Venice 2010Favorite discoveries or tips: We stayed at a hotel near Campo San Barnaba and used Rick's guide for restaurants in the area and stumbled upon one we liked more than the ones he recommended. Its PANE VINO E SAN DANIELE Calle Lunga S. Barnaba 2861 tel. 041 2439865. The kitchen is right behind the bar, the salads are delicious, the meat succulent, home made pastas, and the daily specials, pork in wine and mushroom sauce, PLUS the owner greets you like a long lost friend and makes excellent recommendations, the waiter very friendly. Very informal relaxed atmosphere but place settings and presentation of the food modern. We liedk it much better than Ristorante Oniga, Ai Quattro Feri and Casin dei Nobili. We always use Rick's recommendations for restaurants and I guarantee you this would be a good addition. Magie Finan in Madrid, Spain 11/09/2009 the Hotel Conterie on the island of Murano -- and staying away from the Venice hubbub generally -- was fantastic (however, they are known for having the WORST breakfast in Europe -- but don't mind guests supplementing with cheese, meat!) Laralyn Sasaki in Columbus, OH USA 10/09/2009 We appreciated your tip about checking a bag in order to bypass the line for St. Mark's Basilica. I would add that worshippers can get in before everyone else is allowed in at 9:45 AM. We attended mass at 8:00 AM, and afterwards, we had its grand interior practically to ourselves as we slowly wandered out. Jimmy Hendricks in Austin, TX USA 10/05/2009 Trattoria Da Remer, on Calle Remer, was an excellent lunch buffet for 20E inclusive of wine and coffee, recommended by Denise of Venice Rentals. We ate there three times. Chris Turner in LA, CA USA 09/27/2009 Tip: the walk from the airport to the boats is an easy covered walkway that is free and very efficient. It did not seem like this when you described it. Julia Bodson in Salt Lake City, UT USA 08/14/2009 You might consider adding to your recommended hotels the Abbazia, just steps from the Ferrovia vaporetto stop. Truly beautiful common area of this restored abbey. The staff was remarkably friendly and helpful--e.g., lending us a laptop without charge to check our email; providing great directions and advice for first-time visitors. Delicious full breakfasts, either inside or outside in the beautiful garden. Only downsides: lots of pigeons in the garden. Bells ring at 7:15 every morning and at least twice on Sunday: 143 peals each time! Trust me, I had ample opportunity to count them. Jason, Silver Spring, MD Calle Priuli dei Cavaletti, 68 30121 Venezia (VE), Italy 041 717 333? 041 717 949? - Fax Jason in Silver Spring, MD USA 08/05/2009 We stayed at Hotel Antico Doge in Canareggio: http://www.anticodoge.com/en/index.htm The rooms were beautiful and I thought the hotel was a great value. Meredith USA 07/07/2009 A friend and I toured Rome, Siena, Florence, and Venice in May. We didn't go anywhere without the Rome, Florence/Tuscany, or Venice guide books and I can't tell you how many times I said I am going to write Rick Steves and his staff a thank you note! In Rome at the Piazza del Popolo we almost overlooked Santa Maria del Popolo, but thanks to you we looked past the unassuming facade and were treated to the wonderful art and architecture of this church. In each city we used your walking tours and were never disappointed. Finally, I have a funny story about Venice--we were sitting in the Sculpture Garden at the Peggy Guggenheim museum and I had just read aloud the section about the graves and the olive tree given to Peggy by Yoko Ono. Just then, Yoko Ono herself walked through the garden to her tree! Thank you so much for these wonderful books-I will not travel without one! Janet in Boise, ID USA 06/28/2009 The Alloggi Barbaria B&B in Venice and Fausto its manager were fantastic! It was a great place to stay and Fausto made it a dream visit for us. David Benson in Bloomington, MN USA 06/06/2009 This guidebook was amazing. The tips on when and where to pre-purchase passes for admission to multiple museums saved money and time. We bypassed lines that went around the block and walked right in, using the San Marco Museum Pass. Laura in Louisville, KY USA 06/05/2009 Great guide! After three trips to Venice, we finally took our hotel's advice and went to the Lido. It was beautiful and like atotally different city. Should add some comments> Phil McAtee in Warner Robins, GA USA 05/08/2009 Pizzeria Peter Pan (Castello 6249). It is only about 1/4 of a mile away (5 minute walk) from Alloggia Barbaria B&B, on the most direct route between the B&B and the Rialto Bridge. They sell grande döners for €5, which we took with us to eat on the train from Venice to Rome. It was convenient, affordable, and tasted fabulous! They also give friendly, quick service in a clean establishment. Leanne Roe in Everett, WA USA 12/31/2008 Trattoria Storica, Cannaregio 4858, Ponte dei Gesuiti, 30121 Venezia [041 5285266] Why: This is not a tourist restaurant; locals provide most of their business. The 20 minute walk north of the Rialto Bridge is well worth the quality of food, friendly service and good value. VinoVino, San Marco 2007/A, 30124 Venezia (between La Fenice Opera House and via XXII Marzo) 041 2417688 Why: The tables are close together but the food was very good, the wine great and the prices good for Venice. We felt very welcome by the staff and received great service on a rainy evening when every table was full. Ristorante “Al Vagon”, Cannaregio 5597 – 30131 Venezia [just left of the “5” on the map on page 236 of your 2008 Venice guide. Why: Fun canal-side dining and people watching. Good food at reasonable prices. Good service. Frederick in North Vancouver, BC Canada 11/11/2008 If you have a car, park it in Mestre. It is a lot cheaper to park there than at any of the car parks in Venice. To get there, just take the first exit for Mestre and follow signs for the train station. The car park is the large multi story parking garage on the corner and across the street from the railway station. Then you just walk across the street and catch a train into Venice. The trains run every 10-15 minutes. When you are ready to return to get your car you can get on any train leaving Venice since they all stop at Mestre. Just have all your stuff ready and be in the door ready to exit when the train arrives. (They may stop in Mestre-but they may not stop for long- be ready to get off before the train stops) CA Adams in Everett, WA USA 11/10/2008 Restaurant San Travaso near the recommended hotel ca san trovaso. Good food and good prices. peggy piechota in huntington beach, ca USA 10/30/2008 The Dolomites (Italian Alps) are an easy day trip from Venice and aboslutely beautiful! We hired a private driver though INFO@AROUND VENICE.COM and visited beautiful Cortina, had lunch at a farmhouse, hiked around a beautiful lake (Lago Di Misurina), took a ski list to the top of a mountian for a fantastic view, then had a leisurely trip back to Venice. The cost was steep (480 euros for a party of 4) but well worth it. evelyn lynch in hatboro, pa USA 10/25/2008 We left the Rick Steve's guide in the hotel room after noting some key items on our detailed map and used the map only when we wanted to find a particular place. Most times after we did our planned sightseeing, we just wandered leisurely through the backstreets not caring where we were going or worrying about getting lost. dfloyd in Sunnyvale, CA USA 10/20/2008 If you are looking for a small, quaint, charming, quiet, friendly and family-run place to stay outside of Venice, I highly recommend the Villa Dolcetti. We didn’t want to stay at a chain hotel or one of the highly-priced hotels on a canal in Venice. The Villa Dolcetti is located in Oriago di Mira about 15 kms outside of Venice. We were there in early October. The villa fronts onto the Brenta river (canal) and is over 400 years old. It has retained its old world charm but the 9 guest rooms are nicely furnished and well maintained with original fescoes in some of the rooms. To keep up with modern times, the villa has internet access which we used on several occasions.
Diego and his lovely wife Tatiana manage the villa. Both Diego and his wife speak English but Diego is more fluent and is very easy to understand. Diego had met us at the cruise-ship terminal just after we disembarked from our 12 night cruise of the Mediterranean Sea. He picked up our luggage and took them back to the Villa and then came back later in the afternoon to pick us up in Venice after we had done our sightseeing and had our lunch (great pizza). Diego took us to the Villa Pisani which Napolean had stayed at. We toured the large villa which had outstanding paintings and lovely grounds with a maze made of hedges. It was fun but we got hopelessly lost in the maze and had to be directed out by an attendant who was positioned at the top of a tower in the middle of the maze. Diego picked us up at the Villa Pisani and had arranged for us to have dinner at a local restaurant (La Perla Rosa) that evening which was within a few kilometres of his villa. He had also arranged for the restaurant to pick us up and take us back to his villa after dinner so we did not even have to arrange our own transportation. . Then Diego took us on a personal tour of Possagno Temple and Canova Museum in his BMW sedan. He arranged for us to walk up to the top of the temple which was thrilling. After the Canova muueum which is a must-see, he made a side-trip to see one of Mr Benneton’s homes. He had pre-arranged a lunch for us at the Due Mori restaurant in Asolo which is located high in the hills with a beautiful view of the countryside. After lunch, we walked around the picturesque town of Asolo before continuing our tour. We toured the medieval centre and castle (Asolo), Villa Emo and Villa Barbaro Volpi and carriage museum located in Maser. We stopped in another small town (Castelfranco Veneto) for yummy gelato sundaes before heading back to the villa. The tour was 9-10 hours long but didn’t seem that long because of the leisurely pace and the comfort of being chauffered in his BMW sedan. The tour was one of the highlights of our 3 week trip to Europe and it was very reasonably priced unlike the exhorbitantly priced tours supplied by the cruise lines. If you like culture and want to see parts of Italy that most people don’t have the opprtunity to see, you definitely should take the cultural tour with Diego. That night Diego drove us to another very nice restaurant (Trattoria 81) which served excellent fish and meats and he picked us up when we were ready to head back to his villa for the night. The following day Diego drove us to the airport where we said a sad good-bye to Venice and the Villa Dolcetti. Andrew in Ancaster, On Canada 10/17/2008 This won't apply to many people, but because we were train-ing directly from Milan-Malpensa to Venice the same day, we took an unusual route. There are a small number of trains that originate in Domodossola and terminate at Venice-Santa Lucia. About three miles from Malpensa, these trains stop at Gallarate, and then enter Milan. This provides a one-seat trip to Venice, and avoids traffic going all the way into Milan-or transferring from the Milan station that serves the airport train to the station with the Venice trains. The public bus to Gallarate leaves just to your right where you exit Malpensa near the train station, on foot towards the big parking lots. This is not a special little city, but the many Asian grocery stores give an interesting view of today's Italy. In order to get RailEurope's search engine to find these trips, I had to buy tickets from Domodossola, not Gallarate. The Italian railroads have trouble maintaining the air conditioning in First Class, by the way. Timothy Buchman in Wyckoff, NJ USA 08/26/2008 Just wanted to say that this book enhanced our visit 110%. Fab tip for checking in the bag for St Marks Basilica and also to return late in day to the Campanile, we must have saved so much time by not having to queue (and believe me they were long long queues). Tip for arriving at Venice airport - do not take the Alilaguna water bus at now 12 euro per person but take bus no 5 which stops immediately outside the terminal and is only 3 euro per person and this will take you straight to Piazzale Roma where you can make the waterbus connection to whereever you need to go for your hotel, much cheaper and saves you 9 euro per person! Do explore the back streets like the book says, yes La Salute church is covered in scaffolding but you can still enter. don't worry about wearing shorts into the churches they were fine and just gave any women who had strappy tshirts on a cover to wear. Take a water bottle out with you and you can refill it for free around Venice as there are lots of wells with fountains with free running water. Thanks for the tip on where the firestation was (grand canal cruise) as my husband is a fireman and we went to have a look at the boats/station, we would never have found that otherwise! We bought a 3 day vaporetto bus, we scanned it each time before use, but no one ever asked us for it or checked to see if we actually had a ticket!!!! Cost us 62 euro for 3 days but we used it an awful lot. Traghetto ride across canal for 0.50 euro each is a must. Try lots of ice cream - delicious. E Crowhurst England, UK 08/06/2008 Adding to Michael's comments on Venice vaporetto electronic fare cards: It appears that you can't load multiple single ("simplice") trips on one card. Although I pressed a button with a "2" on it, all 4 fares I'd bought were deducted at once from the card. But it's a more complicated transaction to ask the attendant to sell you two two-fare cards. I'll bet they're reluctant to use up two valuable RFID cards for one customer! But even Boston is short of their new RFID "Charlie" cards (and they didn't get the new readers to all the stations at the same time either), so who can complain about Venice? Try to get the old, paper tickets if you have a choice. Timothy Buchman in Wyckoff, NJ USA 08/02/2008 Osteria La Zucca, S. Croce, 1762 -- a vegetarian-friendly restaurant with amazing, inventive food -- Italian, but different from the usual fare in Italy. Reservations needed. Casa Rezzonico hotel: pricey, but a nice garden and they take great care of you. Huge bathrooms, AC. Colin in Seattle, WA USA 07/23/2008 Additional item for the "Venice with Children" section -- my family of 4 kids (from 15 to 5) loved the Naval Musuem near the Arsenale. It was definitely off the beaten path, but only cost 1.50 euros each to get in, and the 4 floors of exhibits were awesome. Plus when we were there there was a naval training ship moored outside, and the Italian navy personnel gave us a free tour of it. Thomas in Austin, TX USA 06/18/2008 Al Ponte Del Megio (S. Croce, 1666 - 30135) is great restaurant nearby the San Stae stop. You can choose to sit outside by the canals but not have to pay the outrageous touristy prices. Their fish was so fresh and so delicious. You can get a pitcher of house wine for just 3 Euros. Unlike a lot of other Italian restaurants, the service was quick and very friendly. Tina in Cincinnati, OH USA 06/07/2008 "Bacari Jazz Bar" in Venice. Refered to as a "good american bar" by venice locals- with an international sighting of European/Austrailians/French Canadians- you name it all were present- Including a possible Rick Steve's sighting??? Looks like we missed out on a celebrity meeting or Rick's identical twin was there. Fun bar w/ bra's hanging from ceiling. Good service and stays open late for music- although I was in bed by then b/c if you order a drink at happy hour you get 2 for the price of one- charged per person! Holly Carpino in Dana Point, ca USA 06/04/2008 In Venice, you can purchase vaporetto cards for one hour, 12 hrs, 24 hrs, and more. Only the larger vaporetto stops sell tickets so you have to plan ahead if you're going to be using any of the smaller stops. These passes are electronic passes, as opposed to the old "punch/stamp" style of tickets. You are supposed to press them up against a "reader" that detects the card and apparently makes a note in its database of when that pass was activated. You're supposed to register the pass this way at each stop that you use. But here are the two important things to know: 1. Many of the smaller stops either don't have these readers or the readers aren't operational, so this means there's no way to register your pass. (We bought two passes at the main Rialto stop and used them for the first time later that day at the Rialto Mercato minor stop. There was no active reader at that stop, so these cards never got activated. 2. The in-city vaporettos are so busy that I never saw anyone check for tickets. On the one vaporetto ride where they did check (Murano to Burano - 40 minute ride) the ticket checker just looked at the passes in my hand and moved on. He had no way of knowing whether the passes had been activated or not. We could have bought a one hour pass and used it for all of our rides (which would not be honest, of course, but I'm just pointing out the oddity of this newer system). Michael in Seattle, WA USA 05/31/2008 Get lost on the side street!! Kate Buechler in Winnipeg, MB Canada 05/22/2008 Our hotel, Hotel Columbina (4 stars) was wonderful. It is right in the St. Mark's area (Calle del Remedio, Castello 4416). The rooms are small but clean, and the staff was courteous and helpful. It should definitely be added to your book. Also, our hotel staff recommended a good restaurant about 5 min walk from our hotel, called Ristorante "da Carletto" (Castello 5272, Calle delle Bande in zona S. Maria Formosa). It was NOT touristy in any way, and the food was fabulous, esp. the fresh fish preparations (we had turbot). It's a bit pricy, but nothing more than any other decent place, and the service was great. It's a small place too, so they really cater to the few guests they have. It would be a great "add" to your book. Lindsay Kaun in Seminole, FL USA 05/18/2008 We stayed at Hotel Dona Palace on spring rate and loved the place, American breakfast buffet, & location. Their email address is www.donapalace.it I found this place on venere.com and then other web-sites and it had high reviews & looked nicer than Hotel Campiello. Patricia Kendall in Houston, TX USA 05/09/2008 We took a quick trip to San Giorgio Maggiore (across from San Marco) as dusk was falling. In order to see the artwork in the building, you need to put coins in a box to turn on the lights. As I recall, we had to scramble for small coins (and luckily, there were some other late visitors who had small change so we shared). I think it was .50 Euro coins. This would have been helpful to know. Karen Nagata in Redmond, WA USA 04/17/2008 I would recommend to sit down and read the book first...then pick out how much time you have to see what you want to see....Venice is amazing and unfolds in fron of your eyes....take the book and start walking....the discoveries will come to you! Danielle Remillard in Boston , MA USA 04/15/2008 A few quick Murano tips: 1. To avoid crowds and to get a stroll through town (vs. getting off vaporetto right at the foundries) take the LN line (vs 41, 42, 13), and get off at the Faro stop on Murano. It's a true "back door"! The stop for the LN line is a few yards away from the 41 stop-as you face the Lagoon, it's LEFT of the 41 stop. 2. Bring 1 and 2 Euro coins for the foundry tours so you can tip the workers whose stations you stop at. They'll invite you in and show you what you are doing. We had to scramble for tipping coins. 3. Skip the glass museum and go to Venini-a shop on the main canal. They are doing interesting and beautiful things. 4. Ladies, don't buy jewelry at the first shop you see-there are lots of great shops, and different designers on the island. 5. Why are goblets priced differently? Some (the most expensive) are truly hand blown. Others (around 200 Euro) are made in molds. 6. I want to reiterate that a lot of "murano" glass is actually made in China. You get what you pay for! Make sure it says "made in Venice, Italy" on it. Kelly Luchtman in Chicago, IL USA 04/12/2008 This ended up not being a big museum trip for us. Every time we started out thinking maybe we'd go to the Accademia or another museum, we'd set out and get a coffee and then Venice would just sort of suck us in and before we knew it we were off exploring a new part of town and marveling at every new canal and campo. My husband and I decided that Venice itself is the museum. Much of the art that we saw on this trip was art that was still in it's original location--as an altarpiece, mosaic (Ravenna), or fresco (The Scrovengi). This was an excellent experience! Cheryl Moody in Cheshire, CT USA 03/24/2008 Favorite tip is to buy a pass for the vaporreto, because many of the best views of Venice are from the water, and gondolas are so expensive. Brian Gulledge in Woodbridge, VA USA 02/11/2008 Highly recommend: B&B DolceVita Treviso, in Treviso 25 minutes to Venice. Owners offer every day a free transfer to Treviso train station!!!! www.dolcevitatreviso.com Natali Ucraina 02/08/2008 You Can dance the Argentine Tango at Libertango right there in Duosoduro. There is a website TangoNord.it that shows dancing opportunities in the Veneto region. Mary Ann Haven in Columbia, SC USA 01/10/2008 Discovery: The Palladio designed church of San Pietro di Castello. To get there, head up Via Garibaldi and keep going. You can then use the campinile as a landmark to find the church. This is clear at the eastern end of Venice (the fish's tail), east of the Arsenale and north of Santa Elena and I would suspect is not frequented by tourists too much. There are works by Veronese, Giordano, Ricci, Basaiti and Longhena, and a capella (small side chapel) with Roman mosaics.(!) The church was the see of the Bishop of Venice prior to it being moved to San Marco. Leaving the church, wander west until you are back on familiar ground. This area of Castello is very quiet and quite beautiful. Tom in DeKalb, IL USA 12/26/2007 Others have mentioned it, but use the bag check to skip the line at St. Marks. Just walk up to the main entrance, show the plastic claim check they give you, and head right in. Don't be shy! Thomarob in Indianapolis, IN USA 12/09/2007 A couple additions - We stayed 4 nights at Hotel al Piave - www.hotelalpiave.com in Venice. On RugaGiuffa near the SanZaccaria vaporetto stop. It was clean, included the best breakfasts of all the hotels we stayed in during a 2 week vacation in Italy. Hosts were helpful and cheerful. We dined at a fun and delicious restaurant - Marco Polo, a quick walk from AlPiave. Food was good, service was superb and the crowd had fun chatting across tables. Jill Casey in Fredonia, NY USA 11/26/2007 Again, Rick's tip about checking your bag just around the corner from the Basilica is PRICELESS! As our first trip to Italy/Venice, we wanted to avoid spending hours in lines and this was incredible! We walked right in and probably saved ourselves an hour of standing in the warm sun. THANKS RICK! Tiphanie Benoit in Macomb, MI USA 09/08/2007 In Verona, Ristorante Greppia, Vicolo Samaritana 3, in the historic center was very good for typical regional cooking in a semi-elegant setting. Arrive early if you wish to eat outside in summer as those tables filled up quickly. Doyle Johnson in Medfield, MA USA 08/27/2007 In the Venice guidebook, Rick said that one should avoid Lido Beach near Venice at all costs. However, it wasn't all that bad. If you want to see the Adriatic and join many Europeans in the sun, it's really not that bad. Also, if you stop at the Brillo supermarket on the way, you can grab yourself some great ingredients for a picnic. The water was warm and it was really fun to people watch. Kristin Rimington in Chicago, IL USA 08/26/2007 We enjoyed the Hotel Violino D'Oro.in San Marco. Tel 041 2770841 fax 0412771001. 150 euro, with breakfast, 3-4 min walk from Vaporetto Valoressa stop,clean rooms, great staff. Bill & Pat Ernst in Sun City Center, FL USA 08/14/2007 Use the bag check for St. Mark's Basilica. We saw the humongous line of people waiting for entry into the church, probably a 1-2 hour wait. Then we went and checked our bag as described in the book, scooted right up to the front of the line and made it just in time for a very good free tour in English! Devin in Olympia, WA USA 08/06/2007 Dear Rick, We'd like to highly recommend Venicescapes tours for travelers to Venice. We've just returned from our Venetian trip and found this tour to be exceptional. We took the "Splendors of Piety" tour, but Venicescapes offers many theme-based tours. Most tour guides point to a painting, give you a name, date, and some bits of information about the work: "notice the use of color in the Virgin's robe." Not so with Michael Broderick of Venicescapes. He is a first rate guide who integrates the art and artist with historical, cultural, political, social, economic, and theological ideas and events of the time. Equally impressive is Michael's ability to assess the group's background knowledge and offer meaningful context for everyone in the group. He keeps his tours small so that each member can have time for questions or comments, and the group can move quietly through a church or historical building. The pace is neither rushed nor leisurely, but exploratory, and we felt we were on an expedition to discover the wonders of Venice, its art and history. Sincerely, Angie and David Corbet Angie Corbet in Wayland, ma USA 07/17/2007 I wouldn't recommend taking the vaporettos for any sort of pleasure cruise of the Grand Canal. They are simply too crowded for that, no seats much less window seats or seats outside. I did like the tip of taking a traggheti across the Grand Canal. We did this at the San Tomas crossing and it saved us a lot of back tracking to the nearest bridge. The tip about going to the top of the campanile later in the day was a great tip. While there were long lines in the middle of the day, by 6:30 were were able to get right on the elevator to the top. All the bells ring every two hours, but two of the bells rang at the half hour and that was an ear numbing experience. Very nice views in the golden light of early evening. kath in Los Angeles, CA USA 07/16/2007 Be aware of the Euro cost to use the public wc in Venice and have the correct coins Craig in Salt Lake City, UT USA 07/11/2007 Any restaurant recommendation from Roberto at the Albergo Guerrato. He told us about a place right down the street where all the workers at the Rialto Market go for lunch (I'm sorry I don't know the name) and it was fantastic. No one spoke English but it was very easy to order (just point) and the seafood salad was the best I've ever had. Just ask Roberto where to go for lunch and he'll tell you or Rick should include it in his next book. Mendy Droke in Bainbridge Island , WA USA 07/05/2007 Favorite discovery. A 27 year old woman singing Italian opera in the colonnade of a closed bank building at the Republic Square in Florance. The colonnade with its two story tall arched recesses formed a natural amphitheater and she knew how to work that space to it's maximum benefit. She was Ukrainian, beautiful and her voice pure and true. We listened for an hour, tossing euros in her case and even bought one of her CD's. Magic!! Megan Murphy in Austin, Tx USA 06/20/2007 I've stayed in Venice 5 times and each time I stayed in a different part of town. So I've gotten to know 5 neighborhoods fairly well. I haven't stayed near the train station yet, but may try that next time. Swan in Napa, USA 06/06/2007 Villa Stella, a small hotel on Lido Island. www.villastella.com The staff wee very helful. The rooms small but adequate. Large bathroom. Beautiful garden.The breakfast was included and was veery generous. The staff also provided coffee or wine for a small charge during the day & evening. 113 euros for a double. 10% discount for paying in cash. Evelyn Clark in Montain View, Ca USA 05/21/2007 Storybook city - nothing like it in the world. We were often walking to & from, late at night thru narrow alleyways (impossible not to), yet still felt safe. Ron & Ann Korzun in Clifton Park, NY USA 04/29/2007 Please visit Torcello next time you or your staff are in Italy. In the book you talked about the changes they are planning to make to the island. We were there March 07 and construction was in full swing. Nice new walkways along canals were being put in among other stuff. It may look quite different by peak season. I would be curious to hear back what changes were made. Bethany Gaivin in Dunstable, MA USA 04/15/2007 Highly recommend flying out of Venice to go home. Airport is small and easy, not crowded, with connections to all of the major exit cities. And, where else can you take a boat to the airport? How cool and relaxing is that?! Also, Campo Santa Maria Formosa is perfect for young kids to run around. It is the only Campo we saw with railings, perhaps because there is a day care there. Angela in Sammamish, WA USA 04/15/2007 I got a transportation map at a vaporetto ticket office. It was very helpful in figuring out all the (water) travel options around and in the city. Swan USA 03/29/2007 I would like to recommend the hotel Ca'San Giorgio. It is about 10 minutes from the train station - very easy to find - just follow the signs to Museo Civio Di Storia Naturale. It is a beautiful hotel and the receptionists are helpful and delightful. The rates were the best I could find for the quality of the room and the breakfast was awesome! I would definitely stay there again. Their website is www.casangiorgio.com Sheila Kagi in Mechanicsville, VA USA 03/28/2007 I highly recommend the restaurant Vino da Pinta San Polo, 367 Pescheria, tel. 522-4599, halfway between S Marco and Rialto, specializes in fish. Twice a day for 4 days, for comparison, I had Grigliata mista di pesce. Overall this piazza trattoria had the best value. Excellent house bianco. My wife is vegetarian, so she had excellent pizza and insalata mista (mixed salad). The killer full-out fish menu was almost too much food for 14.5 euro. No coperto/cover charge, no servicio/service charge. Service a little slow, but the piazza is nice. Talk to Giuseppe, the tough-looking father-owner. Knows Rick's name, deserves more business.
Il Cavo, though, close to la Residenza, is expensive. €37 for the fish (good but not that good for the money) veggies also high, €10 cover/bread charge. Excellent vino di casa. I didn't leave the 12% tip.
At Castello's la Residenza Hotel, don't take more than one of the little yogurts for breakfast or arrive earlier than 5 minutes after the start. Eating two yogurts flipped out the rather petty concierge. Next morning served it to us on a tray to be sure we didn't cheat. Nice room, for Venice, though. Next time we'll try staying in the Accademia area. More fun. Casin del Nobili was great tip. Get reservations. In mid March they were turning people away while the rest of the city was mostly empty. We were nearly the only tourists there. Food was good value. Never had a house white wine that wasn't excellent in Venice. Reed Lockwood in Spokane, WA USA 03/25/2007 Le Bistrot de Venise (+39 0415236651) was fantastic! We stumbled on it by accident during lunch and it was a great find. They played classical music, offered a historic menu, very delicious food, and had the best service. The staff was very attentive and friendly. We loved it so much, we went back for another meal. Anita Elder in Seattle, WA USA 03/03/2007 I stayed at Hotel Tivoli near the Frari Church last fall. Their rates are the best I've seen for Venice; I had a single for 53Eu. The place is friendly, clean, quiet, and serves a generous buffet breakfast. There is a garden/pation area for guests to enjoy. Most of the guests were Europeans. The desk people all spoke English. I liked the neighborhood, full of students and other locals with a university next door and numerous restaurants, bars, etc. in the area. Five minutes gets you to the San Toma vaporetto stop. Shana CA USA 01/13/2007 |
