Today we visit Venice. We go by tram to the Central Station where we take a train to the romantic city of canals. We arrive in just three hours.
Grand Canal
When you leave the Santa Lucia train station you get a strange feeling as you can only hear the sound of the vaporettos (public buses) moving along the Grand Canal.
Taxis, ambulances and even fire engines navigate the canals, there are no vehicles on the streets so if you're arriving by car remember to leave your car in one of the car parks located in Piazalle Roma such as the Autorimessa Comunale Garage or the San Marco Garage (between 20€ and 30€/day).
Grand Canal
The cheapest option is to use one of the car parks in Mestre before crossing the Ponte della Libertà (€10/day), and from there take a bus or train which leaves every ten minutes and takes about a quarter of an hour to get there.
Try to book the car park in advance to avoid being fully booked, but you can also try to park in the streets of Mestre.
Grand Canal
The city of Venice is spread over an archipelago of more than a hundred islands distributed in a Lagoon, some of which are very famous, such as Murano, the closest island to Venice and a very interesting place to visit for its long tradition of glassmaking.
Bread masks
Venice is world famous for its Carnival, the International Film Festival and its incredible canals, but also for the phenomenon known as Acqua Alta, whereby the city floods several times a year. In these cases, elevated walkways are installed to facilitate the passage of visitors. To avoid this situation, a system of floodgates has been built to slow down the rise of the Adriatic sea level.
Venetian masks
Strolling around Venice is one of our recommendations and if you fancy a gondola ride, be prepared to bargain hard with the gondolieri. A half-hour gondola ride for two people costs around €90, but we managed to get the same price for five people. The price increases after seven in the evening.
Gondolieri
Gondolas
Gondolas are the long, narrow boats that have been traditional in Venice for centuries and were once the city's main means of transport. Now their use is limited to tourism.
There is a low-cost way to ride a gondola, the so-called traghettos, which cross the Grand Canal in areas where there are no bridges. The ride is shared as they operate like a bus.
Gondolas
Main points of interest not to be missed:
The Grand Canal. It is the widest and most extensive, and the vaporettos run along it, alternating stops on either side so that you can enjoy the buildings and palaces. It crosses four large bridges, the Barefoot Bridge, the Accademia Bridge, the Constitution Bridge and the Rialto Bridge. The latter is the most famous and spectacular of the four.
Barefoot Bridge
Venice
The Rialto Bridge is the oldest and most famous bridge in Venice. From the Rialto Bridge in the direction of St. Mark's Square is the Rialto Market. Crowded with people, it is open every day from 9 am to 12 noon.
Rialto Bridge
Giacomo Casanova was a singular character in the city of Venice, famous for his conquests and his talent as a lover. Although he was a cultured man, his greatest merit is his legend as a lover that endures to this day. In the street known as Comedia street there is a plaque indicating that Casanova was born on April 2, 1725, very close to St. Mark's Square. There is a museum dedicated to Giacomo, the Casanova Museum and Experience, but we did not have the opportunity to visit it.
Giacomo Casanova
St. Mark's Square transports you to another Venice, that of the merchants of the 14th and 15th centuries. It is the heart of Venice and the main tourist attraction.
St. Mark's Square
There are as many people as there are pigeons, it is typical to buy corn and feed them so that they land on you.
Feeding pigeons
It is surrounded by the Doge's Palace, the Campanile and St. Mark's Basilica.
St Mark's Basilica is one of the icons of Venice and the main Catholic church. It is well worth a visit.
St. Mark's Basilica
In Venice (and in general in Italy) there are rules of decorum for entering churches. You can't show your knees or shoulders, so at the entrance to the Basilica they give you a scarf to cover yourself (here it's free, or at least it used to be, in other places you have to leave a small donation).
If the façade impresses you, wait until you see the interior.
St. Mark's Basilica
The interior of the Basilica is Byzantine in style, with gilding. Mosaics cover its murals depicting biblical themes from the Old and New Testaments. The Atrium, the domes, the High Altar, the golden altarpiece, the treasure of St. Mark. There is a lot to see, so spend a couple of hours.
St. Mark's Basilica
Another must-see in St. Mark's Square is the Doge's Palace. In Gothic style, it was the residence of the dukes but also the seat of government and a prison.
Doge's Palace
Doge's Palace
The Bridge of Sighs, located a short distance from St. Mark's Square, is one of the most famous bridges in Venice. It links the Doge's Palace with the former prison of the Inquisition. It is common to see couples kissing under the bridge as they pass by in the gondola, although its origin is not at all poetic as it owes its name to the sighs of the prisoners who saw the sea for the last time from here.
Bridge of Sighs
St. Mark's Campanile is the tallest building in Venice and offers magnificent views of the city.
As with everything else in Venice, there are long queues to visit the main monuments, so we recommend booking in advance.
Campanile
The views of the Lagoon are also fantastic. We are lucky enough to visit the city when the most important film festival, the Biennale, is taking place. We have the opportunity to see luxurious boats and curious characters arriving for such an event.
Venice Lagoon
The city is full of people but the good weather and the sea breeze make us enjoy this special day.
Venice
Statue symbolising freedom
In the evening we return to Santa Lucia Station to take the train back to Milan.
Accommodation: Affittacamere Andronacco 20€/pax.
Train ticket from Milan to Venice and back:
Campanile entrance fee: 8€/pax
Entrance to St. Mark's Basilica: free. (Museum 5€, Treasury 3€, Golden Altar 2€)
Entrance to the Doge's Palace: 25€/pax.
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