Venice, Italy

Honeymooners
Music-filled piazzas, gondola rides, and bellinis.

Families
With boats as the main mode of transportation, kids are enthralled.

Transfers
Transfers are not included with your vacation package, but a private boat transfer from Marco Polo Airport to your hotel is available.

Train
If arriving by train, make sure your ticket goes all the way to Santa Lucia; Mestre station is on the mainland. Travel time from Rome is about five hours, three hours from Florence, and three hours from Milan.

Car
If arriving by car, you’ll need to park in one of the municipal lots — Autorimessa Comunale, Tronchetto, or San Marco. Parking fees vary from approximately $15 -$30 for 24 hours.

Boat
Once in Venice, you’ll have to walk or take a boat to get around. Boats come in various sizes and fares.

• Vaporettos, or water buses, provide frequent and inexpensive transportation. Multi-day passes are available. Vaporetto No. 1 travels up and down the Grand Canal and is a great scenic ride. Get a seat up front and enjoy the view.
• Traghettos are gondola-style ferries that provide transportation across the Grand Canal from seven different points. They are the cheapest (and shortest) gondola ride, and can save a ton of walking.
• Gondolas are the symbol of Venice. Make sure to agree on the price beforehand; the prices are supposedly fixed, but bargaining will hopefully get you a better price. Prices go up after 8pm. Gondolas can be rented for just two people or shared with up to five others for a less expensive, although less romantic ride. Be sure to tell the gondolier that you want to see the smaller canals.
• Private water taxis, or motoscafo, are very expensive and often don’t have meters. Be sure to agree on the price before starting out and find out if there is an additional charge for luggage or late hours.

Walking
Half the charm of Venice is setting off in the morning with your map and getting lost while you discover a corner or alleyway. You’ll stumble upon quiet squares, wine being sold from large wooden kegs, fishmongers singing of their daily specials, and dogs roaming leash-free in this car-free city.

Venice is filled with wonderful restaurants, many of them specializing in seafood. Here’s a sampling of some good and value-priced options:

• Al Nuoveo Galeon
  Where the locals eat and it’s easy to see why with fresh scampi and huge platters of seafood with crab, shrimp, squid, fish, and more.
• Alla Madonna
  No mega music stars here, just great traditional Venetian dishes like polenta and Adriatic crab.
• Avagaria
  Housed in a renovated fourth-century restaurant, Avogaria will delight its diners with burrata (fresh mozzarella with a creamy center) and seafood. Dorsoduro.
• Cantina do Mori
  Legend says it was the hangout of Casanova, and who could blame him with wonderful sliced meats, tuna, cheeses, and vegetables. San Polo.
• Cavatappi
  A quaint wine bar located behind Piazza San Marco serving wine and antipasti that change daily.
• Il Refolo
  A popular pizzeria owned by a mother and son. Enjoy upscale ingredients on a large, chewy crust. You can even float on up and get a pizza to go for a picnic on the lagoon. Santa Croce.
• Mirai Creative Sushi
  A five-seat sushi bar and two wood-paneled dining rooms attract throngs of trendy Venitians. Cannaregio.
• Vino Vino
  A wonderful, informal wine bar serving simple dishes. Enjoy a wide variety of local and European wines sold by the bottle of glass. Piazza San Marco.

Venice is not known for its nightlife, as the favorite thing to do is to stroll through the narrow streets hand in hand. For a listing of what is going on, pick up a copy of the monthly "Venezia News" or check the tourist office for a copy of "Un Ospite de Venezia". One of the most magical things to do in the evening is to go to a concert in one of the many churches around town. At least 10 churches have ongoing performances. You will usually see a sign outside the church or costumed employees will be stationed at strategic points around Venice handing out leaflets on performances scheduled that evening or the next. Tickets are relatively inexpensive, not usually more that $20. The performances are excellent, often including artists that have recorded classical CDs.

Venice’s specialties are glass artworks, carnival masks, antiques, Venetian lace, and leather goods. The glass in the storefront windows of Venice’s shops can be truly mind boggling, as there are hundreds of shops scattered throughout the city selling various designs and prices in glass. Shops that offer some of the best Venetian glass are Barovier, Pauly, Poli, Seguso, Toso, and Venini. Although one would expect with the popularity of beading that bead shops would be everywhere, it is far from the truth. A good bead shop with hundreds of choices is off Campo Santi Apostoli, on your left just across the little canal, on the main route to San Marco. For more moderately priced jewelry, check out Vetri D’Arte. Hundreds of other stores line the streets; be patient and selective and be aware that the closer the shop to St. Mark’s Square, the higher the prices.

Venice doesn’t have flea markets like most of the other cities in Europe, but does have the traditional fish market, Monday - Saturday, 8am - 1pm, complete with singing fishmongers. The market is on the west side of the Rialto Bridge, then north along the Grand Canal.

Regata delle Befane
January. Champions of a rowing club race along the Grand Canal dressed like the witch who brings Italian children gifts.

Carnevale
The 5-10 days before Ash Wednesday. The greatest of all events in Venice, and perhaps in Europe, is Carnevale, Venice’s answer to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras. Carnevale traditionally marked the all-out period of fun before the period of abstinence, which starts at Lent and ends with Easter. Everyone dresses in costumes, from the waiter at your restaurant to groups of friends laughing and cajoling as they stroll down the street. There are masked balls, concerts, and fireworks throughout the week.

St. Mark’s Day
April 25. To celebrate the city’s patron saint. Every man in Venice gives a single rosebud to his beloved.

Festa Della Sensa (Ascension Day)
May. The day of marriage between Venice and the sea.

Vogalonga
May. Nearing its 30th year, a rowing marathon all around Venice and the lagoon.

European Festival of Music
June. Hundreds of musicians will play simultaneously all over town to celebrate music.

Festa del Redentore
July. To celebrate the end of the plague of 1577. Hundreds of decorated boats take up position by San Marco to admire the fireworks.

Historical Regatta
Early September. One of the most authentic holidays in Venice. Four regattas are held in the afternoon, preceded by an opulent parade.

Annual Venice Marathon
October.

Madonna Della Salute
November 21. A party to celebrate the end of the plague of 1630.

Snacks
All the walking around in Venice can leave you hungry for a snack. Look for a ‘bacari,’ which is a casual café where small sandwiches are served, much like tapas. There are two bacari near the fish market. One is Bancogiro and the other is Do Mori. They have plates of things out so you can point and say what you want.

Glass
When in Venice, you’ll see glassware shops around each corner, but for the best place to purchase some, head out to Murano to the shops of Seguso Gianni or Murano Collezioni.

Ask the Locals
If you don’t know where to eat next, ask your servers where they eat.

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