Gondola

If there is one thing you ought to do while you’re in Venice, it’s to see the city from the water. It is truly amazing how everything we do using our cars, is done there with boats. For example, we saw boats as ambulances, trash pick-up, taxis, and as personal transportation. When you find a gondola at a gondola station you should ask your gondolier what he will show you and set a price before you get on so you do not get ripped off. The average cost of a short gondola ride is 100 Euros. There are 40 km of canals in Venice so if you want to see it all you’ll have to bring a sleeping bag and stay on for days!

When you are on your gondola tour you will get to sit and listen to your gondolier tell you about Venetian history as you relax through the many canals Venice has to offer.

Gondola Stations:

Danieli

Molo

Dogana

Bacino Orseolo

Trinita (Bauer)

Santa Maria del Giglio

San Toma

Riva del Carbon

Santa Sofia

Ferrovia/piazzale Roma

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco has been the city center of Venice for hundreds of years. Built in the 9^th century the square was built around St. Mark’s Basilica or the Basilica of San Marco. At the time, the Basilica was just a small chapel that was a part of Doge’s Palace. Within the square you will find the Basilica of San Marco, Doge’s Palace, a bell tower, two columns, a library and the first café called the Florian. The square is used for religious and civil ceremonies. It is now the city’s main tourist attraction.

The Basilica of San Marco is a church done in Venetian-Byzantine style. The Basilica has its own bell tower, or campanile, which stands almost 100 meters tall. The square is also known for two columns that stand at the entrance to the square. They pay homage to two Venetian patrons, St. Mark and St. Teodoro of Amasea, as well as acting as the gateway into Venice.

The Doge’s Palace is a gothic structure that faces the Venetian Lagoon. It was completed in the 1400’s. It is where the government has been placed for centuries, the palace of justice, as well as the home of the Doge, the elected ruler of the city. You can enter the Palace and tour it as a museum. You will see the chambers where prisoners were kept, the salons of the Doge, court rooms, and many weapons.

This is the Venetian version of a suggestion box. They are found around the Doge's Palace as a place for the bourgeois to write suggestions. As long as the notes were not anonymous they would be read.

Where you see two red columns, this is where criminals were executed.

Within the square you will not only see tons of tourists, but also tons of pigeons. You should know that Venice has passed a law that bans feeding the birds.

“I Saw Venice”

As our wise gondolier said, “It is different to say I visited Venice, and I saw Venice. You must allow your self to get lost to really see the city.”  This is exactly what we did on accident upon arrival to Venice. After checking into Hotel Danieli, we got a map from the concierge with directions. After losing the map a half hour into our exploration, we chose to let ourselves create our way. We wandered over beautiful bridges and through fresh markets! We lunched at a small canal-side restaurant and then spent a good 2 hours “lost” until we found a ferry station. We hopped on the ferry, hoping it would take us to another stop where we could get a new ferry to head to Burano. To our surprise, the ferry stopped right in front of our hotel! So, my number one tip for Venice is: get Lost! It is much cooler to really see the city and get away from all the tourism!

Vaporetto

The ferry system is an easy and cheap way to get just about anywhere you want to go around Venice. Once you understand how the system works it is incredibly easy. What you should be warned of though is that they are not fast, and you should allow enough time to get from place to place. Also, we used the ferry system on the hottest day of the year, thus it was very hot and musky. It is 7 Euros for a one-hour pass or 20 Euros for a 24-hour pass, which seems to be the best route to take. You can also buy a 7-day pass for 50 Euros.

Here is a map to familiarize your self with the system:

Burano

One of the first sites we visited upon arrival was the island of Burano. When we reached the island, we were greeted with an array of lavishly colorful homes and buildings, parks and canals full of boats.

Burano is a very small island in the Venetian Lagoon. It is known for its colorful homes. In Burano, you will also see the leaning campanile, which is the bell tower at the church of San Martino. You can also visit the Lace Museum, although we did not do this. Lace is one of the things the island is famous for.

My sisters and I had a great time walking through side streets and photographing all the beauty. We also enjoyed strolling through the main street with various shops and eateries. We especially loved getting scoops of gelato to cool us down in the heat.

Compared to the tourist filled streets of Venice, the island of Burano was very lovely and refreshing.

What you should know about getting to Burano is that it will take up a large chunk of your afternoon if you don’t know what you’re doing. We traveled to Burano via Vaporetto (a ferry). Depending on where you start, it could take a few ferry switches. We spent about 4 hours in various ferries to get to and from Burano, as we were very confused to start, but it was well worth it! The ferry that will take you to Burano is Vaporetto #12, so hop on that one when you see it!

Hotel Danieli

Have you ever hoped to stand in the same spot as Angelina Jolie or Johnny Depp? Or maybe you want to see the hotel where “The Tourist” was filmed? Well, right next to Saint Marcos square you will find Hotel Danieli. This is where we stayed and I can say that this hotel is nothing short of beautiful. An ex-palace, Hotel Danieli is unlike anywhere else I’ve been.

If you choose to stay here, be sure to have breakfast on the roof deck. From up here you have an incredible view of the Venetian Lagoon and surrounding sites.

We could look out at all of this while we ate!

Also, check out the view from our window!

Venice

On Wednesday, I arrived into Venice with my older sister, Samantha, and my younger sister, Michelle. We traveled around Venice for 2 days before departing for Rome via train. We will be in Rome until Tuesday, when Michelle and I will leave for Lyon, France to visit friends before returning to Italy. When we return to Italy, we will be going to Sienna for the Palio. I will be updating my blog as frequently as I can when WiFi is available!