Venice is a popular addition to travel bucket lists, and has been since travel became widely available. Even my parents visited Venice in the 80’s when traveling wasn’t such a big phenomena as it is today.
But when it comes to this extraordinary island state, there are certain things that are quite unique. Basically that means that not everything works the way you’d expect. And no, I’m not talking just about the basic “Get cash” sort of tips.
These are observations that I made, that I wish I had known before I decided that traveling to Venice was what I needed to do. Learn from my mistakes:
- Venice is a car-less island – Prepare to WALK
In case you’re like me, you probably don’t realize that Venice is a collection of islands OFF the mainland of Italy. The municipal area of Venice does include some area on land as well, but basically Venice is just the island. And this island was built on water.
- Venice consists of 6 different regions, which are separated by narrow canals, that are connected by over 400 bridges. Small, decorative bridges.
- Basically there’s no space for such things as roads, so obviously there isn’t space for cars either.
- You can drive to Venice from the mainland, though.
There is a 2-kilometer long bridge for cars and trains that take people back and forth between Venice and the mainland. But all vehicles have a final stop immediately on arrival to the island. If you take a taxi, your final stop is the Piazzale Roma square, and for train travelers the Santa Lucia station.
From there you cross a bridge (surprise!) and you’ve taken your first steps in Venice! From here on you can only venture by foot. Please note that if your accommodation is on the island, you’ll have to drag your suitcases there yourself through tiny, crammed streets and bridges.
And I’d like to mention first off, it’s not a wheelchair-friendly island! Some of the streets are so narrow between the buildings that even my skinny ass sometimes struggled. There are also tight turns and a looooott of people!
If you walk across the whole main island of Venice, it measures to around 11km (7 miles). And if you want to see the main sights on the island, the Rialton Bridge and the Basilica di San Marco, you’re gonna have to walk across the whole ‘country’. So seriously, pack some walking shoes along.
- Double-check where your accommodation is
This one I really wish I had realized before booking and traveling to Venice! I booked my accommodation on land, which meant that every day I had to drive over to Venice for the day, and then drive back in the evening.
I did choose my accommodation very well though, cause the Hilton Garden Inn is right on the way to Venice. So, a taxi ride over to the island only took about 5-10 minutes.
There was also a bus going right in front of the hotel. But even with the one-way straight road with a very clear final stop I don’t trust myself with public transport.
Thing about taxis though: they’re not that easy to get if you’re on the main land, because there are no taxi apps. Bolt, where are you when we need ya!?
So, your hotel will need to book you a taxi, and obviously it’s much more expensive than it would be through an app. (From Hilton to Venice it was approximately 20€ one way… insane.)
Now that I know better, I would recommend finding accommodation on the island. Especially if you’re traveling solo, like I was! I missed all the evening fun in Venice, because I don’t like to walk on the narrow, empty side streets alone after dark.
And traveling to Venice is only half of an affair if you miss all the events and having dinner there in the evening. Which brings me to the next point:
- Restaurant opening hours are different
This applies to all of Italy:
- please note that restaurants are often open during lunch, between 12pm – 3pm
- then closed until 7pm, which is dinner time.
There’s plenty of tourist places that are open all day long, but if you prefer proper grub, then you’ll stay away from those.
This was another inconvenience for me having chosen a hotel on the mainland. I like to work in the morning/early afternoon, so I would head to the island around 2pm. I preferred to eat around 5 or 6pm, because after that it would get dark, which was my time to head off the island.
But because the good restaurants open at 7, I had to then choose from the tourist places that were open all day. One of them was just as bad as I would expect tourist places to be…
I did find a sandwich place, though, that was owned by a chubby Italian man who sang throughout my late lunch ? I’m sharing my restaurant recommendations at the end of this Venice travel guide;)
Due to choosing my accommodation wrong and not wanting to stay on the island alone after dark, I only had half an experience traveling to Venice. It also proved that some destinations just aren’t properly suitable for solo travel. But hey, can’t blame me for not trying!
- Not a good destination for claustrophobic people
As mentioned, some of the streets in Venice are extremely narrow and all of them are between buildings with multiple floors. And especially in the Summer, when the island can easily welcome 100 000 people in one day, you’ll spend most of your time squeezed between other people.
Now, I’m not claustrophobic, but I am from Finland, and we truly appreciate our personal space! This is the main reason why I’ve been so against traveling to Venice or Barcelona.
I was in Venice in February – which is out of the season – but already the tiny streets were at places PACKED. And it’s not comfortable, especially when trying to rush to the taxis before it gets dark! Add to that 40 degrees Celsius in the Summer and people smelling of sweat and old alcohol
Something else I’d add to this part as well – that NOBODY told me about – is the fact that the canals smell. So, if you’ve been wondering is Venice dirty, the answer is yes and no.
Italy has been suffering from severe droughts in recent years, and of course this shows especially in Venice. The canals aren’t deep, and they’re also very dirty, so the smell is in places rather repugnant. The city itself is clean though!
- Travel to Venice outside of the season!
You probably got the drift from the previous point already: avoid traveling to Venice during the Summer season! Summer season is from May to end of August. This is the period when most Europeans are holidaying, of course, but it’s also the period when Italy deals with stifling heatwaves.
So let’s be honest here, knowing all of that, if you still choose to travel to Venice during Summer season and suffer from it, you deserve it.
Instead I’d suggest using logical thinking, because that will quickly tell you when traveling to Venice might actually make sense:
- March is a Spring month in Italy, so that would be a beautiful time to go.
- April can be either Spring or already full-on Summer.
- On the other side of the Season, September and October are still pretty much Summer months in Venice temperature-wise.
- During Winter, November – February, you avoid the biggest tourist crowds but still get to enjoy sunshine and temperatures between 5-15°C.
And consider this: if you travel outside the season, everything will be cheaper! I would recommend going in February, because that’s when they have the Venice Carnival! A unique 10-day event where people dress up in extreme and amazing seventeenth century costumes.
There are parades and balls, and you can get a photo or a dozen with these incredible masked characters walking the streets of Venice. This is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Except for me because I decided I’m getting a ticket to the main ball next year and investing in a proper costume!
- DO NOT take small kids or dogs with you
For most people this goes without saying but there are always twats among us. So, DO NOT BRING SMALL KIDS OR DOGS TO VENICE! Why? Because there’s literally no space, and both creatures will for sure be traumatized!
I saw way too many poor dogs almost being squashed on the narrow streets that are so full of people that nobody can see where they’re stepping. Poor creatures were scared out of their minds, obviously!
And then there’s this group of absolute halfwits that come with such small children that they need prams… If there’s no space for wheelchairs, how the fuck do you think a pram’s gonna work out??
IT DOESN’T! Also, that baby will not have any memory of you traveling to Venice so why the hell do you drag them along??
As always, the use of one’s brain is highly recommended, and in terms of Venice (in my opinion) COMPULSORY!
Restaurant recommendations for Venice
All righty, last but definitely not least, let’s get some restaurant recommendations on, shall we!? Some of these are places that were recommended to me by my Italian friends, and some I discovered myself.
The first thing to consider is that instead of pizza and pasta, what you should try in Northern Italy (anything above Florence) is sandwiches. In Northern Italy sandwiches are taken seriously and oh, they do them well!
Bar All’Arco
This was recommended to me by an Italian friend: Bar All’Arco, which is a small bistro near the Rialto Bridge. It specializes in aperitivo snacks and wine.
I didn’t get to try it, because when I got there it was so packed that even someone of my size couldn’t fit in. But they were all locals, so it’s clearly worth queueing for!
I haven’t been blessed with patience, so I found another sandwich place that had locals in there, which is always a good sign. I didn’t get the name of the place, but the owner was a chubby Italian man who looved to sing. Vibe check: splendid! And the sandwiches were amazing!
Osteria do Mori
Just a street away from Bar All’Arco resides the Osteria do Mori. This is one of Venice’s oldest restaurants, and the legend says that this is where Casanova brought his dates. It’s a traditional Venetian taverna, and was recommended by a local tour guide, so definitely worth a try!
Ostaria Boccadoro
For those who enjoy seafood, my Italian friend suggested Ostaria Boccadoro. This restaurant specializes in Venetian cuisine, and offers a variety of different seafood from squid to prawns to different sorts of fish.
Even though I’m personally not the biggest fan of seafood, I do love me some fish! Since I’m going to the Venice Carnival next year, I’ll remember this.
Osteria Alla Staffa
While in Florence I did a bit of shopping in the Versace store, and my sales person was just as passionate about food as I am. She recommended me some amazing restaurants in Florence, but also a place in Venice when I mentioned I was heading there next.
Osteria Alla Staffa was the place, and she even recommended a dish: bacchala mantecato. It’s a fish dish.
Everything about this one looks so delicious! I am actually quite upset that due to my accommodation and the local opening hours for restaurants I didn’t have time to try it… I guess I’ll have to go back!
