Venice - the city of LOVE! I mean, truly there is just no other way to describe it. Venice is a gorgeous city, located in the northeast of Italy, that is famous for its intricate transport system of interconnected canals. It has been described as the most beautiful city built by man and one of Europe's most romantic cities. Between the art, architecture, and culture that this city is known for...I can assure you that you will never fall short of finding something to do. And did I mention how phenomenal the food is?!....Oh my gosh, THE FOOD!! But I will dive more into that category later. FACTS ABOUT VENICE ARRIVING INTO VENICE FROM FRANCE There are few ways you can get to Venice from France, and since we wanted to savor every minute possible, we opted for the quicker (yet more expensive) option - Flying! The flight from Toulouse airport into Venice Marco Polo airport is about 1.5 hours. Once you arrive in Venice, you will have to follow signs for the water taxi (aka vaporetto). It's a bit of a walk, about 10 minutes, so allow enough time to purchase a ticket before getting in line. Once you arrive at the water taxi station you will notice that there is a line you must wait in - this is because the taxi's only come once every 30 minutes, and they can only carry so many passengers at a time. The key here is patience, which kind of stinks, especially when you've had a super long travel day and you're starving! With that said, the ride takes approximately 1 hour to Rialto, but that is all relative depending on where your final destination is from the airport. There are always other alternatives such as land taxis, private water buses, and land buses as well, it all comes down to which you prefer. In my case, the water bus was 100% the better option in terms of scenery, cost, and quickness. ACCOMODATION I was pretty shocked to learn that the hotel we chose was only rated 2 stars, because let me tell you - it was gorgeous! Not to mention, conveniently located in the heart of the city... literally like a 5 minute walk to Piazza San Marcos. Apparently in Italy, any hotel that does not include an elevator, automatically falls under 3 stars. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me, but laws are laws no matter the country! The staff at Hotel Serenissima were not only unbelievably nice, but they were so accommodating. They really took the time to get to know each and every one of their guests and always made sure to be as helpful as possible. I would spend many nights sitting in the hotel lobby, spending time with one of the ladies that worked at the front desk, just chatting about life while drinking and socializing with everyone that came through the door. Those random nights filled with spontaneity were definitely some of my favorite nights in Venice. Highlights at this hotel include free breakfast, a bar/lounge, TV's in all rooms with satellite channels, and popular tourist attractions located within a 10 minute walk. HOTEL SERENISSIMA Location: Colle Goldoni, 4486, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy Cost: $$ (average) About $75-85 per night) Hours: Reception is open 24/7 Website: https://www.hotelserenissima.it/ WHERE TO EAT I don't even know where to begin when it comes to explaining how amazing the food in Italy is! I don't know if it was because I was legit starving after all the traveling, but I can assure you, I've never put away an entire pizza pie the way I did my first night in Venice! I can't even put into words how amazing all the food was - from the pizza, to the pasta, to the seafood....and then the DESSERTS!!! After every single meal comes the mandatory gelato. It doesn't matter if you are so full that you feel like you're going to explode - there will always, and I mean always...be room for gelato! This 100% explains why I went back home 10 pounds heavier at the end of my trip. But hey, it was totally worth it! Below I will provide a few of my top restaurants to indulge in while visiting Venice.
WHAT TO DO / PLACES TO VISIT Although Venice is a small, quaint city, you'd be surprised with how much you can actually accomplish in a short amount of time! My stay here wasn't super long, 6 days to be exact, but it allowed me enough time to check off every point of interest on my previously planned out itinerary. Of course there were many attractions and activities I didn't get to experience, but the ones I was able to explore were nothing short of incredible. Below I will provide a few of my top places to explore while visiting Venice.
Visiting the colorful Islands of Burano and Murano
1 Comment
Rita
5/15/2018 05:14:53 am
More detailed information about quick and cheaper costs of means of transportation and how to get the tickets of each (location of kyosks of tickets), lunch and dinner average costs and more pls
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AuthorWest Coast blogger with a love for traveling and adventure seeking. Archives
July 2018
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