The buildings sparkle and glisten from the reflection of the water that surrounds this amazing city called Venice.
Venice is located in the northeastern part of Italy.
It is home to 118 islands and the mode of transportation is either walking or boating through this city.
If you get the chance to visit Italy, it is an absolute must to visit Venice for the weekend or a week if you have time.
Visitors looked upon the city in awe at the beautiful historic buildings set on the water.
Always keep in mind when traveling anywhere, that it is good to get lost in the beautiful place because it helps to bring you to the most amazing shops and areas that you may have never planned to go to.
If you are staying in Italy, but are far from Venice, I recommend taking a high-speed train. I am staying in Florence and packed a small bag for the weekend and headed to the train station.
Here is a link to purchase tickets for the high speed train.
The train ride took about an hour and a half. When coming across the water to Venice, you can look outside the window to see water surrounding the train on both sides.
The views were magnificent.
Once we got off the train, we headed to our private boat which took us to our hostel.
The private boat ride was absolutely exquisite. Being out on the water and getting to see the gorgeous views was one of a kind.
Here is the link for booking a spot in the hostel before you travel to Venice.
Hostels are a great place to stay if you are traveling on a budget.
It is very safe especially if you room with a big group that knows each other. If you have valuables, you can lock them up in the lock box provided underneath your bed.
My philosophy is that if you are there for the city, you shouldn’t worry too much about where you will spend less than eight hours just sleeping. Instead, you should focus on the city and go out and adventure.
The hostel we stayed in was called the Generator, which was located on Giudecca Island.
The best way to get around the city is to get pass that gives you unlimited use of the vaporetti.
A vaporetti is like a water-bus to get around from island to island.
We used our 3-day vaporetti pass to head over to San Marco, which is the heart of the city, on the first day.
You can purchase your water-bus tickets here.
Venice’s main roads are canals and the side streets are walking only. Water taxis are very expensive.
Your best option to be able to get around the city is to use a vaporetti pass.
San Marco includes the Piazza San Marco and the Basilica San Marco.
Basilica San Marco is also known as St. Mark’s church, and this is where he remains were placed since 829.
You can book in advance online to skip the long line. Click here to check availability for tickets.
We wondered around San Marco and got lost in the small streets, but stumbled upon tons of little shops.
We stumbled upon the mall and it was very pricey, but it was great to be able to shop with our eyes. The mall had a look of an ancient colosseum.
There was an amazing chocolate store called Nino & friends that was very generous with their samples when vistors walked in. It is a great store to buy your friends and families presents.
Find out more about their stores and prices here.
After wondering the streets of San Marco for a few hours, we finally made our way back to the hostel and headed to bed.
The next morning, we went on a walking tour that taught us a little bit of the history of Venice.
After the walking tour, our friend Massimiliano Zardo, or Max for short, that works with AIFS agreed to take us to Burano.
The boat ride to Burano was about 30 minutes by vaporetti. It was a gorgeous trip to Burano because my friends and I were able to see the different islands that make up what Venice is.
Max grew up outside of the city of Venice, but knew the city very well and brought us to some great local spots we would have never found without him.
We stepped off the vaporetti and was struck by the beautiful colors of the buildings.
Burano is known for their beautiful lace. We stumbled upon a few hidden bakeries and Max insisted that we try a Venetian classic cookie.
On our way back to the hostel, we stopped in Murano, which is known for their glass making.
Some stores were very pricey and others were more reasonable. Make sure to keep looking and do not just buy your glass from the first store you see.
Sunday morning we got up and grabbed cappuccinos before heading over to San Marco to see if we could catch a gondola.
You can book a gondolier in advance, but I would recommend going through the city and seeing who offers you the cheapest price.
Sometimes you can bargain with them and knock off a few euros.
“Never trust an Italian, but most importantly don’t trust a gondolier,” Max said.
Max’s advice was spot on about not trusting Italians. Every time we told the gondolier where we were from he said, “Oh, I am from there too!”
Our gondolier’s name was Angelo and he was a fantastic singer. He told us funny story about how he was in a famous Italian band that opened for famous people, but I couldn’t find anything about him.
Always keep in mind that it is perfectly fine to get lost in Venice with a group of friends because you stumble upon the most magnificent buildings and spots that you could have never planned to stop in.
After our wonderful time in Venice, we took our boat back to the train and watched the beautiful water views turn into city buildings with the water world in the distance.
Getting back into Florence, we couldn’t stop talking and dreaming of the water world that we had just left behind.
When you get a chance to visit Venice, keep in mind that sometimes the unplanned days make for the best memories.
I know for a fact I want to return to Venice to explore everything else the city has to offer and I hope you plan a visit too!
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