Venice, Italy- Top 10 Fun Things To Do

As you may have guessed, I just returned from a really enjoyable 6 day stay in Venice.  I write this post because I believe Venice has the undeserved reputation of being a place you don't want to stay for more than a a day.  I believe it's because most American tourists may stay near the San Marco Square area...which I hated.  It was so busy and so commercial that I wanted to hurry away every time we happened to be in that neighborhood.  

Instead, we stayed on the far side of the Grand Canal across the Accademia bridge in Dorsoduro.  The area is much more residential.  That's how I like it!  I know I'm a tourist, but I don't want to hang out in a sea of tourists.  I like to experience "real life", and glimpse how the natives live when possible.  If you're like me, and looking for some authentically fun things to do in Venice, then you may want to try some of these ideas... I'm hoping to share these with my group next year!

MY TOP TEN FUN THINGS TO DO IN VENICE: 

1.  Take a Vaporetto Tour- get a seat onboard a Vaporetto and see the city from it's best angle.  If you buy a ticket for an extended tour, you can ride for as long as you'd care to and see a lot of the city. Water taxis or vaporetti, (try getting on No. 1 at Piazzale Roma or even No. 2 lines) have sheltered outdoor seating areas in the back and sometimes in the bow. Experienced Venetian guides recommend taking No. 1 at night because it zigzags across the Grand Canal for 45 minutes from Piazzale Roma to San Marco, and allows you to go beneath the Rialto Bridge and peek inside to see the decorated ceilings and chandeliers of the historic palaces that line the canal.

2.  Hop on Board the Traghetto- For 2 Euros you can ride in a gondola across the Grand Canal.  It's fast and its fun.  The one we rode was just down the street from the Guggenheim Art Collection (toward Santa Maria della Salute and away from Accademia Bridge).

3.  Go to a Vivaldi Concert- The group Interpreti Veneziani holds concerts at the Chiesa Di San Vidal (the church of San Vidal- very near the Accademia Bridge and Vaporetto Station and not far from San Marco Square)  They have a really exuberant showy style of playing their string instruments and are accompanied by harpsichord.  Hearing the music in the setting for which it was composed was fabulous!

4.  Have a Bicherin at Gelateria Paolin at Campo S. Stefano.   It's a yummy coffee/chocolate/cream concoction that is unique and worth trying!

5.  Go to the Venice Jazz Club-  Near Campo San Barnaba- Ponte die Pugni.  They are closed Thursday and Sunday and have a nice evening show they put on.  Get tickets in advance since the club is small.  Despite this, we were able to get 20 Euro tickets for the same night and really enjoyed it.  Click this Link to the Venice Jazz Club

6.  Take a Gondola Ride- for 80 Euros you can split the cost among as many people as you'd like to cram into your Gondola.  It's one of those things you may regret NOT doing if you leave without hopping on board.

7.  See Murano and Burano 
Click this link to read & see photos of our trip to Murano and Burano

8.  Experience the Zattere Promenade-  Have dinner/cocktail on the Zatteré.  Take a stroll.  We loved it at sunset...we loved it in the morning.  This is a beautiful promenade and has a great view.  Our favorite meal was on the terrace at Ristorante Terrazza del Casin Dei Nobile.  We had a wonderful Sea Bass with Pomegranates and Roasted Pumpkin Slices.  I also enjoyed the Salmon/Tuna Stack.  

9.  Campo San Barnaba- Ristoteca Oniga is yummy and it's right around the corner from the Jazz Club.  

10.  See the Peggy Guggenheim Collection-  This Museum houses a fabulous collection of great early 20th Century Contemporary Modern Artists.  The museum is in what was once the home of Peggy Guggenheim, and I loved spending the morning there.  I really enjoyed the audio tour.  It took me 2.5 hours to see it all in a leisurely fashion. 

11.  San Marco Square-  Even though it doesn't make my "top 10",  I include it because you have to see it at least once.  It's a great place to people watch.  If you'd like you can feed the pigeons (though technically you're not supposed to do it).  You can also experience the beauty of the square, but know that you'll probably pay over 20-30 Euros for a cocktail at the bars there.  High tide can cause the square to flood, but they put out logs to use as "stepping stones".  Hopefully the restoration will be complete before long and allow you to see it in it's full glory. 

One of my favorite paintings of this beautiful church is below- by Steve Rogers

Burano and Murano- A Colorful Surprise

Yes, places like this really exist!  Visit beautiful Burano!

A Colorful Surprise- Murano and Burano

After wandering around Venice for a few days, we decided to take a day trip out to the adjacent islands of Murano and Burano. 

A canal in Murano

Murano is known for it’s glass manufacturing and famous for its craftsmanship.  It's everywhere on the island.  It was even embedded into the toilet seat at our restaurant- ;-)  

Murano glass vase

A few of the factory galleries and some of the hotels have an arrangement which allows you to get free transportation out to the island.  The deal includes free water-taxi ride and a short demonstration of some glass sculpting once you arrive.  The water taxi ride is nice and gives you cruising time in the smaller canals of Venice on the way out of the city. The only other way to see the smaller canals is to ride in a gondola. 

Murano has wide open canals which can help with photographs

The price you pay for the free ride is the supervised tour of their showroom.  It’s a little bit like the time-share luncheons in our area.  You put up with a bit of hard sell, for the perk of a free ride.  It’s kind of amusing really…they even corral you in the gallery with a velvet rope, so that you essentially have to ask to leave.  

If you’re interested in browsing the gallery, the free ride out is not such a bad deal.  The salesmen are very knowledgeable about the merchandise, but you can pretty much be assured that you will be paying top dollar if you decide to buy something. 

Murano 

Once you leave the glass showroom, wandering around Murano is actually easy and charming.  We had a very inexpensive luncheon at a sandwich shop and took photos.  The island is quaint.  The canals are wide and the buildings are not too tall, so that makes it easier to photograph.    

Don't you just love an old door? This beautifully decrepit door is in Murano.

Burano was the island we were really excited to see.  It was highly recommended by Lester Lefkowitz, another program leader with his own Il Chiostro program in Venice. He encouraged us not to miss the colors to be found on Burano. Getting there involved hopping on board another Vaporetto boat after our an initial stop in Murano.  

Burano is an explosion of technicolor!

Finding our way to the correct Vaporetto stop sounded easy.  It was not.  There are very few signs to follow on Murano (as usual), which probably helps the merchants on the island keep you there and spending money a bit longer.  Once you find the Vaporetto stop, the diagrams at the stations are not easy to read. Discerning which line to follow is also maddeningly difficult.  I was missing my GPS again, and found that almost every other tourist felt as confused as we did...even the ones using guide books.  We got used to simply asking the ticket officer at the Vaporetto station for directions.  They were the only ones who seemed to know where to go.  We also learned to double check with the boat hands as we got onboard any vessel (just to be sure we were going where we thought we were going). 

Despite our difficulties, we eventually boarded the correct boat for Burano (it leaves about every ½ hr. from Murano).  This little gem was definitely worth the effort!  We heard that going early in the day is best since there are fewer crowds. We didn't make it there early, and we did deal with lots of people.  However, late in the day we were blessed with better lighting and everything came across in technicolor!

Reflections of Burano, Italy

Love these complementary colors next to one another!

Wow!  It’s as if you hit the “Boost” button on your photo-editing program and turned the color up to full volume!  

surreal color is everywhere

These photos are edited, but the buildings are actually this bright.   After our day trip there, I would definitely recommend taking the time to go for your own visit…but unless you want to make a day of it, you may want to study the route first. 

Burano is full of colorful canals like this one

I can't wait to work some of these photos into paintings!  If you're interested in taking art classes with me and learning how to paint what you photograph, think about indulging yourself with art classes.  Watercolor, acrylic, sketching, or mixed media...any and all can be a fun way to record your life and your travels.  

Really?!  Did they just set this up for me?

Whether journaling or doing more serious paintings, the artwork you can create is personal and forever records your connection to places and moments in your life.  In future blogs I will share some of our more art related experiences on the trip. 

Breakfast on the Terrace overlooking the lily pond at San Fedele

If you're interested in traveling to some of these beautiful places in Italy, think about joining me next year for another Cooking and Art Tour of Tuscany.  Whether or not you're an artist, you can enjoy spending time in these visually exciting destinations.  If you're new and want to try painting with us, I'll make it easy for you. 

Just another beautiful morning at Borgo San Fedele...sigh

Whether or not you are a cook, you can enjoy eating and even observing what our personable chef has going on in his kitchen. There's always the option of taking a hike, reading a book, or getting a massage while others are doing the organized activities.  Space will be limited to keep the group friendly, so sign up early and bring your friends along!

San Gimignano- one of my favorite places to visit in Tuscany

Rebecca Zdybel
Artist, Instructor, Art-Travel Instructor
Art Lessons in all media
Myrtle Beach, SC
rebecca@artmyrtlebeach.com

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Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

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