city and proclaiming Venice a Republic once more.
Very close by the street is one of the most beautiful in Italy, La Fenice theatre. It is the debut location of some of the most famous operas such as
Rigoletto and La Traviata by Verdi,
Tancredi and Sigismondo by Rossini,
I Capuleti and Montecchi by Bellini,
Belisario and Pia de 'Tolomei by Donizzetti.
Lastly, to get to the airport, we took a bus from Piazza di Roma.
And this is where our journey came to an end.
Tips for when you are in Venice:
#1 If you want to just visit Venice without entering any museums, 1 day is enough.
#2 If you want to visit the islands surrounding Venice you’ll need 1 more day.
#3 Venice also has a beach on the island called Lido, it's the Last stop on vaporetto.
#4 There is also a water park called Caribe bay
#5 If you want to go visit museums, enjoy some opera, go to the beach or even go to a water park you can easily spend a week in Venice.
#6 Don’t be afraid to order pizza or calzone in Venice. They are delicious.
#7 Don’t be afraid to get lost in Venice. It’s relatively small, you’ll find your way.
Things that didn’t make it in my YouTube video.
Palazzo Dandolo
Palazzo Grassi
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
Palazzo Contarini Pheasant
the churches of San Beneto,
San Fantin,
Santa Maria del Guiglio,
San Maurizio,
San Moise,
Santo Stefano,
San Salvador,
San Julian
San Samuel
Galerias dell’academia
Puente dellacademia
Outlet
Guggenheim Museum
Querini stampalia
Basilica Santa Maria della Salud
Basilica di San Giorgio maggiore
Basilica de Santa Maria dei Frari
Palazzo Grassi
Palazzo Grimani
Palazzo Fortuni
Palazzo Mocenigo
Palazzo mora
Palazzo Zaguri
Palazzo Barovier and Toso
Palazzo bárbaro
Ca d’oro
Ca Rezzonico
Ca Pesaro
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
Scuola grande di san Rocco
Museo della musica
Naval history museum
Contini art museum
Casanova museum
Wagner museum
Jewish museum
Iglesia de san giacomo de Rialto
Natural history museum
Leonardo da vinci museum
More facts:
One of the first casinos in Europe.
Gondoliers are among the most well-paid workers in venice
A gondolier can earn a salary of around €100,000. Venice’s narrowest street is Calle Varisco, is just 53cm wide.
We got lost a couple of times but we still managed to see almost all of Venice.
If you are looking for these cool arms they don’t exist anymore. They were temporary statues.
Venice’s airport was named after a famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo.
( the island next to Murano and the guy said cemetery) isla San Michele
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