Venice at Sunset.... and other Venice, Italy Things to Do Tips

As mentioned in my travelogue (with heaps more photos taken at dusk), if you're lucky enough to experience such a breathtaking sunset as we did on our second stay in Venice, quickly jump on a Vaporetto and start taking those photos!

You will find many more beautiful photos (taken at dusk), in the travelogues section....

Some our our sunsets here in Brisbane are very much like this - if I look at the sky then close my eyes, I imagine we're standing in the middle of Venice.........doesn't seem to work though :P

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Website: http://www.provincia.venezia.it/html/Home.asp?IDMenu=1&IDHeader=1

Please accept! We were just way to cautious about paying someone 50 Euros to take us to our hotel.....(we were approached at the San Marco Vaporetto stop). 3 1/2 hours later we finally found our hotel - it was an abolutely horrible time - especially with a tired little 5 year old girl, who just wanted a shower and some dinner. It's also not fun to be draggin around 6 pieces of luggage up - over - and down every little "Pont" you come to. We lost the wheels off half of our luggage, so ended up having to literally carry them ourselves. This was a very memorable night - but even now we can't really laugh about it! If you see a large man, with his hair in a ponytail offering to take you to your hotel - please accept!!!

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Address: Vaporetto stop at San Marco.

We declined a ride on a Gondola - they were asking 120 Euros - even in the Winter time (yes ok - it was around New Years Eve). We watched a few tourist groups hop on these, but seeing the man at the back rolling his eyes at the tourists he was with and talking to other Gondola owners - it seemed that somehow the "romanticism" of boarding one of these had disappeared.......

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This was actually more enjoyable than walking along the more well known canals and bridges. Take a whole day just to explore the back streets of Venice - yes - they might be very narrow (and at times can seem a little scary), but it's a very nice change to have an entire "street" to yourself to experience what it would be like to actually live here. Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes though - and an umbrella just in case, because it's a long walk back to San Marco / or Rialto!

Don't forget to grab your free fold out map of Venice from the Tourism office at the Train Station upon arrival (or for those of you driving there like us, from the ground floor Tourist Office situated next to the multi-level carpark).

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Website: http://www.venetia.it/

As mentioned in my earlier tip - some of these little canals away from the main touristy areas are just as gorgeous! Take a panini with you and something to drink, and stand at the water's edge and have yourself a little "picnic"

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It's just so nice to stroll around Venice and discover the many Pontes (Bridges) - the views up / down the canals from some of them are just breathtaking - surprisingly, some of the nicest bridges / areas, are actually away from the main touristy areas!

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We were just so lucky to be staying only 2 minutes walk from the famous bridge "Rialto" (see Accom tips for Hotel details). Although some of the romanticism of this bridge was taken away by the suspicious looking people selling "genuine" Louis Vitton bags for 30 Euros, or the others who just stood there "casing the joint". A trip to Venice would surely be incomplete without walking over the Rialto. Built some 400 years ago, it truly is a beautiful structure - it's just a pity that all the little shops / stalls / street-sellers take away some of the special atmosphere this place has.

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I think almost every tourist does this when visiting Venezia - buy a packet of bird food, and throw it out to the pigeons eagerly awaiting it! Be careful though - they will flock to you from near and far - stand on your arms, shoulders and head. Travelogue follows showing just what can happen, when our daughter feed them for the first time (yes - we ended up having to feed them everyday during our stay).

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Just grab an umbrella and walk the streets! The afternoon we arrived the weather was lovely, but got dark very quickly (and if you've read the intro page, you'll know that we searched for our hotel for 3 1/2 hours in the dark). Too tired to go out sightseeing that night, we decided to wait until the morning. The next day we were greeted with grey clouds and lots of rain. That combined with high water, made visiting the main attractions (San Marco Basillica, etc), less than enjoyable. We simply walked to the east of San Marco square with our umbrellas and headed off to find what other treasures were waiting for us. Don't ever let the bad weather get you down in Venice - it's one of those places that still holds so much charm in the pelting rain. I've even dedicated an entire travelogue for photos of this day, as we found some of the most characteristic and stunning places in these backstreets....

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Obviously this is usually the first place tourists head to - and rightly so! It's a HUGE Piazza in front of the most amazing Basillica we've probably seen in Italy! Filled with Pigeons, gorgeous shops and cafes, you can help but feel very small, standing in the middle of this square. Close your eyes and breathe in - this is what it truly feels like to be in Venice!

Be sure to check out the Basillica San Marco Travelogues for more beautiful photos...

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