Venice, or Venezia, is one of the most unique and charming places we visited in Italy. We also think we got lucky going in the winter when it’s not tourist season. Here is our 3 day itinerary for this floating city!
Day 1
First off, our hotel was incredible. Hotel Casa Nicolò Priuli is a 4-star place that we got 60% off thanks to our travel membership. We actually saved more than we paid for the entire stay.
Do yourself a favor and take a boat tour with Alilaguna to Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Murano is famous for glass – and we aren’t talking windows or mirrors. We are talking true art masterpieces. We were able to witness an expert glass blower make a beautiful blue and silver horse. Truly a mesmerizing art. Burano is famous for lace and these amazing, colorful houses. Perfect spot to take photos for the Gram. Torcello is a tiny island with old ruins, quaint little shops, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear the church choir singing.
Day 2
We roamed through the alley ways until we found Piazza San Marco or St. Mark’s Square. You’ll find one of Italy’s most beautiful churches (it’s on most top lists) and a hell of a lot of pigeons. Justin loved playing with them, Lindsay was not impressed.
From the Square, we wandered over to Dal Maro. This is literally the best pasta, aside from the homemade meal we had in Imperia with Lindsay’s family. Dal Maro is literally just a kitchen and a counter top, where maybe 10 people can stand inside. The line in usually down the block, which is how you know you’re in the right place. All the pasta comes in Chinese take out boxes. It’s so fresh, so delicious, and so necessary when in Venice.
Obviously, the major thing people do is take a gondola ride. While we find the attraction overpriced (about $80 per person), it’s a Venice staple. And if you get a good guide, you might learn some things about the city as well. We learned that Venice has 118 islands, 400 bridges, and 150 canals and our guide floated us past Marco Polo and Casanova’s houses. If you’re on the trip with a significant other, it’s good luck to smooch under any of the bridges.
We love live music, so we were delighted when we found Bàcaro jazz bar that has a killer happy hour from 4-6pm. BOGO on drinks! The Venice jazz club was also an amazing find. As if we didn’t have enough pasta this day, 30 Euros each gets you a pasta dinner, bottle of wine, and live jazz music. Totally worth it, if you can find it. The club isn’t well marked and we walked past it about 3 times before realizing it!
Day 3
We visited the Da Vinci Museum for only about $9 US. This interactive museum houses several of Da Vinci’s creations that you can physically play with. We tried our hand at building a bridge using one of his architectural techniques with much success!
From there, we set out to find the famous giant hands sculpture called “Support”, created by artist Lorenzo Quinn. The human hands appear to prop up a historic hotel from falling into the water, symbolizing the threat that climate change has on history, but also the power that mankind has to stop it.
Someone we met the first day on our day trip, told us about a FREE rooftop terrace to view the sunset. Fondaco dei Tedeschi was built in 1228 and combined the functions of a palace, warehouse, market and restricted living quarters. It’s one of Venice’s most recognizable buildings, right next to the famous Rialto Bridge, which is also a must see and great for the Gram. The rooftop of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi offers 360 degree views of Venice, with the most spectacular sunsets reflecting off the water.
Venice is beautiful and we recommend visiting at least once, just don’t forget the wine!
Enjoy the Ride,
Justin and Lindsay
P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog by entering your email in below or click HERE to contact us!
P.P.S. Our thoughts go out to Venice, as they are currently inundated with flood waters.