A Day Trip to Romantic Venice

118 islands and more than 400 bridges

The floating city has been a dream destination of ours for years.

Italy is one of our favourite countries and with Venice being such a unique city, we simply had to visit at least once in our lives.

In June 2018 we went to Italy for the third time together to stay in The Dolomites. The purpose of our trip was mainly to work on this blog/website but luckily we also took some days off to go exploring.

It felt like the perfect time to go on a day trip to wonderful Venice!

We went early in the morning with high expectations of cosy narrow streets, pastel-coloured houses and captivating canals – and we got exactly what we had hoped for.

Having researched online (and been to many touristic places before) we also feared that there would be huge crowds and street vendors. That’s why we decided to go on a Tuesday.

Of course, there were many people near the famous sights (Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs etc.) but we were surprised to have many of the streets to ourselves.

As for the sellers, they hung out at the same spots as the crowds and after politely declining their selfie sticks, roses and pigeon feed (which is illegal by the way), it actually wasn’t as bad as we had imagined.

Venice was pleasantly hassle-free and we really enjoyed walking around hand in hand for hours.

While it’s not possible to see every part of Venice in one day, you can definitely get the feel of it.

We stayed until the sun had dipped way under the horizon and after 20 kilometres of walking, 8 scoops of gelato (yes really) + countless bridges and narrow streets, we can say that it truly is romantic.

Getting lost in the maze of canals is an experience we will never forget.

Our best tips for a day trip to Venice:

• We tried three different gelaterias: Alaska (not gelato-like at all), GROM (a great high-quality Italian gelato chain) and Suso (omg, yes, go have your gelato from this place).
• Early in the morning and in the evening, all the crowds are gone and the atmosphere changes completely. Go see the most popular attractions at this time if you want to avoid the cruise ship hordes and loud families.
• We survived (and actually had a really great time!) without a gondola ride.

  But “how can you go to Venice without sailing in a gondola?” you may think. We know, it’s a must. But it’s also €80 for 30 minutes which felt a bit pricey for us.

  The gondolas ARE super cute and romantic and if you’ve always dreamt about it (or don’t care about the price) please go ahead and enjoy it.

  If you’re in doubt, just know that we support you spending those euros on pizzas and gelatos instead.

• Go get lost! Venice is charming all over, so pack away your map and GPS.
• Cars are not allowed in the city, so expect to walk a lot or take the water taxis.

  If you need to park your car outside the city, you have a few options. Most convenient (and most expensive) is Garage San Marco Venezia. We parked at Tronchetto just a little further away and paid €21 for 24 hours of parking. From there we could easily walk to the historic city centre.

  A cheaper option is to park in Mestre on the mainland and take a short ride on a train or bus to Venice.