Venice, Italy
For those that have been to Venice I am sure there was a familiar nod to the title of this post. Venice is many things: beautiful, enchanting, mesmerizing…
It is also a labyrinth.
People talk about getting lost in the beauty of a city, in Venice most of the time you are literally lost.
It is a maze of endless bridges and buildings and inevitably you could wander for hours never having any clue where you are on a map.
But there are also incredible panoramic views of Venice.
Fortunately for me I was with Pete and Dalene from Hecktic Travels who had map responsibilities, and also arguing over who was reading the map wrong responsibilities.
We were on our own self guided Venice food tour and finding spots was difficult at times.
Sometimes I love traveling with couples.
Venice is the kind of pretty that you want to fawn over it with that someone special….I don’t really have that but the Hecks are pretty special.
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But Venice can also be dizzying and overwhelmingly claustrophobic. That is until you get to Piazza San Marco.
In such a crowded city the vast expanse is amazing – although it could do with a few less pigeons but couldn’t every European city?
I had skipped Venice five years ago because it was flooded and I heard it was expensive. Wow was that a mistake.
My advice?
Don’t skip Venice and don’t skimp on time in Venice. I was only there for two night but I wish I could have stayed longer.
Perhaps next time.
In two days you can only wander the streets, getting distracted by gondola drivers in their cute striped shirts, but I think there is so much more to this city.
So much more I didn’t get to see. Kate has a great post about how to spend 5 days in Venice.
I’d love to go back and see more.
Oh and if you are wondering about the gondola ride, no I didn’t take one. I may be learning to love the touristy side of places but I’m no sucker for a $80 fancy canoe ride.
If you’re planning a trip check out Corinne’s Venice photography tips to get the best shots, it really is a beautiful city.
Lol, ok fruggle Franny…I am not sure that would appreciate you calling a gondola a canoe. Such great pictures.
Meh I’m over gondolas.
In our pre-vagabond days we only ever used to argue about Pete’s horrible driving, and now all we ever argue about is getting lost. 🙂
We had great fun with you in Venice, hope we can do that again soon!
Me too, I will be crashing one of your house sits some day soon!
Totally agree that the absolute best thing to do in Venice is to just wander around and get lost. I was there in 2007 and I have been dreaming of returning since and now I am heading back in October with no plan and I know it will be fantastic because Venice is made for that.
I wish I had taken so many more photos. I guess I have to go back!
Haha, I love that you called them out on the friendly bickering–that would have totally been Scott and me had we been traveling with you (given that I’m an ace at maps and he, well…is not!). =)
Well Venice would test anyone’s map skills. Pete and Dalene are awesome and their fighting over which way to go was funny.
Is that $80 bucks a ride, or $80 bucks per person?
This is what sucks.
I totally hear what your saying about the tourist trap and not being suckered in to dropping $80 dollars for an over-glorified kayak ride.
If there is anybody that hates being burned by overpriced, highway robbery more then anything.
It’s me.
But, it’s kind of like. For some, their probably never going to be there again, it’s most likely a once in a life time deal.
As for me, I would have to weigh out a few more things first.
How long does it last? Is it $80 per person? Etc.
More then likely though, I probably would still accept the fact that I’m getting robbed and just try to enjoy the ride.
Totally jealous. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice since as long as I can remember.
Oops it’s 80 Euro so more. I’m not sure if its per person or not. But if you want to go, wait a day until you see them first. After seeing them for two days I was happy that I hadn’t gone.
it is euro 80 per ride and it usually last 30-40 minutes. If you consider that a gondola cost over 100,000 euros to buy, you soon can understand why they gondoliers have to charge so much.
You know that is a really good point. I never thought about the investment in the boat.
It’s usually 80 but if you walk around a little bit you can get a better deal (no less than 60) and of course is not 80 euros per person, but for a ride 🙂 the ride takes usually 40 minutes and it is totally worth it. You get to see part of the city you wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. No people around you, no crowd, no noises. The only noise you hear is the water. Also you have to take into account that a gondola is not a common kayak, it’s something you can find in Venice and in no other city in the world. I’ve been there quite a few times since I live in Milan, and each time we were like 6 people so if you split it, it’s really cheap actually 🙂 I strongly recommend you to to that, in my opinion is definetely better than wander in S. Marco square!
Hope that was helpful.
We got lost there too at night. Its really creepy, often times we turn to streets on a dead end. Dead end meant you head straight to the water.
lol about the Hecks fighting over who had the map wrong! My husband and I have had a few of those recently.
About Venice, I love it. I was there 3 times in the dead of winter and thought it was amazing. The history and art there are incredible. Nobody who rips Venice seems to take into account its significance. Amazing place, but if people go in the summer, they need to know what they’re in for!
Such great photos. It really reflected the spirit of the place.
Yes, it would be great if you stay an experience the life in Venice longer.
Loved walking the streets of Venice, most of the time didn’t use a map, found turtles in a park, found a local market on a barge in the back waters & ran through the birds in St Marks Square. All of which was amazing
I don’t think I could go to Venice alone because I would be so lost in a place like that. I like cities with a grid structure, so I can actually read a map 🙂
This is definitely the kind of place where you break down and cry because you are lost.
That first shot took my breath away!
Sometimes getting lost is the best way to see a new place…. embracing the moment.
I was lost 90% of the time I was in Venice…and loved every minute of it 🙂
I had the same thought about the overpriced gondolas when I was in Venice. My fave part was literally getting lost in the streets as you have talked about. We had a week there though, Ayngelina and that still wasn’t enough. How long IS long enough really, for a place you love? 🙂
At least when you get lost in Venice it’s somewhere beautiful! There are plenty of worse places to lose your way. And I love that photo of the Piazza with St. Mark’s in the background. It has a nice mood.
Wasn’t it Venice that that horror movie, Don’t Look Now, took place? Eesh.
Nah, just kidding, would genuinely love to get lost in Venice. Such a romantic image of it. It would be like a dream. 🙂
Been to Venice twice now-never been in a gondola and don’t regret it one bit to be honest! #1 Vaporetto was enough for me!
Some day I’ll do a gondola, well maybe they are still quite costly.
Venezia is a truly beautful place. One can go there to really appreciate the marvel of an age past. It is unfortunate that the city is falling with time.
I know, but nothing lasts forever. It is why you cannot wait to travel, things may not be there if you do.
My husband and I went to Venice on our honeymoon 17 years ago. We did the gondola ride, then about $75.
We had the gondola to ourselves (as opposed to with a group of tourists), and went at sunset with a bottle of champagne. It was so romantic, other people were taking our picture. 😉
Would I do it again? Probably not, but I don’t regret one cent of that experience.
Gondola on your honeymoon? Yeah I’d do that too!
Ah Venice. The city fills with thousands of day-trippers and cruise ship visitors during the day, but at night, the city becomes magical! You can never have too much time in Venice!
My best holiday there was earlier this year: we rented an apartment for a week just a block from the Rialto fish market. Self-catering meant we could meander with purpose: foraging for fabulousness that we could sneak back home to savour on the sunny balcony with a glass of something wet and affordable. Twas fab!