Venice is capital city of Veneto region and use to be Republic of Venice. Veneto region has long history and Venice as city was built between 118 Islands around 450 AD. City now has 177 small canals and more 400 bridges which is the famous Rialto Bridge.

Venice has been known as “La Dominante”, “La Serenissima”, “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Masks”, “City of Bridges”, “The Floating City”, and “City of Canals”.  Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, and artwork.

First time when I travel to Venice I had only one day to explore city and see top 10 famous places. Second time my trip to Venice was longer just to explore day by day because I felt I need more days. First advice is to book hotel in Venice Mestre, small suburb close to town which is connected by bridge and local busses and train go every half an hour.

There are so many places to see in Venice and every blog recommended basically same top 10 places but I would like to say let road take you where ever you want to go. Sometimes is the best just get lost and discover street you never heard before. If you have enough time for one day absolutely try gondola, the traditional floating rowing boat. Gondoliers have to go to school to learn how to row the boat and actually they have final exam to pass before they start working this job. Price for 30 minutes is around 6O Euros but you can negotiate for a price and you can get discount. Gondola will take a short ride and under the bridges you can enjoy stunning view and unique beauty of this place. Giving tip is part of culture here and it is approximately 10-15%. Walking to the famous destination such as Rialto Bridge, Grand Canal, Basilica San Marco, square san Marco, Doges palace, bell tower or Campanile , the tallest building of Venice, Bridge of sighs you can see many restaurants , coffee shops, homemade lavender stores or bakery store, cheese store or simple old tradition chocolate stores. Little tip is to go inside every store because they give you free tasting of every product before you buy. You cannot miss smell of good croissant or chocolate or cheese. Prices are in euro but everywhere you can pay with your credit card as well.

 During the year a millions of tourist visit Venice but best time to go is on spring or fall, because of heats and hot weather. I was first time in September and second time in February after famous Venice Carnival. One of the souvenirs you must buy is Venice mask; price homemade mask is around 100 Euros.   

Rialto Bridge is so crowded that it is impossible to take a picture no people. After Rialto Bridge, go left or right trough small streets to the Square San Marko or piazza San Marco where you can explore 3 top places. First is Saint Marcos Basilica. Going inside will make you cry literally. Walls, pictures, decorations are so old and so unique that you can go in past in your mind so easily. Taking pictures inside of Basilica is strictly forbidden but you can see some tourist ignore the rules and take pictures. I heard from my friend, fee is very high for taking pictures inside Basilica. After exploring Basilica my next stop was Bell tower. Price for going inside is 12 Euros and it must be visited because view from tower is from bird perspective.

 After Bell Towel, actually across is Doge’s Palace. One more place I forgot to mention is Basilica Santa Maria Della Salute. It is very close to Piazza san Marco and if you get tired you can always sit and get rest in local restaurants. Be careful because prices in restaurants around Piazza San Marco are no less than 20 Euros just for one shots of espresso. My advice is to go in small streets and find small coffee place or restaurants and check price before you order food or drink. The best option is to choose the smaller and unique place and the smaller price you will pay. Wi-Fi internet you can find any place you sit. Walking around and exploring you can see water transportation . They call them The Vaporetto and it’s the only public transport in Venice. The others are taxi small boats and they are very expensive. Tickets are available per ride or per day or per 48 hours or 72 hours.  Vaporetto going around Venice, going across to the san Giorgio Maggiore, the smaller Separate Island or simple to the Murano and Burano Island. San Giorgio Maggiore is the Church and large campanile that mirrors the one standing in Piazza san Marco. Going inside you can explore the Church and you can climb campanile for amazing views back to the man city of Venice. I strongly recommend going to San Giorgio Maggiore because you can see Venice from other perspective.  When you get tired you can always come back to the piazza san Marco or just simple go to visit Murano and Burano which by mine opinion is the best to leave for one whole day. The pizzas you can eat here in any pizza restaurants all around the streets. If you see people standing in front some restaurant waiting for available table you would tell that is the best place to eat. Shopping in Venice is absolutely the best because you can negotiate for a price and Italian brands you can get for good price and the best quality. Shoes made by leather, bags or purses smell on leather on every corner and simple you cannot resist the chance to buy some.

Sunset is good to watch especially from the shore and wait slowly for streets lights to show beauty of this place. Night life is amazing in Venice, night bars or night clubs work till sunrise.

I would like to say once you travel to visit Venice you will be so impressed about this town that you will book your trip again because there is always something you miss to see.

Short video about Venice you can see here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhvmnA1ifbo&t=3s

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Written by Travel