There are few cities in the world where I think you can genuinely say they have taken your breath away; either architecturally, culturally or gastronomically. New York City, Tokyo, Rome and Paris are amongst the few in my opinion. Well Venice now joins the club.
Apart from the sheer wonder that someone thought to build a series of marble palaces on a lagoon, coupled with the fact that it hasn’t yet sank due to rising sea levels, it is hard not to go ‘wow’ as you explore the picturesque canals and narrow passageways, palaces and cicchetti bars that make up this unique and frankly epic city.
I can imagine the wow factor being tainted slightly if travelling in peak season. Thankfully we visited in early February for a pre-40th birthday, child-free get-away and rather than fog, we were greeted by blue skies and springlike temperatures. Not only that the city felt relatively devoid of tour groups in comparison to what it would be like in the height of summer, when the combination of tourists, the heat and the smell from the canals could, I imagine, be overbearing.
We based ourselves in the lovely boutique Rosa Salva Hotel (owned by the famous bakery) which was a mere 4 minutes’ walk from Piazza San Marco and around 15 minutes (or longer depending on how many times you take a wrong turn!) to the Rialto Bridge and Cannaregio. It turned out to be a great base for exploring the city, and not only that it was pretty good value, coming it at around £75 per night for B&B. And considering the pastries are from the bakery next door, it is safe to say the breakfast was good too.
There are no shortage of sights in Venice. With our body clocks now accustomed to naturally waking up at an ungodly hour, we managed to pack in most of our sightseeing in a day at a very leisurely pace, interspersed with various pit-stops to linger at a canal way or to refuel. All achieved despite the odd wrong turn where passageways stopped abruptly, dropping into canal ways. Thank goodness for GPS; seriously I have no idea how you could navigate the city without it! There were at least two occasions where we literally walked in a circular loop around our hotel without realising, and that was with GPS.
Whilst we did see all the main sights – Piazza San Marco, Basilica San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), the Rialto Bridge and Grand Canal, Rialto Market, Bridge of Sighs, Galleria dell’Accademia and the Jewish Ghetto – I should say that we didn’t venture into Basilica San Marco, the Palazzo or up St Mark’s Clock Tower as we thought we would leave something for the next time we visit. My top tip would be to visit the (free) rooftop terrace at the very swish T Fondaco Dei Tedeschi department store for views of the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge.
In terms of those refuelling spots, we hit up Pizzeria All’Anfora in Santa Croce – not too far from the Rialto Market – for huge, delicious thin-crusted pizza (for around €8-10) for lunch. We snuck in a cheeky gelato from Ca d’oro.
And for dinner we opted to do what the locals do and checked out some of the great cicchetti, essentially Venetian tapas, available at many of the bacardi (wine bars). There are a cluster along Fondamenta Priuli, close to the Accademia and Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The trick is to have a quick browse of the cicchetti options at the bar, then order and eat standing at the bar. Three cicchetti plus two glasses of Prosecco came in at around €7 which is what we would be close to paying for one glass of Prosecco in Edinburgh. I preferred the atmosphere in Cantinone gia Schiavi (with its floor to ceiling walls of wine) but the Ciccheti were slightly better in Osteria Al Squero. Both are opposite the San Trovaso Square where you can see gondola’s being made.
A lot of people and the guide books state that eating out in Venice is expensive. I can’t say that we found that but we did tend to venture off the main routes and did the whole grab and go thing at Dal Moro’s – Fresh Pasta to Go on the night we arrived. Expect to pay €5-7. Be warned you aren’t meant to linger on canal ways or bridges eating or drinking so having an alfresco picnic can be a little difficult.
Having managed to see all of the main sights on our first full day, it enabled us to spend our second day doing some island hopping. Yes, that right. We boarded the number 12 Vaporetto (the water bus) from Fondamente Nove in Cannaregio to check out the more tranquil and quaint Burano and Murano. The former is famous for its lace and brightly coloured fishermen’s houses, the latter famous for its glass making. Burano was definitely my favourite. I went a little trigger happy and its safe to say this is an Instagram paradise.
Although I have to say that our lovely set-price menu (either €13 or €17 for two courses plus 1/4 carafe of wine or water) with the locals at the Trattoria Al Corallo in Murano was certainly a highlight too. The simplicity of our menu – spaghetti pomodoro plus fried fish and side salad and for G spaghetti with mussels followed by grilled sardines and a side salad plus a cheeky tiramisu – plus being surrounded by Italian’s was fab.
I would recommend considering the all-day 20 Euro pass on the Vaporetto if venturing to the islands, as it means you have a bit more flexibility. Not only that but it also means you could jump on board one of the many Vaporetto’s that go up and down the Grand Canal. We took the Number 1 Vaporetto from Venezia Santa Lucia train station all the way to San Marco which was an excellent way to get a feel for life on and along the lifeline that is the Grand Canal. At one point we were cruising alongside a gondola and entertained by the singer and accordion player who were serenading its passengers.
Whilst on the subject of the Vaporetto, if you are thinking of taking the Blue Line from the Airport to San Marco, bear in mind the journey takes around 1 hour 30 minutes and can be a little tedious if travelling after nightfall. A trick we cottoned on to on the way back to the airport was to make our way to Fondamente Nove in Cannaregio, which was around a 25 minutes walk to San Marco.
What can I say…if you haven’t been, go! Venice is truly unique. This little weekender was the perfect end to my 30’s. I wonder what adventures await.
Travel for travel's sake 
Awesome tips! We are going in April. Hopefully it won’t be too heaving then either but I suspect it might be. Will definitely try some of your recommendations.
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Thanks for that Anna, will let you know hiw we faired if we manage to get back as we haven’t got GPS.
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