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 the echoes of a wonderful, decadent past, with no heed to the future, and she didn't interest me the way that Rome, Naples or Florence did.
So when I took a job in Venice, it was almost as if she was playing a trick on me, goading me, and here I am, after a couple of months, both charmed and captivated by the watery city that I have 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 rises from the dampness to claim her past and in some ways, her future too.
Yes, there are the tackiest tourist stalls from the Rialto to San Marco's and the trudge of tourists is relentless, but it never detracts from the beauty. A stroll through San Polo or the further reaches of Castello or Dorsoduro will spirit you into a much quieter, homelier Venice, where people really do live and work without the constant buzz of cars.
San Marco's is a definite must-see.. approached from the back streets, it jumps at you, so different from any other of Venice's piazzas. The Arsenal is worth taking a walk to, simply because you past through the heart of working-class Venice.
Suddenly you will find yourself somewhere different, somewhere new, lost even, and it will all seem worth it.. it isn't as hard to navigate around as it seems. The signposting is a little idiosyncratic is you head off the main paths, but if you keep walking, you will find the Grand Canal eventually! It remains a complete mystery to me, but I have never been lost for more than about 30 minutes! Indeed, a friend of mine who has lived in Venice for 10 years told me just last week how he got lost the day before, trying to find his own apartment!! so don't fight it, just relax and allow for a little more time!
There are so many things to see, I can't list them all and certainly no better than a good guide book would!
The traghettos, when they are running (they are the gondolas which cross the Grand Canal between the bridges) are worth a ride, it costs only 800L (about 20p) most people stand up while they are crossing and they are quite fun, just remember to pay because noone will explicitly ask you, and you are just expected to know how much they are.. there are no signs up!
The vaporettos (water buses) are more expensive and personally, I prefer walking, and just one final hint, before I write too much.. go and see La Fenice.. the opera house which burnt down in 1994 (Or sometime round then). It is desperately sad to see it in ruins, although it is being rebuilt, but it is also fascinating to see the little corners of burnt Venice, still picking herself up to her feet.
Venice retains her capacity to charm, and for those who stay beyond a couple of days and have the opportunity to explore, she takes a deeper and deeper hold.
Good luck.. you might never leave!
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Advantages: lots to see, unusual with the canals, interesting place to visit Disadvantages: water can smell in summer, money vanishes too quickly, not good for a long holiday
emmorticia 07.10.2003 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Venice (Italy)
Nov 11th, 2001
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