First anniversary in Venice!

Wow!! Happy Anniversary for Friday xx

As for Venice, yes, expensive. 20yrs ago it was over £50 for half an hour in a gondola, and £5 for coffee in St Mark's square. Probably twice that now.

I'm glad you made this thread because OH and I are thinking of going there for our honeymoon. Will be watching closely!

I went to Venice on my honeymoon!! It was amazing!!!!! I would recommend getting a private water taxi to your hotel if it has a water entrance thingy (can't think what they are called now) but it is €110 euros flat rate. The waterbus takes about an hr 20 to St Marks it costs €15 each way per person. They add service charge in restaurants about €3 per cover average except for St Marks square where they have an Orchestra Charge €6 per cover and they charge this for drinks too. If you don't eat or drink in St Marks, main meals cost €10 upwards. Coca cola is more expensive than wine!! Go to a proper bar to have a Bellini too (they were invented there) but don't go to Harry's bar (where they very first made) because they are silly money! The bottled Bellini is just fine!! 2 scoop ice cream €2-3 Get the ferry and go to the bell tower on the otherside of the lagoon (next to Paralympic statue, you'll know what I mean when you see it and read the bits below it!) €6 entry I think but has fabulous views!! The lido across the lagoon is a really nice break away from the bustle too, head straight down the Main Street for 20mins walk to get there. Gondola is a flat rate of €80 for 30-40mins depending on traffic, haha, that sounds odd but it's true!! I LOVED Venice!!! I landed there a month tomorrow, wish I was going back already!! We spent a little crazy as it was our honeymoon, excluding champagne in St Marks, probably spent €600 in 4 days but didn't hold back and made sure we did everything we wanted

edit: thinking about it, we never had a three course meal though.. I'm sum, meals are the same ish price as a here!

Thank you that's really helpful! Can't wait to go I'm counting down the days now! X

Congrats on your anniversary! It's about 6 years since we were there and we just loved it. When we were there, gondolas were very expensive so we gave it a miss but we did get the water bus thing out to Murano Island. It was really lovely - things are more expensive on the island than in Venice itself but I'd definitley recommend going out there. What we loved most about Venice was that when you're walking around the streets, you can just happen upon these amazing shops selling everything and anything! We came across a workshop making leather products & will make you pretty much anything (depends on how much time you have). You will have a ball - I promise! Enjoy!

Venice is my favourite city. Absolutely favourite place. Anywhere. Ever.

Take good shoes and walk everywhere. Don't bother with a gondola unless you really really really want the cheesy romantic 20 minutes with a strange Italian man singing to you. I did it, but while it was pretty it still felt like a waste of money.

Get to the Rialto bridge early or late, not mid-day. Same for St. Mark's Square. Instead, during the day spend your time meandering through the tiny side streets. It's easy to get lost, but easy to find your way again - Venice is not big at all, and you could walk the whole length of it a couple time in a day easily.

If you like art and architecture, get the choral pass. It's gets you entry into about 15 churches around Venice, including the basilica di santa maria gloriosa del frari, which basically has the most beautiful altarpiece ever painted - Titian's Assumption of the Virgin, which was painted for them at the beginning of the 16th century and has hung there ever since. Even if you're not really into churches I think it's worthwhile, as it can get tiring walking around Venice all day every day, and even Anthony enjoyed stopping for little breaks in several churches. You don't need to go into them all the make it worthwhile, either, as it's less than £10.

I would plan where to eat each evening before going out, as there are a lot of touristy places that, while alright, aren't the best value for your money. Ant and I were stung by this a few times, and unfortunately I can't think of a restaurant to recommend off the top of my head (unlike in Florence, where I would wholeheartedly recommend Il Latini). I'd check out some online reviews and ask your hotel to make reservations for you.

If you're in Venice for 3 days, I would suggest spending one day on an island tour. You can get a guided tour to take you to Murano and Burano for not too much. Yes, it's a touristy thing to do, but it's interesting seeing Burano, which is basically abandoned now, and on the tour of Murano you'll see first hand the glass blowing. Just resist the temptation to buy in the shops the tour takes you to and instead root around on your own before you head back to Venice.

Oh, and if you want a gorgeous souvenir, look around on the side streets for authentic mask making shops. Not the masks you get from the street vendors in St. Mark's or by the Rialto, but and actual shop off the beaten track. My mum and I stumbled upon one when I first went to Venice and they didn't speak English, but we picked up a gorgeous mask from them that was miles above the quality of anything from a street vendor.

Other than that, I recommend getting gelato every day from a different place each time, and otherwise just get lost in and around the islands. It is by far the MOST amazing city, so unique, so beautiful, and with the best art and the best music (classically speak, I mean, I have no idea about modern Venetian music, but the maestro di cappella of st marks was always quite a famous dude), and the most interesting history. Read up a bit on it - about the ceremony of the Doge marrying Venice to the sea by throwing a ring into the water; about the daring theft of St. Mark's relics from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants who mid the bones under pork products in order to smuggle them out undetected; about the times they sacked Constantinople and returned home with the most amazing riches (spot the porphyry tetrarchs on the corner of St. Marks by the Doge's Palace, or the 4 horses on the facade!); how the entire city was excommunicated by the Pope and yet their priests still gave mass and the Pope was forced to back down..

I am in love with Venice. Don't worry, Ant knows.

Fab thank you ladies x

Venice is amazing. You will have a great time!

Love Venice! You'll have a lovely time. My only advice is don't feed the pigeons. You'll see what I mean.

5 days to go cannot wait! How did you all get to your hotel from the airport? Private water taxis are around £90 online but can you get a shared one from there for less money? If not there's a train stop opposite but would love to come by water! X

Where *exactly* is your hotel? We stayed in a place quite close to a vaporetto stop, so just took that. You can see the map of where they stop here:

https://www.venice.nu/maps/vaporettostops-bigmap/

and here to see the different lines:

https://www.venice.nu/vapmap/vapomapLatest.jpg