7 Ways to Miss the Magic of Venice
“The day you go to Venice – if ever you do go – will be one day quite by itself in your life. You will be alive that day.”
from The City of Beautiful Nonsense by E. Temple Thurston, British poet, playwright, and author
It was a day quite by itself, I can attest to that. I cried in awe on the Ponte dell’Accademia watching the sunset cast a pink and golden glow over the Floating City. There are some places that photos cannot do justice, and for me, Venice is one of them.
Corinna Cooke made me fall in love with the idea of going to Venice. When planning out my trip, I wasn’t sure about it. It just seemed like a box that needed to be checked, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. Until I read Corinna’s Glam Italia! 101 Fabulous Things to Do in Venice. The way she describes the sunsets, the historic cafés, the neighborhoods where you will encounter more Venetians than fellow tourists—Venice was luring me like a friendly siren.
My plan to spend four nights in Venice was cut short by Covid, and I instead spent my time holed up in a Bologna hotel. When I was in the clear, I took the first train I could to the City of Water for a three-day weekend. As I exited Venice’s Santa Lucia station in search of the correct vaporetto stand, I had to catch my breath. The heat, noise, and crowds disappeared, and I felt like I had stepped into a movie as I faced San Simeone Piccolo, the iconic church on the Grand Canal.
Even standing packed into a stuffy vaporetto (the public water “bus”) headed to the Giardini stop couldn’t keep me from buzzing with excitement to explore. I walked to my room near the public gardens and the Biennale exhibition grounds (I was fortunate to be visiting during the Biennale, so that was my first stop after getting settled). About a 25-minute walk (at a type-A American’s pace) from St. Mark’s Square, the Castello neighborhood was the perfect place to base myself for a couple of nights. Wandering through the alleyways as sunset approached, there wasn’t much activity and few fellow tourists in sight.
Following orders from Corinna (“I suggest getting yourself to a bar or a bridge with a view along the Grand Canal toward the Salute.”), I walked to the Ponte dell’Accademia for sunset and iconic views of the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute and stood there for an hour as the golden hour gave way to the blue light. “[T]his is the time of day when you catch the city at its most magical,” Corinna writes. She wasn’t wrong.
I have now been to Venice twice, and I find the city to be pure magic any time of day especially in the evening. There are going to be people who visit Venice, though, and never experience its splendor. I don’t want you to be one of them, so here are seven general tips on how to not miss the magic of Venice. I urge you to get Corinna’s book for detailed advice.
7 Ways You’ll Miss the Magic of Venice
1. You don’t stay the night.
It would be a shame to travel to Venice and miss the golden hour, the blue light, and the life that the city takes on at night. Please resist the urge to take a day trip. You really should stay in Venice for at least a couple of nights, especially if this is a one-in-a-lifetime trip. Not only will you get to experience another side of the city, but also it’s the right thing to do.
As Responsible Travel points out, “Many [visitors] poured off a cruise ship – on some days as many as 44,000 cruise passengers come to the city – or are on a whirlwind tour of Italy. Some stay for just a few hours, see little, buy a few trinkets, and leave. They bring no economic benefit to the city in this way.” “Your morning coffee, evening aperitivo, and every random little expense you don’t even think about, all . . . impact the economy and the livelihood of local Venetians,” Corinna reminds us.
Venice suffers from population decline. Since the 1950s, over 120,000 locals have left the main island, in large part due to the impact of mass tourism, and that number continues to climb. I think it’s our responsibility as visitors to Venice to pour into the local economy and do our best to support Italian-owned shops, restaurants, and accommodations.
Even if you don’t stay overnight (or multiple nights) for this reason, also consider that Venice is just pure magic after sunset. There will be moments when you feel like you have St. Mark’s Square mostly to yourself, save for those having a nightcap or coffee at one of the historic cafes, while small bands provide entertainment.
St. Mark’s Square PIazza San Marco Venice Italy
You will walk through the alleyways and over the small bridges and hear nothing put the clinking of dishes and the sound of boats gliding along the canals. To me, Venice after dark is otherworldly.
2. You get off at the wrong Venice train stop.
There are two train stops for Venice. The one on the island, along the Grand Canal, and likely the one you want: Venice Santa Lucia.
Venice Mestre is the other. A borough of Venice, Mestre is on the mainland, and some visitors opt to stay there and take the short train ride across the lagoon to the island. So, if you do end up at Mestre, it won’t be problematic to get back on track. But, I would hate for you to cut yourself short by even 20 minutes in Venice!
3. You bring too much stuff.
Steph, what is your hang-up about packing? You won’t shut up about it. Seriously, though, the smartest thing I did was leave my larger piece of luggage in storage in Bologna (since I was headed back there after my time in Venice). I only brought a shoulder bag to Venice for the three days I would be there. With the crowded vaporetto, the stone streets, and the oh-so-many narrow stairs at the hotel, I could not have been more thrilled with my decision.
If you are traveling to Venice and plan to walk and take public transportation (vaporettos) to get around, consider storing your larger luggage at the Santa Lucia station or somewhere else nearby. I use RadicalStorage. Their app shows you the options for luggage drop-off facilities in the area, and you can book your bag through the app. Make sure you drop your bag at a location that is open during the timeframe you will need to get it back on your way out of Venice.
4. You don’t walk more than 10 minutes from St. Mark’s Square & the Rialto Bridge.
You must see St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge, of course. My advice is to see them in the early morning or late evening when all the day trippers have left. But, to really get a feel for Venice and how slow the pace of life is and to really feel like you’ve stepped back in time and appreciate how quiet the city is (there are no cars, for goodness sake!), you need to get away from these places. That’s where the crowd are.
The Venice that you dream of can be found in Cannaregio, Castello, and Dorsodouro, along with the less-crowded areas of Santa Croce, San Paolo, and San Marco. Venice is walkable! On my second trip to Venice, I never took a vaporetto. I walked across most of the island. Wear good shoes and go! There are plenty of gelaterias, pasticcerias, and cicchetti bars for when you need a break.
5. You take a popular gondola route.
I wish I had videos of the sad gondola experiences I’ve witnessed. Those poor souls, trapped in a beautiful boat right behind and beside more beautiful boats, stuck in perpetual rush hour on the crowded canals as the sun beats down on them. And they paid good money for this lackluster experience.
A gondola ride in Venice costs 80 euros for 30 minutes during the day and 120 euros in the evening (including sunset rides). I have yet to do one, but it’s on my checklist for my third visit after witnessing gondola-rides-gone-right. Wander to the less-crowded areas of the island and hire a gondolier from one of the stands where there is no line. I promise you will find them, and the experience will be every bit as romantic as you hoped.
6. You eat at the wrong restaurants.
Yes, there are wrong restaurants. And they have waiters outside trying to wave you in the door as you stroll by. They have large menus, printed in multiple languages, with enlarged images of food. Few things upset me more than a mediocre meal. And you can have a lot of those in Venice. When you see those picture menus or encounter the over-the-top host, keep walking! I don’t care if the sign says “authentic” or “from scratch” or “local cuisine.”
Bar All’Arco for cicchetti every time!
This goes against my “walk more than 10 minutes from the Rialto Bridge to get a good meal rule.” All’Arco is only a one-minute walk from the bridge and was featured on Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. And it deserves all the praise it gets!
You will find cicchetti (pronounced chi-KET-tee) bars across Venice. Think finger foods. Snacks. You can make a meal out of them or nibble to keep the hangry-ness at bay.
You will know a local establishment when you see it. The host will not be outside trying to convince you to sit down. In fact, I recommend that you do your research ahead of time and make reservations. I always regret not having a dinner reservation, and it will not end well to make a restaurant decision when hangry.
7. You try to do too much.
You can find more of my thoughts on this in my blog post with general travel tips for Italy. My recommendation is to plan one, maybe two, activities for the day. I like to have a plan for the morning and a plan for the afternoon or sometimes leave one half of the day completely free for walking around. In Venice, you HAVE TO build in time to walk around. That’s the key to soaking it in.
Just assume that everything will take longer than you think—transportation, walking, meals. Don’t overbook yourself! You have to slow down in la dolce vita.