Amazingly beautiful, romantic city (Venice)

Member Name: steedandpeel

Product:	Venice
Date:	06/09/09 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning architecture, great visitor attractions, atmospheres, canals and water

Disadvantages: Busy and expensive

Venice

I've just recently returned from a fantastic holiday in Venice, so I thought I'd put down my thoughts on the city as a whole, with reviews on specifics to follow.

We arrived courtesy of Easyjet at about half nine in the evening at Marco Polo airport, on the mainland, not far from the city. There are a variety of options to get into Venice itself - you can take a bus to the Place Roma and catch a water taxi or bus from there, you can take an extremely expensive water taxi, or you can catch the waterbus straight from the airport. We opted for the waterbus, as we thought it would be great to arrive by water. This cost 13 Euros each and the journey was just over an hour. Our destination was San Marco (St Marks Square) and the evening operated waterbus goes down the Grand Canal. This was a fantastic and romantic way to be introduced to the city, as we could observe all the Palazzos lining the banks and float under the Rialto Bridge.

The waterbus stopped at San Marco, close to our hotel. We lugged our suitcases through the square, which was breathtakingly beautiful at night, with various small orchestras playing outside the main cafes. We found our hotel eventually (just a few steps from the Piazza, but the directions we had were awful), and dumped our stuff. We immediately set out for a little wander around the area to soak up the atmosphere. Although it was only about half past eleven, we noticed that away from the Piazza, how quiet the city was. We had expected it to be buzzing with the famous Mediterranean/Adriatic night life. But all was quiet...Except for a tiny bar right underneath our hotel room!

After a relatively good night's sleep (once the noisy revellers downstairs had called it a night), we had breakfast and set off to explore the city. We headed away from San Marco, initially towards the Rialto, through smart shopping streets. I have never seen so many designer shops in one place! Venice itself was absolutely heaving, mainly with tourists like us and with glamorous Italians. We headed away from the throng, getting lost amongst winding alleyways, crossing multiple canals and ending up in small squares, popping into shops and churches that caught our interest. Helpfully, signs over the city point the way to the Rialto and San Marco so if you do get lost (very easy to do) you can find your way back.

The city was absolutely beautiful, with amazing, grand architectural statements, to smaller, domestic architecture loaded with charm. The setting of the buildings around the myriad of canals was stunning. We both instantly fell in love with the city and it's made it to the top of my favourite city list!

On the following days we visited some of the main tourist attractions, including the San Marco Basilica and the Doge's Palace. They were rammed with visitors, but worth a visit for the stunning architecture, decorations and artefacts on display. We went in the morning, before the queues had really built up, but we would have been better getting there as soon as they opened. We had bought a Museum Ticket for 12 Euros to visit the Correr Museum and the Archaeological Museum in St Marks Square before. This also allows entrance to the Doges Palace (you have to buy this combined ticket to get in) and allows you queue jump the entrance to the Palace, so it is worth buying it from the Correr Museum to avoid the queues.

One day we bought day passes for the Vaporetto (the waterbus service) at a cost of 16 Euro. This allowed us to visit the surrounding islands. We first went to San Michele which is an island to the east of Venice which only contains a cemetery. It was a beautiful island and very atmospheric wandering amongst the graves and monuments.

We also took the Vaporetto to the Venice Lido to the south east of the island to experience a slightly different side of the city. The Lido is very glamorous and has a lot more room to move about than on the main island and beaches. There are also cars here, which is very strange! We went to the Lido because the film festival was on and we wanted to check it out. We didn't know the programme and hadn't booked any tickets for any films. However, the public are allowed right up to the complex for free. We immediately saw a crowd of people around a door with cameras, so joined them, thinking we'd catch a glimpse of an Italian soap star. However, we were very surprised with Nicolas Cage appeared and we managed to get lots of snaps of him posing with fans and signing autographs. I think we were very lucky, as so far, he appears to be the most famous person in attendance!

We also managed to check out some of the art exhibitions for the Venice Biennial taking place currently (it takes place for 6 months every 2 years). The main Biennial exhibition itself cost 18 Euros to enter, which we declined to pay as it was a bit steep. However, we did visit the Lithuanian, Iranian, Pakistani, Afghani and Russian pavilions scattered around the city which were free and excellent and we also saw some giant sculptures dotted around the place.

One evening we went on an organised ghost walk around the city. This was well organised by a knowledgeable guide who also pointed out various sites of the city, and included a lot of historical information as well as some ghostly tales. In fact, it was more a historical tour, which we actually enjoyed a lot more than one where they try to scare you with chilling stories. This was 20 Euros, which was expensive, but we found worth the money, at nearly two hours long.

In terms of cost, entrance to the exhibitions and buildings we wanted to see was generally free or very reasonably priced. Our hotel and flights were also reasonable, although the hotel was not a great standard (review to come on the hotel)! The waterbuses were reasonable, especially day passes, but taxis were astronomical, so we avoided these. We didn't take a Gondola ride, although we had intended to. I've been told that you should agree a price, route and length of journey in advance before setting out in a Gondola.

However, food and drink were pricey. We had expected that, but still, forking out 16 Euros for two beers, or 12 Euros for two lattes makes your wallet hurt! We tried to eat slightly off the beaten track, but still, meals out with two courses each and drinks cost between 50-80 Euros between us. With the Euro and the Pound at about the same level, this was expensive, especially as the food was adequate, but not of an exceptional quality. I also, mistakenly once ordered a litre of wine for myself (a bottle and a half, rather than half a bottle)! The waiter looked at me like I was an alcoholic! I drunk slightly more than I would have liked to just to be polite and get my money's worth, and made my boyfriend down a few glasses as well as his beer. We wobbled back to the hotel after that mistake! I was warned not to have a coffee in San Marco itself as the cafes charge 6 Euros each just for sitting down - I heeded that warning, although the musical performances from the cafes there created a nice ambiance. We found that eating a large breakfast meant you could forego lunch, or eat a takeaway calzone or pizza slice for around 4 Euros to save a few pennies.

All in all, Venice was a fantastic city, and delivers everything that you expect in terms of beauty and atmosphere. During the day, the city is thronged with tourists and it can be hard to move about. However, as the majority of tourists are day trippers, it quietens down a lot in the evenings and you can enjoy the Venetian atmosphere without battling your way past loads of people. I would thoroughly recommend a trip to anyone, and also suggest that you explore some of the surrounding islands, particularly at busy times of the year. I can't wait to return one day...

Summary: The perfect place for a romantic getaway