How not to get lost in Venice in 3 days...
We had a short meeting with the beautiful Venice, 3 days long. But that's how long it took to slowly walk through its charming narrow streets, dozens or hundreds of bridges (whoever has enough strength), swaying smoothly, cross the channel on vaporetto - local water trams and visit a couple of famous islands famous for products from glass or handmade lace. And to make the acquaintance easy and relaxed, I will try to give some practical advice on what to pay attention to and what not to lose sight of.
My friend and I traveled, while she flew from Cyprus, and I from Kyiv, by low-cost airlines. Surprisingly, low-cost flights in Europe fly for 20-40 euros, while for a Wizzair ticket you still can’t pay less than 120-140 euros. A few words about the company. Those who have never flown with these airlines should definitely give it a try.
I was flying for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by the brand new aircraft and easy landing, as well as a large amount of luggage - 35 kg and 10 kg of hand luggage. Of the minuses, the main one is an inconvenient airport, where there is one big queue in one small window, no food on board (if you wish, of course, you can buy tea and coffee at a price of 3-4 euros ...but is it worth it? ), a ticket without a seat designation ( here, sorry, our mentality does not allow you to calmly enter the salon in the order of the queue and the people, pushing each other away, are in a hurry to take the “best” places), well, that’s all. Well, perhaps it’s worth adding that the flights of low-cost companies are often rescheduled and delayed, as happened to me on the way back, but for rescheduling the flight, the company, at its own expense, very quickly placed all passengers in a good 4-room near the airport, fed dinner and safely sent home the next day. So I have no complaints : )
Wizzair arrives at Treviso Airport, from where it is very convenient, large comfortable buses leave for Venice about every half hour. If you buy a ticket immediately there and back, you save 1 euro, plus the time you have to queue for the return trip. A one-way ticket costs 7 euros, a two-way ticket costs 13. The ticket is stamped right there, next to the ticket office upon purchase. We get on the bus, load our suitcase, and in about 50-60 minutes we arrive at the Piazzale Roma station, from here we either walk or by water transport. There are no cars in Venice at all, as well as roads : ) On the way, all buses pass the town of Mestre, and if it’s unprofitable for you to stop in Venice itself, then you can easily rent a room here, which will be about half the price. However, you will have to spend time on the road to Venice every day. In order to save on travel, knowledgeable people buy travel cards, which are available for a different number of hours.
We purchased for 72 hours, which cost 35 euros and gave the right to travel by vaporetto around the city and to the nearby islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello, Lido. If you do not plan to move much on the water and do not want to visit the islands, then a one-time pass costs 7 euros and you probably should not spend money on a travel card.
Hotel. HILTON MOLINO STUCKY 5* we were lucky enough to book at a special price. The cost turned out to be exactly a 3-star hotel in Venice itself, so we did not lose. The hotel exceeded all expectations. Spacious room, in the bathroom there are two washbasins, wide mirrors on the entire wall, a bidet and a toilet, as well as a bathroom. Slippers, kettle with tea bags and daily housekeeping... in a word, Hilton. The view from the room overlooked the patio, but we didn't come here for the view : ) As a nice bonus, a free water taxi leaves the hotel on schedule, which takes you directly to San Marco, the very heart of Venice.
You will also be taken back on schedule and also completely free of charge. Taxi runs about every 20 minutes which is very convenient. So the location of the Hilton on the island of Giudecca, a few kilometers from the center, is absolutely not a problem. And the view of the Gulf of Venice from the roof of the hotel, where the outdoor water pool is located, will only strengthen you in the correctness of your choice.
The breakfasts at the hotel are quite decent and expensive, about 35 euros / person, but again we bought them for 15, and the second breakfast was given to us : ) The gifts did not end there, and another bonus from the hotel was a trip to the island of Murano, where the famous Murano glass is made. Well, probably the last plus of the hotel is that the rooms on the day of departure do not have to be handed over at 12-00, which for me personally was a big advantage, given the late night flight home. So the hotel is beyond praise!
What to visit in Venice: Piazza San Marco, home to the Basilica of St. Mark and the Doge's Palace. If there is no desire to stand in line and get into the basilica or the palace itself, then you should definitely take wonderful pictures on the embankment! By the way, those who still buy a ticket to the palace can expect truly luxurious paintings of the interior decoration of the rooms and the gloomy dungeons of the palace, we personally really liked it! The island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where from the bell tower of the cathedral at a height of about 50 meters, where an elevator (! ) for 5 euros takes you, offers a beautiful view of the Gulf of Venice. And given that there are no such tall buildings in Venice anymore, this is probably the only way to look at the city and its surroundings from a height. And of course, numerous churches and cathedrals, which are in Venice ....you will see how many! And yet - in Venice, you can just wander the streets, get confused, get lost, cross the endless bridges....
and get great pleasure from it!
Prices in Venice. Venice is quite an expensive city, living solely on tourism. Therefore, only the lazy, whom I personally did not observe there, will not earn on you. Even a toilet in the city center costs 1.5 euros, not to mention food and souvenirs. As souvenirs, in addition to masks, magnets, original aprons and other trifles, you can bring Murano glass products, traditional Bussola cookies, pasta of various shapes and colors, olive oil, traditional cheeses, prosciutto meat, original dressings for salads and, of course, alcoholic limoncella and grappa.
Food. According to my personal observations, food in Venice is divided into fast food and restaurants. As fast food, you will be offered various types of sandwiches with various fillings for 3-5 euros, and of course pizza, a slice costs 2-3 euros on average.
Tea, coffee - from 3-8 euros, as you're lucky : ) In restaurants, it is customary to include not only tips, but also service, while the waiter will correctly explain to you that this is the price for the "tablecloth". In one of these restaurants, they charged us 7 euros for a "tablecloth" ...all that was left was to ask them to wrap it with them : ) The price of an average dish is 7-10 euros, in size - as lucky, maybe a small bowl of soup, or maybe large bowl of salad. On average, one not very dense dinner without alcohol and dessert will cost 20-25 euros per person.
Tip (! ) In Venice, I managed to try the most delicious pizza, which I read about in one of the reviews of tourists. This pizzeria is located on St. Margherita Square, called Pizza-Al-Volo, be sure to try it!
Gondolas. This mode of transport seems to have been created exclusively for tourists, as the locals only use the vaporetto.
Pleasure is not cheap, in the season it reaches 200 euros for a gondola for a 40-minute walk, now the gondola cost us 80 euros. The maximum occupancy in the boat is 5 people. Personally, I really liked the walk - a slight swaying, beautiful views of narrow channels, gondoliers in a hurry to carry as many tourists as possible, and their OOOO-eee! , which spreads along the canal, so that the gondolier emerging from around the corner can correctly maneuver and go around the boat going towards it.
Tip (! ) look for fellow travelers and pay a fixed amount, you can ask about it at the hotel, for example - it will come out cheaper.
Murano Island. If you are a fan of glass products, you will definitely like it. On average, a set of jewelry from a pendant and earrings will cost you 35 euros.
The rest will surely enjoy a short tour of the glass factory, where they show the manufacturing process itself and offer to purchase something glass and very expensive: )))
Burano Island. Parrot Island is famous not only for famous lace products, Bussola cookies, but also for colorful houses, which were once painted by fishermen's wives so that tired husbands, returning from a catch, would not confuse their house with someone else's.
The way home. Lies through Piazzale Roma, from where you can get to any airport by bus. If you purchased a round-trip ticket, the driver will validate it on the way back. And don't forget to finally breathe in the specific air of the Venetian canals - who knows, maybe you will want to come back again until the beauty has completely disappeared from us under water?
Ciao, Venezia!
