Hey guys, so me and Ben visited Venice for a few days! It was super nice over valentines day - what timing and how cute!? We booked our trip through Expedia, which was really easy! Venice isn't really one for attractions or typically for 'things to do'. If you wanted to visit Venice, I would recommend including it in a week's trip to Italy, and spending a maximum of 2 days in Venice. Alternatively, if you are wanting to have a small day or two romantic trip away with your partner, this is perfect! We managed to walk the whole length of Venice in a morning, so it's super easy to go from one end to the other, whilst finding cool things to do in between! To save you planning your trip from scratch, I have listed what we managed to do during our trip, and take you on a journey with us from A to B.
We stayed at a place called Hotel Florida, based in Canneregio, which was the most superb location! Its located in a small alley way (a non dodgy one), right by the train station and a 2 minute walk from the Bus Station. To get from the Marco Polo airport, its roughly a 20-25 minute trip by bus! Furthermore, it's located right by the main shops, restaurants and boat trip stands! When booking your hotels, make sure you are directly in Venice. A lot of search engines tend to place cheap hotels outside Venice, meaning you'll have to get a bus/train back to your hotel.
The first thing to do on your first day is to get checked into your hotel, and definitely head out to get some food! We stopped off at a place called Ai Scalzi and it was delicious!
If like us, you are staying for two days, I really recommend getting lost in Venice! Usually with most places, we all have ideas about where we want to go and what we want to see but Venice is the exception. Every nook and cranny in Venice is beautiful and interesting, so in its own little way, the features of Venice are what makes it a big attraction. Our starting point was in a square, just by our hotel. Venice is famous for it's bridges and this certainly was one of them! Over this bridge you can endlessly see down the whole river, with all that surrounds it.
One of the perks to getting lost in Venice, is the unknown! It almost feels like you're in a labyrinth, with one street leading to either another street, a bridge or a dead end! Here we had reached a dead end, but it was super cool to get a look at the turquoise river - and I promise it's beautifully turquoise!
Luckily, we managed to see the tail end of the Carnival of Venice. Almost everyone was dressed up in fancy outfits with masks, whilst even the restaurants decorated with masks and fancy decor! I'm still not 100% sure on the significance of the masks, however I believe they are used to hide your identity and social status. A tradition that dates back to 700 years ago! Furthermore, I believe the carnival relates to celebrating Lent, 40 days before Easter.
If you visit Venice, you will need to take your camera! With the small alleys and the wonderful bridges, its a photographers dream! Every angle and shadow is so prominent and all of the colours are brought to life!
I will say, after seeing about 20 bridges It does tend to get a tad bit tedious! However, they really are something special. If you are a fan of architecture, you will LOVE this part to Venice!
On our travels, Ben pointed out that part of James Bond's Casino Royal was filmed in Venice. This very building (the orange one) collapsed in the film. As you can see its all perfectly in tact because CGI is a wonderful thing!
As you travel towards San Marco, you reach the shopping part to Venice! There are a lot of expensive designer shops in this area. I struggled to find a Primark, although I'm not sure they're in Venice ;)
Next up in San Marco is St Mark's square! This again has been featured in Casino Royale, and is quite the tourist attraction. Unfortunately, the queue to get into the Cathedral was suuuuper long! However, its a wonderful place to take photos. Around St Marks, there are also a few shops to mooch in with some restaurants to eat in!
I would possibly go as far as saying that San Marco is my favourite part to Venice! As we went to Venice in February, it was a little chilly. On a super hot day, I would imagine San Marco being the place to be. It really is wonderful with its open front coast, with tonnes of bars and shops to visit. There are also a lot of little streets to wander down! Apart from St Marks, there isn't many more attractions to see, but theres something just so special about the views!
Finally, we stopped off and enjoyed a super delicious (but expensive) coffee on the coast! It was beautifully sunny and just enough to take the edge of the cold! We were at the coffee bar for at least an hour and It was so yummy! Italians really know Coffee!
Have you been to Venice before? What were your favourite parts! Let me know and I can always add them to a follower section on this blog post! It truly is a wonderful place to visit, especially for couples! Just be mindful that there isn't much to do once you've done it all in the day - However, thanks to endless bars and restaurants you can always try out different foods and wines!
