Prior to arriving in Venice we believed the warnings about sold out tickets for the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica in St. Marks Square, so we planned to see Venice in our own way. We made arrangements for two tours, one which was supposed to show us “the hidden gems” of Venice (places tourists don’t see) and the other, a nighttime kayak tour of the Venice canals. As it turned out, the “hidden gems” tour canceled because of lack of interest, so we were on our own again until the kayak tour on our second night.
This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Walking around Venice is a bit like a treasure hunt, but with very few “road signs”. Road signs are supposed to be on buildings, but more often than not, they do not exist at all. As for the treasure, that is everywhere, even when you are lost: Venice is a visual delight and the absence of motor vehicle traffic makes the experience even more enjoyable. On our first morning there, we managed to find our way to St. Mark’s Square ahead of the crowds, found a nice breakfast spot a block from the square and enjoyed a quiet morning of exploring Venice. We had no interest in enduring the lines for the popular attractions there, but it was sufficient to have been there and to have absorbed the atmosphere of Piazza San Marco and beyond.
The heart of Venice, it turns out, is just not that big, and walking around its tight alleys and canal sidewalks is a lot of fun. There is always something exciting to look at and enjoy. We did just that until lunchtime, found a nice pizza restaurant (they all say they are pizza restaurants) by a foot bridge where we could watch people negotiate the bridge in every conceivable manner. Then we walked to the southern end of the Grand Canal, crossed the Ponte dell’Accademia, to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection of modern art.
Along our route we noticed that the fabled gondolas were backed up in the canals, and thanked our luck for not paying an extraordinary amount for gondola gridlock. We had great hopes for our kayak tour at dusk, hoping that it would not also be cancelled for lack of interest.
As it turned out, we made our way along the canals, passed the Rubber Ducky Store (you read that correctly) to the kayak tour. Fortunately, the tour was still on. Our guide, Boris, was a Russian immigrant with a deep understanding of Venice – and kayaking – and there was one other participant, Natasha, a twenty-something who had been on the tour once before. We paddled a 2-seater so that I could photograph the trip and the other two paddled solo kayaks. To say that this experience was great would be an understatement; it was the cherry on top.
Venice, after dark, is a different world entirely. The crowds disappeared and the world slowed down. We simply enjoyed Venice at its roots, meandering along asking our guide all sorts of questions about Venice’ existence and infrastructure, and just relaxing in a way that had not been possible during the harsh daylight hours with its bussed in tourists and selfie-mania.
It was high tide and completely dark when we finished up. Boris suggested we go back to St. Mark’s Square and look at the water rising above the Square’s tiles. We did this, and to our amazement, he was absolutely correct. Every low spot was wet. More importantly, night had also tamed the throngs of St. Marks, and seeing the Piazza at night was well worth the walk. We went to bed that night feeling quite affectionately about Venice….
We were back on the Vaporetto the next morning, heading back to Milan to rent a car and drive toward the Northern Lakes. It would be our first attempt at driving in Italy….
VENICE PHOTO GALLERY
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San Simeone Piccolo directly across from the railway station (Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia) and one of the first Venetian buildings we saw
The Fondaco dei Turchi is a Veneto-Gothic style palazzo, en route to our lodging
It turns out they do still have gondolas in Venice.
The vaporetto is Venice’s mass transit primary option
Quintessential example of a gondola with striped-shirted gondolier
This busy “street” is the Grand Canal
Another section of the Grand Canal
One of the first of the bridges we saw, spanning the Grand Canal: the Ponte degli Scalzi near the railway station.
Our vaporetto stop at Rialto Bridge
Rialto Bridge on Venice’s Grand Canal
The archway, and shops, on top of Rialto Bridge
From Rialto Bridge we followed a tight street to our lodging
The “street” where we lived
Jani, standing in front of the entrance to our Airbnb. Note the pedestrian bridge just past our building.
The side canal adjacent our lodging
The mooring poles (bollards) offer high visibility to stops along the canals
A municipal worker is collecting trash
One of many beautiful balconies
Small canals are the side streets of Venice
One of the many pedestrian bridges in Venice. Fortunately, this is no place for any motorized wheeled traffic. (Taken from our room)
Venetian street scene
Our first view of St. Mark’s Basilica as we emerged from our circuitous route down some tight alleys.
St. Mark’s Basilica. It became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807
Side view of St. Mark’s Basilica
The Doge’s Palace (foreground) & St. Mark’s Basilica form one side of St. Mark’s Square
The portals of St. Mark’s Basilica
The artwork over the doorways to St. Mark’s Basilica
Some of the ornamentation on St. Mark’s Basilica
The Doge’s Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy.
The buildings that make up a large part of St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) include three museums.
The Marciana Library, or Library of Saint Mark, is the public library in Venice, Italy. The bell tower of St. Mark’s Basilica – Campanile di Venezia – is the tallest structure in Venice
It is morning. These tables will be filled in just a few hours.
Looking across the Grand Canal from St. Mark’s Square
Gary in St. Marks Square
We had lunch here. It was interesting watching all the foot traffic using the bridge outside
On the Grand Canal, across from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
The Venice Institute of Letters and Arts, across Grand Canal from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and Ponte dell’Accademia.
Gondola traffic on the Grand Canal
The route we walked to get to our kayak tour.
The setting sun indicates that our kayak trip was soon to begin
Yes, an entire store devoted to rubber duckies.
Jani, getting instructions from Boris, our guide
Evening, on the Venetian canals
One of the few wooden bridges we saw in Venice
Beautiful Venetian evening
The restaurants came alive as we paddled into the night
Quiet Venetian canals after dark. Our way back from kayaking.
Interesting intersection, as we tried to find our way back to our lodging after dark
St. Mark’s Square, at night in Venice
St. Mark’s Basilica at night
Live music accompanied the diners in St. Mark’s Square
The Basilica and Doge’s Palace. The water is from high tide seeping through the tiles.
All the low spots in St. Mark’s Square were ewt at high tide
Torre dell’Orologio, the animated clock in St. Mark’s Sqaure
The animated bell rigers are lit at night
Breakfast in Venice
Currency from many nations decorated our breakfast stop
A gondola looking for riders … and a gondolier
Canal-side dining
A dry street in Venice
Ancient-looking stone panel adorns a tee-shirt shop. Ironic!
Boats sharing the canals in Venice
A crowded canal took the romance out of gondola rides for us.
Gondolas navigating Venice’s many canals
DHL package delivery boat
Ponte dell’Accademia. The only wooden bridge over the Grand Canal. En route to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
Artwork at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Artwork at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Artwork at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Artwork at Peggy Guggenheim Collection
PSA from Venetian officials
Santa Maria di Nazareth is a Roman Catholic Carmelite church in Venice, northern Italy.
Big board at Santa Lucia Railway Station
Tickets could be purchased by machines, online, or in person.
Some local sentiment, spotted on the way out of Venice. (NOT our experience!)
Our train back to Milan
VENETIAN VIDEO GALLERY
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Cruising Venice 2024
Kayaking back streets of Venice 2024
WHAT WE DID NOT SEE
There is a lot st see when we return to Venice. We had hoped to take a boat ride out to the islands of Murano and Burano but time did not allow. If we did return in the off-season, we would like to see inside the Doge’s Palace, with its artworks and Bridge of Sighs, and perhaps the Basilica.
