Venice

Kristoph

Kristoph

Kristoph

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Joined
11 May 2007
Posts
8,303
Hi,

Looking to have short break there soon (only two nights). I was wondering if anyone has done the same and can offer a bit of advice?

I've had a brief look, but here's the plan;

Fly into Treviso, arrive early evening. Bus or train it down to Mestre.

Stay in a hotel in Mestre, go out for a meal that evening.

Next day head to the waterfront and get a ferry over to Venice, see st marks basilica / doges palace. Fill the day with whatever.

Go back to hotel. Next day the flight is at 6pm or so, so might head up to Treviso and have a look for the day.


Any glaring problems with above?

Cheers,

Kris
 
Not a problem as such but personally I'd stay in Venice and spend all my time there as opposed to staying in Mestre and travelling in.
 
I was looking at a similar thing, maybe a 5 night city break in April, somewhere around Venice.

I have had recommendations to stay in Padua and get the train which costs virtually nothing to get from Padua to Venice directly, so that was my plan. Padua is supposed to be quite nice, though I've never been. Read around about it.
 
Well I've heard staying in venice can be quite expensive, and I think one long day will be enough (not sure though). Padua looks nice but seems far away, which on a short visit might eat into the time. Mestra is pretty close by and the Hilton has a reasonable price for two nights.
 
It's nothing like it looks on the telly and the canals smell a bit funny. Be prepared to spend £15 on a seven inch pizza and £6 on a can of coke. The whole place is covered in huge billboard adverts and it was the busiest place I've ever been to in my life!

Only went for the day though, might be nicer in the evening :D
 
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Sweetloaf said:
Be prepared to spend £15 on a seven inch pizza and £6 on a can of coke.
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Ahh, the misinformed tourist. Everybody says Venice eating is expensive, I've been twice and never been ripped off. Just be clever and eat with the locals.

Tip: It only 'smells' in the height of summer and its never horrific.
 
On such a short trip I'd stay in Venice itself rather than waste time travelling in and out, I think Venice has more than enough on offer to fill your time plus you can chill a little. If you were going for longer I'd agree about staying elsewhere and travelling in as you could pick a base to let you see the surrounding sights.
 
I would agree with others. Staying in Mestre is a waste of time. If you want something a little bit cheaper than Venice try Lido.
 
Ahh Venice, I love that place :)

I stayed there for a couple of nights with gf a couple of Summers ago and it was brilliant. Arrived at the train station (got train from Milan) and walked around for 5 minutes till we found a nice little hotel for €50 a night with breakfast.

As it was summer though it was very hot and we spent the first day just walking around, there are loads of places to walk, we checked out the Casino as well, you have to pay €10 entry I think it was, but they give you a €10 chip to use (you cant just cash it out), we finished €20 up :D. It wasn't particularly more expensive than other tourist places, there was a place that does a killer kebab for €5, best kebab I've ever had.

We also got a boat to Lido and stayed there for a day on the beach...was brilliant.
 
stephen-roberts said:
I loved this place
http://www.hotelkette.com/en/ nice hotel

Beware off bag salers and airaid siren

Dont beleive the hype about expensive it can be expensive as you make it

me and the other half where drinking champers and having a laugh and we did not break the bank hoping to go back again
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£306 Euros per night! No thanks!

Is Lido a good place/cheap to stay?
 
Recommend the Peggy Guggenheim collection if you have any interest in art. You should also take a climb up the Campanile in St Marks as the view is fantastic.

Didn't find Venice as expensive as I expected. Was only really crowded around the Rialto.
 
I too recommend staying in Venice itself.

We stayed in the Santa Chiara which is near the terminus for the trains/buses on the west side, actually on the Grand Canal. It wasn't a great hotel through memory but the price reflected that.

We loved the place and just explored by foot. We were there for 4 nights and got to see most of it... You'll miss out on a lot if you just go there for a day.

As someone previously said, the place isn't that expensive if you know what you're doing. Go out of season when tourists aren't as much of a problem (and thus prices aren't hiked) and when the place doesn't smell as much, and eat with he locals. We went in April and we didn't find it busy.
 
Top tip for Venice.

Going to the toilet often means going to use a paid public toilet. (€1 per time)

Avoid this by going into a bar and having 'un ombra'. This literally means "a shade" and is a small glass of local wine. It is very much a local thing. Historically wine merchants would sell wine from little carts in St. Mark's square. As the sun moved they would rotate the cart to keep it in the shade and the wine cool. Hence people would ask for a "little bit of the shade"

You will normally pay €1-€1.50 for 'un ombra' and this is about the same price as a trip to the toilet. My wife says "liquid out, liquid in" as you can use the bar's toilet while drinking your wine. Drink it standing up at the bar though - they will charge you more to sit down.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I've spent a little too long thinking over this and the cost of the flights have increased by 50% in the last few days. :(

Plus, two nights is probably a bit too tight on time, considering we'd arrive at 7pm on the first day.

Picked up a newspaper today and the travel section was Venice in 48 hours. Just to rub it in.

Looks like it's going to be a last minute holiday..
 
you must go, it is amazing. But you should also stay in venice itself, and have enough time - 2 full days as a minimum I'd say. Just go out and get lost in the winding streets - a remarkable place.
 
spudbynight said:
Top tip for Venice.

Going to the toilet often means going to use a paid public toilet. (€1 per time)

Avoid this by going into a bar and having 'un ombra'. This literally means "a shade" and is a small glass of local wine. It is very much a local thing. Historically wine merchants would sell wine from little carts in St. Mark's square. As the sun moved they would rotate the cart to keep it in the shade and the wine cool. Hence people would ask for a "little bit of the shade"

You will normally pay €1-€1.50 for 'un ombra' and this is about the same price as a trip to the toilet. My wife says "liquid out, liquid in" as you can use the bar's toilet while drinking your wine. Drink it standing up at the bar though - they will charge you more to sit down.
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Last time I was there I went wandering when the wife was having a cat nap. Found a locals bar, literately a window in a building, selling what has to be the best red wine I've ever tasted, for 60 cents per (generous enough) glass. It was a Bardolino grape, but my fail Italian and the bar keep's lack of English kept the vintner's name allusive :(

Venice is a great place for a few nights. Don't be put off by people saying it's overpriced, smelly, or overcrowded

However

It can be expensive if you stay or eat near the station or ferry docks. Ice cream vendors in St Mark's Square can be a rip. Really fancy pants restaurants can be expensive, but is that surprising?

In the height of the summer season it can smell like a pond near the water. is that surprising? :p

My advice is plan to see all the touristy stuff first and get that out of the way, then go for a wander

Edit: Get a day pass on the shuttle ferry bus. Can be bought from a few ticket offices, 22 Euro iirc (might be for two I can't remember) and well worth it
 
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Bah, I'm about to go nuts and buy 2 nights there. That will give us an evening (arrive at 6pm), the next full day, and up till about 3pm the next day.

Booking flights and hotel in a moment.

Looking at the Hotel Carlton on the grand canal.
 
Kristoph said:
Bah, I'm about to go nuts and buy 2 nights there. That will give us an evening (arrive at 6pm), the next full day, and up till about 3pm the next day.

Booking flights and hotel in a moment.

Looking at the Hotel Carlton on the grand canal.
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When for?
 
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