10 things to do in Venice
This year, one of my dreams came true – I visited Venice! So, Venice is a really special city in Italy, because it is composed of 118 small islands separated by canals and connected by bridges. It is the capital of the Veneto region and really famous for its architecture.
I really enjoyed staying in Venice. Although I visited already a lot of European cities, Venice really amazed me. It’s something completely different from all other cities I travelled to so far. First of all, there are no cars, buses etc. This makes it very charming, because you don’t hear annoying sounds of cars and you don’t risk to get injured by a car. Second, there are only a few streets, most of Venice is built out of canals. This means that you just cannot cross the road, but you have to pass the canal over an existing bridge. Finally, instead of buses or taxis, you take vaporettos, which are water taxis or water buses in Venice.
If you also want to discover this charming city, here is my top 10 things to do in Venice list:
Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is really one of the main attractions in Venice. Basically, you cannot miss it, because it is the main water-traffic corridor in the city. It goes from the lagoon near the railway station of Santa Lucia to the Saint Mark Basin and in between is is formed like an S.
Basically, it is a really busy canal, with a lot of vaporettos, gondolas and also private boats, so that you’ll not really miss the sounds of a real city. But it is a lot more charming with the blue water and the charming architecture. Most of the buildings are a little bit in a bad state. This is mostly because of the humidity and water.
Along the whole Grand Canal, you have shops and restaurants with terraces, which is really charming for dinner. I really enjoyed eating just near the canal with all the beautiful lights.
Gondola
I know this is really touristic, but you just can’t go to Venice without taking a Gondola ride. If you walk along the Grand Canal, you see those Gondolas everywhere and this makes you also want to do it.
Basically it is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat which is propelled by a gondolier. Today, it is mostly for tourists, but for centuries, it was the common watercraft in Venice for transportation. Their prices are fixed, so it is almost impossible to deal with the prices.
If you want to take a gondola ride, be sure that you’ll avoid the more traffic hours, because at that time, there is nothing with romance, you’ll be boat on boat or gondola on gondola waiting to continue the ride. You can chose your point of departure, so we chose the one on the Zattere and not on the Grand Canal.
Even though the price of 80€ fir 30 minutes is very expensive, I think you should go for it once in your lifetime.
Piazza San Marco
The Piazza San Marco is the principal public square of Venice. You’ll find different famous buildings on it. The most impressive one is definitely the St. Mark’s Basilica. It is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice and the most known church in the city. Is is connected to the Doge’s Palace, which is also located next to the Piazza San Marco.
Close to the St. Mark’s Basilica, we have the St. Mark’s Clocktower, which is a tower containing a very beautiful clock. It was built in the 15th century and placed where it could be visible from the waters of the lagoon.
The Piazza San Marco is always full of people and pigeons. There are some nice cafes on the Piazza, but if you want to have something to drink there, be sure to have a seat while you’re looking at the prices. We paid 8 € for a 33cl coca cola.
As the Piazza San Marco is not far above the sea level, it is very quick to flood during the Acqua Alta. When we were there, we noticed that at one point, there was a lot of water on the Piazza, which is really strange. People had to go over a plank to get into the church without having wet feet.
Campanile
The Campanile is also located on the Piazza San Marco next to the St. Mark’s Basilica. It is the bell tower of the St. Mark’s Basilica and also one of the most recognizable symbols of Venice. The tower is 98,6 meters (323 ft) tall and is standing isolated from the basilica alone in a corner of the Piazza San Marco.
What makes the Campanile worth it to be on my top ten list, is the fact that you can visit the top of the tower. As I always want to climb up on every building, it was an absolutely must do. For 6 €, you can take a lift up on the top of the Campanile. Once you’re there, you’ll have an amazing view over the Piazza San Marco and also over the Lagoon of Venice with the Santa Maria della Saute.
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore is one of the islands of Venice and located in the south of the main island. You can see it from the Piazza San Marco. Basically, it is known for its church and the bell tower, which is still in use.
If you want to get there, you have to take the Vaporetto. I really enjoyed it, because this little island is not so crowded with people as the city center of Venice itself. It is a very charming place where you have the view over the whole Venetian Lagoon.
As for the Campanile, you can also get up on the bell tower of the church of San Giorgio Maggiore. This one costs only 4 € and you’ll also get up by lift. It is more relaxed as the Campanile, because there are not so many people.
If you want to have a little rest, take a Vaporetto to this small island, it is absolutely worth it!
Murano
Murano is also a series of islands which are linked by bridges located in the Venetian Lagoon. It is about 1,5 km (0,9 miles) away from Venice and also reachable by Vaporetto. Basically, Murano is known for its glass making. This all started in 1291, where all the glassmakers in Venice were forced to move to Murano because of the risk of fires.
Immediately when you arrive in Murano, there is a guy who will take you with him to a glass factory. As we didn’t know where to go, we followed him, but at the end, you couldn’t see how the glassmakers work and all the things that you can buy in their shop are more expensive as in the other shops in the center of Murano – so don’t fall for this. Explore Murano on you own.
Basically, there is one big street in Murano with plenty of shops which sell all things formed in Murano glass. Most of them have a sign in its window that you aren’t allowed to take pictures, but some of the works are so amazing, that I simply couldn’t resist to take pictures.
Even if you don’t buy something, it is just amazing to look at all the shops and marvel at the glass fabrications. They can do anything out of glass.
At one point, we saw some people looking inside a building and there we go, there was a glass factory. A man was forming some hot glass. For me this was the highlight of the day and my mission of Murano island was accomplished.
I recommend you to visit Murano in the morning, because it is less crowded as in the afternoon.
Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge or in Italian, the Ponte di Rialto, is the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal and also one of the four bridges spanning it.
Unfortunately it was partly covered by a scaffold, which made me sad, because it wasn’t the only thing in construction on our Italy trip. The place where the Rialto Bridge is located is always very crowded with people, so you really have to pay attention on your valuables.
Even though the bridge was under construction, there were some really nice shops on it. Walking along those shops, I discovered the Gondola Charm by Pandora which I bought later on.
Vaporetto
As I mentioned those Vaporettos so often in my Venice point, I really have to put them on my top 10 things to do in Venice list. As I already told you, those are the water buses in Venice. If you have a 72h ticket for public transports, you can take as many Vaporettos as you want to.
But they don’t serve only as public transport, but if you don’t want to walk so much, you can take the Vaporetto number 1 which will take you to all the main attractions in Venice. On the rush hours, the Vaporettos are so full of people, that is no more space on the boat.
Something which afraid me, were the tons of mosquitos in the evening on the boat. You could see them in the light and it was really disgusting. But except the mosquitos and the crowds of people, I really loved to take the Vaporettos.
Doge’s Palace & Bridge of Sighs
The Doge’s Palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic of Venice. Nowadays, it can be visited as a museum and is one of the main landmarks of Venice.
The Courtyard of the Palace is closed by the St. Mark’s Basilica. All the Courtrooms inside the Palace are so pompous and golden. It is really amazing to walk through all those halls.
The Bridge of Sighs is the link between the Doge’s Palace and the New Prison. The bridge contains two separated corridors next to each other. One linked the prisons to the chambers of the Magistrato alle Legi and the Quarantia Criminal and can today be used by visitors. The other one linked the prisons to the State Advocacy rooms and the Parlatorio.
It got its name from the Romantic period, where the bridge was the last thing the prisoners saw while leaving the courtroom and entering the prison. Through out a small window, they could see the lagoon of Venice and the island San Giorgio Maggiore.
If you have some time, visit the Doge’s Palace because it reflects a lot of history of Venice and you can go visiting the old prison via the Bridge of Sighs.
Zattere
The Zattere was built in 1519 and was meant to be a landing dock for the delivery of timber which was used for the construction of ships and buildings. Today, it is a spacious waterfront promenade which runs along the southern shore of the Dorsoduro District.
It is a relatively peaceful promenade with a lot of charming restaurants just in front of the water. It is a really nice place for dinner and watching the sunset.
That is my list of the 10 things to do in Venice. I really enjoyed my stay in Venice and I absolutely fell in love with this charming city. I’ll definitely return one day.
Great photos and tips! I agree that Venice is a very special place. I didn’t go on a gondola ride, so I’ve got a good reason to return one day 😉
LUXESSED