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Venice Italy

Venice Italy

Alilaguna Vaporetto in Venice Italy

Alilaguna Vaporetto in Venice Italy

Venice is at the top of my list of visited cities to return to. 

Venice is one of the most known places to visit in the world. Their canals, boats and Gondola rides are world famous. I thought, as some of you who have not been may think, that Venice would be overly commercialized and overpriced. I was convinced that I would not like the place. Well this is my second visit and hopefully I will make it back. Read on for how I spent 2 days in this wonderful place and came to love it.  

 

Water Taxi

Water Taxi

A Taxi ride is a must do thing while here. 

Rosita and I arrived in Venice by train around noon on a Wednesday. The city was just as beautiful as it was on our previous trip. We decided to go to our hotel by taxi. The water taxis of Venice are a little on the pricey side but is something you should do at least once while here. Our taxi ride took us approximately 10 minutes and cost us 75 Euros. The vaporettos or water buses are much less expensive and go to or close to everywhere in Venice, to nearby islands and to the airport, which is on the mainland. The vaporetto to the airport is a different company than the ones you see mostly around the island.  

 

Boscolo Venetia

Boscolo Venetia

 

The hotel staff is a great source for where to go and where to eat.  

The taxi delivered us to the Boscolo Venetia, Autograph collection, a Marriott hotel. It is very nice and has a very accommodating staff. They took a lot of time showing us places to go and to eat. They also arranged a free tour of a glass blowing shop on Murano for the next day. Our room was not quite ready so we walked a couple of blocks to Al Mariner and had lunch.  

 

Venice Canal Side Restaurant

Venice Canal Side Restaurant

We had our first meal in a quiet restaurant right on a small canal. 

This is small quiet little restaurant and had a small plate menu and had tables set up right on a canal. It was a very relaxing and good lunch. The tables at most of these small restaurants are very close to each other, so you feel like you are dining with your neighbors. We ate next to a very nice couple from Australia who had taken sabbaticals from their jobs, rented out their house and were traveling through Europe for two and a half years. I looked at Rosita and she shook her head no. I guess I will have to work on her a little more. I know she would love it.  

 

Boscolo Venetia

Boscolo Venetia

Our hotel, Boscolo Venetia is a very nice place to stay. 

We were quite tired by now so we walked back to our hotel for a short nap. The wait was worth it because we were upgraded into a nice Junior suite. The living area was downstairs and the bedroom was in a loft above it. There were bathrooms on each floor so we each had our own shower and it was quite luxurious.  

 

 

Murano Glass Blower

Murano Glass Blower

It is amazing to watch someone make a glass out of a round gooey glob. 

The next morning, we took a boat ride to Murano to a glass blowing shop. We watched a couple of guys blow glasses for a while and walked through their showroom. We didn’t see anything we liked here so we left and wandered around the island. There are canals here and Murano is very beautiful. It has a different feel than Venice but is a very interesting island to visit. We shopped, had lunch and watched some more glass blowing. I finally found a little sculpture I liked and made a purchase.  

 

Burano

Burano

Who knew that lace comes in so many different designs and is so popular? 

Soon after lunch we got on a water bus and rode out to Burano. Rosita and I both loved this place. It is smaller than Murano with smaller canals and the old buildings are very colorful.  The intimacy, I believe makes this place stand out. This island is known for its lace, much like Murano is known for its glass blowing. Going to Murano and Burano take up most of a day and should be a high priority for a day outing. 

 

Venice Alleyway

Venice Alleyway

We tried to get lost in Venice 

The next day in Venice we did what I highly recommend as the best activity in Venice. Get up early in the morning and start walking. Try to get lost. Venice is an island so you can’t get lost. The more you wander the more amazing sites you will see. Right before we arrived at Piazza San Marcos we stopped for lunch. We knew we were near the Piazza by the prices on the menu. Another reason to just wander and get lost is it seems the further from the Piazza the food is better, the restaurants are more intimate, the prices are more reasonable and the service is better.  

 

Piazza San Marcos

Piazza San Marcos

Piazza san Marco or ST Mark’s Square is a great place to people watch

We wandered upon Piazza San Marco and spent some time gazing at Saint Mark’s Basilica, other buildings and people watching. You can go in and tour the Basilica and I have heard that is a must while you are here, but it this was our last full day in Europe and we wanted to see more of the island.  

 

Actv Vaporetto Venice Italy

Actv Vaporetto Venice Italy

The Vaporetto is a great way to tour the island 

When we got tired of walking we purchased a 24-hour Vaporetto pass. The 24-hour pass will cost you about the same as 2 trips. A one trip fare is good for 90 minutes. These travel all over the island and is a great way to tour. The buses will get crowded during the day so we went to the back and found an open air seat on one side of the Vaporetto and rode around the city. I started noticing all different kinds of boats and tried to take as many pictures of them as we could. Check out my article The Boats of Venice for more boat information and photos. Something I have never seen before is Police on jet skis. I guess this is Venice’s answer to Motorcycle Cops since they have no roads. We enjoyed our last afternoon in beautiful Venice riding the bus and taking photos of this great city. 

 

Trattoria Misericordia

Trattoria Misericordia

Our best meal in Venice was at Trattoria Misericordia on our last night. 

We finally got off of the Vaporetto and started walking back to the hotel. On a side canal a few blocks from the hotel we found the most amazing little restaurant. It was around 7 so the place looked pretty empty and we weren’t sure whether we should eat here or not. To be fair this is very early for dinner by Italian standards. Our fears were unfounded because we had the best service and food while in Venice. We sat outside and we each had a glass of wine and an appetizer. In the middle of the appetizer it started to rain. Our waiter rushed out and moved us and everything inside and we continued to have a very remarkable meal. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip! 

 

Venice Italy

Venice Italy

Our 2-day itinerary in Venice 

There are many other things to do in Venice. I think I could spend a month or 2 here and not get bored. For Rosita and me this was a great way to spend 2 days in the City of Canals.  

 

To see more photos of Venice go to my photo gallery 

 

 

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8 Comments

  1. Erica Larson says:

    Venice is on my top 5 places I want to go! I really want to go with my boyfriend once we’re married. It just looks so romantic!

    • Joe Henley says:

      Hi Erica, Venice is a great place to visit. I hope you and your boyfriend make it. Please stop back by here and let me know how it goes

  2. Donna says:

    Joe, I enjoyed reading your article on Venice, but I think my jaw is sore over your photos – many of them are just stunning! I could spend hours just viewing them by themselves and learning all about Venice through the photos and the stories they create on their own. Great job – you must have had an amazing two days! You are far braver than I – two days I think is enough time for me to pack and unpack lol! Good luck convincing your other half on that traveling for a couple years – I’m working on my hubby too – we can do it right? Have a great day – can’t wait to read more of your adventures!

    • Joe Henley says:

      Donna, Thank you for your kind words. I don’t think I will ever convince her on the traveling for 2 years. We have grandkids that live 7 miles from us so not sure I would really want to do that 🙂 I hope you return and let me know how your travels are going.

  3. Amy says:

    Thanks for sharing your experiences and tips for what to see and do! I’ve been to Italy before, but not Venice, so it is definitely on my list when I go back! 🙂

    • Joe Henley says:

      Amy, Thank you for commenting. I hope you get to Venice one day. It is an amazing place. Then again there are many amazing places in Italy. When you do get to visit, please come back and let me know how it went.

  4. Christen says:

    Thanks for this post – I’m really hoping to return to Venice soon, as I haven’t visited in 10 year! I’ll keep these activities in mind when I do make it there :).

    • Joe Henley says:

      You’re welcome. I hope you get back soon. Venice has turned out to be one of my favorite cites in Europe. We hope to make it back again also.

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