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Venice hotels

Overview                    Prepare                    Get Around                    Highlights

Hotels in Venice are predictably expensive, although some of the smaller hotels will offer more reasonable room rates.  Cheap hotels in Venice are few and far between but are more common near the Lido (rather than in actual Venice), a nearby island that has a long beach and is popular amongst tourists and locals alike.  There are plenty of luxury hotels on offer, including one that is located on its very own island. Transfers by waterbus to Venice are quick and easy.

 There are plenty of luxury hotels on offer, including one that is located on its very own island... 

Venice hotels do provide for all tastes and budgets, even though 'budget' will be relative.  Hotels are numerous, and range from simple rooms to inordinately extravagant and opulent suites.  Stay near the airport if you plan to hire a car and explore the surrounding areas, or in Mestre, the mainland part of Venice.  If, however, you are intending to see Venice itself, then it really is necessary to find an hotel in the city centre; in the San Marco area if you are short on time and want to see as much as possible; or in Dorsoduro and near the Rialto if it is bars and nightlife you are keen on.  Otherwise, Cannaregio and Castello offer an authentic Venetian experience in somewhat quieter locales.

 

 

Overview

Overview

They call it La Serenissima, the Most Serene. Floating upon a languid lagoon, Venice has lovers swooning before its art treasures from Titian to Tintoretto, cooing over candlelit canal-side dinners and cuddling up in gondolas.

See

The golden temple of St Mark's Basilica commands the square of the same name, and is flanked by the powerful gothic Doge's Palace – once home to Venice's rulers. The Gallerie dell'Accademia houses a peerless treasure of Venetian Renaissance paintings, while the Peggy Guggenheim Collection dominates the city's modern displays. Simply wandering the streets is delightful, as is a trip to the pretty lagoon islands of Burano and Torcello.
Spend

For a fashion spree, make for the area around Calle Larga XXII Marzo, west of St Mark's Square. The San Marco and Dorsoduro districts are home to many commercial art galleries. For handicrafts such as masks, Carnevale costumes and leather accessories, San Polo is a good hunting ground. Murano is the place for glass and Burano for lace.
Get Out

Dyed-in-the-wool Venetians love mucking about in boats, and row around in the canals and lagoon, especially on weekends. In summer, get a ferry to the Lido's beaches or sunbathe on the Fondamenta delle Zattere promenade. For a quiet walk or jog, head for the Giardini Pubblici around the Biennale grounds. In winter, those who can leave town to ski in Cortina.
Culture

Venice's resurrected glory is the Teatro La Fenice opera house, with a rich programme that also includes music. The Teatro Goldoni is the main stage for a mix of drama and occasional concerts. Every year in early September the Lido plays host to the Venice International Film Festival, when locals gorge themselves on a year of cinematic hits (and misses).
Eat & Drink

Venetian cuisine is predictably dominated by seafood. Among the many local specialities are cicheti, the local take on tapas. Good delicacies to try are folpeti (little octopuses) or schie (tiny grey lagoon shrimps). Wash down with an ombra (glass of wine). Good eateries are spread across town, especially in San Polo, the adjacent part of Santa Croce and Dorsoduro. Fondamenta della Misericordia also has some fun places.
New Perspective

For a unique dining experience, head for the Hotel Danieli and splurge at its luxury rooftop Terrazza restaurant. You'll have stunning views of the Grand Canal and across the lagoon.

Prepare

Prepare

Pack your wellies in winter in case of flooding! Comfortable shoes are in order in this walkers' city. Leave room in your bags for masks and other goodies.

Venice Year

Join the fantasy fans descending on Venice around February for the costume extravaganza of Carnevale. In May, watch the Vogalonga ('Long Row'), with thousands in all sorts of row boats competing on a 32km course around the lagoon. Marvel at the fireworks of the Festa del Redentore in July. In September, combine a trip to the Venice International Film Festival with the Regata Storica, when the Grand Canal fills with boat races and colour. Every two years pop along for the contemporary art fest that is the Venice Biennale (in alternate years they stage the architecture version).
Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Epiphany (6 Jan), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Liberation Day – marking the end of Nazi rule (25 Apr), May Day (1 May), Republic's Day (2 Jun), Assumption Day (15 Aug), All Saints' Day (1 Nov), Madonna della Salute – Venetian Holiday (21 Nov), Immaculate Conception (8 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec), St Stephen's Day (26 Dec).
Weather

A good time to visit can be January and February, when the mercury lies around 0-7°C. Tourists are comparatively scarce, and although it's chilly you can experience marvellous blue skies. Spring is warmer but busier. High summer (Jul-Aug) can be stifling with heat, humidity and average daytime highs above 30ºC. Rain can strike in spring and is near guaranteed in November.
Electricity

230V AC, 50 Hz, two-pin plugs are standard.
Dialling Code

+39 (Italy), (041) + six or seven-digit number (Venice).
Money

Euro (€) is the currency.
GMT

GMT +1 (GMT +2 in summertime).
Venice Tourist Info

Venice Tourist Board website

Fit In

Venetians, like other Italians, dress well to do just about anything. Here tastes are more conservative than further south. Labels are an integral part of life, although students tend to be more relaxed. For men, the shaven head and designer-cut beard seem almost standard, and big sunglasses are in for everyone (though it might all change any minute!).

Get Around

Get Around

Venice is divided into six districts (sestieri), three on either side of the snaking Grand Canal, the city's main 'street'. People get around on foot or by boat.

The densest concentration of main sights cluster in the San Marco and Dorsoduro districts, and walking is easiest.

At the centre is St Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco), home to the Basilica and pigeons. The district is known as San Marco. The Rialto bridge connects it to the western labyrinths of San Polo and Santa Croce. East of San Marco stretches Castello, site of the Biennale. South across the Grand Canal is Dorsoduro, for the main art galleries and nightlife. Northern Cannaregio is home to the Ghetto.
Vaporetto

Venice's water buses, known as vaporetti or battelli are the main public form of transport. Non-residents, however, pay a high price to use them, so consider day passes or sticking to shoe leather. There isn't much alternative for getting to the islands – we wouldn't really recommend that you swim.
Foot

Up and down the bridges and along the canals, most people walk around this compact city. Except of course when they need to make a long journey, or simply to give sore feet a break.
Traghetto

At strategic spots along the Grand Canal, these commuter gondolas ferry folks back and forth between the two banks. You stand up, which can be tricky for first-timers without a sense of balance!
Water taxi

These walnut-timbered speedboats are the luxury way to get about town, handy for the airport or when you are lugging around heavy luggage. If your hotel is on a canal, you can get door-to-door service.
Gondola

Once the main form of public transport in Venice, nowadays the gondola is almost exclusively the preserve of the tourist. It can be a romantic or rather kitsch way to get a water-borne tour of the city.
Transport Tips

A Biglietto a Tempo pass, for one or three days, gives unlimited access to vaporetti and is much better value than individual tickets if you plan to get around a lot this way. Buy them at any stop.
Time Travel

Admire the riches brought back from conquered medieval Constantinople, now inside St Mark's Basilica. Pay homage to Venice's rulers from the 1200s to 1700s buried at the church of SS Giovanni e Paolo. See where 18th-century seducer Giacomo Casanova languished in prison in the Doge's Palace.
Venice Transport Links.

Venice Public Transport Company website

Highlights

Highlights

Flying over the city, Venice looks something like a fish. And what a main course! The tiny city is packed with interest – even the most humble of houses often oozes centuries of history.

Make for what was the centre of power in Venice, St Mark's Square, dominated by St Mark's Basilica and the magnificent Doge's Palace.

Get a major art injection in Dorsoduro – at the Gallerie dell'Accademia for Venetian old masters, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection for an eclectic modern art meander. A walk north to San Polo brings you to the marvels of Tintoretto's art in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and Titian's masterpieces in the Frari church.

For something quite different, make for Cannaregio to wander the Jewish Ghetto, its museum and synagogues.
Sightseeing Tips

Admission to the Gallerie dell'Accademia is free for EU citizens under 18 and over 65. The Museum Pass covers admission to the Doge's Palace, mansion art gallery Ca' Pesaro and nine other sights. There are several variations on this pass. The Chorus organisation offers a special ticket giving discounted entry to 16 major churches.

Content provided by Frommer's Unlimited © 2009, Whatsonwhen Limited.



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