Venice is such a magical place! I absolutely LOVVVVEE how they have zero cars on the islands.
It feels like you’ve left planet earth and entered an Italian paradise.
So here’s my advice for the perfect, short Venetian stay!…
You can easily access Venice via train, plane, car or bus to the surrounding mainland and from there you must take a ferry, water taxi or private boat to the main and surrounding islands.
This was my second trip to Venice and Anton’s first. The first time I think is always the best because the city is just SOOOO different. You really don’t notice any of the pollution or cigarrette smoke until your second time haha. Anton was ready to jump into the canals and go for a swim until I told him he’d last about 20 sceonds before dying of some horrible disease LOL. He didn’t realize the water was so very polluted with waste, sewage and gasoline from the many boats.
On this trip we took the train from Florence. (Check out my recent blog post if you’re interested)! Btw Italian trains are super cozy and comfortable, offering great views of the countryside! At the station we immediately hopped into a water taxi and made our way to our hotel, the CA Sagredo.
By now you’re probably questioning my comment about how “magical” Venice is. Well, I want to be REAL with you. I want to present as accurate a portrayal of what I’m describing to you all as possible! Venice is awesome but you kind of have to overlook certain things like water quality, morning trash smells (before pickup times) and tourist crowds!
Well… let me get back to the magical stuff and start by describing our gorgeous hotel. Recently renovated, the CA Sagredo is a luxury 15th century palace turned hotel. Many of their rooms have beautiful Grand Canal rooms and have been remodeled in classic Venetian styling.
The hotel’s restaurant is great for lunch, drinks, espresso or just a quick glass of wine! You can sit on a beautiful outdoor patio right next to the Grand Canal. Their salads are delicious and it’s fun to stare across the Grand Canal at the historic Rialto Market.
Remember I mentioned crowds of tourists? The great thing about the CA Sagredo is that it’s about a 20 minute walk from the main squares and cruise ship port. So the cruise ship tourists tend to stay away, making it a whole lot quieter than other hotels like the Danieli. (Not that I mind the Danieli, it’s really beautiful too, but very noisy because of close by traffic.)
Once again, thank you AMEX and Barbara Katz for our incredible upgrade! We had such an amazing suite overlooking the Grand Canal with flowers, champagne, chocolates and a closeup view of a pair of hands coming up out of the canal supporting our hotel!
Lorenzo Quinn’s magnificent sculpture, The Hands, is a symbol showing the two sides of human nature: the creative and destructive. Quinn’s work reflects the global issues at hand: social, economic and environmental.
I must say I was fascinated by those hands. But I was also most intriqued and inspired by the insanely beautiful artwork at the Murano Glass factory! Lucky us, after check-in, our hotel gave us a complimentary water taxi drop off and pick up to the famous Murano island and factory.
The workers made a demonstration in under two minutes- the most perfect little glass blown horse you’ve ever seen! I seriously wanted one of everything. Picasso’s horse was my favorite but I must say after hearing the prices of $8000, $20,000, $50,000, I was afraid to ask how much Picasso’s horse was LOL!! 🙁
Venice is an easy city to see in two to three days so I recommend a two to three night stay.
We felt like two nights was perfect for us because we know how to pack it all in haha! We checked in, toured the glass factory, had some wine, toured the city and walked all over in just one afternoon!
We saw everything else we needed to see on our second day. Our tour guide met us at the hotel around 9am and gave us a three hour walking tour of the city. She was really amazing and knew everything about Venice, having lived there since birth. We really learned a lot about the history of Venice and its people in a super short amount of time!
St. Mark’s square is by far the big attraction that everybody needs to see when visiting Venice. We ended our tour here. The Basilica was built around the 9th century and houses the relics of Saint Mark that were brought over from Alexandria Egypt in 828AD.
You know me, anything ancient and I am SOOO there!
Entrance is free for the Basilica or for 20 euro you can go nextdoor to the Doge’s Palace for a tour which also includes a visit to the Venetian prisons and Bridge of Sighs.
With so much to see and do right next to each other, you really can accomplish a lot in just one day!
We also found a leaning tower, one of the world’s oldest bookstores and the casino! I’d say Venice has great diversity. OH- and if you’re interested in shopping, they have every famous designer’s store on the planet here.
And don’t forget to try a gondola ride! Personally, I’m a big fan of water taxi’s… they’re WAY more stable and less likely to capsize! Of course, it could have been Anton’s climbing around in the gondola that almost made us fall in, who knows?! 🙂
SO… who loves Venice? Any helpful tips? Below you will see a few of our favorite finds where we ate some really delicious cuisine. Remember, local places are the best!
Ohhhh and if you’re looking at Anton’s photo in his wetsuit thinking he’s crazy, you are correct LOL. He is such a nut! He wanted photos in his wetsuit next to those magically “unclean” canals. I was totally embarrassed when the tourists looked at him like he needed to be locked up hahaha and also when the gondoliers yelled at him NOT to jump in!!!! POOR ME!!
Okay now I’m off to teach some pilates this Saturday morning. Come join us!
xx Shanna
