Walking Tour Venice
Trip Start
May 01, 2012
1
29
35
Trip End
May 31, 2012
What I did
Markets, St Marks Square & Cathedral
Venice, Veneto, Italy
Thursday, May 24, 2012
I timed the train into Venice and it was 23 minutes. From the station we began walking across the Grand Canal, through narrow streets, over canals and eventually were lost in the Academy area. Fortunately we weren't too far off track. There is no regular street pattern to Venice and you have to rely on street signs which is not always easy because some corners have 3 signs on them.
There are NO motorized vehicles in Venice other than boats. Everything that moves is done by either boat or handcart which is very challenging because there are bridges over the canals which are every 2nd corner so people definitely earn their keep in getting goods around the city.
Even the police, fire and ambulance services use boats because it would be impossible to get vehicles down streets that in some cases are only 4 - 5 feet wide.
Public washrooms in Venice are not that great. One we used was composed of a trailer like structure and they charge the equivalent of about $ 2.15 / person. We found out you are better gong to a restaurant and having a coffee which is often a similar price and the washrooms tend to be much nicer.
Every morning there is a large public market in Venice selling fish, fruit, vegetables and meat (less of these). The variety of seafood was amazing and seafood in restaurants is reasonable. Along the side streets there are small bakeries selling fresh goods.
Near St. Mark's square there is a shopping district where all the high end stores (Prada, etc.) are located. However, there are lots of street vendors selling knock-offs even though it is against the law in Italy to sell these.
In Italy generally there are a lot of police but it seemed there were less in Venice. Perhaps they are plainclothes here because of the tourists.
The main tourist attraction is St. Mark's square, St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace. This area is packed with tourists. We did manage to get into the square and Basilica. In the square are pricey cafes with a cover charge because there are musicians playing even in the middle of the day.
By about 1:30 we realized we had enough of noisy tourists and managed to find the signs leading back to the train station. Where we are staying is a nice respit3 from the hustle and bustle.
Tomorrow we head towards Tuscany.
