What to see and do in Venice?
Venice, capital of the Veneto region. Its historic centre was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Venice is beautiful, and I fell in love with it every time I visited. I fell in love with it in winter with the cold and even more in summer with clear skies and the little sun on my face. Before travelling, we all ask ourselves what to see and do in Venice?
As you will have read, and if not, I invite you to read .. WHAT TO SEE IN MILAN IN TWO DAYS?
You will see that I am a fan of checklists.
That is why further on I am going to leave you one with what you can see and do in Venice.
When we decide to visit Venice there are generally two accommodation options. We can choose to stay in Venice or in Mestre. There is also Marghera, but it is a very industrial city, so I don't recommend staying there.
Staying in Venice is a delight in itself, and besides, we can have everything close by to explore from very early until the late hours of the night.
But you may love Mestre too. In fact, that is what happened to me. It has modern hotels, a shopping centre and nightlife, and it is here that I want to recommend BEFED Brew Pub Mestre. If you like beer and peanuts in their shells, at this place they don't mind you throwing the shells on the floor. And for food I definitely recommend the chicken, though you will drink a lot of beer, because this chicken really is spicy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
And most importantly, it is cheaper than staying in Venice.
Also bear in mind before booking… always look carefully at the maps, locations and these names, Venice Mestre, Venice Marghera, because it means the hotel is not in the archipelago, as you surely want.
The Liberty Bridge links the City of Venice with the mainland. This bridge can be crossed by car, bike, train or bus.
Venice is made up of 118 islands situated in the Venetian lagoon, almost all of which are connected to each other by 445 bridges.
Now for the Checklist
Venice is for getting lost in and exploring. Always be careful not to walk past any of the places, or things we can do, that are on the list.
Piazza San Marco
Basilica of San Marco
Doge's Palace
Bridge of Sighs
Campanile of San Marco
Calletta Varisco
Grand Canal of Venice
Constitution Bridge
Rialto Bridge
Guggenheim Museum
Campanile of San Marco
Calletta Varisco
Murano
Burano
Some Plus!!! (Read to the end)
Piazza San Marco
When you ask yourself what to do and see in Venice, I suppose you also wonder what the heart of Venice is and what you will see without fail, and that is Piazza San Marco. It is the only Piazza in Venice and surely many of you have heard or read that Napoleon Bonaparte described it as “The Finest Drawing Room in Europe”.
This part is the lowest in Venice, so when the water rises, it is the first thing to flood. One of the times I visited, luckily, it was not flooded, but I did see the walkways they put across the whole square when this happens.
In Piazza San Marco we will also find the Doge's Palace, the Basilica of San Marco, the Torre dell’Orologio, the Campanile and the Correr Museum.
Besides the art, Piazza San Marco is a lovely place to sit down to eat and listen to classical music groups. They play in almost all the restaurants in the square. But obviously if the budget doesn't stretch, because obviously the place pushes prices up… there are also ice cream shops. So a gelato is a great option!
Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace: there is so much history to be found in it, just imagine, it went from being a residence to a prison, so important is this Palace, and so visited too. For this reason I recommend booking a guided visit, and that way you won't miss anything and, on the contrary, you will enjoy it twice as much. Bear in mind that admission is not free.
Inside we will see everything from the Scala dei Giganti, the staircase where the doges swore their loyalty. The doges of Venice were the supreme leaders of the Republic of Venice.
Another is the Scala d´Oro, you must see the ceiling, but not while you are climbing the stairs. Its vault was made of gilded stucco.
We will also see the armoury, the Duke's apartment, the Great Council Hall and of course the unmissable Bridge of Sighs, which we will be able to cross and also see from the outside from the Riva degli Schiavoni. It is said to be named the Bridge of Sighs because it was the last sigh the prisoners gave as they crossed it. It was also their last view of the outside.
Basilica of San Marco
You could say that besides being a Basilica it is a Museum because of the works it contains, and a work of art because of the mix of styles, the golden altarpiece, the atrium mosaics, the domes. We also can't fail to look at the outside: the horses above the central entrance door, the mosaics on the facade, the tetrarchs found on one corner of the basilica.
One thing you should bear in mind is that you can't go in with backpacks, but round the corner there are lockers where you can leave them.
Grand Canal of Venice
As we mentioned earlier, Venice is made up of several islands, separated by canals. The Grand Canal is the largest in Venice.
Four bridges cross the Grand Canal:
The Academy Bridge
The Descalzos Bridge
Rialto
The Constitution Bridge
Rialto Bridge
The oldest of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal of Venice. It was originally a floating bridge, then, owing to the great increase in river traffic, it was replaced by a wooden one, with the same appearance as the current one. The bridge got the name Rialto from its closeness to the nearby and popular Rialto market.
The best known for its design, and for years it was the most important economic centre of Venice.
The views of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge are spectacular.
Constitution Bridge
It is the most modern of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal of Venice. Also known as the Calatrava Bridge, in reference to its architect, or the Fourth Bridge over the Grand Canal.
It is very beautiful and modern, and a must to cross, since it links the bus station with the train area, where Santa Lucia Station is.
Guggenheim Museum
It is one of the most important museums in Europe, where we will find modern art from Europe and the United States. Peggy Guggenheim was an American art collector. The museum is in the former Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal.
Campanile of San Marco
From this building we will get the best views of Venice, as it is the tallest building.
Calletta Varisco
It is mostly a curiosity of Venice, because this street has stretches only 53 cm wide.
Murano
This island is world famous for the glass that bears its name. In the factories you can see the process of how they make glass pieces, and it is free. I really recommend it, the work they do is a work of art. It leaves you open-mouthed and wanting to congratulate them.
Burano
Known for all its colourful houses and for the butter biscuits called “bussolai buranei”
Plus!!! More to see and do in Venice
Remember that earlier I told you that the Bridge of Sighs could also be seen from the outside from the Riva degli Schiavoni.. well, in this case near the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, and also on a canal off the Riva degli Schiavoni you will be able to see the famous Hotel Danieli, from the film, The Tourist. I want to tell you that there are also gondoliers who know we want to see the hotel from the film and go past it.
Don't miss taking a Vaporetto, to see the island from the Grand Canal. If you do it at sunset, a tremendous Plus!
If you have time or you like good food, for lunch or dinner, a hearty one… I recommend Trattoria alla Rivetta. It is a place frequented more by locals or by the tourist who
asks around and likes to eat where all the other tourists don't go. I should say… it isn't a cheap place, but it is definitely worth it. You will have to look for it, it is very well hidden next to a staircase for crossing a bridge.
Don't leave Venice without having a Spritz! We can have it anywhere in Italy or the world, but it originates here, so that gives us one more reason besides its delicious taste!
I hope you liked this post, and that you fall in love with Venice as much as I did. Cheers, with a Spritz!
