Lonely Planet Pocket Venice: Top Experiences - Local Life (Pocket Guide)

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Walking remains the best way to get around the six sestieri of Venice. The city on the Lagoon is relatively small – going from the Santa Lucia railway station to Piazza San Marco only takes about thirty minutes on foot, for example – and its main sights are usually well-marked and easy to find. Although you should probably arm yourself with a good GPS and a nice map, the unconventional layout of Venice's streets and alleyways can thwart even the best sense of direction. Residents and their relatives of Venice and the wider Veneto region, children under 14, and people staying at least one night in local hotels will not have to pay an entry fee. People with disabilities, students enrolled in the city and those visiting the city for the day for health reasons or a sporting event or concert are also exempt. How do I pay?

If it wasn’t so close to Venice, Padova (or Padua) would be one of northern Italy’s most feted cities. As it is, not many tourists make it to the place that changed art history – yet it’s one of the easiest day trips from Venice by train. Here, in the Cappella degli Scrovegni – the chapel of the Scrovegni banking family, which now sits in a little park, just 10 minutes’ walk from the train station – Giotto spent two years from 1303 to 1305, frescoing it from top to bottom. What he produced shattered medieval artistic conventions, introducing perspective and humanizing his figures, instead of keeping them stiff and sculptural. If his Nativity and Flight to Egypt scenes are familiar, that’s because they make regular appearances on Christmas cards around the globe.How to make a travel budget using points and miles Reykjavík Konsúlat Hótel, Curio Collection by Hilton; Iceland Furthermore, as a response to warnings from UNESCO about the damage caused by cruise ships, Venice officially banned such ships from the historic city center last April. Instead, large ships are now redirected to alternative ports like Fusina and Lombardia, alleviating the pressure on Venice's infrastructure.

Also known as Pineta di Sant’Elena, the pinewood of Sant’Elena, this huge park is located on the island of the same name and just a bridge away from the Biennale area. Facing the waterfront, the Pineta is the perfect spot to reach when one wants to spend some downtime under the pine trees, staring out at the sea and at some breathtaking landscapes of the city. Like the Giardini Papadopoli, the Pineta di Sant’Elena is also equipped with a playground for children. Parco San Giuliano Often described as a mini Venice, Chioggia certainly shares a lot with La Serenissima – a settlement clumped over islands, linked by bridges – but where Venice has an elegant feel of decay, Chioggia is a living, working town. Instead of tourist gondolas, you’ll see fishing boats lined along the canals, and there are even cars driving along the streets. Don’t miss the church of San Domenico, where a painting of St. Paul by Renaissance artist Carpaccio sits in the dark, alongside votive paintings by fishermen. It’s a brilliantly atmospheric yet cheap day trip from Venice. Venice is your oyster! By this age, your offspring will have likely developed an appreciation for the culinary arts and Venice delivers in the form of chicchetti – the Venetian answer to tapas. There are also water taxis – slinky private rides that whisk you around like any other taxi, only for about 10 times the price of a car. And of course, there are gondolas, for those romantic rides along the water. If a gondola doesn’t feel right, you can get a similar experience in a traghetto – an oversized gondola that’s used as a public transport option to cross the Grand Canal at regular points. This costs just €2, as opposed to €80 for a gondola (rising to €90 from November 2023). When Italians think of beach holidays around the lagoon, they look north of Venice. An hour or so from the Serenissima (i.e. Venice) by car or train, the Lido of Jesolo is an iconic name in the Italian collective mind. With 15 km of sand and Blue Flag-certified waters, this is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the whole country.Learning to voga (Venice's signature stand-up rowing technique employed by gondolieri throughout the city's canals) is another fantastic option. Row Venice will have the kids piloting their own gambero (shrimp-tailed boat) in no time. Planning tips Walking along the canals is the perfect way to get familiar with the city and will allow you to discover hidden corners and squares you might otherwise miss. There’s no need to worry about acqua alta – the city deploys walkways in case the streets get flooded, but it’s always wise to have some rain boots ready to go if you plan to visit in autumn. This is another Italy-wide rule but it comes into sharper relief in Venice: drink your coffee or eat your croissant at the bar to avoid paying a seating supplement. If you’re happy to stand, you can get a drink at fancy Piazza San Marco cafes like Florian or Quadri for a few euros – while those sitting outside are paying double figures, and that’s before the additional fee if an orchestra is playing in the square. 19. Watch your step on the vaporetto How to get to Chioggia from Venice: Take a vaporetto from the city to the Lido, where the number 11 bus route whisks you eastwards, transfers to a ferry to Pellestrina, continues to the end of the island, and then drops you off at the ferry for Chioggia. Note that this route is only active in summer. Otherwise, it’s about an hour’s drive (but on frustratingly slow roads) south of Venice. 6. Soak up the cross-cultural history of Trieste The Tommie Hollywood is a chic, modern boutique hotel located in the heart of Downtown Hollywood, California. The hotel features stylish rooms that are bright with pops of vibrant color throughout. The hotel's highlight is the rooftop pool with stunning views of the Hollywood Hills. The hotel also offers a 24-hour fitness center, business center and concierge services. With its convenient location near popular attractions such as the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Tommie Hollywood Hotel is an ideal choice for travelers looking to explore all Los Angeles offers.

One of the world's most spectacular destinations, Venice dazzles all ages – nobody is immune from that instantaneous and unparalelled love-at-first-sight moment when uninitiated eyes spy the city for the first time. The city's radical deviation from the typical urban landscape is, in and of itself, an attraction for kids. The endless maze of footbridges and staircases, traversing a web of intertwined waterways, is one giant playground for the little ones. It’s hard to link this particular event to climate change – it’s to do with low lunar tide and high pressure over Italy,” he explains. Besides the open, free-to-access beach, you can enjoy leisurely walks through Sant’Erasmo's many gardens and orchards, and try a locally produced white wine from the Orto di Venezia domain. Lido di Jesolo Your main routes, however, will be with the public transport company ACTV. This runs the vaporetti – waterbuses – in and around town. If you’ll be using them a lot, it’s worth getting a timed pass rather than paying by the ride. The Gritti Palace is a luxury hotel in Venice, Italy. It was built in the 15th century as a private residence and has operated as a boutique hotel starting in 1895. Located on Venice’s famous Grand Canal, the iconic hotel offers stunning views of the Venetian lagoon and is just steps away from St. Mark's Square. The Gritti Palace features luxurious accommodations with a mix of classic and modern Italian design and dining options featuring local Venetian cuisine. The hotel also offers a range of amenities such as a rooftop jacuzzi, fitness center, spa and private boat tours.The catch? You share it with as many people as can be squeezed onboard. And, of course, it’s much shorter, taking a couple of minutes to cross the canal. But we’ll take that over an awkward-yet-insanely-pricey serenade. Hit the beach Venice has long discussed implementing an entry fee for visitors but the specifics haven't always been clear. However, city officials recently unveiled a comprehensive plan, shedding light on when and how the much-debated tourist tax will be introduced.

You’re on vacation, as are 90% of the people around you – so we’re not going to tell you to try and pass as a local. Do you need to dress up in Venice? No – Venetians are actually pretty dressed down unless they’re going to a fancy restaurant. However, there are practical clothing rules to know about. With the exceptions of Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the colder months are as empty as they can be in a city like Venice – with school and work in full swing, tourist numbers are much lower than they are in June and July. A prime mistake visitors make (and I should know – I did this even when I first moved here) is seeing Venice through its vaporetto map, and calculating the nearest stop to places you’re going. It’s understandable – this is famously a city to get lost in – but unnecessary.

When Jewish merchants fled the Spanish Inquisition for Venice in 1541, there was no place left in the Ghetto to go but up: in buildings around the Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, upper storeys housed new arrivals, synagogues and publishing houses. A plain wooden cupola in the corner of the campo (square) marks the location of the Schola Canton. Next door is the Schola Tedesca, while the rooftop Schola Italiana is a simple synagogue built by newly arrived and largely destitute Italian Jews, who had fled from Spanish-controlled southern Italy. What is Venice like? For starters, it’s not a theme park, as many tourists seem to think it is. Like other major Italian cities, Venice has fines for bad behavior – but here, things that might be acceptable anywhere else could land you with a hefty bill. Swimming in the canals and sitting on the pavements to have an impromptu picnic can land you triple-figure fines, for example; walking around in swimwear, feeding the birds and even pushing a bicycle (not even riding it) also bring penalties. The Vogue Hotel Montreal is a boutique hotel in downtown Montreal’s Golden Square Mile. It offers modern and stylish accommodations with amenities like a fitness center and EV charging stations. The Vogue Hotel Montreal provides easy access to many attractions, such as Old Montreal, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal and Mount Royal Park. Its convenient location and comfortable accommodations make it a great choice for travelers looking for a luxurious stay in Montreal.