Venice

Nice, shouldn't be too thronged about town. I've stayed at the Hotel Al Malcanton a few times. Distinctly average hotel but cool (important later in the summer season), clean, relatively cheap and the guy who runs it is awesome :)
 
If you still have some time to gander around take a stroll down some of the back alleys/streets theres many unexpected surprises to be found like craftshops. We stumbled into a small place went inside and was taken back by a grand stairway, the cool thing was there was a half a million pound huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The most crystal i've ever seen it was actually mesmerizing :) I think theyre quite well know for the glass work you might be able to pick up something nice maybe one of the famous masks :p
 
I think we'll take a walk through the alleys to the Rialto Bridge and then onto St Marks Square on our full day.

Is there anything anyone could recommend on our first evening, near the Hotel Carlton?
 
I went for three nights in the height of Summer last year.
I'll get the downsides out of the way first...

- It was very hot, 32 degrees and pretty much 100% humidity, not dropping much in the evening either, it wasn't nice at all.

- On the most part, it was as busy as I expected it to be... until the weekend and the Cruise ships all rolled in, it then became the busiest I think I've seen anywhere. You have huge parties of people going to the major attractions, which means long queues and you have to trudge your way through St. Mark's Square.

- It is expensive, infact the most expensive place I've been in Europe and the same goes for the people I went with. I'm sure there are cheaper places outside of the busier areas, but let's face it, Venice itself is a tourist trap, it's only a small place that relies on tourism. The day I arrived was the first day of the new 'tourist tax' which is a charge levied on any foreigner staying per night in hotels. In the vicinity of the St. Mark's Square area, you can expect to pay a lot for even soft drinks. One night we sat at one of the bar's in the square and not only were the drinks expensive, we had to pay an additional €15 as a 'music' charge for the orchestra band, even though anyone not sitting down can hear them for free!

- Somebody mentioned billboards - Yes, that's true at the moment, there is some restoration work going on around the Bridge of Sighs and the back end of St. Mark's Square. Unfortunately, they've allowed the scaffolding hoardings to be used as advertising spaces, it's a bit crass.

- Yes it's got lots of Africans selling jewellery and handbags, but doesn't everywhere these days? At night, loads of people of Indian or Pakistani origins turn up selling these silly little light up things that you flick up in the air, it gets a bit annoying.

- I thought Harry's Bar (Home of the Belini) was a bit overrated, it's too small as well.


With the bad out the way, I can safely say that it's the most beautiful city I've ever visited and I'd recommend everyone try and see it in their lifetime. There is so much to see and you can literally just go off wandering around the Canals to see where you end up and what you find.

I personally didn't think the place smelled, and this was the height of summer. The only bad whiff I ever noticed was in the hotel elevator for some reason, presumably because the shaft runs all the way down to some murky water. Even on a Gondola it didn't smell bad. The worst smell I had to endure was that the hotel room I had, while lovely, stunk of smoke.

If I was to go again, I would defiantly aim to go during one of the quieter periods of the year, possibly during winter.
 
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Well hopefully it's not too busy, although it will be the beginning of the Easter holidays.

We'll be landing at Treviso, so all I need to do now is work out how to get the train to Santa Lucia station.

Would you say train was the best way, or bus?
 
It's the worlds easiest city to get lost in. Generally speaking I'm pretty good with navigation, however I got so lost in Venice......

Went over summer during the festival. Well was there for a festival. Was a nice place. Not as much to do as you'd think. Maybe the ghetto, doges and st marks obviously. If you have time, it can be quite nice to get a bus travel card thing, and get a water bus down the river.

kd
 
King Damager said:
It's the worlds easiest city to get lost in. Generally speaking I'm pretty good with navigation, however I got so lost in Venice......

Went over summer during the festival. Well was there for a festival. Was a nice place. Not as much to do as you'd think. Maybe the ghetto, doges and st marks obviously. If you have time, it can be quite nice to get a bus travel card thing, and get a water bus down the river.

kd
Click to expand...

Lost? Nah... As long as you have a map and a rudimentary idea of how to find north it's easy. Besides, the bast bits of Venice aren't on tourist maps ;)
 
They also have big signs that point to the major locations, so you can find your way back to say, St, Mark's Square, even if you aren't going the same way you came.
 
I'll probably download the google maps for that area and hope I get some GPS. Should still run with data off if the maps are saved to my phone.

How much would a water taxi cost from St Marks Square back to the Hotel Carlton? Are they generally pretty expensive? I'd like to walk as much as possible though.
 
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Thanks, I hadn't yet.

I would like to have a ride on a Gondola. Can't really go to Venice and not do it.

First night:

Arrive at hotel
Go out for a walk and a drink

Second day:
Up early and have breakfast
Have nice walk through the alleys to the Rialto Bridge, maybe have a coffee nearby.
Go to St Marks Square, visit the Basilica, go to the top of the Campanile.
Water taxi back

Third day:
Maybe have a tour of the Doge's palace (is it worth 25 euros each?)
Have lunch somewhere nice.
Head back to Treviso for a look around before our flight.
 
Sounds good. If you are into history and architecture the yea Doges is worth a visit. There is an Irish bar in Venice too, if you fancy a Guinness :)
 
Tell you what, some of the islands and surrounding land to venice looks frigging amazing.

Big towns at the end of a single long road..Check out a road that goes over the sea to Grado, and another one at Chioggia...Absolutely amazing landscape.. really must visit that place.
 
I'm going to go against the grain and say staying in Mestre is a good idea. I went to Venice a few years ago and stayed in a hotel in Mestre. It was super cheap compared to places in Venice itself and the train runs something like every 10 minutes and only costs a euro.

I guess it depends on the type of break you're looking for. If you're taking someone and want to impress them, you're not going to do that with a budget hotel near Mestre train station. However, if the visit is purely to see Venice, save the cash (or dine in better restaurants etc).
 
only 2 nights and arriving at 6pm on the first day is seriously going to give naff all time really, go for longer or get a morning flight
 
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