Venice, Italy is by far one of my favorite places I have ever been. If you ever get the change to visit, definitely do not pass it up. A lot of people have negative comments to make about this beautiful city because they are only there for a day with a cruise and never get the chance to escape the crowds. I was able to spend a week there which is enough time to find yourself acting like a real venetian. I visited Venice the summer before my senior year of high school right after I had turned 18. The summer was a fun time to visit as some of the streets did flood at night however it was completely manageable. Get lost in the streets and go explore. The venetians like to run through the streets and do not like slow walkers in their way. By the end of the week you will be doing the same. One night, my family and I found a small place to eat dinner and it was some of the best food I ever ate. The next night, we tried to find it again and while it takes only about 30 minutes to get from one side of the island to the other, it took us two hours to find it again. All of the streets and Canals look the same so make sure you remember which turns you take. Luckily, there are signs that will lead you to the main attractions of the island so if you can remember how to get back to your hotel from the San Marco Piazza or the Rialto Bridge, then you should be okay. Sitting in the San Marco Piazza at night while you watch the square flood while listening to music and eating deserts is worth the money it will take to be able to sit in front of one of the cafes. Venice is full of night life and beautiful music and since most of the tourists are gone by dark, it is worth going on an adventure at night or taking a ghost tour led by a guide. While in Venice, it is a must do to ride in a gondola, however if you want a more unique and memorable memory, consider taking a gondola rowing lesson. Be warned, it is a lot harder than it looks and most of the instructors take their jobs very seriously so be prepared to put in some work and maybe to get yelled at. My Gondola rowing lesson was a story I love to tell and a memory I will never forget. Venice is full of so much history so taking a guided tour is always a good option to get a decent overview of what you are looking at. Personally, when I visit a new city, I like to take an all day tour of the city I am in the first day so that for the rest of the trip, I can have an idea of where I am and I will know if there are some places that I would like to return to that weren’t initially on my list before I got there. One of the fun and less visited places I saw in Venice was this beautiful book shop that was prepared for the rising water of the island. Books were pilled in bathtubs, gondolas, and everything else you can think of along with creating a staircase to see the view over the wall of the adjacent canal. Make sure to give this memorable shop a visit. Don’t miss the main tourist points such as the shopping, (hint: if you want to buy glass, make sure you visit or at least buy glass from the nearby island of Burano, famous for its glass blowing), drinking Bellinis, visiting the Rialto Bridge, the Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the San Marco Piazza, seeing the markets, and taking a gondola ride down the Grand Canal. Overall, I would say the main thing to do if you visit is to get away from the tourists and loose yourself in the rich culture of the island.
