Venice
The Floating City
Welcome to my first post in the Italy section.
A country so charming, unique and rich in history that it is almost unfair to the rest of the world.
Just take a look at the main focus of today, Venice. A city unlike any other in the world and one that has fascinated mankind for ages.
Now Venice is a city that’s truly one of a kind in terms of charm, beauty but also when it comes to it’s layout and how busy it is, it can be overwhelming.
That’s where this guide comes in to provide you with some useful information and to make your Venice trip as pleasant as possible!
DISCLAIMER: As much as the title suggest, Surviving Venice does not mean Venice is extremely dangerous.
There are no sea monsters, no haunted homes trying to swallow you whole… the plague has been gone for hundreds of years now.
In other words: Surviving Venice is gonna be a piece of cake, your chances of survival are high to very high😉😅
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Navigation
Back to a serious note, even though Venice is safe and truly impressive everywhere you look, still there are some things you must know.
Navigating the streets of Venice can be really challenging for example!
There are hundreds if not thousands of small streets that lead to nowhere or that will just make you lose any sense of direction.
Sure those streets are charming and a sight to behold, even the smallest streets and canals can take your breath away. Seeing the gondola’s sway in the waters or laying your eyes upon the authentic Venetian homes for example.
But when you are so desperately searching for your hotel room at night(Yes like I did haha)
Then those streets do get the better of you, especially at night!
That’s why I truly recommend you to use Google Maps or perhaps even better download an offline map like: MAPS.ME, a true lifesaver!
If you are stubborn and think you’ll be fine on your own then atleast remember the biggest canals and use these as your reference point.
The biggest canal that runs through the city is also the one with the famous Venetian bridge: Ponte Di Rialto.
Walking here is charming and if you don’t venture off too far then finding your way back to this canal is fairly easy!
But if you have wandered off too far into the maze that Venice is then good luck and my condolences to you😅
Mass Tourism
Bringing us straight to the next point, crowds.. and then I mean huge fucking crowds.
Venice has been a city that fascinated people for hundreds of years now and no other city has suffered more from mass tourism than Venice did.
Sure it offers a huge boost to the economy but I’m sure the locals wouldn’t mind it to be a bit less dramatic.
The small charming streets are just not built for the amounts of people it sees this day.
In some streets you’ll just have to wiggle your way forward step by step, slowly but surely reaching your destination.
Main cause of this are the cruiseships bringing in thousands of people.
Flooding the streets for a few hours and then boarding again at the end of the day.
Don’t worry though! There are some places that are bigger and can withstand those huge crowds, the famous Piazza San Marco for example.
Crowded? Yeah definitely! But it is such a huge square that you can still take in all the amazing architecture without bouncing into someone every damn second haha.
Same goes for certain areas, I found that the further away you go the less crowded it becomes!
Those are the type of areas that truly give you the authentic Venetian feel.
So my advice would be to stroll around the outer neighbourhoods that are less touristic.
Or go for option Number 2: take a boat to the other islands in Venice: Venezia Murano and Lido di Venezia.
Much less touristic than the main island and a great place to rewind from the huge crowds!
Hotel availability
So my first visit to the city was years ago back in 2016 around July/August after visiting Austria first.
Now I have no idea what in my right mind was going on but I decided to just take a bus from Austria to Venice without booking my accommodation in advance…
Instant regret followed😅💀
Book your accommodation in advance ladies and gentleman because every hotel I walked into was full or way too expensive!
Perhaps this was because we visited during a weekend or we just had some very bad luck but it wasn’t the most pleasant start haha.
In the end some helpful staff of a hotel made some phone calls and found us a room for 180eu per night!
After a long and exhausting hike towards the place we found it to be completely trash!
One of the worst and most expensive hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in and far from worth it.
So the silver lining of this is that you should always book your accommodation up front and especially in Venice seeing how busy it can be.
Safety
Now the title might suggest that Venice is gonna be the place of your death or that you should atleast watch over your shoulders… WRONG!
Venice is one of the safest cities I have ever visited.
Walking the Venetian streets at night might give you the unfounded fear but none of this is truly grounded!
Walking through Venice whether it be day or night is completely safe and will instead bring you lots of pleasant memories to bring back home!
I found Venice to be much more peaceful and safe than for example the capital Rome.
Where taking the public transport is a constant battle to keep your belongings safe and where the streets can feel ominous as fuck!
The places in Venice I’d recommend you to be a bit more cautious are the bigger attractions where huge crowds gather, like the: Ponte Di Rialto or the Piazza San Marco.
Attractions
Now nobody visits a city to just lay in their hotel room 24/7 right, you at least come to visit some of it’s amazing attractions. Therefore I’d always say to do some research and find out where you want to go!
Sure do keep some time free to just wander around and let the city indulge you with unexpected surprises.
But also make sure to visit the places you truly want to see!
Coming back home and finding out you missed out on some amazing spots is a pretty big disappointment.
So here are a few major attractions in Venice that you shouldn’t miss out I’d say!:
- Teatro La Fenice
- Rewind at the Venezian island of Lido
- Piazza San Marco with the Basilica di San Marco
- Climb the San Marco Bell tower
- Cannaregio area
- Canal Grande with the Ponte Di Rialto
- Doge’s Palace
- Just wander around the charming and romantic streets
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