Venice is magical, nothing I had ever seen, read or heard about this beautiful city could prepare me for what people go about their day to day lives without really noticing the place is actually like in real life. If you’ve never been before you’ll have to believe me when I say that it truly is the most surreal place on this earth. Imagine stepping into the biggest film set ever where that you have entered their world.

People go about their lives in a place that too many of us is so far detached from where we live that it’s hard to believe that the locals don’t give their surroundings a second look. I would be less surprised that if occasionally you saw locals giving a second look to one of the palazzos on the Grand Canal or staring in amazement at the Salute Santa Maria or even standing in St Marks Square looking up at the Campanile and just wondering if it was all real.

Be prepared to enter a totally different world from the one you left behind when you step off your bus at Piazzale Roma or train at Ferrovia, the very 1930’s militaristic looking train station.

Your first job should be to purchase a ticket for the Vaporetto, the water buses that run up and down the Grand Canal, these are reasonably priced at 6 Euros and are valid for a one hour journey. If you need advise on which Vaporetto to catch to your destination the ticket offices, which are situated at most stops are generally very helpful and can point you in the right direction. If you’ve got a map of Venice with you, and I’d recommend that you don’t leave home without one in Venice, try to locate a landmark near to where you are staying, use this as your centre-point and you shouldn’t ever get too lost. Virtually all the street corners have sign posts directing you to either St Marks, Rialto, or the Accadamia bridge. As long as you know where you are staying in relation to these places you should be Ok. Rialto and Accadamia are the only two bridges that cross the Grand Canal and are both in the general vicinity of St Marks, at either of these two points you’re never too far from the heart of Venice.

Don’t believe it when people tell you that Venice is horrendously expensive, it’s no more expensive than any other major city in the world. Granted, if so have a coffee in one of the beautiful cafes situated in St Marks square you will pay over the odds, just as you would if you had a coffee on the Champs Elysees in Paris. You’re paying for the view and the atmosphere. Yet take a stroll through the back streets and you’ll find hundreds of small cafes full of wonderfully colour characters. These cafes survive because they sell wonderful coffee and wine, great food and have a friendly atmosphere and are generally great value for money. The same goes for Venetian restaurants, you can find some fantastic family run establishments the deeper you delve into the centre of Venice.

Because of its proximity to the sea Venetian restaurants always have an abundance of fresh fish on the menu but don’t be put off by this, most restaurants will have plenty of traditional meat dishes from the Veneto region on the menu. If you just fancy a pizza you’ll have no problem in finding a good pizzeria in the back streets. These are generally very good value for money and usually serve extremely good pizza.

The true magic of Venice is the architecture though, the churches, the palazzos, the bridges, the piazzas, the whole city is teeming with spectacularly opulent buildings which are still as grand today as the day they were first built.

Considering that Venice is one of the biggest tourist traps in the world it’s not too difficult to find some solitude away from the hordes. Cross over the Accadamia bridge from St Marks and take a walk down to the Salute Santa Maria and take in the view across the Grand Canal over to St Marks and the Campanile, from here you can either take a Vaporetto all the way up the Grand Canal to Ferrovia train station and take a leisurely forty five minute walk through the Cannaregio district back down to St Marks or Rialto, taking in a few bars and shops along the way. Cannaregio is one of the most fascinating districts in Venice. This colourful area is said by the Venetians who live here to most closely resemble the Venice of old. It has an easily identifiable neighbourhood atmosphere, and is brimming with small artisan shops, butchers, clothing and specialty stores.

Cannaregio was also home to the Jews of Venice, who were confined to its Ghetto (from geto, the venetian word for foundry) for several hundred years. The Ca’ d’Oro, one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in the world, hosts a fascinating collection of Venetian artefacts from the 17th century and earlier, including the entire intact bedroom of a 16th century Venetian noblewoman. The area abounds with small restaurants, bars and wine bars (bacari, enoteca) where you can (as the University students) always find some good, reasonably priced food and drink or that quick snack. Definitely worth a look!
From the Cannaregio district you head into the San Polo district.

San Polo, home to the famous Rialto Bridge and market, is a lively, bustling district which has everything from vendors of wild game and exotic fruits, to a McDonald’s restaurant housed in a 16th century palazzo, also in the same piazza is Bar Torino, a small friendly wine bar with live music most nights. You’ll find something for every taste here, including some of the finest Venetian restaurants. There is a wide range of bargain shopping, plenty of banks, change services and crafts of every kind. The fun really heats up in the summer; an outdoor “sit-in” movie theatre goes up in beautiful Campo San Polo, and if the movie’s a dog, you can always gaze up at the stars and the lovely silhouettes of the palazzi which ring the Campo. Afterward it’s time for a gelato, or maybe a nightcap in one of the bustling bars or bacari that line the district, and a nice passeggiata home.

Alternatively you could walk through the Dorsodura district, a quiet residential area favoured by writers and artists for generations, within this region you have the Venice’s principal museum of fine art, the Accadamia as well as one of the world’s most renowned galleries of modern art, The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, as well as countless trattorias, restaurants, bars and bakeries. The Dorsodura boasts some of the most enchanting side canals and bridges in the entire city. This really is a neighbourhood away from the crowds, but within reach of all the major tourist attractions .

From the Dorsodura you’ll head up towards Piazzale Roma through the Santa Croce district, here you’ll find the ferry-boat to Lido, the Maritime Port, and some of Venice’s most ancient buildings. The area is mostly residential, and many students from the University live here during the school year. As you get towards Piazzale Roma you can either catch the Vaporetto back down the Grand Canal or alternatively you can continue the walk by picking up the Cannaregio section of the tour back down towards Rialto and St Marks. Although this maybe a long walk you need to remember that other than crossing bridges Venice is totally flat so you don’t have any hills to walk up. Either section of this walk will take up a few hours, if you choose to do both parts on the same day you are best leaving the whole day free.

Venice takes on a completely different appearance at night, very mysterious and eerie but at the same time very tranquil and safe. As you walk through the narrow streets the reflection of the water glistens on the sides of the buildings like water nymphs performing a midnight dance, the water carrying noises from far off streets and bars, people talking and laughing but leaving you no clue as to exactly where the sounds are coming from.

Venice always feels safe to me, never threatening or intimidating unlike most cities which from time to time seem to have an undercurrent of menace to them.

Venice is pure magic, I’ve not even mentioned the Gondolas, you can go to Venice and never feel the urge to go on one, I never have, not for any reason other than there is some much more to see and do there. I’m sure I’ll be romanced one day by the whole Gondola experience but that’ll be the day I’ve walked every square mile, looked in every church, been to every gallery, sat in each bar, drank coffee in each piazza, toured every museum and eaten in each trattoria.

I’ll apologise to my long suffering girlfriend here and now, it may be a while before you get to go on that Gondola tour.

Venice is easy to get to, fly to Venice directly or Treviso. You don’t need to be part of a package tour to do it, book flights and hotels directly online easily. Family run hotels and bed and breakfast establishments are usually clean, friendly and reasonably priced. If you want to avoid the crowds go in December, the sun still has warmth and there is generally not a cloud in the sky. As well as this you can take in the wonderful Christmas market that’s held near the Accadamia bridge each year for nearly the whole of December.

Venice is affordable and fun, easy to get to and will leave you with amazing memories. It might not be here for ever so go there before it’s too late.
You won’t regret it.

By: Harwood E Woodpecker

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