Venice

spiderdan

Hi,

Thinking of going on weekender to Venice but I've heard its over populated with tourists and can be quite smelly plus way overpriced?? I was wondering if anyone has stayed in nearby towns and done Venice by day?? i.e. Padova, Treviso

cheers

steps_3314

Went to Venice with my Fiance March 2007. Beautiful place. We stayed for 5 nights and loved it. We didnt stay in Venice itself but in a place called Maestre. Our hotel was a minute from the train station and trains went directly into Venice every 5 minutes. Simply buy a weeks pass for about 7 euros and you can use the train as many times as you like. The journey in was about 5 minutes also. The benefit of this is the savings associated with the hotel cost. As for Venice being expensive it can be but there are plenty of places to eat and drink that are reasonable.

Fratton Fred

I have only stayed in the city, but I have friends who have stayed in Lido Di Jesolo and they loved it. it is a beach holiday with boat trips to Venice apparantly.

What I can tell you though, is as a rule of thumb, the further away from St Marks square you go the cheaper it becomes. I stayed two nights in a small hotel about 20 minutes walk from the square and it was fine, not too expensive either. Grab a rough guide, they have some good places to stay in the city itself.

nothing you see on TV or in books will prepare you for Venice, it is a wonderful place and not too smelly if you don't go in the summer

bills

I love venice but have spoken to people who didnt like it. Its an amazing place. We arrived at around 11 at night & it was just surreal to be surrounded by water & getting a boat instead of a taxi. I reccomend staying in venice itself. Its all part of the experience. It is expensive but if you stay away from the major attractions you might get a better deal & you will still be able to walk everywhere. I can reccomend a nice hotel if you are interested.

rossie1977

we stayed in treviso and got the train into venice from there every day (takes about 25 minutes and is pretty frequent). treviso is a nice enough town itself and much cheaper than venice. venice was very hot when we visited (approx 33-35 degrees celcius) but i never even got a whiff of a smell off the canals that so many people talk about. treviso is also ideal for ryanair which lands at the airport at the end of town.

venice is a town everyone should see at least once, yeah its full of tourists, yeah its a little overhyped, expensive in parts and is crumbling but its still a delightful place where you can forget about a map (totally worthless here0 and just get lost down the incalcuable narrow alleyways, where the first glimpse of piazza san marco will amaze and you won't question why Napoleon labelled the square, the drawing room of europe

thermo66

is it really crumbling? Was watching Francesco's Venice and he said his children will probably be the last venician generation :eek:. Surely to goodness the italian government can sort it out as it is probably Italy's most popular city after Rome ? Have never been. Not a big fan of crowds and tourist traps but would love to go to Italy soon

milkado

It's a really nice place, i went in summer and didn't get any weird smells! It's so different to other places and it's definitely worth a visit, i stayed in a resort called bibbione and took a day trip there so not sure about actually staying in it!

ajc100

I went in May for a day trip and back for 4 days in October and stayed in an apartment in Venice:

http://www.VeniceApartments.ORG

October is the perfect time to go, Not to hot but Warmer that home, Not to crowded, it can get packed in the summer and no smell from the canal.

Prices can be very high but, like anywhere, you can shop around. Bowl of
pasta at the edge of the canal can cost 20 yoyo's, yet around the corner in a very picturesque square (and there are many) you can get the same for 6 yoyo's.

coleen

I think you should stay in Venice just for the experience. We stayed in a little place 15 mins walk from st marks sq and it was lovely to walk to at night with the bands playing. There were bars near where we stayed that you could get a glass of wine for 3 euros and food was not too expensive either, just dont sit down in st marks for a drink it will cost you an arm and a leg. You will miss out if you dont stay there at night because when all the day trippers go home in the evening it is just wonderful to walk around. You can make it as cheap or expensive as you wish it does cover all budgets. Read through the forum advise on trip advisor and it will give you lots of ideas Enjoy!