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Grand Canal - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
VENICE IS the first European city I ever visited. My own (my wife had been a couple times in her youth) first ever trip to Europe was our Royal Princess Cruise in 2013. We were new to travel, and relatively new to cruising at the time and we had a lot to learn about travel logistics. Over the years we have realized we might have done things differently, and we have. In 2013, thinking to save some money on lodging in favor of spending it on excursions, we stayed at a hotel just off Venice's main island, in the Venetto Province on the mainand, just across the Mestre (train) station. It was only two short stops on the train, but still, a small hassle to get to the "main event" each time we needed to do so (and in particular, dependent on the train schedule). I vowed that we would stay on island the next time we were in Venice.
Since 2021, Venice has banned large cruise ships from its port in the Grand Canal
IN MY view, you just cannot go to Italy (or even Europe), without planning to visit Venice at least once. Venice was actually our point of departure on the Royal Princess in 2013. But in 2021, authorities in Venice banned ships exceeding 25,000 gross tons from the main canal (which means almost all mainline ships can no longer dock there). An inconvenience, for sure. But I certainly think it is justified. Like many popular Mediterranean cities in Europe, in recent years, Venice has suffered from "overtourism," putting unprecedented stress on their infrastructure. Adding to that, the large ships created turbulence on the canal bottoms, their wakes put pressure (if not damage) on the architecture lining the canal, and many of the fuel types added to air polution. I know. This is supposed to be a cruising blog. So why continue to talk about Venice? Because I think it is worth planning as part of the front or back end of your cruise. We have done that twice now. The Marco Polo Airport is modern and efficient, for arrival, departure (or both) into Europe. The European rail system is also generally efficient and reasonable. We have do it twice now, on this trip starting in Venice and ending in Athens, Greece, and in 2025, flying from our cruise termination point in Civitavechhia into Marco Polo and then back out from there after spending a few days in Venice.
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One of 100's of small canals in Venice - The pedestrian walkways are know as fondamenta
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
THAT IS just what we did, finding a vrbo property in the San Polo Sestre, just across and behind the Grand Canal from the main (and terminal) train station (Ferrovia), this time with our friends Paul and Linda. Located on one of the ubiquitous small canals in Venice, it was a quiet spot, removed from the frenetic scene that is The Grand Canal. Our water taxi from Marco Polo Airport delivered us to the wharfside, just a block or so from our vrbo, where we met our agent to get keys, and a tour of our home for the next few days. We couldn't have asked for a better location. The entrance fronted one of the small canals, and there was a footbridge almost directly opposite. We were a very short walk back to the Grand Canal and between two of the main bridges over the Grand Canal (Ponte Constitutionale, and Ponte Scalzi). Next door to our entrance, there was a small bar/restaurant with a walk up window, and a small convenience store. Perfect.
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Vaporetto and Vaporetto Stop - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
WALKING IS something you are going to do a lot of in Venice. There are only two modes of transportation on the island: walking and waterborne. No cars (not even emergency vehicles!). No bicycles (although it does appear that small, non-motorized scooters are now allowed for school children). The primary transportation by water is either by private boat, gondola, or Venice's unique "water bus" system, the Vaporetti (singular: vaporetto). Our vrbo was just a few steps from a Vaporetto stop. Conveniently, you can purchase a several-day pass to get on and off as much as you want. Once you learn the system, it is a great, and usually much faster, way to travel around Venice, as well as saving the legs a bit. But beware, at some popular stops during certain peak travel times it can get very congested, especially in the floating collectors at the stops. You must learn to be assertive.
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Traghetto Stop - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
THERE ARE only 2 gondola options. One is the pricey and touristy gondola tours, costing $100 and up, depending on additional amenities (like being serenaded, etc.). They are usually a one-time deal, if at all (we have never done one - and likely never will). The second one is quite limited, and is as much for locals' convenience as anything else. There are only 4 accessible bridges that cross the main canal. But there are about 7 points along the Grand Canal where there are gondola crossing points - primarily near major attractions like the Fish Market, Rialto Bridge, San Marco Piazza, etc. Known as Traghetto, outwardly, they are the same black colored and black design as the expensive, but popular, "tourist" rides. But the interiors are very spartan - just narrow wooden seats along the gunwhales. Because of the maze of canals, crossing at one of these points can be a huge time (and leg) saver. They cost around 1.25 Euro for non-residents (about .25 Euro for residents) and cross the canal in just minutes. If you plan accordingly and learn where they are they can be extremely convenient.
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The relatively rarely seen personal private boat - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
PRIVATE BOATS, the final option, is pretty limited. The vast majority of small motorcraft you see on the water in Venice are either working boats (garbage barges, construction boats, and emergency and law enforcement craft), or the sleek water taxis (which as inviting as they look, are very expensive - about $100 for a ride to or from Marco Polo airport). We have used them only to get to and from the airport. But there are some personal watercraft - some for pleasure and others which appear to be fishing boats. I expect the former would belong to the more wealthy among Venice Residents, but you do see many of them tied up along the canals.
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"Venetian Laundry" - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
AS WE have always done, we had filled up our days with pre-booked tours and excursions, including a walking tour of the Jewish Quarter, a tour of the Doge's Palace (including the back hall, "Secret Itineraries" tour of the jail and other quarters not generally open to the public) and St. Mark's Cathedral and Museum in San Marco Plaza, and a walking food and drink tour. We also saved time to take the Vaporetto to Murano for the glass blowing exhibits, and some time on our own.
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Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
STARTING WITH the San Marco Piazza tour, we met early the morning after we arrived at the time and place for the Secret Itineraries tour. Having had a tough time finding our way both to St. Mark's and the meeting spot for the tour when we had done it back in 2013, my wife and we had since learned a lot about navigating around the island. This time we took the Vapporetto to a stop very near San Marco, and already knew the (ironically nearly secret) entrance for the tour. Things went pretty smoothly. Having taken hundreds of photos in 2013, I tried to find some more unique things to shoot on this visit. From high up in the Doge's Castle, I made the image above out onto the rooftops. What had immediately grabbed my attention was the lone, yellow upbrella in that sea of pastel color. I knew as I was making the shot that this one would be eventually rendered in Black and White, with only the umbrella "colorized."
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Art and Perspective - Pretty Amazing - Doge's Palace tiled floor 3-D illusion - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
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For Perspective - Doge's Palace Floor
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
ON THE Secret Itineraries tour, we learned all about Giocomo Casanova; the famous romancer of Europe,whom Google's AI engine describes as: "the legendary Italian adventurer, writer, and notorious lover from the 18th century, whose extensive memoirs detailed his many romantic exploits and travels, making his name synonymous with a seductive, womanizing "ladies' man". Beyond the popular image, he was a complex intellectual, scholar, musician, spy, and diplomat, while the term "Casanova" now describes a man with numerous female lovers, reflecting his historical reputation as a skilled, if sometimes unscrupulous, seducer." So if you always wanted to know what it meant when someone said: "your are a real 'Casanova,' now you know." 😈 But the real story is that he was a combination diplomat and spy, and was held for and extended period in the prison cells we toured that day. We also had a tour of the Doge's Museum. There is some pretty incredible artwork there, including a large mural painting that was made in sections in Venice and brought in to the entrance hall, where it was pieced together as a whole. But probably my most impressive memory is the illusions created by perspective, especially given that these wonders were created sometime during the 14th - 16th centuries.
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Venice Gondola Works - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
WE COMPLETED the day's tour with an hour-long (our second time doing this) classic water taxi tour around Venice. My wife and I have now had this tour 3 times and it it usually pretty much the same - but still fun. We are usually pretty much awestruck by the scenery in both the Grand and smaller canals. Each time, we have passed the boatworks where the classic black gondolas are made and maintained.
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| Our Classic Water Taxi Ride - San Marco Piazza in the background - Venice, Italy |
MY WIFE had been wanting to do a walking tour of the Jewish Ghetto, since our first trip to Venice, so we booked it for one of our days this time. "Ghetto," for many of us, can have a negative connotation. Used as a slang term in more current times, it often signifies an area where people often suffering from poverty, and often minorities, live. But the historical meaning is not only very different, but also much more limited in its meaning. Traditionally, a "ghetto," (particularly outside of the United States) means an area where Jewish People live (often under restriction, historically). Having done a few Jewish Ghetto tours over the years, our observations have been that they do not represent the "ghettos" we associate with inner city U.S. Industrious, neat, and well kept, for the most part, these areas do not aesthetically significantly differ from other parts of the island. There is one area that you might call "high density" housing. We usually find these tours very informative, although the times around WWII and beyond can be difficult (but necessary) to hear about.
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An area of housing in the Jewish Getto - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved
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SOMETIME, DURING one of our walking tours, we came upon something I had not seen during my time in Venice (nor have I seen it since, though I am certain is is a commonplace thing): a floating fresh produce market! It was pretty cool. Mostly produce, the boat was tied up along side the fondamenta somewhere on our travels.
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Floating Market - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
ONE OF the things I like to try to do if we are stationery in port, or in a city overnight, is some night time photography. Just a short time ago, I posted about Photography On A Cruise, and touched on some of the challenges involved. Indeed, many of the challenges apply to any kind of travel photography. I do most of my landscape shooting with a fairly large, solid tripod. But I don't carry it on cruises. Instead, I have a very small, packable tripod (build from carbon fiber) that takes up very little space. Though not ideal, it does allow me to make night images. Having been to Venice a few times, I wanted to try to make some night images around the canal.
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The Grand Canal at Night - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
IN 2013, I was able to make a night image from the Rialto Bridge, handheld, using a very high ISO speed. It came out surprisingly well, but I knew I could do better with a tripod. In order to get reasonbly sharp images at night, you really want to use a low ISO, and relatively slow shutter speed. Humans shake enough that it is difficult to do handheld.
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2/3 of our crew - Nightime on the Canals of Venice
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
WHEN WE are visiting a city, it is not at all unusual for us to find, and book a food tour. The first one we ever did was a chicceti tour. Chiccheti are (very similar to Spanish Tappas) Venetian "small bites," that are often enjoyed by Venetiens as part of an after work tradition much like that of the Spanish, in the many small bars around the island. It was really cool, and very good. We have - since - sought out similar experiences in every new (and ocassionally repeat) city we have visited - always with spectacular result. On this trip, we were talking to one of our guides, and she recommended an out of the way spot on one of the back canals - out of the touristy areas, where the locals go for chiccheti. On our final night in Venice, we found it and had a great time, sampling the offerings (each bar generally has 2-5 different offerings, often their own specialty), in a handful of the side-by-side establishments.
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Along our Chichetti Walk - Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 |
MOST OF these small, family owned spots had a very small space (if any) inside their establishments, but all had rustic seating and tables outdoors, along the fondamenta. It was fun to sit in the waning afternoon sun and sample the food, and as we watched the sunset, we knew it would be one of our (many) lasting memories of this trip.
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Venice, Italy
Copyright Andy Richards 2017 - All Rights Reserved |
THE NEXT day, we headed just across the canal to the immediately opposite Ferrovia (train) Station, bound for Rome, and eventually Civitavecchia, where we would board our cruise ship, The Celebrity Reflection, bound for more great cruising adventure.
