Venice

[thischarmingman]

Going on Sunday for 4 days, anyone any tips/advise?

[Block G Raptor]

Going on Sunday for 4 days, anyone any tips/advise?

Don't drown

[The Good Son]

Going on Sunday for 4 days, anyone any tips/advise?

You're probably going at a good time as it should be reasonably quiet at the moment, for Venice anyway. I think a great way to see Venice is to just wander around and get yourself lost. It's not a very big city so you get to see the best of it, and you'll also probably stumble on all the main attractions that way. Use the the water buses, the Vaporettos, if you have enough of walking. They're very cheap as far as I can remember. A good place for info, I find, is-
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/italy/

[thischarmingman]

Don't drown

I'll certainly try not to.
Don't know if this is what you were referring to (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7249901.stm) but it's had the girlfriend worried all week. We're on a 'rowing' ban when we go. I may have made it worse by informing her that coincidentally, RTE are showing the film 'Death in Venice' in the early hours of Sunday morning, just as we'll be leaving for the airport.

[thischarmingman]

Use the the water buses, the Vaporettos, if you have enough of walking. They're very cheap as far as I can remember. A good place for info, I find, is-
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/italy/

Much obliged, thanking you.

[Block G Raptor]

I'll certainly try not to.
Don't know if this is what you were referring to (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7249901.stm) but it's had the girlfriend worried all week. We're on a 'rowing' ban when we go. I may have made it worse by informing her that coincidentally, RTE are showing the film 'Death in Venice' in the early hours of Sunday morning, just as we'll be leaving for the airport.

TBH I wasn't even aware of that story I was just making the stereotypical cheap joke about Venice which in hindsight wasn't even funny ah well

[thischarmingman]

TBH I wasn't even aware of that story I was just making the stereotypical cheap joke about Venice which in hindsight wasn't even funny ah well

I applaud the effort though.

[A face]

Check out the 10 journey tickets for the buses, and check if they go to the islands (dunno this time of year).

Also, a great part of Venice is the side by the train station (when you come out of the train station, turn left and keep going, not over the bridge) there is a very cool market down there (this time of year will probably be only there 2-3 days a week) theres an Irish bar down there, the fiddles elbow, and a few cool shops.

The 61 bus (i could have that completely wrong ) is the best one to take as start to finish, you see loads of stuff. St Marks Square is cool but its all the little back streets are cool. The river runs in a C shape, get into the middle of the C.

And to state the obvious, the restaurants on the main streets will be dearer, more tourist-y and not as authentic, avoid them over other places. Everybody and their mother will have the Lonely Planet, so dont go there. You'll find loads of other places that are better, if not unbelievably better.

Try and find out if there are any fiera's on locally. There are two fruit markets as well and they have loads of cool shops around them, off the main path. Mestre is the next town as well and its definitely worth a look as well if ye are ticked off of canals after a while.

[bluesfan]

Myself and and girlfriend are going to Italy in the summer, based around lake Garda, and as it's only a 2 hour train ride we plan to make a day trip to Venice. So if you only had six or seven hours to spend there what should we try to see and what should we ignore?

[The Good Son]

Myself and and girlfriend are going to Italy in the summer, based around lake Garda, and as it's only a 2 hour train ride we plan to make a day trip to Venice. So if you only had six or seven hours to spend there what should we try to see and what should we ignore?

If you're only going for a day, you're better off avoiding the biggies - Basilica di San Marco, Galleria dell'Accademia and Palazzo Ducale. You'd waste most of the day in queues. The best way to see Venice in my opinion, as I said to thischarmingman, is to just wander. Get yourself lost. Presuming you're getting the train, there's a vaporetto stop right outside the train station. Vaporetto Nos. 1 & 2 (I think) run from the station to St Marks Square. Get there and start wandering.

[paul_oshea]

Myself and and girlfriend are going to Italy in the summer, based around lake Garda, and as it's only a 2 hour train ride we plan to make a day trip to Venice. So if you only had six or seven hours to spend there what should we try to see and what should we ignore?

bluesfan, i was in lake garda last year, and got a train from verona i beleive, anyhow it took an age to get to venice from what I remember and it was quite expensive.....still though something very appealing about going on a train through europe

[bluesfan]

Thanks for the advise. Getting there and just wandering around sounds like the best thing to do.

Checking out the train timetables suggest that it's about two hours from where we are staying to Venice by train and it looks to be about €30 return, which puts it at around the same price as a day return between here and Dublin.

[A face]

Thanks for the advise. Getting there and just wandering around sounds like the best thing to do.

Checking out the train timetables suggest that it's about two hours from where we are staying to Venice by train and it looks to be about €30 return, which puts it at around the same price as a day return between here and Dublin.

Yeah but look at the distance, its nearly twice the distance in the same time. Trains in Europe show you how crap our service is.