Venice, or what Italians call Venezia, is one of the most fascinating cities in the world.  With its world-famous gondolas, canals and stunning architecture, it is easy to see why millions of tourists flock to Venice.

We only had a day in Venice as we had plans to take the train to Florence the same evening.   Despite the short time, we managed to visit one of the islands’ glass-blowing factory, visit several of Venice’s main attractions and even take a ride on the world-famous gondola.

 

Murano

Murano is one of the three popular islands in the Venetian lagoon.  It was a place where visitors get the opportunity to witness master glassblowers creating stunning pieces of art from glass.

 

We took a boat (vaporetto) to get to Murano and upon arrival, some men were trying to get us to witness the glass-blowing demonstration for a fee.  Luckily, we did not follow them because further down the path, other shops offered the demonstration for free. The glass products like bracelets and pendants made great souvenirs for ladies.

 

Strolling around Venice

After returning from Murano, we took a leisurely stroll down the narrow cobbled pathways in Venice, went up and down the bridges and soaked in the rich history of the city.

 

 

 

It was easy to get lost in Venice as the names of the lanes were hard to find.  Even our GPS did not work very well due to the narrow lanes and poor line of sight to the satellites.  Even when we asked a pizza stall owner for directions, he was not even sure where we were on the map.  Then again, who would mind getting lost in a city that has not changed for hundreds of years, and is still full of charm and romance?

 

 

 

Saint Mark’s Basilica

One of the top attractions in Venice is Saint Mark’s Basilica , the most famous cathedral in Venice.

Its opulent Italian architecture and golden mosaics symbolise Venetian’s wealth and status.

 

 

Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)

To the right of Saint Mark’s Basilica is Doge’s Palace,  another top attraction in Venice.  The palace was once the residence of the Venice’s supreme authority and is now a museum.

 

Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto)

Rialto Bridge is the most famous of four bridges that crosses Venice’s Grand Canal.  The previous version of the Rialto Bridge was made of wood, but after its collapse, the Venetians decided to build one made of marble.  It is amazing that this single span bridge built in the 1500s remains intact all these years.

 

Gondola Ride

There is no better way to experience Venice than to hop onboard its famous gondola and enjoy the ride through Venice’s Grand Canal and many other small canals.

 

 

You get a different feel of Venice when you ride the Gondola as compared to walking or taking the vaporetto.  Even though the Grand Canal was full of gondolas, I felt a sense of serenity and calmness as the Gondola glided gently on the water.

 

 

 
I booked the private gondola tour from selectitaly.com.  At the time of booking, it was the best deal I could find for 5 people (i.e. US$195).  The website charged per gondola and not per person. Other websites I saw charged around US$50-60 per person.  We had the gondola to ourselves and that was nice.  The only catch was that it was difficult to find the meeting point.  There were so many Gondola docks. Lucky for us, we made it to the dock exactly at our booking time i.e. 3pm.

Update
Recently, I found that the link below from WeekendinItaly offers better rates for the private gondola ride. Apart from the gondola ride, you can also book various Venice tours and museum tickets from the link below.

 

Where to stay

We contemplated between staying on Venice island, or the mainland called Venice Mestre.  Although staying on Venice would be fabulous, the accommodations were not cheap.  Furthermore, you cannot take a land transport to the accommodation.  For most accommodations in Venice, you would have to drag your suitcases along cobbled pathways, and up and down the bridges.  I’ve read many online reviews complaining about this and decided it was not worth the trouble.

A less expensive place to stay would be on Venice Mestre, just one train ride away from Venice.  We stayed at Venice Mestre and spent the next day at Venice before departing for Florence in the early evening.  We kept our luggages in lockers at the Venice train station.  Here is the list of accommodations in Venice Mestre for family.  You can compare the prices with the accommodations in Venice.

 

Tips

• Venice has no roads for cars and other land transportation.  You can get around by walking, taking a gondola, a private boat (like a taxi) or a public vaporetto (boat) similar to a bus with bus routes.
• Given that we only had one day in Venice, time was precious.  Unfortunately we made two mistakes that costed us time (1) We did not buy the boat ticket online in advance and ended up queuing for an hour to get the tickets.  (2) We took the boat in the wrong direction and spent another precious hour. If you plan to go to Venice, buy the vaporetto tickets online and download the vaporetto map at www.hellovenezia.com to ensure that you board the correct boat.