St Mark's Square Venice

St Mark's Square in Venice.  It's on everyone's list, and so that's where you will find everyone!  We went recently, and we understand the appeal, the incredible historical buildings, the unique construction along canals on marshy islands, the gondoliers plying the waters with tourists.  It's a very atmospheric place! Here is a photo essay of Piazza San Marco. 

(For general tips about how to navigate a busy tourist area see our post "how to navigate a tourist trap")

 

Basilica San Marco

St Marks Basilica is the "main attraction" for which the square is named.  It was built originally in wood in the 9th century and as is common with wood buildings built before electricity, it burned down.  It was rebuilt in brick, the same kind of brick most of Venice is built with.  Our private guide Andrea, showed us this illustration of the original brick facade. 

Photo of uncredited illustration of Saint Mark's Bascillica

During the 11th century, the height of Venice's reign as a super power, the facade was "gilded" with the spoils of war, marble and statues plundered from the empires they conquered.  

Our guide Andrea did an excellent job of interpreting all of the art work that adorns the facade of the basilica. 

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Entrance to the Basilica requires a ticket to visit. Lines to buy them on site grow quickly, even during quieter times.  Investigate if it's worth buying a timed ticket in advance, or joining a tour with "beat the line" access. All visitors are subjected to a bag check, as is standard at any tourist site.  There are also several other attractions inside with separate admissions, either payable in advance or with cash inside.  

Photos are not allowed inside the Basilica, but we were very fortunate to have Andrea with us, and the crowds were not bad in early October, so were able to appreciate the beauty of Basilica without craning our necks in the crowds!

 

 

Campanile, St Mark's Bell Tower

There are many churches in Venice, and many of them feature their own bell towers. It seems nearly every turn reveals another brick tower!  The most famous of these is the St Mark's Bell Tower.  You can pay to go up the tower via elevator for a view over Venice.  You can purchase a timed ticket in advance during the high season, May-Oct.  If you haven't planned ahead,  and there is a long line, it's worth checking on your phone to see if there is a "skip the line" access ticket available at a time later in your visit. You can buy, download and show the ticket right on your cell phone!

 

 

Views Across to Giudecca and San Giorgio Maggiore

In St Mark's Square if you turn your back, you'll have a view across the Saint Marks basin to the islands of Giudecca and San Giorgio Maggiore.  This is a popular spot at sunset. 

 

 

Gondola Rides

You'll see the gondoliers in their striped shirts, and you can line up and head out in your own gondola and cruise into the canals of Venice from St Marks Square. 

 

 

Bridge of Sighs

Your gondolier will pole you under the Bridge of Sighs, which connected the Doges Palace, where justice was meted out to the prisons, prompting the nickname, imagining how prisoners must feel as as they get their last glimpse of venie and freedom. 

Dozens of gondolas full of tourists wend their way in the canals near St Marks Square.

The Ponte della Paglia pedestrian bridge parallels the Bridge of Sighs where people line up to get this view, stand in the sea of humanity until the folks in front of you get their selfie, and then you can get a spot at the rail and get this view.

To get the view the prisoners had, you'll need to get a ticket for the Doge's Palace.

The view prisoners would have had moving from the courts in Doges Palace to the prison along the "Bridge of Sighs' Today, it's a view of dozens of tourists on Ponte della Paglia, jockeying for view of the Bridge of Sighs!

 

Palazzo Ducale, Doge's Palace

The pink Verona marble facade of the Doge's Palace is evident from the water. The Palazzo Ducale was the seat of the Venetian Republic since the 9th century, although this version was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries. 

To visit, you'll need tickets, and like most major tourist attractions, it's best to buy these online ahead of time! The palace is filled with art work and is best enjoyed if you can find someone to interpret what you see.  We used our professional, private guide Andrea, which cost over 100 euro, but we felt was well worth the cost. because of his passion for Venice and his knowledge of it' history and art.  However, there are other less costly options, from joining a group tour, or the budget option of using a narrated tour podcast. 

Our guide, Andrea Bressan

If you were a 15th century dignitary, you might have entered the Palazzo Ducale from the Giant's Staircase. But mere mortals will find the line on the canal side, under the portico near the Ponte della Paglia pedestrian bridge. 

Giant's Staircase

You'll enter at the inner courtyard, but don't hustle through to get inside...take a few minutes to appreciate the variety of architecture on each of the four interior facades.  They represent three completely different architectural styles from the periods they were built of imporoved! 

From the Gothic brick to to the Renaissance marble, be sure to take in the panorama of architectural styles at the Doge's Palace (photo K Klofft)

After ascending the Scala d'Oro staircase, you'll visit elaborately decorated public rooms of the seat of the Venetian Republic.  Gold adorns the walls and ceilings, some of the most accomplished artists have left room sized paintings on the walls and ceilings, sculptors created beautiful plaster and marble statues. Even the floors are made of priceless mosaics. 

The Doge's seat, in the middle of the 6 council members

Sala del Maggior Consiglio/ Great Council room

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Rialto Bridge

The shops along the interior of the Rialto Bridge

Although the Rialto Bridge is not in Saint Mark's Square it connects San Marco to San Polo, and is another of Venice's "blockbuster" sights. The current incarnation of the original wooden bridge was designed by Antionio Da Ponte (am I the only who loves when people are named appropriately for their profession!?) and rebuilt in the 16th century.  The bridge, originally the only one across the Grand Canal, was built as early as the 12th century and it connected the markets to the Basilica and government building in St Marks Square. 

Visitors take selfies with the palazzo lined Grand Canal in the background

The bridge today, IS a market, with a central section lined by gift shops. (I'd advise that you can find similar things for less money in other parts of Venice.) There are also steps on the exterior of both sides of the bridge that provide selfie opportunities and views of the palazzos that line the Grand Canal.  A fun way to tour the bridge is to work your way up one exterior staircase, and through the middle shopping arcade, then ascend the other side for views on the other side.  Be prepared to have lots of company!

A reminder that this video was taken during the "slower" fall season, we were told midsummer you can barely move!

There are a lot of incredible things to see in Venice, which is why we hired a professional guide to help us maximize our time there and put what we saw in context.  We wanted to come back with a better understanding of Venice, and we were fortunate to have done that.  We saw the major "sights" in Venice and then we took time to explore and get lost, off the beaten path and take in the charm of other parts of Venice.  Be sure to check out our next post...where we see the "other" sights in Venice. 

A different look at Venice from the Rialto Bridge- for a different look at Venice, check out our next post!

Post and Video By: Kathy Klofft

Photos By: Jeff Klofft

Myth Busting in Venice

I went to Venice believing a lot of myths!  It made me a little reluctant to go at all, but we wanted to see Venice for ourselves, We celebrated a big wedding anniversary recently. so we planned a trip to Italy and the Adriatic Coast aboard Azamara Quest.  Venice had been on the top of our travel list for a while and it seemed like a romantic place to celebrate an anniversary. Challenges facing Venice, such as over tourism and rising water levels, might change Venice forever, and our travel list is often prioritized by the urgency to see a place before it changes. 

One of our interests in seeing Venice was to see how the challenges Venice faces affect a visitor's experience. We were also concerned that we might not enjoy a visit to Venice, based on how crowded it can be.  I had a lot of preconceived notions about Venice some turned out not to be true!  

Venice is Overtouristed

Reading travel business publications, the problem of over tourism is when a place becomes unaffordable to residents because most of the housing becomes lodging for visitors. Then all the businesses in the place evolve to serve tourists, and business ordinary people need, such as grocery stores or doctors offices start to disappear.  Venice is vulnerable to this and we did have to look carefully to see real people living in Venice.  But we were able to find evidence of them; firefights, people delivering supplies, laundry, and we even saw a gym class full of middle school students learning to row during gym class. 

Venice is Overcrowded

Much of this is a matter of timing.  It helped that we traveled in October, which is quieter than mid summer, or during Carnavale celebrations. And while we weren't alone in St Marks Square, we were delighted to find that we really enjoyed plenty of quiet spots in Venice.  

San Marco in St Marks Square with a "small crowd" in October.

What makes Venice so atmospheric is that every turn reveals another beautiful view.

What makes Venice so incredible, is that it truly is unlike any other city in the world.  Venice was an independent city state empire for an 1100 year run! It was settled when people were pushed out of agricultural lands to the north and created a city out of a salt marsh full of little muddy islands.  Necessity invented building techniques that stood the test of time and buildings still stand today!  This results in a place that has waterways in place of roads, where due to difficult rebuilding conditions, most buildings have stood for centuries, and sprawl development is limited by the waters edge.  The Grande Canal is the main "highway" of Venice, but walking the city is so enjoyable because if you walk just a few blocks from the main canals and squares and you find yourself utterly alone in a beautiful place!

It's Impossible to Navigate in Venice

I was worried that we wouldn't be able to find places we wanted to go.  And it is really easy, and even encouraged to get lost! Walkways that appear to go where you want are blocked by canals without bridges, making it impossible to get someplace even if you can see it!  The narrow roads wind around corners and the buildings create narrow alleys that make it difficult to see landmarks. We used our cell phone with GPS with some success and google has taken the "joy" (frustration?) out of getting lost because it will guide you using the fastest combination of vaparetto (water taxis) and walking, and will usually send you to the nearest bridge, even if it feels like a lot of turns.  Unfortunately, the GPS can sometimes lose service between large buildings, making it hard to follow. I think any trip to Venice should include time to get lost, wander around areas that aren't on the tourist paths.  The only thing that frustrated us was when we were already tired and just wanted to get back to the hotel and what looked like a quick walk back turned into an epic journey to the nearest bridge! 

Tips for using the Vaporetto

Buy tickets ahead online for your length of stay or at a local tobacco shop with the ACTV logo. Be prepared to pay cash for your tickets.

Vaporetto single rides are expensive, 7.50 euro for one hour of riding (unlimited transfers) Full or multi day tickets are a better value.

The "stations" are floats, so you scan your ticket and enter the float and wait for people to exit. Be ready to board quickly, the water taxis are crowded and usually you have squeeze on somewhere. 

There is a map or electronic board at each vaporetto station, check to make sure its headed in the direction you want and that it goes as far as you want, some ferries do not complete the round trip of the whole line. 

Think of Line 1 along the Grand Canal as the Hop On Hop Off bus; which stops at every stop

Line 2 along the Grand Canal is the "express bus" with only major stops included. 

Think twice about using the vaporetto for a "cruise of the Grand Canal".  It's so crowded that it's unlikely you'll find a spot to see the sights. much less photograph the sights from the water taxi.  There are a few spotsoutside or along the rail and you'll be made to move every time new people board. Unless you are on very tight budget, splurge for the private taxi tour of the Grand Canal. 

The main vaporetto from the airport includes areas for people with luggage, but of the other water taxis are ill equipped to use with luggage, so it's worth arranging a private or group transfer on a taxi rather than trying to squeeze onto a vaporetto with all your luggage. 

Vaporetto (photo by K Klofft)

Venice is Romantic

This one proved to be true...with certain conditions! Banish visions of wandering around hand and hand through St Marks Square, and wending through the canals alone on your gondola.  You'll be doing these things with thousands of other lovers, Senior tour groups, school groups and selfie stick toting tourists.   However, we found the romance in Venice because we splurged to have unique experiences and wandered off the beaten path! One thing we did because it was a special anniversary, was use a travel agent in Italy to plan our visit to Venice and Rome and all of our shore excursions in our Italian ports.  We worked with Matteo at Fueritinerio He arranged a romantic dinner at a Michelin star restaurant, Il Ridotto for us, and planned a private boat tour of the Grand Canal and skip the line tours of St Marks and the Doges Palace.  He arranged for us to stay at Hotel Palazzo Stern, a Gothic Revival hotel on the Grand Canal with a very romantic location.   

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We left a few hours open every day to just wander around the city (ie get lost) We found Venice to be very romantic when we took time to soak up the atmosphere and not focus on seeing all the sights!

Imagining a romantic stroll on the Rialto Bridge? Think again! And this was the "slow" season!

I went to Venice with a lot of my own ideas from what I read before I left.  Our time there delighted us, because we allowed ourselves to be surprised by Venice, both by putting our itinerary in Matteo's expert hands and by allowing ourselves time to get lost and enjoy each other while enjoying Venice's charms!

We have lots more to share about our trip...more Venice, and reports from our other ports of call in the Adriatic and Italy. Be sure to "Like" our FB page, follow on twitter for new posts!  We'd love to hear about your experiences in Venice! Click below for more on Venice and put Italy in the search bar for more on Rome, Amalfi, and Sicily.

St Marks Square Venice

A Different Look at Venice

Islands of the Venetian Lagoon

POST BY: Kathy Klofft

PHOTOS: Jeff Klofft

Hurricane Destruction and Your Vacation. What to Do Now!

It might seem "unseemly" to be thinking about vacation when people have lost their homes, livelihoods, and some, even their lives.  But for many of the tropical destinations that Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have devastated, tourism is big business and getting back into business is the next step after the safety of their residents.  If you already have a trip planned or are thinking about visiting one of the tropical destinations affected by the recent storms, here are some ideas about things to consider, and how to proceed.

The first concern for those of us who have spent some time in the Caribbean and Southern US or have relatives there is for their safety and condition of their homes.  Now most of us have heard from our loved ones, and the rebuilding has begun. We've learned that some islands have been devastated and if you'd like to help, its best to direct your funds to charities with a long standing track record of helping in the area. I like to use Charity Navigator for hard data about where my money is going. Unfortunately, there are people are out there trying to take advantage in a crisis, so be judicious about where your money goes and who it will help.

I have heard also from people who want to know what to do about their vacation plans. Whether they already have a booking or had planned to book, everyone is wondering what to do next. Unfortunately, some islands had their tourism infrastructure ruined, and while you might hear positive things from those governments and tourism councils, desperate for your tourist dollars, in reality, it may be a while before you could expect the same pre storm vacation experience in some places.  These are just my own opinions, based on years of travel, and experience in islands that have been affected by storms in the past. They are colored by the fact that I understand how important tourism is the islands and that discouraging travel deals a second blow of devastation to the economies of these small islands. On the other hand, I'moften asked for advice by travelers who want to wisely spend their travel dollars.

If you already have a trip booked in an affected area

I have a cruise booked...now what?

If you are booked on a cruise in the Caribbean or departing from Texas or Florida, your first stop should be to check with your travel agent or the cruise line where you are booked. If you aren't departing soon, be patient, because communications are down in many places and many employers are allowing time for their employees to tend to their own homes and families first. I've noticed that all the cruise lines I follow have been out in front keeping passengers informed via social media about itinerary changes and cancellations. "Like" their pages for the latest news. Read through the cruise contract you agreed to when you booked, (all that teeny, tiny print you usually never need!) and you will see that acts of nature like this allow the cruise lines  to make changes without requiring them to refund your deposit or compensate you. However, most of the cruise lines do seem to be allowing for some flexibility with cancellations, rebooking at another time or giving compensation or "perks" for inconvenienced passengers, so be sure to check with your line directly about they are handling changes.

I have a vacation at a Caribbean resort booked...now what?

A resort on St Martin, pre stroms.

One good source I found for how the tourism business has fared on each of the Caribbean islands that was impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria is Forbes. Check here to see if the island you plan to visit and your resort has been affected. Remember that many of these are self reported, so "minor flooding and exterior damage" could mean different things to different resort managers. Once things have settled in the destination, call and ask pointed questions about the condition of rooms and what facilities will be available, so you know exactly what you will get.  Many times, I've seen a resort will open with limited rooms, but your experience can be affected by noisy construction in another part of the property, or damage to the beach or a pool closing.  Also ask about the ability to cancel, or re book for a time when the resort will be back at full capacity. By asking these questions, you'll know what you are getting into before you go. 

I have a Caribbean Yacht Charter booked...now what?

Yatchs in the harbor in Antigua

Many boats go out to see or are re-positioned when a storm comes up, sparing them from damage. But some have no choice but to ride out the storm in port, and the photos tell the story of some devastated charter boats. Check with the charter company to see if they will be able to accommodate your charter, and expect that if they can, the captain will be making changes to the itinerary based on the damage to ports around the islands.

I have a vacation in or cruise departing from Southern US...now what?

 A cruise ship leaves Miami Beach

The Caribbean islands take the brunt of a storms force, because the storm lands after building strength out over the ocean, and that's devastating to low lying islands. Once the storms make landfall in the US, they've generally lost some of their punch. Also,  US building codes and infrastructure is generally better than that of small Caribbean nations, so in addition to less devastation, rebuilding can happen faster. Check with your resort or cruise line for any changes to your itinerary. Ask and listen for honest answers to whether all facilities will be available and how damage has affected beaches.

If you are planning a trip to an affected area

I don't have a vacation booked, but I was planning to...what should I do next?

- If you have a regular place you go, and it's been affected, consider going, if it's safe to do so, but with a change in attitude. It may not be the relaxing vacation it has been in the past, but will your presence be encouraging to old friends and travel partners in your favorite destination? Can you possibly go there through a voluntary program and help rebuild the place you love? What do they need? Pack For a Purpose is my go to source for discovering what to pack to help because the lists are made by the organizations themselves. But if you have relationships with people on the island they may know what you could bring that will help.  Obviously, if a lack of service or amenities is going to ruin your vacation experience, by all means wait, but if you have already have a connection to a place, your concern and presence could really help and you might get some favorable pricing, with destinations hoping to lure you back!

-If you are looking forward to that typical island vacation, with palm trees swaying and drinks by the beach, you might be disappointed with the Carribean in the next year. Beaches may be damaged with debris or erosion. Palm trees may have been wiped out, giving the landscape an otherworldly look. Going to the far southern Caribbean, such as Aruba might be an option. You may want to look to Latin America (Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico etc) which were spared from the worst storms this year.  Don't forget that some islands were fortunately missed completely by the storms and they will be looking to reassure travelers they are "open for business"! Other "tropical" options are Hawaii and French Polynesia, although, Id be expecting prices there to rise, if demand for those locales rise, and of course, their remoteness often makes travel costs higher.

An idyllic scene in Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica, much of Central America was unscathed in the recent storms.

- If you are looking for a cruise vacation, I've noticed that the cruise lines are selling their Western Caribbean itineraries hard, with specials being offered to counter act all those images of devastation that may be affecting bookings. The mobile nature of cruise ships allows them to re-position around to less devastated areas, so a cruise trip can be a good way to experience the Caribbean while avoiding the challenges of rebuilding on an island. On the other hand, cruise destinations that weren't affected by the storms may see an increase in tourism and cruise travelers straining their resources.

Grand Cayman Snorkeling, a popular stop for many Western Caribbean Cruises

- Is this the year to try something different? Maybe it's time to take that bucket list trip you've thought about instead of sitting under an umbrella with a mojito this year? A trip to Alaska, an African safari, a trip to the Galapagos or a visit to a European city might be in the cards this year instead of palm trees and ocean breezes. We have lots of ideas on our site...just scroll down the destinations on the right side of our website to get some ideas...and wherever you go, safe travels!

Time for a bucket list trip?  The Sally Lightfoot crab welcomes visitors to the Galapagos Islands

My thoughts go out to all the travel partners and people affected by these terrible storms, I'm not shying away from traveling to Florida and the Caribbean this winter, and I'm sure I'll see examples of incredible resiliency that characterizes island living. I plan to do my part, participating in fundraisers, donating to charities that are helping to rebuild and "packing for a purpose" this winter, and I will be sure to report what I find when I get there! Let us know what your experience has been too!

If you live in the Greater Boston Area...join me and my friends, we will be attending a Zumba Fundraiser for Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico