Venice has become a sort of cursed place for me, but that will never stop me loving it! I have been to Venice twice for my birthday in my twenties, and both times I have been dumped shortly afterwards! Haha! Remind me never to take someone else there!
The fact that I would risk it all again just to catch another glimpse of Carnevale or those waterlogged streets, says it all! So here are some of my best tips to make the most of Venice on a shoestring budget!
When you tell people you have been to Venice, their first question is always ‘Oooooh did you ride a gondola?!’
The first time I went, I forked out €90 for a couple’s gondola tour, which felt like a lot at the time! But, this time without even meaning to I go a ride for free! (The gondola is stationary, but you get the experience) You can too, at Aqua Alta Library!
Despite what you may read on other sites, this library, while unique, is certainly NOT A HIDDEN GEM! But don’t let that put you off, it’s not as if the crowds who just left the Basilica in San Marco are being marched straight to the library door! It’s a tight fit, but what cosy library or bookshop isn’t?!
The Aqua Alta library, so named because it floods regularly with the high tides causing books to float around the shop (high water = aqua alta)! This also explains why most of the books are on display in bathtubs and gondolas, waiting for the next rush of water. If you aren’t visiting during aqua alta (the water is usually deep enough to swim across the main square!) you can still see its effects either on the tv in this little courtyard or the waterline mark running across the spines of stacked books!
Of course, you can buy Italian and English second-hand books but most people (tourists) come here for the photos. The favourite spots for a great shot are in this courtyard (below), the staircase made of books in the back of the shop or the ‘fire escape’ – an open doorway on to the canal which now has a permanent gondola tied to the shop, for visitors to climb on board and take their gondola selfies without paying the €80 fee!
If only there was a large rooftop balcony from which you could see the Grande Canal, Rialto Bridge, the Basilica and San Marco!……. Oh wait, there is! AND it’s free!!
This perfectly positioned rooftop belongs to a very overpriced but glamorous department store, who amazingly will let you on its roof for free (in 15 minute slots)! To get to the roof, you must take the red escalators through every floor of the department store (which resembles a square coliseum). This ensures that all you freeloaders (me!) pass by the archways framing Gucci belts and Armani suits that you know you can never afford!
We went for the morning slot (at around 8am) which meant I was still munching on a packet of french toast when we went in, which I quickly tucked into my pocket, suddenly feeling too scruffy to be in here haha! Even the doormen who control the rooftop entrance look like Men in Black agents designed by Armani! It’s a little intimidating but also adds to the luxurious and secretive feeling of the experience!
*I would recommend booking in advance, as although the site says you can just turn up, it’s very popular and you could be standing there for a while!
I always read lots of blog recommendations before travelling to a destination, even if I have already been there before (just encase something new has cropped up). Before coming to Venice this time, I had read lots of blogs suggesting I should get my Bridge of Sighs photos from the little steps (only 2) next to the canal, below the bridge – boycotting the tourist trap of the bridge above!
I would instead suggest walking back towards San Marco Square and walking down the side street around the back of the Basilica which will bring you to a gondola stop in front of a little bridge parallel with the Bridge of Sighs! This is far better in my opinion, because it is this view, out on to the lagoon, that gives the bridge its name and why it is so famous! This was the last view prisoners would ever see as they were transferred from the palace to the prison from which few returned, their last sigh/breath. (Its also quite funny to photo-bomb the photos of all the tourists on the opposite bridge! haha)
*If you are visiting Venice with your partner you may want to take a gondola ride under the bridge. Apparently, if you kiss under the bridge your love will last forever!! – Maybe that’s where I’ve been going wrong! Haha
The first time I went to Venice one of my favourite things to do was to feed the Pigeons in the main square! For someone who is scared of any animals with a fin or wingspan longer than a couple centimetres, I was very proud of myself for becoming the world’s least effective scarecrow!
Unfortunately, the second time I went (just before Coronavirus kicked off in Europe) no one was feeding pigeons and I even saw signs forbidding it this time! I did think for a second that maybe the signs had been there all along and could be ignored but I looked around the square and even the men selling/scamming bread for you to buy for the pigeons had disappeared!
I know you guys aren’t going to Venice just to feed pigeons! But if it will improve your trip, you can be sure to find the lovely rats of the sky perched at the waters edge beneath Rialto bridge where they catch unsuspecting crabs from the steps! On my last day in Venice, I had 9 hours to spend by myself, so I spent a good twenty minutes of them watching the pigeons and seagulls catch crabs as I waited for that perfect shot of a gondola sweeping under the Rialto bridge. Only when I finished snapping photos and lowered my camera from my face did I realise a Chinese family or two had sat down with me to watch the seagull vs. crab battle!
Every morning from Tuesday to Saturday the Rialto Fish market springs to life on the shores of the Grand Canal. Come early (7.30) to experience life as a local, just as the market is opening and the seagulls start closing in. Personally, I don’t like seafood so this added an extra level of curiosity for me, watching sellers weighing the live lobsters who refused to stay on the scales, oysters in their shells being stacked into a paper bag like cookies or produce being kept fresh by spraying the display with a watering can.
After you have visited the market it should still be early enough to have the Rialto bridge almost to yourself, as it’s just around the corner from the market. If you do decide to explore Venice in the early hours of the morning (which I highly recommend!) just watch out for the bin men who steer large cages around the narrow alleys collecting bin bags before all the tourists descend upon the streets (just jump out the way when you hear ATENZIONE!).
The view from the Accademia Bridge, looking out towards the lagoon is one of the most iconic photographs of Venice! It’s also a great spot to try your hand at light painting as the vaparetti which pass under here at night are particularly patriotic and have three lights that crown the boats, red, green and white, which paints the Italian flag across the water as boats pass in the night!
Whilst the bridge itself is nothing spectacular, there are a few places just round the corner in the neighbouring streets which are! Both in opposite directions but only a short walk.
First, the Square san Trovaso boat dock, home to the last gondolini craftsmen in Venice. Tours are available for groups but can be pricey! I suggest taking a Venetian picnic and perching on the wall opposite the boatyard! Ver romantic and MUCH cheaper!
Second, the Basilica Di Santa Maria Della Salute, pointing out into the lagoon, almost opposite San Marco square. To get to the church you must take a short 8-minute walk through the neighbourhood of Dorsoduro from Ponte dell’ Academia, laced with cobbled picture-perfect streets tucked around each turn and bridge. Also possible to find some quieter restaurants, bars and art galleries down here, hidden from the crowds!
It’s not often you get to feel like an explorer anymore, especially in Europe! However, Venice’s maze of backstreets and narrow alleys can still offer this feeling of excitement, of not knowing what gems are hidden around the next corner or through that archway! Even better, tourists don’t tend to stray from the main tourist paths in Venice (Rialto to San Marco) which leaves you free to traverse the alleyways only ever bumping into locals (who may look at you as though you are lost for straying this far) and coming across deserted jetties opening up on to the canal. I would say 9 times out of 10 wandering down a single street in Venice you will happen upon a beautiful courtyard or unexpected view, your curiosity is certain to be rewarded!
Check out my favourite places to discover in Venice’s labyrinth in my next post (link)! Here are a few to tease you guys with!
It’s not often I use this expression, but sitting on the edge of the canal watching the illuminated water show that opens the Venice Carnival is a once in a lifetime experience. It is an incredible show brought to life by fire dancers, acrobats suspended from the ends of cranes and last year a woman floating above the canal beneath a cloud of red balloons. The 2020 theme of the carnival was love and folly which was encapsulated by the floating lady and the male acrobat suspended on the crane joining in the night sky as the music played, they joined to embrace and the entire crowd cheered! The music the organisers play while you wait is nothing special, but once the show starts the music changes to match the dance of the performers. Last year they opened the show with Einaudi, an Italian pianist whose compositions are beautifully haunting and touching!
The show takes place in the Cannaregio district of the city and lasts for about an hour. There are two showings, so make sure you get to the first one (at least 2 hours early or you will never be able to weave your way through the crowds quick enough to find a place). The best spots to secure are right on the canal edge (seated). Just make sure you don’t sit near/on steps as boats tend to come along and dock there just before the performance (very annoying if you have been waiting there thinking you nabbed the perfect viewing spot)!
I would also suggest you take some gluhwein or hot drinks to keep you going while you wait, as it can get chilly! Some people even brought blankets and cardboard to sit on haha! If you arrive a bit late its always worth asking if you can sit down in front of the people standing, as you won’t be in anyone’s way and they don’t want to sit there anyway!
There is another show on the water (parade of the decorated boats) on the second day of Carnival but we didn’t really feel it was worth the two-hour wait! We had been told to watch the second show in the same place as the first night, but later realised it would have been far better to wait along the edge of the Grande canal as you can see all the themed gondolini at once, of which there are many more than ever make it to the canal in the Cannaregio district!
Instead, I recommend getting up early on the second day of carnival and heading towards the gondolini moored at San Marco where you will find people in full traditional costumes posing for packs of photographers! If you aim to get there for 7am you will be able to photograph the sunrise, which makes an otherworldly backdrop for the Venetian costumes! If it is the masks you love the most try to stick around for the second weekend of Carnival which is when the competition for the best mask is held in the main square! people really go all out with their masks so have your camera ready!!
The ‘Snail Staircase’ of Venice, was commissioned by the Contarini family who felt the palace they had purchased was not grand enough to reflect their reputation! The staircase soon became the talk of Venice and the family revelled in the attention. The entire Contarini family had high standards to uphold, no less than 8 members of its family had reigned as Dodges (Kings/Mayors) of Venice!
You can visit this beautiful spiral staircase and enjoy the terracotta landscape poured out in front of you, framed by the arches of the balcony. I would say you can wave to your friends who decided they would rather go up the tower in San Marco, but they are probably still queuing! ;p
Really enjoyed reading this post. You brought 5he plac3 alive to one who will never get there. Xx