The City on Water, The city of Venice is a magic spell through the exquisite masterpieces of art. City, found in 5th century, spreads over 118 islands. It is situated in the Veneto Region of Northeast Italy. One of its kinds, Venice is a place with canals, bridges, churches and palaces. It’s historic, romantic, artistic and simply a heritage.
Why to visit?
The city of Venice and the lagoon have retained their originality and galore from 600 years now.
One should go and enjoy the serenity of lagoon and the canals that flow unheard; the art that overflows everywhere. Not that Venice is expensive and you should not think of it; there are indeed numerous ways you can visit and enjoy the city in your budget. Throughout the article, we will focus on budgetary part to bring to you a delightful read on Budgeted tour to Venice.
You should travel to Venice:
- For its unforgettable landmarks- Rialto bridge and Palazzo Ducale
- The festivals there and the celebration of art, film and music
- The amazing seafood- the restaurants there don’t keep refrigerators..they say
- The churches- divinity and piousness
- And the masks…spectacular laces and crafts \
Things to do.
Some of the most impressive buildings not to be missed when in Venice are:
– Campanile de San Marco – This magnificent bell tower erected in 1514 stands in the middle of Piazza di San Marco and when at the top will give you the most extraordinary views of the City with a boastful introduction of being tallest in the city of Venice..
– Torre dell’Orologio – An extraordinary clock which displays the time of day plus the Zodiac sign and current phase of the moon.
– Ca ‘Pesaro – A Baroue palace which houses The International Gallery of Modern Art Museum
– Basilica dei Frari (Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari)- The glorious gothic church which is associated with the painter called Titan. He is buried here along with the famous sculptor, Antonio.
– Basilica di San Marco (St Mark’s Basilica)- The Golden Byzantine, founded in 9th century, is built on a plane of Greek cross. A shrine for the relics of St Mark, its Eastern appearance is enhanced by golden mosaics, originally created by craftsmen from the Byzantine court at Ravenna.
– Galleria dell’Accademia di Venezia – This is one of the most amazing museums in all of Italy
– Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge)-A wooden bridge which was built to join the two islands of Venice. After it got collapsed, a single stone arched bridge was built. The bridge has been lined with two rows of shops since the 15th century, which today cater to tourists.
– Doge’s Palace– A three story palace that predates Renaissance. It belongs to 120 goges who ruled Venice. Featuring pink and white soothing marbles, it is located on St. Marks Square. It is remarkable from inside and glorifies the artwork. Tours will take visitors across the Bridge of Sighs to the nearby prison cells, one of which once housed famous Cassanova.
– Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs)- The bridge got restored in 2012 and got its name from the sighs let out by convicts as they caught a final glimpse of the outside world. Romanticism is in veins of Venice and it’s said, kissing under the bridge is one of the ways to find eternal happiness for all your life.
A Gondola Ride– A must have experience in Venice; Gondola rides are best in mornings. Taken around dusk, they are simply romantic. If found expensive, you can split the ride with others. A typical ride costs 90 EUR during the day, expect closer to 140 EUR at night. If you go as a group it might be cheaper, though the number of people who can be accommodated on a gondola varies, usually up to a maximum of six seated passengers.
Shopping
Rialto market is for the shoppers. Here, shopping less expensive than in the tourist-filled Piazza San Marco. Many tourists spend time traveling through Rialto market and the fish market at Pescheria. For fresh fruits, watch for the street market stalls.
Stay
Since there is absolutely no cheaper options in here for stay, go for BnB. Skip the hotels and look for the family owned places to get a bed and breakfast. The best accommodations with budget tariffs are outside the city. These dorms will cost around 10-15 EUR per night. If you wish to stay in the city, expect to pay around 30-50 EUR per night for a dorm room. Also, staying away from the main squares would be a wiser decision.
Food
As is for stay, Venice also brags to be expensive for food lovers. With skyrocketing menu prices and ever so high up going expensive restaurants, Venice has some places where you can get food for cheap. Venice has some world’s best food. Following can help you to do authenticity check on food and the restaurants:
- Look for menus with bare minimum English translations, filled with Italian
- Drinks and beverages would have homage to Italian beers
- Make sure they don’t ask for money for taking a seat; beware there are places which charge for the scenic beauty around
Some good options:
- Caffe Florian–
A must go in Venice, it’s tourists’ place indeed. With incredible view of St. Mark’s Basilica — it’s been open and serving since 1720.
- Osteria di Santa Marina-
About a 10-minute walk from the chaos of San Marco, Campo Santa Marina is a tiny slice of quiet, with a charming hotel of the same name and a renowned restaurant that consists of 10 intimate outdoor tables.
Some other options could be- Harry’s American Bar, Al Pesador and Campo Santa Margherita.
Local transport
Venice, the city of water, is easily walkable and quite good for pedestrians. In absence of cars, it’s absolutely amazing. To move around quickly, one may go for vaporetti (water buses) and water taxis. Veporettis are much cheaper than private water taxis. If you want to have a romantic ride along the canals, take a gondola ride, although they tend to exist for more scenic purposes, rather than to travel from one place to the other.
Venice card for travelling is also recommendable. Not for those who stay there for less than three days as most of the top attractions are not there in Venice cards. If you staying for say a week, take Venice card and travel easy and cheap. Venice cards also avail you discounted entries to churches etc and free admissions to some as well.
But, as everyone suggests, walk around and get lost in Venice. You will save money and will see the local life. Even if you get lost indeed, get down to St Mark’s square.
Events
Cultural Touch
The outskirts
Night Life
Best Time to Go
From springs to winters, all seasons have their peaks in their own ways.
Springs are most crowded; breezy days and mild weather. So could be a good time to visit.
You don’t like crowd, go in Summers. Pretty humid and warm although.
Like springs, autumn or they say Fall, is also a better time to go. Pleasant and sunny, that continues well till October, weather in Venice would be a feel-good factor to visit the place. Venetian winters are not harsh. With some frequent spells of rains and some sunny days. There are substantial crowds during Carnival, and prices for hotels and even in some restaurants skyrocket.
Any don’ts
- Do not eat. Avoid eating at all costs, no matter how tempting the restaurants may be near Piazza San Marco.
- Tourist trap: Ask before you sit; Venice has many such places that will charge you for taking a seat. If you will take time in deciding the order, you will end up paying exorbitantly high amount. So be careful.
- Gondolas are once in a life time experience yet be watchful of the prices. Agree on prices before you start.
- Restaurant to stay away from- Multilingual menus may ask for huge tips. To avoid additional gratuity, keep distance from such places.