Please Help!! ...Why Don't I Like Venice?
Hey everyone!
I need you help. Please explain to me why I seem to be the only creature alive that isn't too keen on Venice. It was our first time in Italy (this was 4 years ago), and we spent over a month there, visiting Milan, Rome, Florence, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, and of course, Venice. We stayed on a narrow street behind St. Mark's. We took a gondola ride. We had belinnis. It wasn't too hot. It didn't smell. Everyone was friendly. No one fell in a canal. And there were moments when I was there that I thought it was awesome, but I can't bring myself to sing it's praises like so many others. I didn't hate it, but I didn't (and still don't) get what all the hype was about. I can't wait to get back to Florence and Rome this summer, and would sell a kidney to get extra cash to make a visit to Amalfi Coast. But Venice? ...no thanks. Is there anyone out there who feels the same?? What's wrong with me?? Help!!
Monique
Pittsburgh, PA USA 1/30/13
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I too have really enjoyed this thread and all the different opinions..
I too agree that hate is a pretty strong word for anywhere, and I personally have never hated anywhere that I have been(even Jamaica where we really did not feel the love, lol )
That said, I too didn't love Venice the first time I went on my own in my twenties, but truly believe that sometimes a first visit isn't enough to judge a place. Second time I went I was on a RS tour about 5 yrs ago, and had my 11 yr old with me. hmmm, still, didn't love it.. but enjoyed seeing my daughter see it( but it was not her favorite place either, Wengen was) .
I agree its worth seeing, but for me, its not worth going back again. I really enjoy places that have lots to do ( although its nice to nothing somedays and just sit in a cafe) . I like lots of museums, amazing churches and ruins etc.. Venice seemed to have way too much shopping for me, and I dislike spending my vacation time going from shop to shop, 90% of the time buying stuff make in China made to look like a local souvenir, lol
I was also unimpressed with food, but its such a touristy town, prices are high, and they "gotcha" really, its an island for goodness sake.
I agree with the above. It's so hard because many of the questions on this board (when it comes down to it) want your personal opinion, but your opinion of a place, a museum, a meal, an activity, etc... could be the total opposite of what they would have thought had they tired it. So you can only say what you think and hope they make the best decision for themselves. For instance if someone were to ask me "Venice of Florence?", it would be such a no-brainer... FIRENZE!!!! But others would flog me if I answered Florence. To them it's a no brainer.
It's not uncommon to dislike Venice. I personally love it and count it as probably my favorite city in Europe but I live about a half hour away which affords me the luxury of going there often. In the 13 years that I've lived here I'd guesstimate that I've been probably 60-70 times and for me, every time is still like the first time. I've sort of developed a reputation as the Venice guy here and am often asked to go and show people around and I've learned over the years not to judge anyone for disliking Venice. It's just not for some people. In my case, part of the allure is that I've become very familiar with the island, I know my way around, I know places to go and things to see and do that the average tourist doesn't. I've made friends with some locals which has helped tremendously. I even put together my own personal Venice pub crawl that I take friends on when they visit. I see the bad side of Venice and I understand why some people hate it but she's my girl and she has never let me down.
On the other hand, I hated Brugge, a city that everyone else in the world seems to think is paradise on Earth.
I've been on this forum for about 5 years now, and I've found the only city that you can't criticize without getting criticized back is Paris. No other place has as many apologists, which is why nobody is arguing with you about your hatred for Venice. (It's not that people don't disagree with you, it's just that nobody cares enough to defend it.)
monique - i never said your question "bothers me so much". it confused me so i simply asked for clarification. i apologize for this egregious error. in the future, should you post anything that is unclear to me, i will follow your "logic" and not dare ask again.
It's nice to see that I'm not the only one who doesn't care to go back to Venice....or Paris for that matter. Neither city captured me the way Rome has. I don't hate either city but if given the option between those and somewhere else it will always be the "somewhere else". They just didn't have that magic for me that certain other places have.
We're all different and like different things. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to travel. I'm glad that you went and experienced Venice, as I think everyone should, but not everyone will come away loving it and wanting to return as soon as possible.
Donna
Oh no! - I think Jennifer is mad at me because she secretly likes Venice! :)
No, in all seriousness, I really had no intention of sounding snippy in my reply to you and I apologize if it came off that way.
But I see for the most part people got what I was trying to do here. Of course if I don't like a place, the simple solution is to not return. I need this website for many things, but that I can figure out on my own ...almost haha! I just wanted to have a light-hearted discussion about Venice and it's popularity and/or other places that some people praise but others don't like. Or, like in some replies, find out WHY they think it's such a magical place. I am actually thinking about the whole Carnavale thing. When is that exactly? Is it like the "Masquerade" scene from Phantom of the Opera?
We just returned from our three months there and plan on returning for another three towards the end of the year!!!
What can I say?
Oh, but I would not go there in the summer months nor during carnevale. I love it during the quieter time of year.
mmm,,, quite a few people said they wouldn't go back to Paris, haven't seen one single post critisizing them for those comments or defendinding Paris,, maybe people see what they want to see?
Monique I think this thread was very successful in that so many felt free to state opinions and very few got upset by anyones thoughts.
Monique... Carnavale this year starts tomorrow. Every year is different...has to do with Lent. You can check next year's dates. The early mornings were very much like Masquerade... I am a photographer and have some amazing photos from that time. Very few people out then, so we really had Venice to ourselves. During the day, and near St. Mark's and the Rialto it was definitely wall to wall people, so you need to time your sightseeing accordingly. We were really in a whole different mindset and if I went back again it would never measure up to that trip... but, I think part of the magic was that we did not know what to expect and we all brought costumes and allowed ourselves to be caught up in the fantasy of it. When you visit Venice you see all the masks and costumes, but it is during Carnavale when the whole thing comes together. Another bonus... the misty weather made my hair (which was really long at the time...I was growing it out to donate) go in these incredible waves without doing anything. I was sure I had found the perfect length... after I left it never went that way again!
One of the reasons I love Venice so much is that I love photography, and there are few cities on the planet as photogenic as Venice. I read "City of Falling Angels" and the author talks about a photographer he knew who decided to do a "test" to see if Venice really was all that beautiful. He started roaming the streets and alleyways randomly. Whenever he saw a dog or heard a bell he would freeze in his tracks and take a picture of something. At the end of the day, he looked over his photos from that day. They were almost all beautiful.
Here's a collection of some of my photos and a few video clips from Venice and the surrounding islands to illustrate my point: Magical Venice
@ Lola - THANK YOU so much for the great advice. My husband and I, thanks to this thread, now are going to skip Venice and stay in Cinque Terre a few extra days. Thanks for starting the conversation Monique!
Wow Terry Kathryn, you raised a good point about your hair. I mean, it just really goes to show that even the smallest of factors can contribute to the whole experience. For example, when we were in Venice, it was my first European trip and I had yet to appreciate the value of packing light. All I can think about is lugging a huge suitcase, a medium size suitcase, a duffle bag and my purse, up, down, over, maneuvering around canals and small children. Also, I had this huge pimple on my forehead and I can't even look at photos of myself from that part of the trip. Not saying I would have loved it otherwise because it still might come down to Venice just not being my cup of tea, but there were definitely some non-Venetian factors that contributed to my overall experience of the place. Interesting...
Monique,
I have to say, I was not thrilled with Venice either, not at all. I am happy my (now) hubby and I visited it and experienced it but as we are planning our delayed honeymoon to go back to Rome and hit the spots we missed, (i.e. Florence, Naples, Pompeii) we have no desire to go back to Venice. We did have one cray fun night. We were walking across a bridge, Mike says "he could use a beer" and I look to our left and there's an "Irish Pub." It was so funny but what made it best were the people we met, two american sisters, two crazy venetian men who spoke no English (one was dressed like Jack Sparrow) and an american couple on their honeymoon! (Oh and can't forget the stray dog I was feeding all the hotdog type thingys that the bar was selling, lol!) It was a great time!
To each their own but I'm glad we are not the only ones who didn't go crazy over Venice.
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