Springbreak in Venice
My first and only visit to Venice was a day trip on a holiday at Lake Garda as far back as 1987, so it was nice to finally see this amazing city again and with time to see the Islands in the lagoon. Transport in Venice is of course by boat. It applies to everything incl. ambulances, goods, buses, taxis. The local “buses” called Vaporetto are water buses going back and forth constantly and almost always full of people both locals and tourists. The most well-known boats are of course the Gondolas, which are now only used by tourists. Thye are expensive but with so many tourists Venice still has many Gondolas left. The absolute fastest way to get from the airport to the city is also by boat.
I stayed close to St. Mark’s square, and the Harbour so it was easy to get around and great to be able to experience the city in the evenings without the many one day tourists.
Grand Canal
The “main street” is Grand Canal. This is where you find the beautiful palaces side by side, and where the Gondolas, water buses and all other boats moves back and forth constantly. Many of the great houses are museums, and they are often separated by narrow side canals that are associated with a lot of small bridges.
Rialto Bridge
The most famous bridge – Rialto – cross over the Gran Canal, and is filled with tourists and souvenir shops. Restaurants are laying on both sides along the Canal in this area. When you walk a little away from the Grand Canal, there are lots of cozy streets and small squares. Each area is a little different, but whichever path you take, there is never far back to the Canal unless you get stocked ny yet another canal.
Marcus Square
St. Mark’s square includes the port area facing the Lagoon, the Doge’s Palace and the beautiful bridge of sighs. The official name is Ponte del Sospiri and it was originally used by prisoners. (They sighed at the thought of having to get back in the cell). During the day, the area is a throng of people, but in the evening there is delightfully quiet and plenty of space. Both St. Mark’s square and the area along the harbour is lined with many beautiful buildings and with the many boats in the Harbour there’s plenty to look at.
Murano
The island of Murano, known for glass production, is made up of several islands. They are connected by bridges which makes it a “copy“ of Venice. There are glass shops along the main street with vases, sculptures, jewellery, figurines, in all sorts of different colours.
The island also has a glass museum, showing the history of the famous handmade glass production that moved to Murano from Venice 7-800 years ago when the production in Venice got prohibited due to fire danger.
Burano
Burano is another island in the lagoon, which also consists of several islands connected by bridges. The main attraction on the island is the very colorful houses, which is a paradise for photographers as it is some very strong and bright colors. Tourists visiting the island can also find a church with a crooked Tower, plenty of restaurants and handmade embroideries created by the city’s elderly ladies.
Burano inhabitants seems to have good time and enjoying life on their wonderful island despite the many tourists invading their life.
Lido
Lido island is closing the lagoon and have a coast to the Adriatic Sea. It is a long and narrow Island, so for me it made sense to get around by bike. (I am so happy bikes can be rented everywhere today)
Lido was a little less interesting than the other islands but there are nice places and a stunning view along the lagoon shore against Venice. The beaches towards the Adriatic Sea was disappointing as they were closed with trees, fences or walls, so the only way to see the water was to get down on the few public areas. Looking through the trees were plenty of beach houses side by side.
It was really great to see Venice again and the islands Murano, Burano were certainly worth visiting. They are both very charming and unique in their own way. It is difficult to highlight one thing compared to another from the trip. Every day was a highlight .
To stay in the middle of it all and be able to wander around in the narrow streets in the evenings, was probably the best thing about the trip.
This entry was posted in Destinations, Europe, Italy