Venice (Italy) help for a first timer

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
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We are confirmed at Il Ridotto. Anybody with any suggestions for Crimona?

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the biggest advice I have on Venice is to have a backup plan. We spent a night there and it was a night too much. Some people like hanging out with a bunch of tourists in a dirty city, but maybe that’s not you. Just have a backup plan, like the Alto Adige.

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Or you might find it is the most magical, romantic city in the world. In which case, be prepared to cancel the rest of your trip.

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I would not assume that a Hilton or Marriott in Europe will look like one in the US. This summer we stayed at a Hilton in Paris that was wonderful. It was an old French hotel near the Opera House that was run down. Hilton bought the hotel and renovated it. Still looks very French, but in perfect condition. Beautiful, and we paid with points.

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We are thinking about doing this in September or October, which will have us spending a couple of days in Venice. Royal Caribbean Cruises

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I don’t have any expertise there. Sorry

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I was thinking about your idea of testing Venice out but having a backup plan in case we do not like it. One plan we are considering is go for a couple of days (for example on a cruise), and then if we like it we could make a separate trip there for longer at a later time.

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Friends of mine just returned from a ten day trip to Venice. They had originally planned to go in August, but I convinced them to go in late November/early December, and they were glad they did. They used points to book at the Hilton Molino Stucky on the island of Guidecca, and upon check-in, were upgraded to a suite. Because he is a Diamond, he had access to the Executive Lounge, which offered a complimentary happy hour every day and food/snacks. Moreover, his status allowed them to take breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Perhaps owing to the fact that there are far fewer visitors to Venice in December, the hotel was not full, and consequently the service was impeccable. Although my friends loved staying there, they discovered that staying on an island meant they were at the mercy of the shuttle schedule whenever they went into and out of Venice proper. There were more than a few days
where they wanted to get back to the hotel after a full day of walking and sightseeing, only to wait for the shuttle.

As art aficionados, they spent a lot of time in the Dorsoduro, where the Gallerie dell’Accademia Museum and Peggy Guggenheim Collection are located. They marvelled at the utter tranquility of the Dorsoduro,
had four wonderful meals at the Enoteca Ai Artisti, and hung out at the Cantine del Vino gia Schiavi, where they ate and drank with the friendly locals. The Cantine is my favorite wine bar in Venice, where the wine and cicchetti are still around one euro each.

The pace and energy of Venice is very different in late autumn and winter, and my friends are already planning to go back next winter and stay in the Dorsoduro.

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We have a ton of Hilton points (thank you Conrad Lower Manhattan), and have considered booking a stay at the Molino Stucky but the idea of being stuck that close, but that far, from Venice proper has stopped us. Looks like a really lovely hotel though. Thanks for the post, Peter

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My pleasure, Neal. My friends said that the Hilton Molino Stucky is not your typical Hilton, but has real character and flair. The building was once a flour mill, and in converting it to a hotel, Hilton kept some of its original features. Now if only it were located in Venice proper…

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Book the pub tour by Alessandro Schezzini recommended by Rick Steves. This was one of the best things we did in Venice. Visited several local pubs, drank local wine (a LOT of wine) and had local snacks. I was skeptical, but it was really a good time. To be clear, not top flight wine, but a good ‘local’ experience.

http://www.schezzini.it

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Yep. I will be there.

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Thanks all …Bumping up the Venice thread as my Bologna thread veered a bit off course. [stirthepothal.gif]


Keep the ideas coming!


Cheers!
Marshall [wink.gif]

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Good move - if the Venice debate carries on, let’s ask them to move future posts over here [cheers.gif]

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We spent 2 nights in Venice Jan 1 to Jan 3. It was bitter cold and windy and very crowded. We traveled from Salzburg by train on Jan 1. The train ride was extremely enjoyable, beautiful scenery, relaxing. We checked into the hotel and headed back to Venice via bus as there was a bus stop right by our hotel. Didn’t do much more than eat dinner at a place that was open (being Jan 1 and Sunday, most places were closed).
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Next day we trekked through the city, did a Gondola ride, had a nice lunch. Our impression was that it was like the French Quarter in New Orleans, crowded with smoking tourists, lots of touristy shops. We met up with the other folks from our tour group that night. We walked about a mile from the hotel to a great neighborhood restaurant recommended by the bartender at the hotel. Food was great, not a tourist in sight and they bent over backwards to make it a fun experience for us. Even had water named after my wife.
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Next day we did the tour group thing, got my daughter her Gondola ride and had a quick lunch.
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One benefit of the tour group thing, was moving to the head of the line for tours of the Doge etc. The non-tour group line to get in stretched from one side of St. Marks square to the other, 4 abreast.
This picture is from Monday afternoon, when by comparison to Tuesday the Square was deserted.
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The lunch left us with a pretty negative impression of anything around St Marks’s Square. While I was getting my daughter her Gondola ride, my wife and another lady went in search of a lunch spot. Immediately upon entering the upselling began. And it was relentless. The food was okay but about twice what we had paid for much better food on Sunday.

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Milton: Thank you. I will definitely have a small tour or guide for the main “attractions.” We have had good luck with Viator in Rome (and the Vatican), Barcelona, Lima, and Quito. I definitely like to avoid those crazy lines. Overall, I expect Venice to be “touristy” but on the other hand we will have enough time to enjoy the other, less hectic aspects of the city. Balance will be the key since as has been mentioned, Venice draws lots of tourists for a reason. We certainly will qualify as tourists [rofl.gif] , but have travelled enough to think we are not totally “typical.” I remain very much excited to spend time in Venice and welcome more comments…positive and negative as all have purpose and provide benefits.


As to food, I realize that Venice is not Rome, Barcelona, San Sebastian or Normandy but thanks to Peter, Mark, Barry and others, I am sure we will eat relatively well.


Cheers!
Marshall [berserker.gif]

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I have traveled to many parts of Italy and I know my opinion is in the minority, but I would say go to Venice to check it off your bucket list, but then go to some of the other parts of the country where authenticity lives, not a town kept alive just for tourists.
The architecture of the city is interesting, no denying the romantic back alleys, but the food seemed geared to the tourist. The crowds were stifling. I get it, it’s a unique place in the world, but man o man we had far better experiences elsewhere in Italy. I love Italy, just not Venice. Sorry didn’t mean to poop on anyone’s parade. That is just our experience.

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Marshall,
Food wise, I just wanted to warn off of the places anywhere close to St Mark’s. We had reservations at Il Ridotta, I was really looking forward to it and they changed our itinerary which screwed with my plans. I liked the general vibe of Venice, but the crowds were just very unexpected and jarring to the whole experience. Getting rammed by Japanese with selfie sticks and the cigarette smoke everywhere and having to squeeze through alleys because they were so jammed was very unexpected. I just didn’t expect this.
Off the Venice path, we absolutely loved Verona and Cremona. I would go back to either of those cities in a heartbeat. Venice, I would love to do at some time when the town wasn’t just completely wall to wall with people. And not as cold as a witches’ titty.

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Coming onto this discussion very late, but I can agree with Peter that the Dorsoduro is perfect. Stayed at Ca’Maria Adele in fall of 2015 beautiful old palazzo with great service next to Salute. Would also recommend Il Ridotto for dinner.

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The Ca’ Maria Adele is an excellent hotel, Jeff, and is in a great location. I once went to visit to check it out and ended up talking to the owner for a couple hours.