In this guide to Venice, I want to highlight some aspects of my time in Venice, that perhaps will be helpful to fellow travelers. In this post, I’ve laid out categories including my itinerary, favorites about my time in Venice, what to wear in Venice, what I loved, what I disliked, ideas and tips, and my final thoughts.
Itinerary:
I want to start with our itinerary. American Airlines is offering direct service on a 787-800 from Chicago to Venice daily. One of the reasons I love living in Chicago is direct flights like these. However our flight was delayed by 5 hours, and that was a damper on the first day. In this guide to Venice, I suggest a direct flight as it’s much less complicated.
Getting in
So there are three options when you land at Venice Marco Polo to get into Venice. There is an iconic boat taxi from the airport to Venice. We did this one, and I highly recommend it. I bought the tour on Viator, and it worked out just fine. You need to buy one tour for departure from Venice Airport and then another tour that arrives. Read carefully! There is also water taxi’s operated by the city of Venice. Those are okay, but I heard they are packed. You can also do it the less scenic way but taking a bus or cab by road from the airport and then get dropped off at the bus station or train station.
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A Map of Venice, Italy
Hotel
We stayed at the Rosa Salva Hotel near San Marco Square. I highly recommend this hotel. It was beautiful, convenient, and had an excellent breakfast. It was the perfect hotel to arrive at after a long day flying.
Time in Venice
From there we had an evening in Venice and then half a morning before our cruise departed the next day! Venice is surprisingly big, and if you’re not up for walking, take the water taxis around. However, because we were centrally located, we had plenty of hotels to choose from, and it was easy to access San Marco’s Square, Doge’s Palace, the Grand Canal, and other nearby sights.
On our second day in Venice, we did three significant sights before walking to our cruise ship. On the first day we really only could go out for dinner, walk around the streets and eat gelato since our flight was so delayed. And that was perfectly fine too as we got amazing pictures of gondolas and canals.
We first walked Doge’s Palace, which I recommend getting tickets beforehand. It’s a beautiful building, and I would start here given that it’s centrally located and near Saint Mark’s Basilica. It took us about two hours to tour that place, and we were walking at a leisurely pace. This space is packed with gold ceilings and historical artifacts from when Venice was ruled from this building.
The Campanile is next door and also worth a visit because you can get great views of all of Venice. I don’t think it’s necessary to buy a ticket in advance for this one given that they require you to have a time slot. The Campanile just doesn’t get as famous as the other two sights, and we were able to go up with a 15-minute wait.
Last but not least, you must visit St. Mark’s Basilica right across from the Campanile. It’s beautiful and revivals any church in the world in beauty. The wait can be long for this one; however, we found that it was not a long wait and admission is free if you decide to go that right. You can buy tickets online, but you’ll need a time slot.
Now coming back from our cruise we spent an extra night and morning in Venice and had more time to shop and explore the streets for goods. Venice has excellent souvenirs ranging from masks to leather goods. You’ll see these everywhere although some souvenirs will feel cheap. Avoid those and do some research before if you plan on getting these souvenirs. There are a few reputable shops. We found that most stores in the central part seem legit.
Favorite:
Some of my favorite restaurants, spots, pictures, and videos of Venice!
Restaurants
A cute restaurant in the heart of Venice, with a big space, WiFi, air-conditioning, and delicious food.
This gelato stand was recommended while we were in Venice and there was a line out the door! Certainly worth a visit.
They had WiFi and TVs in case you need to watch a sporting event while in Venice town as I did.
Spots
San Marco’s Square is iconic enough that even if there are hundreds of people there, you still need to go and visit.
Doge’s Palace is a must and beautiful.
I would also suggest that you step away from the touristy areas because many parts of Venice are quiet. If you step more to the western parts of Venice, the more peaceful and less touristy, it gets.
What to Wear:
In this guide to Venice, I want to help male travelers style when deciding what to wear in Venice. This section is only for men as I don’t speak for women style.
I want to start by saying Italian men do dress nice. Same goes for European men. The average look is a higher level than what you’ll see the average American man wearing. And I’m assuming you came to this website to look more stylish.
Venice is a lot like Rome, and I would suggest looking at my What to Wear in Rome guide. I will perhaps make one for Venice in the future.
For you male tourists, I like a striped look. If you’re not familiar a lot of the gondoliers wear stripes and I feel if you have something similar, it just feels so Venice. Anyways I wore something similar while in Venice. It was summer, and it was boiling hot, so having linen shorts would be a great idea.
Speaking of linen, it’s way more common in Venice to see males in linen shorts and pants. If you can’t find anywhere you live, try online or wait to shop during your travels. The cuts on both shirts and shorts are amazing and have a more European feel. Love that.
For summer, stick with an upscale casual look. You don’t need to dress up, but if you want to look presentable, then shorts that are not gym shorts are perfect. Florals, prints, graphics, and stripes are definitely in right now. I like short and tight, but I know that’s not everybody’s go-to. Make sure it fits appropriately first of all.
Bring shorts that can easily mix and match with your other items. A blue or khaki shorts for your entire trip is more than enough. I used those to mix and match with every shirt I had, sometimes throwing in linen shorts.
Go for the florals, plain, or even stripe shirts. They are easy to mix and match with a solid base for your shorts. Comfort is critical, but please don’t be lazy or have oversized shirts. Then it won’t look good at all. A nice polo is also a good look.
For the off-season like in winter, I know Venice gets surprisingly cold. You’ll need to bring long pants, jeans, and some jackets. It’s not hardcore cold, but it’s enough that you can even have a scarf. Venice also tends to be wet and damp, so bring shoes that you don’t mind getting wet.
An Ideal Look:
What I Loved:
In this guide to Venice, I want to look at some things I loved about Venice.
Coming back to Venice after 12 years I thought Venice would be too touristy. And although it still is, I think Venice is still very charming. It’s like tourists haven’t entirely overrun the city and there are parts of Venice that still feel local. Even Piazza San Marco is still a grand open space. So for me, I think Venice is undoubtedly worthwhile.
I also like the food, but it’s Italy so really what’s not to love? Pizza, wine, mozzarella, pasta, but like the good kind. I never once felt like this food is too much or too fatty to eat.
Beyond that, this city is run by boats, not cars. You won’t see cars in Venice and to me, that’s the best part of the city. The streets are easy to walk, and the canals are adorable. Sure there is a lot of boat traffic in some places, but it just adds to the charm and uniqueness. Venice is one of the rare cities in the world where the design itself is the attraction. That’s what I love about Venice. I mean, in what city is it possible to take a boat taxi to the airport?
What I Disliked:
In this guide to Venice, now I want to look at some things I disliked. I think the only thing I don’t like about Venice is that it is more pricey compared to other regions of Italy. Not like this is not expected though and to be honest prices aren’t too bad. Water taxis are crowded and expensive, and that maybe your only option for getting around. We ended up carrying our luggage across Venice to our cruise ship. It was hot, and we probably should have just hired a water taxi.
Ideas and Tips:
In this guide to Venice, I want to look at some tips and ideas.
Taking a vaporetto or water taxi is expensive; however, it is a lot of fun and unique experience in Venice. I would take a “private” taxi meaning you have about 10 other people with you and the taxi drops you off at or near the hotel. This is better than the Venice water taxi lines since those are crowded.
To me the gondola rides are overrated but if you only plan to come to Venice once, do them.
Force yourself to move away from Piazza San Marco after you have explored it. Venice is surprisingly big, and there are many beautiful parts.
Stay in a centrally located hotel close to the action. It just helps with your schedule so much.
If you’re taking a cruise, take a water taxi to the cruise port terminal. On hot days it would be too far to walk although we did do it.
Taking a train to Venice is easy and quick. Trenitalia is good these days, and it’s super easy to cross Italy.
Masks shops are everywhere, and some masks are not that expensive. But if you’re going to buy a mask, do your research and buy from a reputable shop.
Thoughts:
Venice is a fantastic city that thrives today! I know there are tons of problems with the city sinking, and that’s maybe why you should go now, and ultimately I hope they can save it because it is certainly worth a visit.
Beyond that, we learned so much about Venetian history. By being such a unique city in a lagoon, they came to dominate the region and were untouchable for centuries. Many ports on our cruise throughout the Balkans were once Venetian. We were told that if the Venetian symbol, a lion, had an open book, that meant Venetians were welcome. If closed it meant this city was dominated.
Both Roman and I came to love Venice, and we got to experience this city twice on our trip. It can be expensive, but I certainly understand why it gets love from tourists. It’s about exploring the canals, trying on the masks and touring the city itself which makes Venice a great visit. We would certainly go back to Venice, and I recommend it to anybody else thinking of going.
More Info on Venice
If you’re looking for more info on Venice, I have a few guides and books to read on. Venice has a unique and rich history and certainly worth a more of a read before and after your travels.
