Visiting Venice: A Long Time Travel Wish Comes True

Venice. City of Water. City of Gondolas, Bridges and Palaces. I think from the first moment of seeing photos of this magical city that I wanted to go. And it took me a long time to get there but I'm so glad that I finally did.

Here are 6 things to do in Venice that I think are must-have experiences:

Get Lost and Wander
It's been said that the best way to see Venice is to just wander - and get lost, which is easy to do. The streets and alleyways are a maze in which it's easy to get turned around in. We did it. But it's the best way to see the lived-in Venice and the non-touristy Venice - the alleyways and the arched pathways of cobblestones that lead to dead ends.Give it a try.

Take a Tour

We signed up with Walks of Italy and took their three hour Welcome to Venice tour which included a guide to lead us around Venice, a skip the line walk through St. Mark's Basilica and a 30 minute gondola ride - for, as they say, much less than the going rate. I'd highly recommend doing this if it's your first time to Venice and if you are physically able to walk around the city, and up and down stairs. I learned alot from our guide and loved both the visit to the Basilica and the gondola ride.

Ride a Gondola
Riding in a gondola is the ultimate bucket list item in Venice. It is quite pricey though. Like uber expensive. And in doing my research, some said it was definitely worth it. And some said no. When I was looking at walking tours to take I found the one above that included a thirty minute gondola ride. Perfect. And it was. I'm very glad that I was able to ride in a gondola in Venice. But not because it was super romantic but because it was very cool seeing the gondolier work his craft, interacting with the other gondoliers and seeing the back canals or "roads" if you will, that you wouldn't see without miles of walking.( We were there on a "high tide" day with high winds and it was amazing to see the gondolier handle his boat and not hit his head on the low bridges) Plus, Venice is one of the few places in the world to ride around a city on a boat!

See a Sunset from the Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge is the most famous bridge in Venice. It crosses over the Grand Canal and the perch at the top is a great viewpoint to see the sunset and watch the boats go by. It's the oldest of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal having been in this spot for over 400 years. Now housing tourist shops, the Rialto bridge is in the Rialto district which was the first area of Venice to be settled. Many consider this bridge to be the heart of Venice.

Visit St. Mark's Square
Piazza San Marco, or St. Mark's Square, is the social, religious and political center of Venice and includes St. Mark's Basilica, the Clock Tower and the Campanile of St. Mark's Church. There are shops and restaurants at the ground level of the buildings and the night we were there, classical music was being played while people dined. It was exactly as you pictured a beautiful evening in St. Mark's Square would be like. 

Visit St. Mark's Basilica
St. Mark's Basilica is one of the best known examples of Italo-Byzantine architecture and is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the city of Venice. Located in St. Mark's Square, it's one of the most popular places to visit in Venice. Lines are long- very long - all year round. My visit was part of the above tour that I went on. Thankfully, it was a "skip the line" tour so we were able to walk through the cathedral with our tour guide giving us info. No photos are allowed inside so you'll have to take my word for the uniqueness and beauty of this church. It's well worth visiting on a trip to Venice.

Ride down (or up) the Grand Canal

If you can't afford to ride in a gondola or take a private water taxi tour - or you just don't want to pay for that, you can still get the grand experience of riding on the Grand Canal. Instead of public buses, Venice has public water ferries called Vaporetti which operates as the public bus system. The number one vaporetti line plies up and down the Grand Canal docking at stops just as a bus would pull up and pick you up. Sometimes they are standing room only and sometimes you have the vaporetti to yourself. It just depends on the time of day and the season.You can purchase tickets by machine or vendor right at the stop and also find the schedule. (Note:You must validate your ticket by machine before boarding)

Take in the city view
Our walking tour guide told us of a popular viewpoint and we decided to take her advice to have a view of the city. Fondac0 dei Tedeschi has been a store since 1228 and is now located inside a luxury shopping center. You can visit it's panoramic terrace for fantastic views - with explanatory signs of what you're seeing - for free.( You must sign up online first for a timed slot as they only allow a few people at a time on the rooftop - if you can't do that while walking around there is a sign-up spot right outside the doors of where you line up) It's located right next door to the Rialto Bridge.

I'm so happy that I had a chance to visit Venice. Do I need to return? Maybe someday. But for now there are many other places in Italy I haven't seen. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes! And then some.

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand and The Weekend Wanderlust Weekend Travel Blog Party!