Of course, I’m checking guidebooks and websites, but does anyone else have suggestions of things to do, places to go, sites that absolutely should not be missed?
My mom went to Venice. She said that the glassware factories on an island outside the city were not to be missed. This was a while ago though–it might be different now.
(Man, what is with all the travel threads right now? Must be a new year or something. 
)
I found Venice to be not so much about things you have to see and more about overall atmosphere. Wander around the labyrinthine streets without a plan and see where it leads you. It’s the old adage “get lost in Venice” - and trust me, it’s not to hard once you get off the beaten tourist path. But just enjoy the place, soak in the atmosphere, and don’t eat at restaurants near the main thoroughfares or those with tourist menus.
*So *jealous, I would *love *to see Venice. I am an art and architecture geek and I would be gawking like a rube my whole visit.
Take a walk through San Marco, which is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Skip the Doge’s palace, which would take most of a day and isn’t that interesting anyway. If you are staying in a hotel there’s a good chance you’ll be offered a “free tour of Murano”. These will take you through one glass factory, through that factory’s showroom where they hope you will buy things, then straight back to your hotel. There is nothing wrong with this arrangement, but if you want to walk around Murano instead of just going through one factory, you’ll need a vaporetto.
If you want to take a gondola ride, get on the gondola at a place where they are all docked and don’t look harried or anxious about it. Looking that way, or getting on one at an unconventional spot, will get you ripped off to the tune of several hundred dollars.
Other than that, enjoy!
Definitely walk around after dark - most tourists in Venice are day-trippers, so it’s wonderful at night without the crowds.
*Don’t *miss the Doge’s palace, I disagree that it isn’t interesting (but then I’m both an art and medieval weapons geek).
Don’t miss the Penny Guggenheim Museum.
Visit Burano by vaporetto as well as Murano.
If you haven’t decided where to stay yet, I can recommend renting an apartment (from guestinitaly.com) - it does mean you have to cater for yourself, but the markets are part of the fun.
I agree with just wandering around… I’ve been to Venice twice and IMHO is very oversold, touristy, superexpensive, with not much sense of being a “real place”. It feels like a walt disney world interpretation of itself, very organized for tourism, about 90% of the restaurants are really crappy tourist food (except for some very upscale options). After a couple of days I went from “this is different… interesting…historical” to actively loathing it.
OTOH It’s certainly something to see… with some interesting churches and bridges and buildings… Doge’s Palace, St. Marco Square, etc… but I wouldn’t spend more than a day, especially not if I was staying in a hotel right in Venice, because of poor cost-to-enjoyment ratios (most of the more inexpensive hotels in “Venice” are not in Venice, they are on the other side of the causeway, on the mainland, and have all the romance of the suburbs of Colombus, OH).
On of my visits was in November and I got to experience the tail end of alt’acqua (high water) which was more interesting than anything else I did there.
I have heard some people say it smells quite badly in the summer, but I haven’t experienced that. It smells like seawater, that’s all. It’s not a bad smell.
The apartment we stayed in was in Calle de la Rasse, literally an easy 5 minute walk from San Marco - over Schiavoni Bridge past the Bridge of Sighs and the main gondola docks if you wanted to wade through tourists and touts, or the back way if you want to walk past some mask workshops (I got my Plague Doctor mask unpainted from one of these) - and the McDonalds. It doesn’t look like it’slisted here anymore, but others in the neighbourhood are. We rented a 4-bed apartment for a week, and it wasn’t that expensive. Certainly a lot cheaper than the hotels would have been.
The more time I spend in Venice the more magical it becomes. Yes, during the day, San Marco and the Rialto bridge are unbearable, but places like the fish market, back alleys with the glass blowers, the sheer number of churches (nearly all are worth 15 minutes of your time-so just spend the 8? Euros on the church pass). Venice is expensive but worth every penny- don’t take a gondola ride, just use the traghetto a couple of times to get a much more lively and authentic experience! We just spent 4 days and nights there for a family of four without ever taking a Vaporetto as there is plenty to do on the main islands.
The not-to-be-missed site for me would be the Scuola Grande di San Rocco which is literally a single masterwork that you wander around inside. My guide books are at home but the meal at Osteria Da Fiore was spectacular. Also for good lunches we had a great place just east of San Marco on Calle de le Rasse that was great. It looked like a small mom and pop dive diner (I think it was in Rick Steves’ book.)
The gondola construction shop on Campo San Trovaso was quite cool- nothing surprising but it was interesting to see several boats in different stages of construction and the “guide” (the guy we ran into as we stepped into the shop) was amused by our interest and our appreciation of their craftsmanship.
Most importantly, just wander the streets. That is truly the magic of Venice. We walked >8 miles each day (judging by pedometer counting) and found that the the best things (to you) will not be the ones you will know about beforehand.
Our hotel was Hotel Bernardi which was quite reasonable as it came with breakfast and internet included in the price. (They also had unadvertised AC which was awesome as it was 91,91, 93, 95˚ while we we there.) 5 minutes to Rialto Bridge. <15 minutes to Saint Mark’s.
I love Venice and I agree that it is someplace you just wander around rather than plan on set things to see. If you are adventurous at all in a culinary sense, try some real Venetian cuisine. It is quite good and exotic. Don’t pay to take a gondola ride. It is a huge ripoff. You have to take water taxis to get anywhere anyway. Watch your things closely as well. The city is full of opportunistic thieves and the police won’t catch them nor care much.
If you like black jack the way James Bond would play it, I’d recommend the casino
Quiet and quite unlike Vegas.
I understand it is damn hot in August.
You might be interested in the Brunetti books by Donna Leon, mysteries set in Venice. However Commissario Brunetti is not a fan of tourists.
We are renting a flat in Amsterdam this summer, so we can cook for ourselves and not eat out all the damned time. I hate breakfasting out, I prefer to cook for myself and take some time to become human again. And I have promised to cook for various of my european gaming buddies that want to show up and eat.
[we are doing a different country every year while I can still travel, I think next year is either London and close parts of England or Bucharest Romania or possibly Tromso Norway, the Paris of the North]
Sunspace, you are talking about Murano. You can take the vaporetto (water bus) to Murano, but the Murano tourist board operates free water taxis to Murano (or at least they did last Christmas, when my daughter and I were in Venice. Your hotel should be able to hook you up). As for the tours, it’s more fun just to go to Murano and wander around, going in and out of whichever factories you want, watching the glass-making demonstration, looking at their showroom, grabbing a bite to eat at a cafe/restaurant, and making a leisurely time of it. Just my humble opinion.
Agreed with everyone who said “just walk around”. Planning to see and do too much is a surefire way of ruining the experience. There’s some cool stuff, like bookshop Aqua Alta, but I couldn’t explain how to get there, even if I wanted to - you’ll stumble upon it - or onto something else. Venice is also NOT an open air museum and you don’t need to stray too far from the beaten path to find either a deserted calle or some locals having a drink. So here’s my numero uno tip: Have a spritz (an aperitive drink) before lunch or dinner.
My wife and I spent a week in Venice on our honeymoon. There are endless things to see and do. My recommendation is to just take your time and wander around. Buy some delicious Certosino Venezia and enjoy it with a cup of tea or coffee in one of the many piazzas. Take in a musical performance at one of the historic churches. The food in Venice can be very hit-and-miss (there are so many tourists, they don’t have to rely on repeat business) so ask the locals where to go, or use the Internet. If you are Jewish (or have an interest in Jewish history) the Jewish ghetto is worth seeing. We had a a very memorable Shabbat dinner at the Chabad in the ghetto - it was the highlight of our trip (and I’m not the least bit observant, and my wife isn’t Jewish).
Another for just walking about and ‘finding’ things. There is a public(valporetto) day passes that you can get right out side the train station (Santa Lucca). Last time I was there my friend and I rode them to all the ‘tourist’ spots and saw much of Venice from the water. Do NOT buy a cocktail and Harry’s Bar.
You can walk clear across Venice - from the Train station to St. Marco Sq. – in about 45 minutes. It’s only about a mile across. Bear this in mind when deciding transportation options. It is rather easy to get lost but, getting lost is rather enjoyable as well.
Single rides on the Vaporetto are outrageous – Euro 6.50! for a 2 minute trip! So if you do want to use the Vaporetto quite a bit definitely get the card as it will pay for itself almost instantly (a 24 hour card is $18).
Vaporetto prices are outrageous unless you are a “local”. A tourist can also get the Cartavenezia card and the cheap rates with a bit of work. This obviously is only worthwhile if you will be there for several days. You would break even on day 3 compared to the 24 hour passes, but when we were there for a week a couple of years back, they were absolutely worth it. We could end every night with a cruise around the island or down the canal.