do you have suggestions for what to do in Venice with extra time? My husband and I are spending two extra days in Venice.
My husband and I made this trip in Fall 2011. We found Venice incredibly crowded during the day with cruise ship passengers, so we used the opportunity to do a few things the cruisers weren't doing! For our free afternoon, we walked to the far side of the island (away from the cruisers) and took the vaporetto to Murano from the F. Nove station. Buy your tickets at the docks and carry a good walking map of Venice. Upon our return from Murano we took the lift to the top of the campanile in San Marco Piazza and watched the most beautiful sunset over Venice. Great photo opp as well. (Warning - the bells in the campanile do ring!) After the sun set, we headed towards the alleys around the Rialto Bridge for a quiet dinner as the restaurants near San Marco were incredibly expensive and crowded. (Word to the wise - in Venice we found the price for wine on certain menus were listed at 1/2 a bottle. We were rather shocked when the bill arrived to find our 30 euro bottle of chianti was actually 60 euro!) On your slow walk back to the hotel after dinner, don't forget to waltz to the sounds of the orchestra in San Marco - one of the most romantic places on earth! We walked a lot that day but it was well worth avoiding the cruisers. The next morning we left the hotel early and were the first in line to get on the vaporetto at I believe S Zaccaria near the San Marco station. Somewhere we noticed which vaporetto loaded the 1st trip of the day so we could ensure being the 1st on the boat with a seat on the outside deck for the best views. It was also before the cruisers got off the ships. We rode the vaporetto through all the canals and around the entire outside of the island switching boats at various stops including Lido. This was the best way to see all of Venice!! For the afternoon, you can take the vaporetto to Burano or any one of the other enchanting islands nearby.
Enjoy your Classic Italy trip! It will leave you with memories to last a lifetime! I wish we could go back to Italy because it was THAT amazing but there is so much more of the world to see with Tauck. (We just booked our Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise for next year!)
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My husband and I made this trip in Fall 2011. We found Venice incredibly crowded during the day with cruise ship passengers, so we used the opportunity to do a few things the cruisers weren't doing! For our free afternoon, we walked to the far side of the island (away from the cruisers) and took the vaporetto to Murano from the F. Nove station. Buy your tickets at the docks and carry a good walking map of Venice. Upon our return from Murano we took the lift to the top of the campanile in San Marco Piazza and watched the most beautiful sunset over Venice. Great photo opp as well. (Warning - the bells in the campanile do ring!) After the sun set, we headed towards the alleys around the Rialto Bridge for a quiet dinner as the restaurants near San Marco were incredibly expensive and crowded. (Word to the wise - in Venice we found the price for wine on certain menus were listed at 1/2 a bottle. We were rather shocked when the bill arrived to find our 30 euro bottle of chianti was actually 60 euro!) On your slow walk back to the hotel after dinner, don't forget to waltz to the sounds of the orchestra in San Marco - one of the most romantic places on earth! We walked a lot that day but it was well worth avoiding the cruisers. The next morning we left the hotel early and were the first in line to get on the vaporetto at I believe S Zaccaria near the San Marco station. Somewhere we noticed which vaporetto loaded the 1st trip of the day so we could ensure being the 1st on the boat with a seat on the outside deck for the best views. It was also before the cruisers got off the ships. We rode the vaporetto through all the canals and around the entire outside of the island switching boats at various stops including Lido. This was the best way to see all of Venice!! For the afternoon, you can take the vaporetto to Burano or any one of the other enchanting islands nearby.
Enjoy your Classic Italy trip! It will leave you with memories to last a lifetime! I wish we could go back to Italy because it was THAT amazing but there is so much more of the world to see with Tauck. (We just booked our Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise for next year!)