Venetian Delight

Getting lost at night in Venice and joining up with other lost people, testing our horrible Italian to get directions to the train station and being met with smiles.

Quick Tips:

Buy a rugged "map book"!

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking and the "vaporetti" (taxi boats) are definitely the best way to see Venice. Cars aren't allowed into the city, and if you decide to drive to the city entrance, finding a parking space can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours. Also, the parking lots at the city entrance require you to leave the car keys with them (yes, it's legal).

Clean and nicely decorated hotel on the outskirts of Padova. About a fifteen minute walk from the train station, with nearby restaurants and gas station.

We were quite pleased with our room, it had its own shower and well-lit, large bathroom. We were never once bothered by noise. The price is very reasonable considering that it is a three-star hotel (we had been told it was 2-star!), and that we stayed during the high season. The hotel staff was friendly and helpful.

However, breakfast left much to be desired (no fresh foods other than one or two types of fruit), and items in the in-room refrigerator were insanely expensive.

We each bought a 24-hour tourist ticket, at 18,000 lire (9.30 Euros). This allowed us ride the Vaporetti (taxi boats) as much as we wanted in the 24-hour time period. We decided to start out in the morning with a tour of the city on the 41-42 line.

The vaporetti were almost always packed, but by keeping our eyes peeled at stops we were all able to find seats with good views. It turned out to be an excellent way to get good photos and see the city.

Vaporetti are very slow and noisy: they stop about every 500 meters and bang up against the landings, so if you're looking for a quiet, romantic way to see the city, go for a gondola! (They're much more expensive though!)

Vaporetto tickets are available on the canal at the train station (Santa Lucia) and at stores with the "Actv" sign (Actv is the Venice public transportation group).

It's safe to say that every Venetian tourist visits San Marco. We chose to avoid it between 10am and 6pm, and came back around 7pm on the second day in order to go to the top of the Campanile (bell tower) and get views of the city near sunset. Contrary to other bell towers I've climbed, this one has an elevator!

Though there were quite a few people in the tower, with patience and a tad bit of pushiness we were all able to get good photos, and really enjoyed the stunning views. We were especially glad we'd waited for sunset, as the lighting was gorgeous.

We left the Campanile just before 8pm, and were glad to have done so when we heard the bells ring! We can't be certain, but we're nearly convinced that it was impossible for everyone to have left the tower before the bells rang, so I'd recommend not being in the tower on the hour unless you have serious ear protection.

Our first day in Venice, we'd woken up too late to avoid huge crowds in the city, so we decided to visit Lido, an island just to the south of Venice and served by several vaporetto lines.

It turned out to be a welcome relief from hordes of people, and a good place to find restaurants. We ate at a small pizza place with terrible service and not-so-great pizzas (which is why we no longer remember the name of the restaurant!), but made up for it with delicious gelati - Italian ice cream - and a stroll through the island.

There's not much to see compared to Venice, but there is a post office as well as several places to buy postcards. It's just the place for a temporary escape from craziness!

Venice is the perfect city to get lost in - as long as you've got a map once you want to be "found"!

On our third day, we split into couples (my boyfriend and I, our two friends) and set a meeting point at a certain time. After that, we just walked, with no particular destination in mind. There are so many historical sights in Venice that while picking one or two is a good idea (San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs), trying to plan anything more is almost senseless.

We walked past dozens of churches, beautiful bridges, homes with flowers spilling out of their windows, and places where the rare remaining native Venetians went about daily life. It was lovely, wandering from one surprise to the next and never quite knowing what we'd come across.

The downside is that if you're only in Venice for a few days, you soon realize that you'd need two or three weeks - at least! - to do the city justice. Of course, the upside is that without any plans, and forgetting about your map, you're all the more likely to see sights you might otherwise have ignored.

Padova is a half-hour train ride from Venice (Santa Lucia station). The only reason we stayed in the city was because it had the cheapest available hotel we could find... but after spending an evening discovering the city, we wished we had known about its history earlier!

There are dozens of beautiful old buildings, and a large piazza with statues, surrounded by even more picturesque buildings. Reasonably priced restaurants with good food abound.

We're planning on returning to Venice, and Padova as well! If only we can find an entire month for vacation...