Venice is famous for its canals and gondola’s. The Grand Canal is the main canal which is the main water traffic route around Venice. It is also home to the famous St Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge.
Travelling to Venice
We flew to Venice from Leeds and Bradford Airport in the month of July. We flew with Ryanair to Treviso Airport which is a 1 hour bus ride from Venice centre. Ryanair provided a free bus to the centre. If you fly to Marco Polo airport the transfer is only about 20 minute’s. The cost of flying to Marco Polo was a lot more expensive hence why we flew to Treviso. The bus dropped us right next to a Kiosk where you can buy tickets for the water buses. We were in Venice for 4 days therefore we bought the tickets for the full duration of our visit.
Accommodation
We stayed at a budget hotel on the Lido (Unfortunately does not exist now). This was a short waterbus ride from Venice Centre. The Hotel was a short walk to the water buses and the beach. It also had a supermarket opposite which was very useful too.
Site Seeing via Waterbus
On our first day we caught the waterbus in to Venice centre and went to St Marks Square. This is a beautiful square with lots of bars and restaurants around the square.. It is a very busy square with lots of tourists which you would expect. The architecture of the buildings is quite spectacular. There are a lot of restrictions in Venice regarding building work and renovation which is lovely that it still keeps its charm. Should renovations be needed then a sheet is put up in front of any scaffolding with a picture of the building on it to appear that it is the building itself.
At St Marks Square the bars and restaurants are quite expensive compared to other area’s of Venice. Many of the bars have live classical music which adds to the atmosphere. As it was a lovely sunny day despite the cost we decided to sit and have a drink or two watching the world go by.
There were also some lovely restaurants and bars at the side of the canal. We had lunch here and a couple of drinks watching the world go by. The food and drinks were much cheaper than at St Marks Square.
If in Venice then a visit to the Rialto Bridge, There is an amazing view of the Grand Canal from the Bridge with bars and restaurants lining either side of the canal. Both day and night it is a lovely place to visit.
After spending most of the day in the centre of Venice we got the waterbus back to our hotel to get changed for the evening. We then got the waterbus back to Venice centre for the evening. It was nice seeing it all lit up at night time. We wandered along some of the back streets and found lots of little traditional bars which were nice to sit out at of an evening.
Day at the Beach
The next day we decided we would organise a picnic and go to the beach for the day which was 10 minutes walk from our hotel. As it was a hot day the beach was very busy. Unfortunately some of the more expensive hotels own parts of the beach therefore it is only residents that can sit in those area’s. There is still a lot of the beach that anyone can sit it. There are as what you would expect from any beach places to buy food and drink if you wanted to. We went in the sea quite a lot as it did cool you down a bit. The sea was really nice clear and warm. We spent all day on the beach having drinks and food.
We decide to stay on the Lido for the evening and went to a local bar/restaurant for something to drink and eat. The prices were at least half of what it was in Venice Centre. Some of the bars got quite lively. At 11 O’clock nobody is allowed to dink or sit outside of the bars therefore everyone came in doors. Apparently it is a crime to do so.
Grand Canal
On one occasion we caught the water bus to the end of the grand canal where there is a glass factory, shops and few small places to buy something to eat and drink. We had a wander around the glass factory and the shops etc which did not take very long as it is only small. Finally we then got the waterbus in to the centre of Venice and wondered around some more of the back streets.
Summary
Although our hotel was not have a high standard it was always clean and the service was good. Also we thought the destination of our hotel was great. This was because could visit the beach etc but also we were only a short waterbus away from the sites of Venice. We would definitely go back to Venice. We would also stay on the Lido again.
Images
Things to do
- Visit St Mark’s Square
- Visit Ponte di Rialto Bridge
- Go on the water bus down the Grande Canal
- Go to the beach on the Lido.
- Visit the Bridge of Sigh’s
- Visit San Giorgio Maggiore
Top Tips
- Remember there are two airports to Venice Centre with Marco Polo Airport being the closest.
- Food and drink are very expensive around St Marks Square and other tourist attractions.
- Book your waterbus ticket for the duration of your stay as this makes it cheaper and gives you a lot of flexibility to travel around Venice.
- Cost of hotels vary so much check out comparison websites.
- If you want to combine a beach break and city break then the Lido di Venezia is the place to stay.
- Check out other places in Italy we have visited. Click on the following links Ravello , Florence , Pisa , Rome
- Check out the weather below for best time to visit. Please remember these are averages therefore could be higher or lower
- Check out our general travel tips. Click on the following link Travel Tips
Weather
| Temp – Celsius Rain – mm | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| High Temp | 6 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 18 | 11 | 7 |
| Low Temp | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| Rainfall | 40 | 50 | 60 | 60 | 70 | 90 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 80 | 80 | 50 |
| Number of days | 8 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
