Venice (Italy)

...booked us 5 days in Venice next February”. “DOV’È?” – Or “I’ve Heard Of It, But Where is it?” The city of Venice lies in a shallow lagoon on the north eastern coast of Italy, in its own region known as Il Veneto, which it shares with Il Mestre and Padova (Padua). Flying there takes about 1:40 from Heathrow, all the way to its very own Marco Polo Airport. We really need a new name for Heathrow – how about Dick Turpin International? After all, he ...
...some idea at least that Venice (i.e. the famous bit) is surrounded by water, and they’d be right. It should therefore come as no shock to realise that the airport and the city are separated by some considerable miles of lagoon. So, to get your ‘life aquatic’ off to a good start, why not take a boat over to the main waterfront? OK, you CAN take taxis, buses and even trains over on a causeway to the edge of the main city, but that’s as far as you ...

BNibbles 24.02.2005 (26.02.2005) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...night before the trip to Venice we had gone to London to see a show and to have dinner and due to an oversight erm probably due to the spiritual variety we actually got on the wrong train ending up in the middle of nowhere with little chance of getting home the right side of midnight. We actually got home at 2AM and had to be up for 4AM to check in for the first flight of the day to Venice. Panic galore trying to organise a taxi to take us to the ...
...was a fantastic flight to Venice with ample supplies of Champagne we arrived at Marco Polo international airport. Following which we had to get ourselves into Venice. From Venice airport there are a number of options to take you into Venice. 1. The bus. 2. A taxi which will only take you part of the way and drop you off near the station but then it would be quite a walk to the hotel or by connecting to the local water bus service serving the whole ...

garymarsh86 24.09.2009 (26.10.2009) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...get a train straight into Venice to Ferrovia (the main station) which is right in the hub of Venice. We arrived into Venice Airport in January 2007. There are lots of methods to get into Venice from the Airport including Water Taxi, Train and bus. We intended to use our budget wisely, and so opted for the cheapest method - bus. We got on an ATVO blue bus which took us direct to San Roma (the cities bus station) for 3 euros' each. The station at San ...
...the centre of Venice. Venice has no cars and so your only choice is by water. We purchased a 72 hour ticket which enabled us to travel freely on all water buses for 25 euros (we also then discovered that on an ACTV bus this would have covered our transport to and from the airport). A single ride on a water bus (Vaporetto) is 5 euros and other than our feet it was our main method of transport. I loved the water bus. It enabled me to take pictures ...

JocelynDJ 18.03.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...is so much written about Venice so I thought I would write about the practical things which I thought about or affected me rather than an in depth history of any place or building I visited. If you are interested in visiting Venice I am sure you will have your favourite attractions. The guide books say there are about 400 bridges; they are not as tiring on the legs as you might imagine. There was a lack of children walking and in pushchairs and ...
...daily life without cars, in Venice everything is moved by boat, the postal services, parcels, logs for building in fact all kinds of building materials and all the goods for consumerism - The boat ambulance and police force -just about every thing. I only saw one person in a wheel chair and I would say that Venice is not really a place for the disabled but it made me think, I saw one bridge with a stair lift and some larger toilets at the airport. ...

teacherofhooch 18.02.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

Venice is both everything and nothing as you expect it to be. It is a city that it is impossible to visit 'blind' with no previous ideas or imaginings, but it still manages both to charm and to surprise. Venice was the last of the quintessential 'must-see' Italian cities that I visited. Somehow, I was never really so interested in her, I thought, as friends had told me, she would be a kind of majestic disney-world type place, a ghost city, full of ...
...made a home. Venice is built on hundreds of interlinked islands. The bridge to the mainland and dirty, unloved Mestre is just over a hundred years old, but it takes more than that to accustom the Venetians to the links to the mainland. Most of the work and workforce is in Mestre, but Venice is so very different. From the initial trip on train or by rail across the bridge, best taken in the morning when there is a hint of mist on the horizon, Venice ...

womble 11.11.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...spend a few days in Venice at the end of the holiday, and had a fantastic (if expensive!) time. Think "Venice"...what comes to mind? No doubt canals, a rich history, gondolas and a terrible stench in summer...well, this may sum Venice up briefly, but the city has plenty more to offer. Read on for a brief guide to one of Europe's most fascinating cities. THINGS TO SEE: I'm guessing people have heard that Venice is impossible to navigate without ...
...taste of the sights that Venice has to offer - but we found that rather than using a map or a guidebook, the best way to explore was just to wander round randomly - that way you end up going off the beaten track and finding some very pretty little side streets and bridges. It really is a beautiful city, with far too much to see! SHOPPING: If you want big department stores and supermarkets, then you're in the wrong place! Venice's shops are mostly ...

emmorticia 07.10.2003 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...in a hotel just outside Venice actually in a place called Mestre which was a nice place, plenty of shops. However I did find them quite expensive compared to what we have here in Britain.Mind you I find that when I go to most clothes shops abroad. Anyway we got to Venice ok and asked for some help to find our hotel and got there. We had a nice and warm welcome from the receptionist and she even helped us carry some luggage upto our room. We stayed ...
...a short bus ride into Venice and went for a walk.When we got there we were near the canal. Venice does not have streets as it is all on water. It was like a maze going over all these bridges and walking through all these narrow streets. It was a bit confusing actually. I had actually been to Venice before for the day with my family when we went to Italy in 1988 and I vaguely remebered some of it but not in much detail. As we were walking sometimes ...

coolchanty 13.12.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...it’s easy to get to Venice from the UK, particularly from the Southeast. There are flights from all the London airports but it may be worth travelling a little further initially to Stansted airport to get a bargain-bucket Ryanair flight. I personally find Ryanair to be a good, reliable (and more importantly CHEAP) airline and for my last 3 trips I paid no more than £60 return a shot (comparatively for a British Airways flight you can pay at ...
...you into the centre of Venice in approximately 40 minutes – then you can take the vaporetti or a water taxi to your hotel (please don’t ever get a water taxi in Venice unless money is no object – you will surely be ripped off – the vaporetti is the watery equivalent of the tube or subway and it’s a marvellous and cheap service). My recommendation of where to stay is the Villa Stella on the Lido. It’s a wonderful, ...

julietta 22.08.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...we took the train to Venice - where we stayed for 4 nights before returning home to Norway (via Milan). The trip report is divided into two. This report will focus on our stay in Venice. If you want to read about our stay in Milan please check a separate review. Arriving in Venice The train ride from Milan to Santa Lucia railway station in Venice gave me another chance to read the guidebook. It was a very comfortable train ride by the way. The Eurostar ...
...guess everybody has heard about Venice and seen pictures of it. I knew that it was a city full of canals but I was not aware of the fact that this is basically an island and I also discovered that it is quite a small town. According to the guidebook there are about 70.000 people living in Venice at the moment and there are over 14 millions visitors each year! When we came out of the Santa Lucia railway station we met Venice just like I had pictured ...

gard 25.07.2003 (18.03.2005) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

My first trip to Venice was via a package holiday. We spent a day there and I am going to share with you my fantastic day. We had an early start. by taking the train from the station behind the hotel to catch a boat to take us on the Grand Canal(Canal Grande) to the St Martin's Square(Piazza San Macro) in the centre of Venice. Got off the boat to take a walk on the waterfront-I could already see the gondolas parked. Venice is a very special city ...
...would walk pass to see Venice for the last time before being locked in prison-hence the name Bridge of Sights. Walking across the piazza, we came to the school of Lace. It became a dead art about 20 years ago but the Italian government invested in the area and hence the school to keep the old tradition. Venice is famous for its lace, especially in the Renaissance period when she was an important financial and political port. Lace is an luxurious ...

medgenie 28.06.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...I first went to Venice as part of a college trip, as we were studying Commedia dell'Arte, an Italian theatre form dating back to medieval times. Commedia is a massive part of Venetian culture, and the hundreds of masks you will see on sale are part of that culture, as is the annual Carnavale. However, it wasn't that that caused me to fall head over heel sin love with Venice. What caused me to fall in love with Venice WAS Venice. As soon as you get ...
...all that aside, just enjoy Venice for it's spectacular beauty. Nowhere else will you find such an amazing city, and it can only ever be appreciated by actually going there. The best times to visit the city are at night, as the tourist areas will generally be quieter, and there is an almost tangible feeling of romance and excitement in the air as you stand in St Mark's Square, lit only by the lights shining on the beautiful building. One final tip ...

spacemonkey 23.07.2001 (08.03.2002) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

Venice was the first European city I visited and it was love at first sight. We were actually staying in Vicenza on business and our host took us to Venice for the day. It was a rather blustery day in February but even this could not detract from the amazing beauty of this unique city. I have since returned to Venice in summer when it has a very different atmosphere but whether it is winter or summer it always has a hypnotic charm. Venice was built ...
...ruled by the doges. Venice arises from the water like a mermaid. It is a city but a city without typical city noises or smells. Its roads are canals and its land is for pedestrians. Everywhere the sounds of the water impose a soft slow rhythm to tempt the tourist to linger and ponder on the contrived beauty surrounding him. The water, however, is the only natural feature of Venice. There are no parks, gardens and few flowers or trees. Venice stands ...

Freespirit 17.03.2001 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...they have never been to Venice they know it is not worth seeing (any more) as it has become a kind of Italian Disneyland which the inhabitants have fled and where tourists only meet other tourists. They would rather abstain and preserve their dreams and complain the fact that they were born too late. Oh, had they lived when Byron stayed there and used to swim home after parties pushing a board with a candle through the canals to show him the way ...
...go by. Venice is not only narrow alleyways and canals, but also the lagoon and open water. I may take a boat to the islands Murano, Burano and Torcello and enjoy the wind and the waves for a while. Or I go to the Lido, preferably at the end of the season when the beach is already nearly empty, but the facilities are still there. Stretched out on a deckchair with a cappuccino or two beside me, I become engrossed in Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" ...

MALU 18.02.2003 (19.02.2003) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

Venice does seem to be a place that is hit or miss with people. Those who love it cite the romantic location; the vibrancy; the sheer difference of being somewhere different. Those who hate it can't stand the pervading watery smell; the cost of everything; or the simple fact that it's always so very, very busy. I easily fall into the first category, and yet the crowds still annoy me. I like going somewhere to see different things, but I also like ...
...Torcello This is where Venice began. It's about 45 minutes or so on the water bus to visit an ancient monastery and climb a bell tower with views over the whole lagoon. The boat will seem busy, but the crowds thin out on arrival and the giant mosaic in the monastery is worth the trip on its own. Arsenale While you can't get into the naval base here you can get an appreciation for the size of the place walking around the giant walls defending it. ...

blackpuddinonnabike 13.11.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)

...of the main city of Venice is easily covered on foot and every alleyway has its fascination, many opening suddenly into large squares or to little bridges over the enormous number of canals that thread throught the city. For a photographer there are so many challenges: trying to capture the sense of peace in some places, dealing with the strong contrasts in lighting, choosing the perfect vantage point to photograph the reflections of the buildings ...
...to see in the lagoon: Venice has nearby islands which are effectively suburbs of the city but which have their own characters: the nearest is San Michele whose Vaporetto stop is named Cimetero. We once got off there just to see what was on the island, unaware that "cimetero" means "cemetery." Don't miss it, though: there's nothing gloomy about the place, just a sense of stillness, some fascinating sights, including the graves of Stravinsky and Diaghilev ...

Floon 16.01.2003 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)