Kerry

My partner and I are off to Venice on 25th March for 4 nights. What is a MUST SEE and what is missable? We both like architecture, history, food! etc

Hausee

Hi,<BR><BR>I loved Venice! We were only there for three nights, and saw a lot. One of our favorites, though, was taking a boat to the island of Burano, near Venice. There are brightly colored houses, canals, good restaurants, and it is just a joy to walk around. It is a truly unique and fun place. Enjoy!

elaine

Hi<BR>If you go elsewhere here on fodors.com you will find lots of basic sightseeing suggestions for Venice. You will also need a map. Additionally, I have a long file on Venice with sights, food, etc, if you'd like to see it, email me at<BR>[email protected]<BR><BR>Usual major sights are<BR>St Mark's Basilica<BR>Doge's Palace<BR>Accademia Museum<BR>Peggy Guggenheim Collection (20th century art)<BR>Rialto Bridge<BR><BR>I also like the Correr museum, and the museum of Ca'd'Oro.<BR><BR><BR>A lot of Venice's great art and architecture is in its churches and religious buildings<BR>You might consider the <BR>Frari Church<BR>San Giorgio Maggiore (the best views of Venice from the top, and also art works on the ground floor)<BR>Madonna dell'Orto<BR>Scuola di San Rocco (if you like the artist Tintoretto)<BR>Miracoli church<BR>Salute Church<BR>old Jewish Ghetto--not beautiful (except for the interior of the synagogues) but very very interesting for its history--take a tour, it's about an hour)<BR>Giovanni e Paolo church<BR><BR>Try to find the Bovolo staircase, it's in a small courtyard between the Rialto bridge and the Piazza.<BR>It's an outdoor staircase, beautiful, sometimes open to the public. It shows what Venetian architects were doing about the same time Columbus was stumbling onto America.<BR><BR>You could also take half a day and visit one of the lagoon islands such as Torcello, Burano, or Murano.<BR><BR>For restaurants, do your homework. Venice is not famous for food, and while you can find good food in Venice, it is on average more expensive than in other Italian cities. For one thing, most food stuffs have to be brought in, and over water to boot; for the other, Venice's entire economy depends on tourism, so there ARE tourist traps, more per square foot than other cities perhaps.<BR><BR>Do a search here on Venice, or Venice restaurant, go elsewhere on fodors.com for restaurant Rants and Raves comments, etc etc<BR>It's hard to recommend specific restaurants without knowing what your budget is like.<BR><BR>The best part of Venice is just strolling, though. More than other cities I've been to, if I'd never stepped foot inside a building, I'd still love the place.<BR><BR><BR>

PamSF

There are so many things to see,do and experience in Venice. You will get many tips and most of the highlights are things you should definitely see once at least. We were there for a week last Fall and here are some of my favorites: <BR><BR>Catch a seat on the 1 and ride up and down the grand canal. Try to make your way to the open seating for a real treat.<BR><BR>The Guggenheim<BR><BR>The Jewish Museum in the old ghetto<BR><BR>Coffee and toast inside at the Florian(just once it is so very over the top)<BR><BR>Campo Santa Margherita (Including coffee at Margaret DuChamp) The whole neighborhood is pretty interesting.<BR><BR>Burano-yes! Have lunch at Da Ramono. Sit outside but do venture inside. The grilled shrimp are divine.<BR><BR>Have a drink on the terrace at the Danieli. You will have a magnificent view of Venice. A negroni there costs $16 euros but you are paying for the view. <BR><BR>I found the food in Venice to be generally disappointing. However, every other sense was so completely occupied it almost didn't matter. That being said..we had good food at A Covo,<BR>Alla Madonna(the grilled sole was great),<BR>Ae Oche(a student pizza place where you can get pizza probably 50 ways) in San Palo.<BR><BR>We tore out the map from the Rough Guide to Venice and carried it everywhere with us. It was easy to read, has many landmarks highlighted and is waterproof!<BR><BR>Rent &quot;Summertime&quot;(1955) with Katherine Hepburn before you go. This will give you a sense of Venice. It is the canal near Campo Santa Margherita into which she falls.

RufusTFirefly

For dinners in Venice, we'd just start walking away from the tourist areas about 7:30 or 8:00 each evening. Somewhere we would find a small cafe or restaurant and check out the menu. If it was only in Italian, and the place looked decent, we'd stop. We had some wonderful meals, but didn't record any names--sorry. Based on our experience, you can get good, reasonably-priced meals in Venice if you are willing to walk and look around a bit.<BR><BR>Sights other than those already listed that we enjoyed include the gondola yard and the Naval Museum near the Arsenale. elaine mentioned the Correr Museum--there are a lot of other speciality museums that you should research to see if they match your interests. My wife is very artistic and is facinated by glass blowing--so she really enjoyed visiting the factories and shops on Murano.

JandaO

Hi,<BR> My fondest memories of Venice aare the times we wandered the back canals and got lost. This is where the true soul of Venice lies. It is something that will stay with me the rest of my life. It was pure magic. Nothing can compare. So go out there and &quot;GET LOST&quot;<BR>You will be enchanted on what you will find if you leave the touristy areas behind.