- Hotel selection
- Nutrition
- Transport
- Entertainment and museums
There is no other city in the world that would be so different from other settlements on Earth. Venice stands on water and is bounded by water. It does not develop in breadth, like other cities, and therefore is attractive. Some amazing silence reigns here, despite the huge number of people who come to the most beautiful city on the planet every year. There is no ground transportation here, which means the air is a little cleaner than in other places.
Seeing all of Venice in one day is unrealistic. Of course, you can run the standard route from San Marco to Rialto, but the true Venice is hidden in the quarters of Castello, Dorsoduro, Canaregio. Therefore, it is worth coming to Venice for at least a week, so that you can slowly walk or take a gondola to go around (go around) all the hidden picturesque corners and become your own in this city.
They say that Venice is a very expensive city. Every budget tourist tries to save a little in it. But, in fact, everything is not as scary as it might seem to an unprepared traveler. It is impossible to answer the question of how much money to take to Venice. Someone will spontaneously want to spend a hundred or two euros on a colored glass vase, which is so suitable for the interior. Some will not miss the opportunity to sip coffee at a restaurant on San Marco or dine at the renowned Harry`s Bar, which has been home to a host of 20th century celebrities. Others will simply prefer expensive gondolas to cheap traghetto and vaporetto boats. And all this requires additional costs. It is not worth bringing dollars to Italy, here the euro is in use. True, dollars will be exchanged for European currency at any bank.
Hotel selection
Before a person who goes on vacation to Venice, there is a choice: to settle in a tourist, well-known island town or on the mainland, which is called Mestre. Many people think that staying in hotels in Mestre is cheaper than in hotels in Venice. In fact, the price per room in three-star hotels in Mestre and Venice is about the same.
Choose Mestre if you want to stay in a more comfortable four-star hotel. In Mestre, rooms in such hotels will cost almost 50% less than in Venice. Also, those tourists who plan trips not only to Venice, but also to neighboring cities, and those who arrived by their own or rented car, settle in Mestre. There is simply nowhere to leave a vehicle in Venice, and there are hotels with parking in Mestre.
There are several categories of hotels in Mestre:
- near the railway station. Rooms in three-star hotels cost about 35-40 euros (Hotel Paris Mestre (39 euros), Hotel Regit (33 euros)). Rooms in higher class hotels will cost 55-65 euros (Best Western Plus Hotel Bologna (65 euros), Best Western Hotel Tritone (55 euros));
- away from the noisy transport hub, in the area of Ferretto Square - more decent and prosperous. It is worth paying attention to the three-star hotels "Hotel Vivit" (44 euros), "Hotel Aurora Mestre" (29 euros), "Hotel Venezia" (49 euros) and the four-star "Hotel Apogia Sirio Mestre" (50 euros). Prices for accommodation in this area are about the same as for accommodation near the station;
- hotels with parking. There are not many of them, only about 10. For example, the one-star "L'affittacamere Di Venezia" (27 euros), which, despite its modest labeling, receives excellent reviews from tourists, B&B "Residenza Giacomuzzi" with three rooms (65 Euro), located 20 minutes from Venice airport, B&B "Milon" (only 15 euros), which is located near the train station.
From Mestre to Venice you will have to travel by bus or train, and this will require additional costs, so it makes sense to stay in Venice itself.
In Venice, it is easy to navigate the pricing policy of hotels: a 3-star hotel room will cost 40-70 euros, 4 stars - 80-120 euros, 5 stars, that is, unique boutique hotels overlooking the San Marco Canal - about 300 euros. In high season, the cost of living in Venice will be even more expensive.
You can stay in the area of Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia train station, the main transport hub of Venice (3 stars - "Hotel Antiche Figure" (Santa Croce area, 77 euros), "Universo Nord Hotel" (Canaregio, 28 euros), "Arlecchino Hotel "(Santa Croce, 76 euros.) 4 stars -" Principe Hotel Venice "(Canaregio, 300 euros)," Hotel Canal Grande "(Santa Croce, 500 euros)," Hotel Santa Chiara & Residenza Parisi "(Santa Croce, 90 euros).
There are also many hotels in the center, in the historic quarters near the Rialto Bridge. It is convenient to live there, as all the main attractions can be reached in 10-15 minutes. On specialized sites, people highly rated 3-star hotels: Hotel al Graspo de Ua (49 euros), Hotel Marconi Venice (64 euros), Ca 'Leon D'Oro (39 euros). The 4-star hotels in the area have also received good reviews: Al Ponte Antico Hotel (€ 240), H10 Palazzo Canova (€ 162), Hotel Ai Reali - Small Luxury Hotels of the World (€ 145) …
Nutrition
Those who came to Venice for one day as part of an organized group probably heard a warning from the guide: do not eat in the city, it is too expensive, and the food is not very fresh, since everything is designed for tourists. This is certainly not the case. There are excellent inexpensive cafes in Venice serving wonderful small sandwiches reminiscent of Spanish tapas. Here they are called chiketti and cost 1-3 euros per piece. They are sold in bars called bakaro. No coffee is prepared here, but a glass of white wine is served with the Chiketty. In addition to chichetti, you can order tramesini (a type of sandwich) and mozzarella (mozzarella balls with different fillings). The best places to try chiketti, and where the Venetians themselves go, are Gia Schiavi in Dorsoduro and Antico Dolo in San Polo.
While in Venice, you should definitely visit one or maybe several local legendary restaurants and cafes:
- Bacareto Da Lele with extremely low prices, which is loved by both local handymen and budget tourists alike. Wine here costs less than euros, sandwiches - a little more. Taking food to take away, you need to comfortably sit on the steps of the nearest temple and enjoy life;
- "Nono Risorto" in the Santa Croce area. They say that they make the best pizza in town with the thinnest dough base and lush filling. A pizza and dessert lunch with a drink will cost about 30 euros;
- Florian is a restaurant in Piazza San Marco, founded in 1720. Here, as in many cafes and restaurants in Italy, the principle operates: a cup of coffee and a cake at a bar counter will be cheaper than at a table. Casanova's breakfast (coffee or any other drink, fruit salad, croissant, toast with butter, jam and honey and a chocolate cake) will cost 45 euros, a set of five macarons - 12.50 euros, sandwiches - 11-16 euros, pasta - 23 euros, salads - 21-23 euros;
- Harry`s Bar is the place where the Bellini cocktail (16.5 euros) and carpaccio (a portion costs 58 euros) were invented.
Transport
Buses run on the mainland adjacent to Venice. Tourists travel around Venice by gondolas, water taxis, vaporetto and traghetto ferries. Vaporettos have long routes with many stops. A one-time vaporetto ticket (75 minutes drive) costs 7.5 euros. Traghettos simply transport residents and visitors to Venice through the Grand Canal. The fare is about euro.
A daily ticket, which allows you to use buses on the mainland and vaporetto in the city, will cost 20 euros, for two days a ticket costs 30 euros, for three days - 40 euros.
An hour-long gondola ride is expensive. You will have to pay about 80-120 euros for it. In this case, the gondolier can sing some Venetian song and demand additional payment for the performance. Despite this extortionate rate, Venice's 425 gondoliers, that is how many there are in the city, are overwhelmed with work.
Buses run from Marco Polo Airport to Venice. The fare is 8 euros. In 2019, they will take you from the airport to the city by water for 14 euros, and to the island of Murano - for 7 euros. You can get from Mestre to Venice by bus (1.5 euros), tram T1 (1.5 euros) or train (1.25 euros).
From Venice you can go to the nearest islands of Murano, Burano, Torcello. The usual vaporettos go there, the ticket price is 7.5 euros.
From the train station you can go on a one-day excursion to Verona. The ticket will cost 9, 25-27 euros - depending on the type of train. In just an hour, the train will take you to Vicenza. The fare ranges from 6 to 21 euros.
Entertainment and museums
Lovers of classical or jazz music can be advised to purchase a ticket for a concert at the Teatro La Fenice, which opened after a lengthy restoration in 2003. If you don't want to listen to music, then at least see the theater with an audio guide (available in Russian). His visit will cost 11 euros. A half-hour concert is included in the ticket price (€ 13) to the Querini Stampalia Museum.
In general, it is cheaper to visit museums in Venice with a special Museum Pass. For 24 euros, you can see 11 different museums in the city, including the Doge's Palace. The card is valid for six months.
For 20 euros, you can buy a ticket only to 4 museums, which are located in St. Mark's Square. A permit for visiting museums located on the islands of Murano (Museum of Glass) and Burano (Museum of Lace) costs 12 euros.
Some Venetian churches are chargeable. They are at the disposal of the Horus Association, which sells tickets to these temples. To visit 16 churches where masterpieces of painting and sculpture are kept, it is enough to purchase a single ticket for 12 euros. The ticket can be used for 1 year.
If you are sorry for the money for a ticket to the observation deck on the San Marco Campanile, but you really want to see Venice from a height, then you should go to the Fondaco dei Tedesci department store, on the top floor of which there is an open terrace, where absolutely everyone is allowed free of charge.
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If you go by vaporetto and walk a lot, eat pizza and chichetti in not the most expensive establishments in the city, do not give up visiting museums and paid churches, afford several trips to the nearest islands, then 300 euros will be enough for a week. Take an additional 300-400 euros for shopping, entertainment, gondola rides, going to expensive restaurants. Hotel prices are not included in this budget.
