Today we ll take you to our beloved neighbor country, the stylish one, Italy! The ultimate destination especially when it comes to quick getaways and weekend city breaks. A little bit of the italian style, the cheap air tickets, the elegant Italian language, the wine, the cheese, the Happy hours makes Italy an easy travel destination for us all! We have written about Milan, we owe a blog post about Rome which was our second journey as a couple and today we will present you the beautiful Venice!
In Venice we found ourselves by chance and we could even say we avoided it a bit because of the numerous tourists that have been invading it in recent years! Having won an air voucher in a competition we decided to visit it for a weekend and of course the experience was wonderful! Unfortunately we visited Venice after the heavy rainfall that hit the country but luckily for us the timing worked out to our favour. Not many tourists and we enjoyed the city as the locals do!
Food
Italy and food… It is a combination well known all over the world!!! And when we talk about food we mean pizzas and pasta, i.e. spaghetti!
From pizzas, of course, we ate countless margaritas and diabolas! The cost was just 2.50 €/piece! We picked out the pizzeria Quanto Pasta where you will find a kind man from Turkey who will welcome you with the most perfect smile and there is room inside the store to relax from your walk (most shops are only for take away so there is not many places to sit and just have a pizza).
Then we choose the other favorite Italian habit, which is none other than spaghetti and gnocchi (just try them with cheese and basil sause)! Everything you can imagine about pasta you will find it there! In the city you will find many shops to serve delicious dishes, with prices starting from 15 €/person (1 plate plus service fee, without salad or any drinks).
Drink
So… we ve talked about food, now lets talk about drinks! When we say drinks in Venice we mean 3 things… espresso cafe, Aperol and wine! All three wonderful and favorite, each one for a different time of the day!
Well… espresso you will find literally everywhere! With prices starting from €1 ala Italiano… You enter a bar, you order, you drink and leave in 5 minutes the most!! Thats the Italian way! We really loved a small shop in an alley, ideal for a break from your walk! You can have a cup of coffee in San Marco Square, but prepare for steep prices. The most historic and famous café of the square is the Florian Cafe which is preferred by tourists (a tray with beautiful glasses of coffee and ornaments costs more than €10)! Look for the cheaper solution in the Dorsoduro area!
Aperol Spritz you will also find everywhere… quick stop for aperitivo, don’t sit down for ages! Prices start from €3 per glass! The shops we visited were Corner pub and Bacarando in Corte Dell Orso.
Finally for wine lovers the choices are also many but here we suggest you choose the Black Jack which will definitely draw your attentions for its special appearance, at the corner of a beautiful little square. Combine your wine with some cheese! Prices for a bottle vary considerably depending on the brand but a glass starts at €6.
Stay – Accommodation
In general Venice is considered an expensive city and indeed the accommodation especially in the center is quite a bit of a crush. However, since it is worth staying in the center of the city, at the beautiful picturesque alleys and next to the gondola we recommend the accommodation to be somewhere centrally located! Generally in Italy there are apartments with many rooms and common areas (kitchen-bathroom) which are located in central locations and cost a little money. We stayed at one of these in a central location and paid 120 €/2 nights just search on the Airbnb platform.
What to see in Venice
- The main attraction of Venice is Venice itself! Enjoy walking for endless hours, get lost in the colorful alleys, admire the canals, photograph the beautiful corners and generally step away from the main center area! You will find yourself in magical places and you will be absolutely by yourself!
- The second largest attraction is the square of San Marco, which has taken its name from the cathedral that dominates the square!
- The bridge of sighs has been turned into a symbol of love and is almost behind the church of San Marco.
- The Palace of the Doge (20 € per person), the residence of the leaders of Venice.
What to do in Venice
The most well-known experience in Venice is of course the vaporetto ride (fairly economical-generally the transport network is huge and waterful!-it has many stops which you can easily locate & spot and contain detailed information for the itineraries of Vaporeti) or the gondola ride to the Grande Canal. In any case, you have the opportunity to wander through the city’s canals and admire it through a different perspective!
Note that the gondola ride (which in our opinion shows neither romantic, nor tourist, nor scenic… Sorry!) It costs from 80 €/30 minutes and more during commercial hours! We had read a lot about gondoliers and romance and songs like Amore mio etc… We were told that nothing like this was ever seen, except thta in real life the Gondoliers just did their job, wore some funny hats and most of them weren’t even Italians. We do not say it to deconstruct the experience (in the end we did not try it by ourselves) we simply write about what what we saw, because after all it is all about expectations. Its You choice guys! We d love to hear your opinion after all! We trully believe that Gondolas in Alsace are more romantic than in Venice!
Finally, it is customary to have a one-day excursion to the Murano Island, known for its handmade laces. To get to the island we suggest that you take a 24-hour ticket with 20 € per person (there is also a simple ticket which is not suitable for you who want to explore Murano for some hours).
48 Hours in Venice
We arrived on Friday afternoon and left at Sunday noon !
On the first day we recommend walking the city, a gondola ride (for those of you who insist on doing so) and taste Italian flavors and wine! On the second day (start early travellers!) Visit Piazza San Marco, the cathedral and the surrounding sights and then travel to Murano Island! Returning indulge in delicious Italian treats! Third day wake up and enjoy fragrant espresso before the first tourists wake up, take a photo walk, grab a margarita pizza and get ready for the ride back home!
To and from the airport
Access to the city of Venice is very easy, no reservation is required unless you are traveling high season, with one of the following ways:
Waterbus with 14 €/person/route for 75 minutes
Bus with 8 €/per person/route for 40 minutes
This was our proposal to enjoy Venice within 48 hours! We recommend sport shoes, a raincoat, bags (for feet), a scarf for the evening and good mood!!! We hope you had fun with us and soon see your own pictures of the beautiful Venice!
