Venice is widely considered to be one of the
most romantic destinations in the world, but unfortunately without proper planning it's very
easy for your dream trip to turn into a nightmare. Hi I'm Christina from HappyToWander.com,
and Venice was actually the very first city I ever visited in Europe I've since been back
several times over the years both for fun and for work and in that process I've learned a lot
of must-knows the hard way so in this video I'm going to be sharing all my best Venice tips and
must-knows for first timers to help ensure that you have the best trip possible all right let's
get started with some basic must-knows and travel planning tips. First off, it's helpful to know
that the Italian name for Venice is Venezia, so this is the name that you're going to be
looking for when you're taking buses or trains. In addition to knowing that I do think it's quite
important to learn some basic Italian before you go. The truth is Venice gets its fair share of
really rude and terrible tourists so if you make a bit of effort to learn the local language it
makes it a lot easier for you to communicate and locals are more likely to be receptive to
your presence so on that note I'd like to thank this week's sponsor, Babbel. Babbel is one of
the world's top language learning apps and it is really ideal for pre-travel practice just
because it emphasizes conversational phrases and vocabulary that you're actually going
to use when you're traveling so things like ordering drinks at a bar. "Un vino" or asking
for directions. The lessons are short and snappy so you can squeeze them in any time and there's
also a really fun variety of different exercises, all of which give you a very satisfying ding
when you get it right so it really appeals to me. "Andiamo in Metro". And they also have specific
travel themed lessons as well so for instance you can learn some slang for when you go to Venice.
"L'Ombra". So if you want to give Babbel a try, you can check out the link in my description
for 60% off of your subscription whether you go for one month or even their lifetime subscription
which includes all their languages so be sure to let me know in the comments which language you
would most like to learn and be sure to check out Babbel in the description below. Alright,
next in terms of how long to stay in Venice, a lot of visitors actually choose to come to
Venice just for a day because accommodation can honestly be really expensive but to be honest
with you if you want to get the full Venice experience I would highly recommend at least
staying three nights so you can be there you know in the morning before the day trippers arrive
and also in the evening after they leave trust me it's a much more magical experience that way.
Plus as of 2024 Venetian authorities are going to be trialling a new day trip fee of €5 to kind
of deter people from just coming in for the day during peak periods so there's also going to be
an additional cost as well and in terms of when to visit unfortunately there's no such thing as
quiet season when it comes to Venice just because it is one of the most popular destinations in the
world so even if you go in the winter time there's probably going to be people but if you're looking
to get away from the busiest periods I would avoid peak seasons like summer, Ester and also Carnival
season. Winter is when you'll generally find fewer crowds but of course it does have its own
downsides like gloomier weather and more potential for rain and floods so to get the best of both
worlds I would recommend trying to time your visit for Spring or Fall. In terms of arriving in
Venice, the main airport is the Venice Marco Polo Airport which is only 5 mil away from the city
there's also the much smaller Treviso airport which is about 25 miles away and services only
budget Airlines like RyanAir and Wizz Air. For that reason you can often find pretty cheap
flights going into that airport from other European countries so if you're planning a bigger
trip that includes other countries in Europe then it might be worth looking into flights into that
airport as well. To get to Venice from Marco Polo Airport, the quickest option is to book a private
water taxi this of course does not come cheap and starts at €120 this can be worth it if you're in
a bigger group or if you just want that once in a-lifetime experience because it only takes 30
minutes and is of of course the most glamorous option as well another much cheaper option is to
take the Alilaguna water bus also known as the Vaporetto. This has three potential routes that
go to Central Venice for only €15. Do bear in mind though that this is much slower and can take over
an hour. You can also opt to take either a taxi or a bus which is a little bit cheaper but bear
in mind the closest you can actually get to the historic Center is Piazzale Roma and from there
you actually do have to continue your journey either on foot or or by taking a water bus anyway
so just keep that in mind. Apart from flying, one of the best ways to get to Venice is simply
by train Venice is very well connected to the rest of the country through the Italian rail
network which has over 2,000 stations. If you do take that path though take note that there are
two different stations that have Venezia in their name. Firstly there's Venezia Santa Lucia which
is the Central Station that is actually located in historic Venice and there's also Venexia
Mestre which is located on the mainland and is actually where a a lot of locals live and where
you'll find a lot of administrative buildings to be honest unless you're staying in Mestre, odds
are you're not going to want to get off the train there so just double check before you get off the
train that you are actually at the right stop. Now the last option for arriving in Venice is by car.
Unfortunately as you should know by now there are no cars allowed in the historic center of the
city so if you do drive you're going to have to end up leaving your car in a pricey parking lot
throughout the duration of your stay so just keep that in mind. In most cases that's probably not
going to be the best option unless you're may be planning a larger road trip across the country.
Alright now let's chat about where to stay when choosing accommodation in Venice proper the two
main options are the historic center of Venice and Mestre which is as I mentioned before the mainland
part where there's a lot of admin buildings and also some cheaper options for hotels as well. If
budget allows staying in the historic center is always preferred because that way you can easily
explore Venice before and after the day trip crowds and also just feel like you're properly in
the city. This central area is divided into six districts known as Sestieri, each with their own
pros and cons. To help you get your bearings one of my favorite things about Venice is if you look
at a map of it it's actually shaped like a fish so you can think of the Santa Lucia train station
as the eye of the fish. If money is no object, staying in the belly of the fish is going to put
you in close proximity to most major sites with San Polo and San Marco being the priciest and
busiest neighborhoods. Dorsoduro here is also a great choice with some more affordable options
and some quieter pockets as well if your goal is avoiding crowds though the tail of the fish,
Castello is probably a better option. This is the largest of the Sestieri and also the
quietest relatively speaking and in terms of transport links, the most convenient areas are
Cannaregio, the head of the fish which is home to the Santa Lucia train station and Santa Croce,
the fish nostrils I guess. This is the area that's home to the transport hub Piazzale Roma that I
keep talking about. But of course the Vibes in these transport hubs isn't necessarily the classic
historic vibe that a lot of people think of when they want to stay in Venice. Overall there are
pros and cons for each of these areas so I would recommend just sitting down and determining what
your individual priority is and be sure to check out my step-by-step guide on how to find the best
hotel every time if you need a little bit of extra guidance. My last tip in terms of travel planning
is to simply pack light. Many modes of transport Like Water Taxis and boats in Venice actually
have restrictions on how much luggage you can bring plus no matter what at some point during
your trip you're going to end up having to carry your bags whether that's to bring them up over
a bridge or to bring them to your hotel so just keep that in mind. Now it's time to talk about
tips for Venice transport and getting around. When it comes to the central core of Venice as I
mentioned before, this is a car-free city so your two options for getting around is either on foot
or on the water. In terms of water transportation, the cheapest option is to go by Vaporetto, which
are like public water buses. One-way tickets can be quite steep though at €9.50 each which is why I
would highly recommend buying a travel card which is valid for set periods like 24 hours 48 hours 72
hours or a week and that way you're going to save a lot of money. You can also book a Motoscafo or
private Water Taxi but of course that is going to cost you way more with trips within the historic
center commonly costing minimum €70 regardless of where you're going. Of course there's the world
famous gondolas as well but those actually aren't really meant for transportation they're more
meant for sightseeing so we're going to discuss those later. The other main way to get around is
by foot which can be great because you see more and you feel like you're really experiencing
Venice. On the other hand it can also be quite terrible because it's very easy to get lost in
Venice and during peak season the crowds can make it pretty unbearable one important thing to
note is that GPS services like Google Maps don't actually work very well in Venice so I would
try my best not to rely on it instead I would would plan my route with important landmarks and
street names in mind just so I'm able to find my way even if my data isn't working. Having a backup
offline map downloaded or a physical paper map can also be really helpful so you have a point of
reference. Most hotels will give you one once you check in. I find with Venice it does help to
just assume you're going to get lost because that way you're going to build in more time buffers
between booked activities and also it's going to be less stressful if you're anticipating to get
lost because honestly at some point you will and if you're going during peak season I would highly
recommend adding an additional buffer of 10 to 15 minutes just because the foot traffic can really
slow you down that much. I'm going to finish this section with a brief overview of Venetian street
signs which are known as Nizioleti and these are only really helpful if you can understand them
so that's why I'm going to briefly explain because they're not as straightforward as most
street signs. The most common word you'll see is Calle which is basically just the generic word for
Street. Some variations of this that you might see include Calle Larga which means wide street and
Calleta which means narrow street. In any case, this word generally applies to streets that have
buildings on both sides. This is in contrast to a Fondamenta which is a canal side street that has
a building on one side and a canal on the other. Ramo is a small side street that often leads to
a dead end. Sotoportego are unique passageways that go underneath buildings and you'll also see
other terms for street that don't necessarily have anything to do with the physical properties of
the street themselves but rather to do with their historical context, so Salizada for instance is a
word used for some of the city's most historically important streets which were the ones that were
paved first while Rio Tera refers to streets that used to be canals before they were filled to
make streets and Ruga are streets that used to be filled with compacted soil so your shoes don't get
dirty. Now in terms of typical Venetian squares, the word they actually use is Campo which is
different to the Piazza that most other Italian cities tend to use. In Venice actually there's
only one Piazza, and that's Piazza San Marco or St Mark's Square. Of course, very important is the
word Ponte which means bridge and it's important to note that the word used for most of Venice's
waterways is actually Rio and not Canal, which is only reserved for some of the biggest and nicest
and most famous canals. Now to get your bearings, once you're in Venice you can look out for signs
that have a red font or red border often with an arrow pointing in a certain direction. These ones
will tend to point you in the direction a famous landmarks so if you ever see a sign that says
"Per" it actually means "for" so it go this way FOR Piazza San Marco. These days they also have
navigational signs that are bright yellow so it's quite tough to miss them. Alright I know that was
a lot but I hope it helps and if you find yourself lost in Venice just think of my annoying voice
and hopefully I'll guide you through it. Now let's move on to some tips for Venice attractions. First
be sure to book your big must-do attractions well in advance the truth is no matter when you go to
Venice it's going to be busy so it's always a good idea to just pre-book your tickets for things that
you really want to go to to make sure you're not wasting time on the day of lining up and also to
make sure that you get the best possible deal. For timed attractions, I would advise either booking
at the start of the day so the first tour of the day or maybe the last tour because the middle
of the day is always going to be very very busy. Another tip I have is to book a sunrise tour.
Honestly, with how busy Venice is, one of the only times that you're going to feel like you have the
entire city to yourself is if you go for a walk in the early morning. So I did a sunrise tour a few
years ago in Venice and it was honestly like the most magical experience and I still think about it
it's one of the best things I've ever done in that city so I would highly recommend doing something
like that. On the other hand you can also look for after hours tours that give you admission to a lot
of the more popular attractions in Venice after they close to the general public. Now if you're
hoping to save money on attractions during your time in Venice which of course you are, then there
are a few different different sightseeing passes that you can look into confusingly though Venice
has several of these and which one actually fits your trip best will depend on which attractions
you want to see and also how long you're going to be in town for most first-time visitors
the Venice Pass is probably going to make the most sense because it includes a lot of major
attractions like St Mark's Basilica, Doge's Palace and also a gondola ride among other attractions.
There is however also the Venice Discovery Pass which includes public transport and Vaporetto
boats including to and from the airport. Adding onto the confusion there's also the Venezia Unica
pass, the Venice TurboPass and a museum pass as well and all of these offer different combinations
of pretty much the same perks. Overall if you're planning on doing a lot of sightseeing I would bet
at least one of these passes is going to save you a significant sum of money so to figure out which
one is best for you I would write down your key non-negotiable attractions that you want to do as
well as the time period that you're going to be in town and from there you can kind of compare and
see which one fits best. To be honest though as great as the main attractions are one of the best
ways to really get to know Venice is by visiting some of the lesser known attractions. For such
a small city there are a number of really cool gems in Venice that many visitors miss so I'm
just going to rattle off a few first off there's the bookshop known as the Libreria Acqua Alta
which has a really cool section in the back with displays made of ruined books. This is hands down
one of most beautiful bookshops in the world so I would highly recommend checking it out although
it's not really so much a hidden gem these days there's also the free rooftop Terrace at the
Fondaco dei Tedeschi which is really beautiful and absolutely free so long as you book a slot
in advance. There's also tons of really cool museums catering to different interests so really
make sure you do a lot of research in advance to kind of figure out some of the hidden gems in
Venice as well because if you only go see the major sites you're missing out on a lot of what
makes the city so special. Now it's time to talk about gondolas. This signature Venice experience
does not come cheap so I'm going to run through a few ground rules for you to understand and make
sure you do it properly. First off you should know that the prices of gondolas in Venice are
actually fixed so you're not going to be able to bargain or get a better price depending on who you
talk to. These boats can fit up to five adults at once and as of 2023 cost a fixed rate of €80 for
a 30-minute ride during the day and €120 at night. Do note that while the prices are the same not all
gondolas take the exact same routes so before you commit to one make sure you ask the Gondolier
where they're going to be going ideally you're looking for a mix of both small canals and also
the big iconic ones so you can kind of get the best of both worlds. At this point you can also
vet the vibe of your gondolier just because that's really going to make or break your experience.
After all, all the prices are the same so you might as well find a Gondolier that you like.
Now if you're if you're visiting in the summer, I would highly recommend booking your gondola
ride for the morning. There's a few reasons for this. A) that's the least busy time and B) this
is when gondoliers are likely going to be at their most chipper because it's the start of the
day and they haven't yet been bogged down by all the tourists and all the work. Lastly I would say
consider boarding your gondola in a quieter part of town rather than in that central core where all
the tourists are, just because the last thing you want is to get stuck in Gondola traffic and that's
really going to ruin the magic of the experience. Now if riding a gondola feels overly pricey
there actually is an alternative hack if you want to get out on the water so instead of riding
a gondola what you can do is you can hop on a boat called a Traghetto Instead. This is a super budget
friendly hack because a Traghetto takes you across the Grand Canal and granted it is a very short
ride but it only costs €2. the boats are a little bit different than the standard gondolas they're
not as opulent and they're also quite large so they fit more people but if you're hoping to get
out on the water at some point and you don't want to spend like 80 euro to do it then this is a nice
alternative. Alright next up let's talk about food and drink tips for Venice. First do avoid dining
in St Mark's Square I know that these restaurants can look really enticing after all this is one
of the most beautiful settings in the world but trust me when I say none of these restaurants
have good reviews these spots are well known for overcharging for mediocre food and really you're
paying a significant surcharge just for the view so if you're looking to soak up the atmosphere
I would recommend just sticking to a drink or a coffee or something rather than committing to
a full meal. On a similar note I would recommend trying to dine as far away as possible from the
main touristy hotspots and that's just because most of the time these restaurants are really
catering to tourists and they know that you're not going to come back anyway so they don't really
need to bother with trying to have really good quality food or prices. On that note make sure you
only sit down at restaurants that do have prices listed over the years there have been so many
different headlines about Venetian restaurants that scam tourists with crazy high prices just
because they didn't bother really checking the menu a very common trick that they use is to
charge food like seafood for instance by weight and that way you have no idea how much the final
bill is actually going to be until you get it. Now another very important tip is to try traditional
Venetian Cuisine rather than just Italian Classics like pizza and pasta. Woodfire Pizza ovens are
actually banned for the most part in Venice which means good pizza is actually in very short supply
and pasta actually isn't a very key component of Venetian Cuisine so instead I would recommend
you try some other local dishes like for instance Cicchetti, these are little bite-sized dishes
that you can eat with your hands or a toothpick usually for 1 to 3 euro each they come in a huge
variety so they're great for tasting many local flavors at once and you can usually find them at
a Bacaro, which are traditional Venetian taverns that are very cozy and very cute. A popular
dish commonly seen at Bacaro is Sarde in Saor, which are fried sardines served with vinegar and
onion. Venetians are also really big on risotto, with a soupier iteration known as Risi e Bisi
which is rice and peas that is very popular as well as Polenta which is paired with a variety of
dishes like small lagoon shrimp and liver. And if you feel like you really need pasta on this trip
one thing to try is Bigoli which is a traditional Venetian pasta that's commonly served "in Salsa"
which means with a fish and onion sauce. Also especially when you're traveling in the summer
don't forget to bring a refillable water bottle because all around Venice you'll find these
drinkable water fountains that are completely free and way better than buying bottles from the
supermarket and lastly keep in mind that there are many more general Italy food tips that I didn't
have time for in this video so be sure to watch my full Italy travel tips video for things like
how to order coffee and other faux pas to avoid. All right finally here are some tips for once you
arrive in Venice. First keep in mind in mind that the Italian and English names of places are often
used interchangeably so it's important to kind of have an idea of what names actually refer to the
same place so for instance Piazza San Marco is the same as St Mark Square the Palazzo Ducale is
Doge's Palace and Ponte di Rialto is of course Rialto Bridge. another important must note is to
get ready to pay for public toilets unfortunately public toilets in Venice can cost as much as 1.50
which to me is incredibly steep so be sure to do your business or take care of business whenever
you have ready access to a toilet whether that's at the hotel at the restaurant or at a museum of
course be sure to always carry some coins with you as well in case you do need to take advantage of
one of these paid public toilets. you should also definitely beware of pickpockets. Unfortunately
Venice is a very popular city and with a city that has that many tourists and that many easy
targets there always are pickpockets in busier areas so make sure you always have an eye and a
hand on all your precious belongings and try to keep a distance from strangers. Also take care to
not feed the pigeons it's a very common site in St Mark's Square to see tourists holding their
hands out feeding pigeons this is super gross you do not want to know where those pigeons have
been so make sure you're not one of those people the photo op is not worth it and speaking of gross
another thing that you should never do under any circumstance is go for a swim in the canals or
dip your toe in the canals. Honestly you have no idea how dirty this water is it is literally
filled with sewage so make sure that you do not do it not just because it's gross but also because
it's a finable offense and if you're caught doing it you can get charged hundreds of euros. I should
also note that when you're shopping for souvenirs do try to make an effort to find local Artisan
shops rather than going to those tacky souvenir shops that all sell the same mass-produced stuff
most of the shops that are close to the main touristy areas tend to have the same mass-produced
goods so be sure to keep an eye out and try your best to find real artisans to buy from rather than
buy cheap copies. Lastly if you have time I would really recommend doing a day trip to other Islands
within the Venetian Lagoon some of those islands are absolutely stunning like Burano for instance
is known as the rainbow Island and it is so vivid and cute and beautiful and it's honestly one of my
favorite places I've ever been there's also Murano which is known for their amazing glass work.
Alright thank you so much for watching I hope you enjoyed this video all about Venice travel tips
and of course if you want more practical travel videos like this one be sure to like and subscribe
for more. I'll see you guys next week - byeee!!
