Cinque Terre to Venice
We were in for our longest travel day since arriving in Italy.
Travelling from Cinque Terre on the west coast to Venice on the east coast.
The most direct route to Venice is 381 km and the calculated travel time was 4 hrs. This was using the Autostrada and tolls. Usually, we like to programme into the GPS to travel the local roads, taking in the sights of local villages and countryside. In this case, though it was going to take us an additional 2 hours so it was making more sense to use the direct route.
We drove the Autostrada the entire way and it cost us €32/$56NZ in tolls.
Detour to Parma
We did a detour for a shortstop in Parma. This is where Parmesan Cheese and Parma Ham/prosciutto comes from. Most of the cheese tours and tastings require bookings so we settled for a roadside trailer selling a panini with Parma Sausage or porchetta – not a bad feed for €8. It was served up with a healthy dose of pickled veggies.
I certainly get taken to all the classy joints – high roadside dining in Parma
Venice
As in my previous Italy posts, there are so many websites, blogs, videos and good old Wikipedia dedicated to all things Venice.
This blog is more about what we did and how we did it. It takes a whole heap of research to work out what is the best way to see Venice.
Once again, our priority was to experience Venice by staying as central as possible. This, of course, was going to hit us in the wallet but we decided that we would probably not come this way again so why not go the ‘whole hog’ so to speak.
Accommodation and Transport Options into Venice
Firstly, you need to become familiar with the different areas of Venice. The historic centre of Venice is made up of lots of islands and canals, forming what is basically one large island. This is divided into six districts. Around this heart lie other islands which are also part of the city. Click here for a Guide to the islands of Venice.
Make sure you research the areas you want to stay
It is undoubtedly cheaper to stay on the mainland and travel into the area by train. They are efficient, relatively cheap and run frequently. Just remember though that Venice is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy. Be prepared for the crowds. Click here for more information on train travel into Venice.
Venezia Tronchetto
If you have your own car and you are wanting to stay in the historic centre of Venice then I’d recommend leaving your car at Venezia Tronchetto.
Tronchetto (means New Island) is an artificial island in the Venetian Lagoon. The island was created in the 1960’s and is now used as a car park for tourists who cannot bring their vehicles into the city.
It is easy to reach and we avoided any queues trying to find a parking lot in Venice. We found that it is one of the cheapest covered car parks in the centre of Venice. Being very well located, it is close to the boat stops (Vaporetto) and we reached the closest stop within a few minutes walk from our car.
As we were leaving our large packs safely out of site in the trunk/boot of our car, safety was a top priority for us. This car park has staff present 24 hours per day and has more than 120 cameras installed. Although there is never any guarantees that your possessions will be safe, this went some way in reassuring us that we had taken every precaution.
It cost us €21/36NZ per day which is a good price compared to other options.
The Vaporetto/Water Bus
The Vaporetto is the ferry that takes residents and tourists from one stop to the next via the canals. To get from one end of the Grand Canal (from where the train station is) to the other end (San Marco/St Marks) takes around 20-30 minutes. You can get on and off at different stops along the way.
There are 19 scheduled lines that serve Venice and nearby islands. It was no wonder that we were a little overwhelmed when we rocked up to the pier and looked at planned routes, where we needed to get to and the timetables.
We could purchase our Vaporetto ticket at the Venezia Tronchetto car park which was €7.50/$13NZ each. This is a one-way ticket to any of the stops and can be used for 60 minutes from the time of validation.
To get to our accommodation on the Grand Canal, there were two different routes we needed to take (1 & 2). After asking for directions, we boarded No 2 for 2 stops, hopped off and then boarded No 1 for 5 stops. No wonder we were slightly confused. Once you understand it all, it’s pretty easy (she says in hindsight!).
The Vaporetto Pass
If you are planning to be in Venice for several days and you want to travel by water bus frequently, you can get reduced prices by purchasing a Vaporetto Pass.
The prices can vary depending on the length of time.
- €20 – 24-hour pass
- €30 – 48-hour pass
- €40 – 72-hour pass
- €60 – 7-day pass
Click here for more package deals available.
Our Accommodation
Well, as mentioned earlier, we wanted to be front and centre stage in Venice. Buggar it, if we were going to do Venice, we were going to do it well.
We could have not been more central if we tried. We booked 2 nights at Locanda Santi Apostoli. This is right on the Grand Canal and absolutely the best spot, right in the middle of all the major Venice attractions.
We could walk everywhere but still only a 5-minute walk from the water bus which made our arrival and departure easy.
Our 15th-century palace on the Grand Canal and a grand breakfast spread
It is located on the 3rd floor of the Michiel Dal Brusa’ Palace and is a typically Venetian architectural building from the 15th century. As it was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1774, it was rebuilt 3 years later, luckily still maintaining the original facade.
For this little bit of luxury, it cost us €123/$215NZ per night (including breakfast).
The Grand Canal is a hive of activity – the changing views from our balcony
We spent quite some time standing out on the balcony watching the water traffic travelling up and down the Grand Canal. There is certainly such a thing as ‘rush hour’ on the water as the mornings and evenings were packed with all sorts of crafts, delivery boats, water taxies and posh private boats.
And then there were the night views!
Attractions
We started to explore Venice along with the hundreds (if not thousands) of other tourists!
As in previous cities we have visited in Italy, we downloaded Visit-a-City itinerary suggestions, along with Rick Steves audio tours. I’d fully recommend researching the app to download to your mobile device. You use the guides offline so no need for mobile data. Click on the links above for more information.
The iconic Gondolas of Venice. It is €80/$140NZ for 40 minutes, after 7 pm., the base rate climbs to €100/$175NZ
There is certainly a whole list of ‘top things to do’ in Venice. With our two days packed with attractions to see, there was still more to have visited but felt that we had given it a good go and ready to move on after our 2-night stay.
The Rialto Bridge, it is the oldest bridge in Venice and still in use. … built in 1181 and it was a pontoon bridge built on ships
Our travels took us to such iconic sights such as Rialto Bridge, St Marks Basilica and Square, St Marks Bell Tower, ancient market promenades and numerous churches and cathedrals.
The first St. Mark’s Basilica was built on this spot in the 9th century to house very sacred relics. There are more than 8,000 square meters of mosaics in St. Mark’s Basilica… or enough to cover over 1.5 rugby fields!
Views of Venice from the Bell Tower, St Marks Square
Riding the Vaporetto
We did end up purchasing a 24-hour pass on the water bus (Vaporetto) and in the evening rode the ferry up and down the canal. This is a cheaper option than paying for a tourist boat which basically takes the same route. It was even more exciting watching a cracking thunderstorm at night while riding the canal. That was until I thought about us being on a metal boat surrounded by water during an electrical storm. What could go wrong!
Watching an electrical storm on a metal boat in the middle of the water!
How Did Venice Stack Up For Us?
I’ve thought quite a bit about how I was going to write up my blog about Venice.
It seems that everyone loves Venice. It’s on so many people’s Bucket List so we had visions of a picturesque, romantic, film set location so no wonder our expectations were high.
I’m left wondering if we are the only people in the world to be left underwhelmed by Venice.
We Felt Underwhelmed
We’ve discussed at length as to why we felt this way. After all, we have been in some of the most populated cities in the world. We have coped with rush hour in Tokyo, Bangkok and Beijing. What made this seem just that bit more disappointing?
Apart from having high expectations, Venice is steadily being loved to death. Would you believe that 30 million tourists officially stampede through the city every year? That equates to more than 80,000 per day! The figures are probably even higher than this as this doesn’t take into account day-trippers and cruise passengers.
The waterways are increasingly choked with boats of all shapes and sizes – statistics show that over 2,000 vessels pass under the Rialto Bridge every 12 hours.
Travel Fatigued?
Could it be that we have reached that point in our travels where we are getting ‘Travel Fatigue’? It is a ‘thing’ that a lot of long-term travellers suffer from at some stage during their journey.
Are we getting harder to please? Maybe it is getting harder to find that ‘travel high’ and starting to find that many locations come up short for us now?
The other thought that came to mind is that maybe we are becoming ungrateful for this lifestyle we are living – for goodness sake, we were in Venice, be grateful for that. So many people would give their eye teeth to be where we were and see what we’ve seen.
Well, I am pleased to report that in hindsight, we weren’t suffering from travel fatigue, lacking the ability to find that travel high, nor becoming complacent or ungrateful. We have hit that travel high several times since visiting Venice and we are grateful every day to be able to live our lifestyle.
The truth is, Venice just isn’t that nice a location to visit. Yes, it is kind of pretty and it does have the history to keep it interesting but it fell short in meeting our expectations.
Venice is Sinking Under its Own Success
Rising sea levels and sinking soil under the city means that floods occur more frequently, and when it comes, it stays around longer.
Just one of the Leaning Towers of Venice
On our walkabouts, we constantly saw towers on a lean. We would stop, tilt our heads just to see if it was us or the building on a lean.
We Came and We Saw – Tick
Yes, we can now tick it off the list of places that we have visited. As the ultimate break-up line goes “it’s not you, it’s me”. Well, in this case, it was certainly “it’s not me, it’s you”. I can confidently say that this love affair with Venice is over.
By all means, go and visit if you ever get the opportunity, to make up your own minds. There is a certain kind of excitement in just being there – but for us, this is where the thrill ended.
Video below of some of the attractions we saw in Venice.