First impression of Venice has to be
What a scruffy place
The alleyways were dirty lots of property that is in severe need of lots of TLC.

Then what kicks in is how organised Venice is at handling the millions of tourists that go there each year.
Public transport in the city is run by one company and fares are cheap and easy to understand, the buses and Vaporetto run on time.
If when you are trying to use your best School Italian you get answered in clear English making it unnecessary to struggle for the words and this speeds up the number of customers they get but you loose the connection in your mind, that you are in a strange place.

Overall my feeling was one of We’ve been we don’t need to go again, even though if you take a turn around a different corner you see a different face of Venice that was hidden.

Shops, you can divide them into five distinct types that sell –
Murano glass – watch out for cheap Chinese copies
Venetian Masks – so beautiful but full size so expensive
Burano Lace – again so beautiful
Vellum parchments and fancy paper
Model Gondolas and tat. Total rubbish usually from market stalls most of it made in China but priced over the top

Although there were some shops and stalls that didn’t fit into those categories they were few and far between. The market stall bars were a change where you can actually drink Alcohol OUTSIDE

Food Lots of food but very few fast food places (thank goodness) though most takeaways were expensive some restaurants were over priced selling poor quality food. The choice was also really good as you could get any cuisine you fancied and which suited some of your budgets

What did come across was how friendly the Venetians are and that they are helpful in the extreme which is something a good many places would do well to learn none of the staff were brusque or surly they always had a smile and as said before most had a very good grasp of English.

Bad points of OUR trip
Ignorant and rude tourists and I’m going to say American ones as all of this type we saw were American
Pigeons Saint Marks Square was full of them and woe betide you trying to eat there
The weather OK it was October and so you expect it being a little chilly but not as cold as it was
Money I began to wonder if I had a hole in my wallet but prices were higher than we expected and we KNEW that Italy was not a cheap place to visit –we actually spent as much in 2 days as we did in Mallorca in 7 days


Venice is not a place to go on a shoestring budget but can be done out of a rucksack as we did our “hotel” was really a hostel the main thing for us it was cheap and clean and the bed was comfortable. The Concierge was highly knowledgeable and really helped us with transport routes and good places to see that we might have missed otherwise.





Please note that this review is MY personal view and not of anyone else's or company I say what I see

Thanks for the review How long were you there for? Do you think you could see most of the attractions in a couple of days? What do you think a reasonable daily budget would be( outwith accomodation costs)?
I haven't been but its the sort of place I would try on a long weekend.

Hi Fiona

We flew out on Tuesday and arrived at our hotel in Mestre at 10:30 we were in Venice by 1pm

We flew back to Stansted at 22:40 on Wednesday night

still trying to sort out over 200 photo's

the only thing we didn't see on the main tourist list was the Bridge of Sighs as it's covered in Scaffolding


Budget wise the two of us spent approx £250 in Venice and we didn't buy any presents either

for a fairly good meal in the evening you need to think £70 for a lunch time menu they can be as cheap as €16 each but then drinks etc bump it up as well as the ubiquitous tourist tax (IVP) at 20% on top of everything

£250 on a day and a half is expensive. But I'll bet you're glad you've been there.
I suppose its the sort of place you just have to resign yourself to paying the price for it without fretting too much. Which hotel/hostel did you use and how much is a room there please? It looks as if you would recommend it?

Many thanks for the review.

We've been to Venice a couple of times. I've heard it called smelly, but we didn't find that. I thought it was a beautiful place with lots of character.

I agree that it is expensive and we didn't find it that much cheaper in the back streets. However I did buy a lovely leather bag near the Rialto Bridge and that wasn't too expensive.

luci

the hotel was the Giovannina in Mestré which we booked via hostel world

hotel details it cost us about £45 for 2 people for one night basic but clean the owner was VERY helpful and friendly

they do not have any facilities for food but there is the Bar Adriatico about 200m away where you get your bus tickets and good fast food Italian style or if you must across the road is the Railway Station (Mestre) there's a McD's

that sounds very reasonable. I can't get the link to open just now unfortunately

Love Venice, and part of the fun is just randomly strolling around the back streets

Burano is nicer though

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetail ... nice-13364


Agree re the wandering you can't get lost but I felt it was over hyped and scruffy just felt that the staff everywhere wanted to get you served so they could serve the next person and the next

Murano AND Burano are a lot nicer personally I prefer Murano

Outside of the main areas, though, venice always does give that impression. Very narrow and very untidy backstreets sadly!! Mind you, wander of Princes Street in edinburgh and go down someone's back lane and i guess you find the same!!

It's great to do the other islands in the lagoon, Murano is nice, but nothing beats Burano in my view with the coloured houses and that freakishly leaning clock tower!!! Torcello is a nice stop too but not everyone gets off there, and it's worth a visit

I know people who got off at Lido di Venezia then said that they didn't think Venice was up to much!

I've been to Venice many times, first as a tourist than as a tour escort, though not for a couple of years now. I always felt it was a bit of a rip off city, i.e had a cup of coffee in an openair cafe on St.Marks Square, we kept asking the waiter to bring the bill, he finally came to us a couple of minutes after a music quartet had started playing in the Square. We questioned an item on the bill to be told it was a charge for the music! Often members of my tour groups would complain of being shortchanged.
Despite that I still like the city and always enjoy my visits there.
Fiona I think two days are plenty for a visit, there will be enough time even including a visit to one of the islands. I wouldn't go though during the winter months, most people think of Italy as being a warm country but the north has very cold winters, I have been in November when it's been crisp and sunny but on the whole it's mostly cold. The city often gets flooded which can be an experience walking on planks through St.Marks Square and in February and March there is often fog which chills you to the bone. I always find April, early May and September the best times to visit, though May can get very crowded.