I’ve taken many day trips to Venice because it’s not far from the southern border of Austria, where we spend some time with family every summer. But I never really stayed overnight and that’s why this trip to Italy was so different. It made me fall in love with Venice all over again! It’s hard to find someone that hasn’t been to Venice before but let me tell you why you should definitely put Venice high up again on your list of things to see:
TO STAY
With over 10 Million visitors each year you can imagine how crowded and busy the narrow streets can be. That’s why the San Clemente Palace Kempinski Venice Hotel is perfect for your stay: it’s located on a quiet private island in the Venice lagoon and the perfect escape from the tourist crowds. It’s also super convenient: when you arrive at the airport, you take a water taxi straight to the hotel and from here there’s a water taxi shuttle that takes you to St. Marcus Place every 30 minutes. Above all: it’s stunningly beautiful! Classic interior, endless corridors, large Venetian mirrors, and handcrafted chandeliers from Murano everywhere and excellent 5-star service!
San Clemente Palace Kempinski
Isola di San Clemente, 1, 30124 Venezia
www.kempinski.com/de/venice/san-clemente-palace-kempinski
To Do
As mentioned, Venice gets very crowded during the day, most are daytime visitors that leave int the early evening hours. So the best time to explore Venice is early in the morning or at night! So first thing in the morning you should get up on the Campanile tower to enjoy breathtaking 360`views over the city. There’s an elevator so don’t worry! But you’ll obviously be walking a lot in Venice so make sure to take a break some time in the afternoon when it gets too busy and enjoy a 45 minute Gondola tour that takes you through the narrow canals and across the Canale Grande. You’ll see that suddenly everything slows down and turns calm! Now don’t forget you’re in Italy, so you should definitely eat a lot here, but then again the walking will pay off even more!
To Eat
If you’ve come to Venice on a budget, I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve come to the wrong place. It’s not only the coffee at St. Marcus Place that’s 9€ + 8€ for musical accompaniment but basically you have to imagine it like your wallet suddenly turns into a black hole. It’s like money evaporates into thin air. You would probably be better nourished from eating the bill of money than from what you can buy to eat from it. OK so now you got the idea but seriously get ready to spend just a little too much, I promise you won’t regret it! There are classics like the Hotel Danieli rooftop terrace for lunch, but in all honesty, spare yourself the overpriced Risotto and enjoy the view from Campanile Tower!
Il Cantinone già Schiavi is a fun place that we stumbled across. And not as expensive as the rest! You can order inside and get a plate full of lovely crostini with salami, mozzarella and tomatoes, egg and truffles, sardines, artichokes, and delicious tuna and leek. Then you take your plate and stand outside by the canals. It’s a relaxed atmosphere and perfect pitstop.
Address: Fondamenta Nani, 992, 30123 Dorsoduro, Venezia
www.cantinaschiavi.com
Harrys Bar is a must. This is the place where the famous drink Bellini and the dish Carpaccio were invented – two of my favorite things ever! Make sure to read the brief history of this place and Giuseppe Cipriani on their website so you can choose the same table Hemingway used to sit at! During regular lunch or dinner hours, it can be hard to get a table without reservation so I suggest you come here sometime during the day for a snack. At 58€ for one plate of Carpaccio, you’ll be sharing the dish anyway. But believe me, do this once – you’ll probably never get the chance again! And yes, it’s a really damn good Carpaccio!
Address: Calle Vallaresso 1323 , 30124 San Marco Venice
www.harrysbarvenezia.com
Another nice spot to check out close by is the Bar at Gritti Palace. There’s a beautiful terrace that faces the Canale Grande, but it’s even more stunning inside! Newly renovated, handcrafted mirrors and lamps from Murano glass and a beautiful marble bar – wow!
Address: Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, Venedig, 30124
http://www.thegrittipalace.com
After this, we really needed something down to earth so we inquired at the concierge for a relaxed place that serves good quality food. We were recommended Marco Polo restaurant. It sounds like any other pizzeria in any other city but we were immediately charmed by this place. The service was excellent, they have a huge selection of great wines and the food was exactly what we needed: good simple Italian cooking, fresh ingredients, and super cozy atmosphere: even after we got the bill we changed our minds and stayed for another round of drinks! Make sure to order the cheese plate in the end!
Address: Salisada Castello San Lio, 5571, 30122 Venezia http://ristorantemarcopolovenezia.com
Pictures: Jessie Schoeller
The hotel photo looks great!
Amazing post! Really helpful 🙂
It has been years since I last visited Venice, you brought back good memories.