To & From Venice

Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly direct to Venice, traditionally Ryanair used Treviso, but both now fly into Marco Polo (VCE) which is way more convenient to reach the City.

You can get a water bus directly from the Airport to San Marco the main square in Venice, it does take 90 minutes or so, but it’s a great way to get introduced to the City and experience some of its sights.

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Venice sits across 118 small islands and connected by over 400 bridges which straddle the canals, no roads means water taxis are the mode of transport but most of the major sights are in walking distance of San Marco.

Awake Tip: Up to 30 Million visitors annually pack into Venice, many via Cruise liner, so plan your trip carefully and best out of season to avoid the crowds and bewildering prices for accommodation and food/drink.

Awoke Tip: Drink Prosecco as it is the local brew and check that the street entertainment is not added to your restaurant bill as a contribution.

We stayed just of San Marco Square at the boutique Duodo Palace Hotel, a charming 17^th Century building with its own water gate allowing water taxis to pull right up. It is a stone throw to all the main attractions including the Rialto bridge, and St Mark’s Square

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Figure 1 Rialto Bridge

Figure 2 St Mark’s Square

Once settled in you can stroll through the narrow streets and enjoy a beer or two at Inishark Irish pub.

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Day 2.

Even out of season Venice is busy, so best to plan the essential trip to the Basilica San Marco early, on-line booking expedites the process, and dodges some of the queues that form from early morning.

Figure 3 Basilica San Marco

Doge’s palace is a must visit and do not miss the bridge of sighs, an enclosed white limestone bridge connecting the interrogation room of the palace to the prison.

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Figure 4 Bridge of Sighs

Walking further along the promenade you will pass the landmark bronze statue of Victor Emmanuel II, the Kingdom of Italy’s first King, and a little further on the left you will see the Church of the Pieta- Saint Mary of the Visitation.

Within a few hundred yards there is the Naval & Maritime History museum great insight into the past with model ships and weaponry. Turning in land follow Fondamenta Arsenale and you will arrive upon the Venice Arsenal –well worth a tour.

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Drop back to Arsenale for a return water taxi to San Marco & perhaps a coffee at Caffe Florian on St Mark’s Square or head to the fabulous Aman Venice for a cocktail.

Day 3.

After a great breakfast in Duodo palace we headed back out it the other direction towards Rialto bridge and the Grand Canal, meander through the narrow streets heading down the canal, and you will come across the Grassi Palace a contemporary art collection

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Then continue further and cross the Canal at the Ponte dell’Accademia a wood and metal bride that connects you to Gallerie dell’Accademia hosting the largest collection of Venetian paintings in the world.

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If time allows head to the Peggy Guggenheim museum and onto the Basilica di Santa Maria Della Salute, you can then jump on a water taxi from Salute to Westin/St Regis for dinner.

To really enhance the cultural experience of Venice watch out around St Marks Square for classical concerts…we managed to take in a beautiful Vivaldi concert on our visit.

Figure 5 Dinner at the Westin – great vantage spot for looking over the canal

Departure the following day, is straightforward taking a water taxi from the hotel’s own birth out to San Marco, and transferring to the Alilaguna service back to the Airport.

We hope you enjoyed our visit to fabulous Venice!

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