Venice Centre

Venice centre: Narrow streets and charming canals

Overview
Neighbours
Shopping
Transport
See and Do
Eating out
Nightlife

There are many cities that can be surprising, cities that are smaller than others or that dont have that many big monuments, but that still have a clear and unique charm that will be enough for you to remember them forever. Venice is one of those: besides the charm and the uniqueness, Venice centre has the beauty, the history, and the fishermens town atmosphere, as well as the romance. In your visit to Venice centre, you will be able to breathe the beauty of its narrow streets and to sail through its canals, both the Gran Canal with the beautiful façades at both sides, and narrow, darker but equally charming little canals. Venice centre is made out of islands connected by water, which is part of the charm of the city.
Venice is a magical place, and during your stay in the apartments in Venice centre you will be able to feel as part of that magic. Venice centre is a touristic place, but also a unique one: it is a special city indeed, and its idiosyncrasy mixes perfectly with the activity brought by the foreigners. Venice has 300.000 inhabitants, and you will surely be able to meet some of them, speak with them and learn about their culture. The trips in vaporetto are the perfect example of this, since there you will see how travellers and locals share this sort of water bus.
Venice is a beautiful city, and its centre is full of little shops where you can buy artisanal products, handicrafts and designers items. In Venice centre you will see lots of shops that sell the beautiful Carnival masks, a symbol of the city of Venice, as well as clothes, bags and other items with an added unique touch. These one-of-a-kind shops are all around Venice centre, but they concentrate especially in Calle della Mandola, a beautiful narrow and very Venetian street. Its located between St. Marks Square and the Grand Canal.
But there is something almost as typical as the Carnival Masks that you wont find in Venice centre. Well, you will find it in some shops actually, but its so easy to go to the real place where its manufactured that you cant miss out on the opportunity to do so. That little something were referring to is the glass or crystal from the island of Murano, which is just a shot 15-minute vaporetto trip away from Venice centre.
Getting lost is one of the things tourists fear the most when they visit a new city (although getting lost can be quite fun sometimes and can help us discover wonderful places), and arriving to Venice centre can be a little bit of a shock! All the expectations to manage metro or tramway systems can go out the window, because none of that exists there. In fact, even though there are buses and bikes that you can rent, none of those are going to be especially useful, because Venice centre is quite small and you can walk through it easily by foot. However, its very easy to get lost in those narrow streets!
But how are you going to cross the canals, and especially the Grand Canal? You surely arent able to walk on water! Dont worry, because the main transportation network of Venice centre is made out of boats: the vaporettos sail from station to station (and those are actually piers) through the Grand Canal, as if they were buses, there are traghettos that cross from one side to the other, water taxis that will bring you to wherever you want to go and, of course, the beautiful and romantic gondolas.
If youve been preparing your trip to Venice, you will know that there are lots of things to see in Venice centre. Of course, the most famous places are the beautiful St. Marks Square, the Doges Palace and the Rialto Bridge, as well as the beautiful palace of Ca dOro, but there is much more to see. The Grand Canal deserves to be traversed slowly so you can appreciate the beautiful façades touched by the water, and the many beautiful churches spread along Venice centre, together with their charming and lively plazas, also deserve some time. Venice centre is small and you can visit it in just three days but once you see it, you will want to spend much more time there!
There are two activities that we surely recommend if you want to get to know Venice centre properly. One of them is going on a free walking tour: during 2,5 or 3 hours, you will be walking through the centre with a tour guide that will explain lots about the history of the city and the monuments you will be seeing, which is a great way to first get in touch with Venice centre (and a good way to get to know it a little bit so you dont get lost afterwards!). Make sure to tip your tour guide, since thats how they make a living.
The other recommended activity, even if typical, is to go on a gondola ride so you can sail into some of the little canals. A romantic outing you will never forget!
Is there anything yummier than Italian food? We all know how to cook pasta or pizza, but nothing we make seems to taste as good as the real deal. However, Italian gastronomy is much more than just pizza or pasta, however delicious those are, and, in fact, there are many differences from region to region. If the bistecco alla fiorentina, a meat dish, is typical from Florence, Venice is big on fish and seafood, and you will be able to see (and taste!) that in Venice centre. There are many restaurants where you will be able to enjoy your time at the table, especially the typical Venetian osteria such as the Osteria da Carla, the Osteria Antico Giardinetto or the Osteria Al Squero. For dinner, you can go to a typical vinoteca such as the Enoteca Ai Artisti or the Vino Vino.
Venice has a great nightlife, so make sure to plan a soiree during your stay there. You can start by having dinner or aperitivo in any of the terraces located in St. Marks Square, where you will be able to enjoy the lively atmosphere and the street musicians, and then you can head up to any of the entertaining bars or pubs that open until late at night. One of them is Orange, located west of Ca Rezzonico and very close to the Venice Jazz Club, another recommendable location. North of Venice centre, in the Canareggio district, you will find the pubs Il Santo Bevitore and Al Timon.