Venice is a city with many charms and is considered one of the most romantic cities in the world. Obviously we couldn’t skip this city during our journey through Europe, so we booked a cheap hotel for a couple of nights and on our way we were. We didn’t choose a luxury hotel, because Venice is a city worth exploring and staying in our hotel is a waste of time. Below we listed a couple of places we believe you must see during your stay in Venice.
Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is probably the first thing you will notice when you visit Venice. It is a 3.8 km long canal that leads from the famous Santa Maria della Salute all the way into the lagoon near the Santa Lucia railway station. The canal varies in width from 30 to 90 m wide and is on average just 5 meters deep.
The Grand Canal is used for public transport, such as water buses, private water taxis and the gondola, which is a traditional rowing boat. No matter what boat you decide to take, the view is amazing.
When you visit Venice, we highly recommend you to buy a public transport day-pass. This way you can hop-on a water bus anytime you want and literately explore any corner of this amazing city. You can buy the passes online or at one of the boots next to the water.
Murano & Burano
After you bought your day-pass hop on a water bus to Murano, a small island 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) north of Venice. Murano is famous for its glass making, which is also the only reason tourists visit this island. Stores in Murano only sell glass objects, such as jewellery or vases and there are a couple of small glass factories that you can visit for free.
When you visit Murano, you should also visit Burano. Burano is quite similar, but is worth a visit because of the brightly painted houses.
Santa Maria della Salute
If you have ever seen a movie that took place in Venice, than you have probably seen the famous Santa Maria della Salute, also known simply as the Salute. This giant Roman Catholic church can only be reached by boat and is designed in the baroque style. Venice dedicated the church to Our Lady of Health after a devastating outbreak of the plague. Construction of the Salute started in 1631, which makes it the most recent “plague church”.
St Mark’s Basilica
The most famous church in Venice is St Mark’s Basilica. The 43 meter high St Mark’s Basilica has been build in the 11th century and is decorated with gold ground mosaics, which gives it the nickname Chiesa d’Oro (Church of gold). Entrance to this Roman Catholic is completely free, but the line is very long. If you don’t have the time to wait in line, just book a Skip the Line ticket online for just €2.00.
Get lost in the city
All the above places are well worth a visit, but if you really want to experience Venice than you should get out of your hotel and just walk around. It doesn’t matter if you get lost, that is part of the fun. Every little street in Venice is unique in its own way and if you really don’t know where you are anymore, you just hop on a water bus and you are back at your hotel before you know it.
Are you planning a trip to Venice and do you have questions or tip?. Don’t be shy and leave them in the comments below.
