Welcome to Venice. As I am now a canal-loving Dutch resident, it was a dream for me to finally visit the most famous water-logged city in the world. As usual when traveling within Europe, it was a quick sub-two-hour flight from Amsterdam-Schiphol for a wonderful three-day weekend vacation. And because of limited tourism due to Covid-19, we enjoyed a relatively tourist-free experience for the trip, and lucked into beautiful weather the whole time. Hotel Firenze hosted us for the weekend, and its central location right near Piazza San Marco was great for exploring the city (top-notch guest services too, more on that below).
We arrived after nightfall, and I had read a tip somewhere about taking a water taxi from the airport into Venice proper. What an experience. Zooming across the water towards the city and navigating the empty canals at night was absolutely incredible. It is far more expensive than taking a bus, but worth every penny. And since the hotel was on the opposite side of the Venice from Marco Polo Airport, we got to see quite a lot of the city this way. If you are splurging on your trip, I cannot recommend this enough. After checking in, we grabbed some late night pizza from Pako’s (10/10 recommend) and take-away beer from Bar Al Campanile (also 10/10 recommend) we sat in a completely empty Piazza San Marco and enjoyed the warm night air before turning in.
As per usual, we spent the following day wandering:
That evening was also spent wandering, mostly along the water at sunset. The views were breathtaking:
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute at sunset. August 2020.
A Dutch boat in Venice. August, 2020.
Throughout breakfast the next morning, we heard heard a Venetian local who worked at the hotel (Ricardo) going over a map with another couple and pointing out all of the best places to explore/eat/visit in Venice. He mentioned something about a really cool tower that wasn't nearly as busy as Campanile San Marco, so I asked him about it after he was done with his presentation.
Thirty-five minutes later I had a map with a hundred X's (don't go there), thirty circles (definitely go there), and the names of roughly fifty restaurants ("TripAdvisor has 1500 restaurants listed in Venezia, I've narrowed it down to 50 for you.")
"Have you ever heard of Noma? It is a restaurant in Denmark that was rated the absolute best in the world for several years in a row [Anthony Bourdain did an entire show about the restaurant/owner]. One of the chefs there was a Venice local, and eventually left Noma to open his own restaurant in Venice. That was temporarily closed due to Coronavirus, so he opened a pop-up at one of the hotels on the Grand Canal with Michelin star quality food for half the price. The Risotto di Gò is a very traditional Venetian dish, and there it is made by one of the best chefs in the world. And the beef carpaccio is maybe the best in the world."
So shout out to Ricardo at Hotel Firenze for the advice and for the best carpaccio and risotto [not pictured because I inhaled it instead of taking a picture] I've ever had.
Santa Maria dei Carmini, 08 August 2020.
Ponte di Rialto from the Grand Canal. 10 August, 2020.
The following day, looking to make the most of the perfect Sunday weather, we took a water bus to Lido, where the beaches are. Again taking Ricardo’s advice, we stopped at El Pecador, a double-decker bus converted into a food truck (with seating on the top deck!) parked right by the beach entrance (10/10 recommend)! The hotdogs covered in cheese may be the best I’ve had outside of America. The beach was an expanse of paid rentals of chairs and umbrellas common to many parts of the Mediterranean. We bought a few towels and walked out to the free section, getting some much-needed vitamin D and salt water. If you are looking to swim in Venice, this long skinny island is definitely the place to be.
Cruising to Lido. 08 August, 2020.
As any guide book will tell you, the Palazzo Ducale (Doge Palace) is a must see. Prepare to spend hours moving from room to room looking at paintings, beautifully carved woodwork, medieval armor and weapons, and golden everything. The statue below is actually in San Giorgio across the water, but hey I needed a filler for an even number of pictures.
Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, August 2020.
Since we happened to be in the Piazza San Marco area already, we decided to grab a quick bite from Pako’s for the second (third?) time. That might be my favorite thing about Italy. Small, hole-in-the-wall places that have some of the best pizza/sandwiches/pasta in the world. Lekker!
Also, three seagulls dive-bombed Aus in Piazza San Marco and stole the tomato straight from the sandwich she was holding. They followed up a few minutes later by trying to grab my pizza. But I was (mostly) ready for them. So just be warned, those gulls are huge, and that’s probably because they are very good at dive-bombing in pairs to distract, while a third bird comes from another direction to snatch. We retreated to the safety of some covered steps between two small glass shops.
The tower Ricardo had mentioned turned out to be the Campanile di San Giorgio, and his advice was excellent. It is another “can’t-miss” in my book, because it is less crowded the San Marco Campanile and you can see the whole of Venice from the top. There was absolutely no line for us, but your mileage may vary in post-Covid times:
Dome of San Giorgio Maggiore from the Campanile di San Giorgio. 10 August, 2020.
Venice was amazing. Just go and wander around for the most part, because the city is truly unique. I do have a few recommendations when you find yourself there:
Hotel Firenze
Pako’s Pizza and Pasta
Bar Al Campanile
El Pecador
Lido Beach
Water Taxi from the Airport
Water Bus through the entire Grand Canal (just buy a Venice Pass for the trip and you can ride all you want)
The church/tower of San Giorgio
The Generator Venice. If you are looking for a cheap way to see Venice, this hostel is awesome. It is across the water from the city center, but if you get a Venice Pass you can boat across all you want and you can’t beat the price. There is a water bus stop just outside and it is right on the water. The bar is great too.
I love Italy, and Venice was no exception. 10/10 recommend. I hope you enjoyed my pictures, comment or like and let me know if you have any questions! Salute!