June 9, 2023 • 18 mins
Venice is one of the most expensive cities to visit on the planet, but it's also possibly the most magical. Learn how to stretch your vacation budget further with our tips on free and low cost things to do in Venice.
Read the full episode show notes here > untolditaly.com/177
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The Untold Italy travel podcast is an independent production. Podcast Editing, Audio Production and Website Development by Mark Hatter. Production Assistance and Content Writing by the other Katie Clarke - yes there are two of us!
Read the full episode show notes here > untolditaly.com/177
Support the show
Join our mailing list and get our FREE Italy trip planning checklist - subscribe here | Join us on tour: Trip schedule | Discover our Trip Planning Services | Visit our online store | Follow: Instagram • Facebook • YouTube • Italy Travel Planning Community
The Untold Italy travel podcast is an independent production. Podcast Editing, Audio Production and Website Development by Mark Hatter. Production Assistance and Content Writing by the other Katie Clarke - yes there are two of us!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This is the Untoldishly Travel podcast andyou're listening to episode number one hundred and
seventy seven. Chatti and ben Venutito untold Italy, the travel podcast to
where you go to the townsend,villages, mountains, the lakes, hills
(00:22):
and coast lines of Bella, Italia. Each week, your host Katie Clark
takes you on a journey in asearch of magical landscapes, history, culture,
wine, zelato, and of coursea whole lot of pasta. If
you're dreaming of Italy and planning futureadventures there, you've come to the right
place. Chow Welcome friends to anotherepisode of Untoldishly, the podcast that aims
(00:56):
to help you plan your dream tripto Italy. Today we're talking about perhaps
my favorite city in the entire world. And if you've been listening along for
a while, you'll know that it'sin Venice, or Venetzia as it's known
in Italy. And why is itmy favorite? Well, there is simply
no other place like it, acity well over a thousand years old,
(01:17):
built on water and full of magicand mystery. I was there back in
April, and oh my goodness,it's just so stunning and it captures my
imagination like no other city on Earth. I spent hours wandering around its districts,
soaking up the sea breezes and enjoyingits unique beauty. And I loved
every last second of it, andI'll be back as soon as I can.
(01:41):
But while there's no denying that Veniceis beautiful, it's also one of
the most expensive cities in the worldto visit. So today I thought i'd
share with you some of my favoritefree and low cost options of things to
do in Venice so that you canstretch your vacation dollars further. This is,
after all, the city where acoffee canst upwards of eight euros if
you sit outside at one of thecafes in Piazza San Marco. Personally,
(02:06):
I think that's actually not a baddeal, given the atmosphere, live music
and passing foot traffic to admire,and you can sit there for quite some
time. But it does put amarker in the sand in a country where
you can get a coffee for oneeuro fifty if you stand at the bar.
So without further ado, let's gothrough some of the ways that you
can stretch your trip budget further,and we will make sure that you have
(02:30):
plenty leftover from maybe a splurge dinneror some amazing museum exhibition that you wanted
to see. So first up,let's visit the main sites, and I
recommend doing this early in the morningor later in the evening when they are
not crammed with day trippers. Thereare around nineteen million day trippers a year
(02:51):
to Venice, making up about eightypercent of the visitors to the city,
and most of these people come fromnearby countries like Germany and Austria and places
like that, so it's not peopleEnglish speaking travelers like us that are coming
from all over the world and know. These are people that are fairly close
by it, and obviously a lotof cruise passengers as well. Now,
(03:13):
most of them wander in a veryvery tiny area of the city between Piazza
San Marco and the Rialto Bridge,so the time to visit these locations is
definitely before they've arrived or after they'veleft, and as an added bonus,
the light at that time is justmagical. So the first stop we're going
to take is to do a strollaround Piazza San Marco, and this is
(03:36):
one of the most famous squares inthe world, and it's surrounded by the
beautiful architecture and historic cafes. Nowwhile you can order a coffee or a
peritivo here and enjoy the scene,which I do recommend. Actually, many
people simply wander and enjoy gazing upat the Byzantine domes and glittering golden mosaics
of San Marco and wait for thefive hundred year old astronomical clock to toll
(03:59):
each hour. From here you canwalk to the Grand Canal past San marco
bell Tower and admire the DOJ's Palace, which is an incredible Gothic style building
of white and pink marble. Makesure you look up and pay your respects
to the wing line atop the pedestalkeeping watch over the city as well.
Now as an aside, the wingline is a symbol of Venice, representing
(04:20):
its patron Saint San Marco. You'llsee the wind line all over Venice as
statues and flags. If you're travelingwith kids, it's a fun activity to
get them to count how many theycan see, and that will keep them
occupied for quite some time as thereare thousands of them. Before continuing on
head left as you face the lagoonand walk a short distance before you reach
(04:44):
the Ponta della Palia bridge that spansthe Rio del Palazzo. It's from here
that you can admire the bridge,of size relentlessly copied around the world,
but never matched in beauty. Getyour camera ready here for an iconic Venos
shot of a gondola gliding under theAmos Bridge. Our next stop is a
walk over the Rialto Bridge, andthis is another of the iconic landmarks of
(05:08):
Venice. It is made of whitelimestone and has an unmissable design with distinctive
arches that we all associate with Venice. This is a great vantage point where
you can gaze down the Grand Canaland get another hero Venice shot complete with
gondolas. If you go here inthe morning, you can spend some time
browsing the local market, which isfull to the brim with seafood from the
(05:29):
lagoon and fresh produce. Another ofthe city's beautiful sites is the wooden Academia
Bridge, one of only four bridgesthat span the Grand Canal. It's a
great place for photos, especially atsunset, and one of my favorite views
is from here, and you canadmire the city up high on the bridge
and enjoy the views of the Basilicadi Santa Maria de la Salute in the
(05:50):
distance. It's a beautiful domed buildingthat's really one of the iconic buildings of
the Venetian skyline, and I loveit. If you're really on a tight
budget, you may not want toenter the DOJ's Palace, but I definitely
recommend popping into the Basilica San Marco, which is a glittering golden masterpiece.
(06:10):
Basic skip the line tickets are sixeuros four an adult at the time of
recording, but I recommend paying theextra to visit the museum there as Apart
from the museum, which showcases theoriginal bronze horses that adorned the roof of
the Basilica, you also have theopportunity to admire the mosaics and church from
above, and also to step outonto the lodger for views of Piazza San
(06:32):
Marco and beyond. And that ticketsis around fifteen euros and it's really worth
it because when you're walking through SanMarco or you go in a sort of
a circular circuit and it's very quickand very squatty, and there's a lot
of beautiful, beautiful mosaics, butyou get a totally different perspective if you
go up to the museum and thenyou get that view down into the church
(06:55):
itself and it's absolutely stunning. Now, of course, the main activity the
pill want to do in Venice isride a gondola, and I have to
admit I can never resist that,but at eighty euros for a thirty minute
ride, it's not really a budgetoption. So what I suggest is either
waiting around to find some people tojoin you, because the price is the
(07:15):
same whether you have two or fivepeople. Or you could also go on
the local gondola Tagetto or the ferrygondola that takes people across the Grand Canal
at seven spots, including one nearthe Rialto bridge. This ride will cost
you two euros per trip and youmay need to stand up and it's not
going to be fancy, but youcan still say that you had the gondola
(07:35):
ride, and there's no denying thatseeing Venice from the water is something that
you need to do at least oncein your life. You'll see lots of
the romantic wooden Venetians. Speedboat taxiszipping around the canals, and I have
to admit that's a pretty special wayto travel, but you can get an
incredible experience riding on the vaparetto waterbuses for a fraction of the cost.
(07:58):
You just need to be a bitorganized know what to expect. My favorite
trip is on Vaparretto number one,which takes you right from Piazza Le Roma
and near the train station all theway down the Grand Canal to the Venicelito
or the beach area. What youshould do is make your way to the
back of the vaparretto where it's notcovered, so it's exposed to the elements,
(08:18):
but you do have uninterrupted views fromhere, and it's absolutely spectacular.
If you stay inside the covered,enclosed area of the vaporretto, it's a
bit sad because you'll just see blurrypalazzi in your views out of the grubby
windows. Another option is to standon the sides, where it's open to
the elements as well, but you'llonly get one side. If you sit
(08:39):
at the back, you get thenot quite free sixty degree view, but
you get a pretty good view.And you can do all of that.
You can ride that Vaparretto number onewith a regular vaparretto ticket that lasts for
seventy five minutes, which is thirteeneuros seventy five and the vaporretto's, I
have to tell you, are notthat's cheap. So if you're wondering whether
(09:03):
the vaporetto passes are worth investing in, we'll take a good look at your
plan for the days that you're inVenice, because at thirty three euros for
one day and forty four euros fortwo, they are pretty pricey and I
would say not worth it if youjust plan to explore the main islands,
and there's plenty to do there fora week at least, so they're really
only worth it if you want togo to Burano, Morano and some of
(09:26):
the other islands outside of the mainVenetian central area, so your only option
then, but you don't need todo that if you don't want to.
Okay, now we're onto my favoritething to do in Venice, and that
also happens to be free, andthat's simply wondering and exploring the various neighborhoods
and districts, each with its owncharacter and charm. Here I'm going to
(09:48):
encourage you to turn off your GoogleMaps, because you know what Google Maps
does, and this is pretty muchGoogle in its entirety. It pushes everyone
down the same crowded path and you'repretty much miss everything because you're so jam
packed into these tiny lane ways.Personally, I farn't it quite boring and
I feel like me and can't standcrowds. It's pretty triggering. So even
(10:09):
when I was there in there thefirst week of April, it was absolutely
choc a block. I think that'san Australian saying. But anyway, it
was full, and it's because everyone'sgoing down these same pathways. And I
had a great afternoon with my friendMonica, who's a local there, and
she was just doing the whole MonicaBackstreets moves, which was really fantastic,
(10:33):
and we just skipped through everywhere.So I mean, of course she's a
local and she knows how to getaround. But if you've got a little
bit of time and you're just happyto wander, there's such a better way
to do it than following the herdswith Google Maps. So here's what you
do. You pick an area andyou just wander to your heart's content.
You can stop frige alerto or acoffee. You can pick out the details
on buildings, admire the beautiful architecture, pop your head into churches and check
(10:58):
out the art, and pack upeverything about this magical city. And here
are some of my favorite places todo that. The first one is the
Jewish Ghetto in Kanared Joe and thisis one of the oldest ghettos in the
world. I find it difficult tosay the word ghetto, but is actually
where the word ghetto originated, andthat's what it's called. So there you
(11:20):
go. It is called the JewishGhetto. So here you can explore the
narrow streets and compare the atmosphere ofthis really self contained area of the city
with the neighborhoods beyond. It's reallyquite quiet and genteel, and it's got
a more peaceful atmosphere. So that'sa beautiful area, and it's not far
from the central train station and youcan just pop your head in there.
(11:41):
You can do guided tours there aswell, and I think I would recommend
that if you wanted to learn alittle bit more about that area. It's
really fascinating. Actually, the nextplace I really liked to explore is Dorsoduro,
So before heading into the neighborhood properand all its little backstreets, which
is really fun, I like totake a stroll along the waterfront in front
(12:03):
of the Basilica di Santa Maria dela Salute, and this is a beautiful
dome church that was built in theseventeenth century and it celebrates the end of
the plague, and so you canvisit the church for free, which is
pretty spectacular. I know you canget a bit tired of churches initially,
but you know, sometime add afew ones and this one's worth popping your
(12:24):
head in. And what you doafter you've had to look inside the church
is you follow the little street orthe lame way called the Fondamente Selute to
the very chip of the island ofthe Dorsoduro district for stupendous views across the
Grand Canal to San Marco. Ilike to then follow the path along the
seafront, keeping the island of Guideccaon my left in the distance. So
(12:46):
it's just a beautiful seaside stroll.And it was a little bit breezy when
I was there, but it wasreally nice to get that fresh sea breeze
on my face and loved it.The next place that I'm going to recommend
that you visit might be a littlebit surprising because most people don't know about
the beautiful gardens of Venice. Butthe Biennale Gardens and the Park of Remembrance
(13:07):
are two wonderful places to explore,with great views across the lagoon, and
you get there by keeping the lagoonon your right if you're walking away from
San Marco, and you keep walkingand walking and walking until you can't go
any further. And the gardens arebeautiful and they're a peaceful respite from the
crowds, and it's something a littlebit unexpected in Venice. We don't really
(13:28):
expect to see gardens, but therethey are. The Venetians, ever ingenious
and keeping, you know, somany different traditions alive despite the environment that
they live in. And the lastplace I wanted to mention was the Castello
district, which is probably the mostlocal of all the city's districts. And
here you're going to find the city'sarsenale or historic shipbuilding yards and interesting churches
(13:52):
like San Fra San Francesco de laVigna. But I mainly like watching the
locals go about their business. Sometimesyou'll see a wedding or local celebration,
and this is lovely and another reasonto respectfully duck into churches, even if
you're not into religious art. Juststay quietly at the back and enjoy soaking
up another culture. So the lastthing that I really want to mention is
(14:15):
a Venice is full of quirks andcuriosities and worky little things that just make
you just go, oh wow,that's amazing. So the best thing to
do is stumble upon them. Buthere are some of my favorites that you
might like to seek out. Andthe first one is called Librella Aqua Alta,
which is a wonderful bookshop and Ihave to emits a little bit overrun
(14:37):
with influences these days and people posingfor Instagram, but it's still worth poking
your head in to see all thegondolas piled high with books and cats lounging
in little nooks, and it's reallyquite a fantastic site and it's one that
you'll only find in Venice. Thenext one is Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo,
and this is a palace with anexternal spiral st case and it's a beautiful
(15:01):
example of Venetian architecture. And you'llfind that in the San Marco district.
And yeah, you don't need togo inside, you can just admire it
from outside down below. Another reallyfun thing to see is the Panthera di
Chiodo and this is only one oftwo bridges with no parapets, so no
handrails in Venice. This one's inthe Canareggio district and it leads right into
(15:26):
someone's house. Actually, I thinkyou might be an airbnb these days,
but let's make sure we don't disturbthese people. Next we have the Square
Altravaso, which is a gondola workshopin the Dorsoduro district, and it's here
that the vessels are repaired and caredfor, and you can watch the goings
on from the other side of thecanal, where there's a handy bar where
(15:46):
you can get a sprits and somesnacks to enjoy while you admire the view.
Because, as you can imagine,with these boats that are so so
beautiful and so ornate, they needa lot a lot of maintenance, and
this is where they go to gettheir maintenance done. It's like the Gara
for gondolas. And the last thingI wanted to mention, which is a
quirk and a curiosity, is thedaily life of Venetians. Everything here is
(16:07):
done on water, ambulances, trashcollection, and cranes for building works.
How do they do it so thecity runs smoothly? I don't know,
but they've been doing this for centuriesand it's absolutely fascinating. There are endless
opportunities to explore Venus and discover funthings like this, and I'm tying up
spending a few months there at somestage because I could never get tired of
(16:30):
wandering and admiring its unique beauty andthe ingenuity of its citizens, and most
of it. All the things thatI've mentioned are either free or at a
very low cost. So if youwant to visit Venice and you're on a
budget, the good news is thatyou can have fun doing lots of things
for free. I would make sureto choose accommodation far away from the Grand
Canal and the San Marco district,as this is where the prices skyrocket.
(16:52):
If you use your feet for transportand avoid the vaporetto water buses, you'll
save a lot too. It justrequires a little planning and forethought, including
if possible, avoiding the busiest monthsof the year, which is now really
starting from the beginning of April tothe end of October and of course February
during Karavali. I hope you enjoyedthese tips today. Of course, you'll
(17:15):
find details on all the places wementioned in the podcast show notes at untold
Italy dot com. Forward slash oneseven seven for episode one hundred and seventy
seven. Gratsimirly, thank you toall our wonderful listeners for your ongoing support
of Untold Italy. I do hopeyou enjoyed today's show. If you did,
then it would be amazing if yougave us a rating or review in
(17:37):
your favorite podcast app. If you'reusing Apple Podcasts, then you need to
go to the show page for untoldIthaly, not the episode page, and
you'll scroll down until you see ratingsand reviews. We just get such a
thrill every week when the reviews rollin, and it just makes me smile
every time to read that we're helpingpeople plan amazing trips to Italy. So
(17:59):
please leave us review because, apartfrom anything else, it gives us a
big smile. On next week's episode, I'm chatting with a mum and daughter
who successfully navigated a study abroad opportunityin Milan. And it comes with a
great sequel too, But until then, it's chow for now. The Untold
Italy podcast is an independent production podcastediting, audio production and website development by
(18:22):
Mark Hatter, Production assistance and contentwriting by the other kt Clark. Yes
there are two of us. Formore information about Untold Italy, please visit
Untold Italy dot com.
This is the Untoldishly Travel podcast andyou're listening to episode number one hundred and
seventy seven. Chatti and ben Venutito untold Italy, the travel podcast to
where you go to the townsend,villages, mountains, the lakes, hills
(00:22):
and coast lines of Bella, Italia. Each week, your host Katie Clark
takes you on a journey in asearch of magical landscapes, history, culture,
wine, zelato, and of coursea whole lot of pasta. If
you're dreaming of Italy and planning futureadventures there, you've come to the right
place. Chow Welcome friends to anotherepisode of Untoldishly, the podcast that aims
(00:56):
to help you plan your dream tripto Italy. Today we're talking about perhaps
my favorite city in the entire world. And if you've been listening along for
a while, you'll know that it'sin Venice, or Venetzia as it's known
in Italy. And why is itmy favorite? Well, there is simply
no other place like it, acity well over a thousand years old,
(01:17):
built on water and full of magicand mystery. I was there back in
April, and oh my goodness,it's just so stunning and it captures my
imagination like no other city on Earth. I spent hours wandering around its districts,
soaking up the sea breezes and enjoyingits unique beauty. And I loved
every last second of it, andI'll be back as soon as I can.
(01:41):
But while there's no denying that Veniceis beautiful, it's also one of
the most expensive cities in the worldto visit. So today I thought i'd
share with you some of my favoritefree and low cost options of things to
do in Venice so that you canstretch your vacation dollars further. This is,
after all, the city where acoffee canst upwards of eight euros if
you sit outside at one of thecafes in Piazza San Marco. Personally,
(02:06):
I think that's actually not a baddeal, given the atmosphere, live music
and passing foot traffic to admire,and you can sit there for quite some
time. But it does put amarker in the sand in a country where
you can get a coffee for oneeuro fifty if you stand at the bar.
So without further ado, let's gothrough some of the ways that you
can stretch your trip budget further,and we will make sure that you have
(02:30):
plenty leftover from maybe a splurge dinneror some amazing museum exhibition that you wanted
to see. So first up,let's visit the main sites, and I
recommend doing this early in the morningor later in the evening when they are
not crammed with day trippers. Thereare around nineteen million day trippers a year
(02:51):
to Venice, making up about eightypercent of the visitors to the city,
and most of these people come fromnearby countries like Germany and Austria and places
like that, so it's not peopleEnglish speaking travelers like us that are coming
from all over the world and know. These are people that are fairly close
by it, and obviously a lotof cruise passengers as well. Now,
(03:13):
most of them wander in a veryvery tiny area of the city between Piazza
San Marco and the Rialto Bridge,so the time to visit these locations is
definitely before they've arrived or after they'veleft, and as an added bonus,
the light at that time is justmagical. So the first stop we're going
to take is to do a strollaround Piazza San Marco, and this is
(03:36):
one of the most famous squares inthe world, and it's surrounded by the
beautiful architecture and historic cafes. Nowwhile you can order a coffee or a
peritivo here and enjoy the scene,which I do recommend. Actually, many
people simply wander and enjoy gazing upat the Byzantine domes and glittering golden mosaics
of San Marco and wait for thefive hundred year old astronomical clock to toll
(03:59):
each hour. From here you canwalk to the Grand Canal past San marco
bell Tower and admire the DOJ's Palace, which is an incredible Gothic style building
of white and pink marble. Makesure you look up and pay your respects
to the wing line atop the pedestalkeeping watch over the city as well.
Now as an aside, the wingline is a symbol of Venice, representing
(04:20):
its patron Saint San Marco. You'llsee the wind line all over Venice as
statues and flags. If you're travelingwith kids, it's a fun activity to
get them to count how many theycan see, and that will keep them
occupied for quite some time as thereare thousands of them. Before continuing on
head left as you face the lagoonand walk a short distance before you reach
(04:44):
the Ponta della Palia bridge that spansthe Rio del Palazzo. It's from here
that you can admire the bridge,of size relentlessly copied around the world,
but never matched in beauty. Getyour camera ready here for an iconic Venos
shot of a gondola gliding under theAmos Bridge. Our next stop is a
walk over the Rialto Bridge, andthis is another of the iconic landmarks of
(05:08):
Venice. It is made of whitelimestone and has an unmissable design with distinctive
arches that we all associate with Venice. This is a great vantage point where
you can gaze down the Grand Canaland get another hero Venice shot complete with
gondolas. If you go here inthe morning, you can spend some time
browsing the local market, which isfull to the brim with seafood from the
(05:29):
lagoon and fresh produce. Another ofthe city's beautiful sites is the wooden Academia
Bridge, one of only four bridgesthat span the Grand Canal. It's a
great place for photos, especially atsunset, and one of my favorite views
is from here, and you canadmire the city up high on the bridge
and enjoy the views of the Basilicadi Santa Maria de la Salute in the
(05:50):
distance. It's a beautiful domed buildingthat's really one of the iconic buildings of
the Venetian skyline, and I loveit. If you're really on a tight
budget, you may not want toenter the DOJ's Palace, but I definitely
recommend popping into the Basilica San Marco, which is a glittering golden masterpiece.
(06:10):
Basic skip the line tickets are sixeuros four an adult at the time of
recording, but I recommend paying theextra to visit the museum there as Apart
from the museum, which showcases theoriginal bronze horses that adorned the roof of
the Basilica, you also have theopportunity to admire the mosaics and church from
above, and also to step outonto the lodger for views of Piazza San
(06:32):
Marco and beyond. And that ticketsis around fifteen euros and it's really worth
it because when you're walking through SanMarco or you go in a sort of
a circular circuit and it's very quickand very squatty, and there's a lot
of beautiful, beautiful mosaics, butyou get a totally different perspective if you
go up to the museum and thenyou get that view down into the church
(06:55):
itself and it's absolutely stunning. Now, of course, the main activity the
pill want to do in Venice isride a gondola, and I have to
admit I can never resist that,but at eighty euros for a thirty minute
ride, it's not really a budgetoption. So what I suggest is either
waiting around to find some people tojoin you, because the price is the
(07:15):
same whether you have two or fivepeople. Or you could also go on
the local gondola Tagetto or the ferrygondola that takes people across the Grand Canal
at seven spots, including one nearthe Rialto bridge. This ride will cost
you two euros per trip and youmay need to stand up and it's not
going to be fancy, but youcan still say that you had the gondola
(07:35):
ride, and there's no denying thatseeing Venice from the water is something that
you need to do at least oncein your life. You'll see lots of
the romantic wooden Venetians. Speedboat taxiszipping around the canals, and I have
to admit that's a pretty special wayto travel, but you can get an
incredible experience riding on the vaparetto waterbuses for a fraction of the cost.
(07:58):
You just need to be a bitorganized know what to expect. My favorite
trip is on Vaparretto number one,which takes you right from Piazza Le Roma
and near the train station all theway down the Grand Canal to the Venicelito
or the beach area. What youshould do is make your way to the
back of the vaparretto where it's notcovered, so it's exposed to the elements,
(08:18):
but you do have uninterrupted views fromhere, and it's absolutely spectacular.
If you stay inside the covered,enclosed area of the vaporretto, it's a
bit sad because you'll just see blurrypalazzi in your views out of the grubby
windows. Another option is to standon the sides, where it's open to
the elements as well, but you'llonly get one side. If you sit
(08:39):
at the back, you get thenot quite free sixty degree view, but
you get a pretty good view.And you can do all of that.
You can ride that Vaparretto number onewith a regular vaparretto ticket that lasts for
seventy five minutes, which is thirteeneuros seventy five and the vaporretto's, I
have to tell you, are notthat's cheap. So if you're wondering whether
(09:03):
the vaporetto passes are worth investing in, we'll take a good look at your
plan for the days that you're inVenice, because at thirty three euros for
one day and forty four euros fortwo, they are pretty pricey and I
would say not worth it if youjust plan to explore the main islands,
and there's plenty to do there fora week at least, so they're really
only worth it if you want togo to Burano, Morano and some of
(09:26):
the other islands outside of the mainVenetian central area, so your only option
then, but you don't need todo that if you don't want to.
Okay, now we're onto my favoritething to do in Venice, and that
also happens to be free, andthat's simply wondering and exploring the various neighborhoods
and districts, each with its owncharacter and charm. Here I'm going to
(09:48):
encourage you to turn off your GoogleMaps, because you know what Google Maps
does, and this is pretty muchGoogle in its entirety. It pushes everyone
down the same crowded path and you'repretty much miss everything because you're so jam
packed into these tiny lane ways.Personally, I farn't it quite boring and
I feel like me and can't standcrowds. It's pretty triggering. So even
(10:09):
when I was there in there thefirst week of April, it was absolutely
choc a block. I think that'san Australian saying. But anyway, it
was full, and it's because everyone'sgoing down these same pathways. And I
had a great afternoon with my friendMonica, who's a local there, and
she was just doing the whole MonicaBackstreets moves, which was really fantastic,
(10:33):
and we just skipped through everywhere.So I mean, of course she's a
local and she knows how to getaround. But if you've got a little
bit of time and you're just happyto wander, there's such a better way
to do it than following the herdswith Google Maps. So here's what you
do. You pick an area andyou just wander to your heart's content.
You can stop frige alerto or acoffee. You can pick out the details
on buildings, admire the beautiful architecture, pop your head into churches and check
(10:58):
out the art, and pack upeverything about this magical city. And here
are some of my favorite places todo that. The first one is the
Jewish Ghetto in Kanared Joe and thisis one of the oldest ghettos in the
world. I find it difficult tosay the word ghetto, but is actually
where the word ghetto originated, andthat's what it's called. So there you
(11:20):
go. It is called the JewishGhetto. So here you can explore the
narrow streets and compare the atmosphere ofthis really self contained area of the city
with the neighborhoods beyond. It's reallyquite quiet and genteel, and it's got
a more peaceful atmosphere. So that'sa beautiful area, and it's not far
from the central train station and youcan just pop your head in there.
(11:41):
You can do guided tours there aswell, and I think I would recommend
that if you wanted to learn alittle bit more about that area. It's
really fascinating. Actually, the nextplace I really liked to explore is Dorsoduro,
So before heading into the neighborhood properand all its little backstreets, which
is really fun, I like totake a stroll along the waterfront in front
(12:03):
of the Basilica di Santa Maria dela Salute, and this is a beautiful
dome church that was built in theseventeenth century and it celebrates the end of
the plague, and so you canvisit the church for free, which is
pretty spectacular. I know you canget a bit tired of churches initially,
but you know, sometime add afew ones and this one's worth popping your
(12:24):
head in. And what you doafter you've had to look inside the church
is you follow the little street orthe lame way called the Fondamente Selute to
the very chip of the island ofthe Dorsoduro district for stupendous views across the
Grand Canal to San Marco. Ilike to then follow the path along the
seafront, keeping the island of Guideccaon my left in the distance. So
(12:46):
it's just a beautiful seaside stroll.And it was a little bit breezy when
I was there, but it wasreally nice to get that fresh sea breeze
on my face and loved it.The next place that I'm going to recommend
that you visit might be a littlebit surprising because most people don't know about
the beautiful gardens of Venice. Butthe Biennale Gardens and the Park of Remembrance
(13:07):
are two wonderful places to explore,with great views across the lagoon, and
you get there by keeping the lagoonon your right if you're walking away from
San Marco, and you keep walkingand walking and walking until you can't go
any further. And the gardens arebeautiful and they're a peaceful respite from the
crowds, and it's something a littlebit unexpected in Venice. We don't really
(13:28):
expect to see gardens, but therethey are. The Venetians, ever ingenious
and keeping, you know, somany different traditions alive despite the environment that
they live in. And the lastplace I wanted to mention was the Castello
district, which is probably the mostlocal of all the city's districts. And
here you're going to find the city'sarsenale or historic shipbuilding yards and interesting churches
(13:52):
like San Fra San Francesco de laVigna. But I mainly like watching the
locals go about their business. Sometimesyou'll see a wedding or local celebration,
and this is lovely and another reasonto respectfully duck into churches, even if
you're not into religious art. Juststay quietly at the back and enjoy soaking
up another culture. So the lastthing that I really want to mention is
(14:15):
a Venice is full of quirks andcuriosities and worky little things that just make
you just go, oh wow,that's amazing. So the best thing to
do is stumble upon them. Buthere are some of my favorites that you
might like to seek out. Andthe first one is called Librella Aqua Alta,
which is a wonderful bookshop and Ihave to emits a little bit overrun
(14:37):
with influences these days and people posingfor Instagram, but it's still worth poking
your head in to see all thegondolas piled high with books and cats lounging
in little nooks, and it's reallyquite a fantastic site and it's one that
you'll only find in Venice. Thenext one is Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo,
and this is a palace with anexternal spiral st case and it's a beautiful
(15:01):
example of Venetian architecture. And you'llfind that in the San Marco district.
And yeah, you don't need togo inside, you can just admire it
from outside down below. Another reallyfun thing to see is the Panthera di
Chiodo and this is only one oftwo bridges with no parapets, so no
handrails in Venice. This one's inthe Canareggio district and it leads right into
(15:26):
someone's house. Actually, I thinkyou might be an airbnb these days,
but let's make sure we don't disturbthese people. Next we have the Square
Altravaso, which is a gondola workshopin the Dorsoduro district, and it's here
that the vessels are repaired and caredfor, and you can watch the goings
on from the other side of thecanal, where there's a handy bar where
(15:46):
you can get a sprits and somesnacks to enjoy while you admire the view.
Because, as you can imagine,with these boats that are so so
beautiful and so ornate, they needa lot a lot of maintenance, and
this is where they go to gettheir maintenance done. It's like the Gara
for gondolas. And the last thingI wanted to mention, which is a
quirk and a curiosity, is thedaily life of Venetians. Everything here is
(16:07):
done on water, ambulances, trashcollection, and cranes for building works.
How do they do it so thecity runs smoothly? I don't know,
but they've been doing this for centuriesand it's absolutely fascinating. There are endless
opportunities to explore Venus and discover funthings like this, and I'm tying up
spending a few months there at somestage because I could never get tired of
(16:30):
wandering and admiring its unique beauty andthe ingenuity of its citizens, and most
of it. All the things thatI've mentioned are either free or at a
very low cost. So if youwant to visit Venice and you're on a
budget, the good news is thatyou can have fun doing lots of things
for free. I would make sureto choose accommodation far away from the Grand
Canal and the San Marco district,as this is where the prices skyrocket.
(16:52):
If you use your feet for transportand avoid the vaporetto water buses, you'll
save a lot too. It justrequires a little planning and forethought, including
if possible, avoiding the busiest monthsof the year, which is now really
starting from the beginning of April tothe end of October and of course February
during Karavali. I hope you enjoyedthese tips today. Of course, you'll
(17:15):
find details on all the places wementioned in the podcast show notes at untold
Italy dot com. Forward slash oneseven seven for episode one hundred and seventy
seven. Gratsimirly, thank you toall our wonderful listeners for your ongoing support
of Untold Italy. I do hopeyou enjoyed today's show. If you did,
then it would be amazing if yougave us a rating or review in
(17:37):
your favorite podcast app. If you'reusing Apple Podcasts, then you need to
go to the show page for untoldIthaly, not the episode page, and
you'll scroll down until you see ratingsand reviews. We just get such a
thrill every week when the reviews rollin, and it just makes me smile
every time to read that we're helpingpeople plan amazing trips to Italy. So
(17:59):
please leave us review because, apartfrom anything else, it gives us a
big smile. On next week's episode, I'm chatting with a mum and daughter
who successfully navigated a study abroad opportunityin Milan. And it comes with a
great sequel too, But until then, it's chow for now. The Untold
Italy podcast is an independent production podcastediting, audio production and website development by
(18:22):
Mark Hatter, Production assistance and contentwriting by the other kt Clark. Yes
there are two of us. Formore information about Untold Italy, please visit
Untold Italy dot com.
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