Two Days in Venice

Our two days in Venice was part of a fourteen day Italian adventure. This was our second stop after spending three days in Rome.

Renowned as the “Floating City,” Venice mesmerized us with its undeniable beauty and building seemingly emerging from the shimmering waters.

Day 1

Afternoon

After leaving the Termini around 9 am, we arrived early afternoon by train. While in Venice, we stayed at the magical JW Marriott (thank you Bonvoy Points) which is located on a private island. With the help of the hotel’s concierge, we pre-booked a water taxi to get us there.

I can’t really describe how magical it was to walk out of the train station, hop on a taxi boat and head to the hotel’s private island via the Grand Canal.

After checking in, we headed straight to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant for a delicious lunch. And, right away we could tell that things was very busy. Understandably, our visit just happened to coincide with the Venice Film Festival.

Evening

For the evening, we booked a private Hidden Venice Tour. To meet our guide, we took the hotel’s complimentary water shuttle back to the heart of Venice.

The tour was a fantastic way to hear about the history of Venice and less touristy corners, but also a great way to avoid the crowds. Little did we know, the Regata Storica was going on at the same time.

The Regata Storica takes place on the first Sunday of September along the Grand Canal. It’s a race of historic boats with costumed characters, gondolas and traditional boats from the Venetian Voga alla Veneta associations. And, it was a lot of fun to watch.

During the tour, which took us all around Venice, crossing many bridges and neighborhoods, we made mental notes about places to come back to or check out the next day. Since it was a Sunday evening, and during the race, a lot of boutiques were closed.

Interesting fact to keep in mind if you are planning a visit, the only way to see the Grand Canal is by boat, since there is no footpath alongside it.

After the tour, we were hungry and ready for dinner. We hadn’t thought about making a dinner reservation which was definitely a mistake. Luckily, our guide recommended a really good place that didn’t have a long wait for a table. We had a lovely dinner, snapped a few pictures of Rialto Bridge and made our way back to the dock to take the water shuttle back to the hotel.

Day 2

Morning

Next morning, we woke up and indulged in the hotel’s breakfast buffet. Since it was a beautiful morning, and we had nothing specifically planned we took advantage of the hotel grounds and the rooftop pool. It was great to have a slower start to the day.

Afternoon

Early afternoon, we headed back to heart of Venice to buy some souvenirs to take back home. We did end up buying beautifully hand crafted Venetian masks from Ca’ Macana that we shipped directly home to be safe.

For the rest of the afternoon, we made our own made up cicchetti tour stopping by several establishments for a few bites. For those that don’t know, a cicchetti is to Venice what tapas are to Spain. They are a really inexpensive way to get to taste many things. Our goal was to try as many as possible.

Evening

For dinner, we stumbled upon Ostaria Antico Dolo. The staff was very friendly and the food great but the highlight was definitely the tiramisu.

Afterwards, we walked over to Piazza San Marco also known as St. Mark’s Square. It’s one of the most popular attraction in Venice and directly across from Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica), which is also on the list of popular attractions. Both are stunning and a must see if you get the chance.

Back at the hotel, we hit up the hotel bar for a quick night cap. Early the next morning we hoped on a train to Bologna to continue our Italian adventure. We left the magical city of Venice with great memories having made the most of our time.

You might notice that this post doesn’t mention a gondola ride. Well, that’s because we opted not to. It’s definitely an iconic way to explore Venice and obviously, we would never try to talk anyone out of it, but basically we felt that with all the water taxis that we took and the private tour while there, it just wasn’t worth it for us.

Finally, if you are planning a trip to Italy, the following posts might interest you:

• Two Week Italy Itinerary
• Two Days in Bologna
• Three Days in Rome
• Visiting Lake Como

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