Venice transfer and restaurant tips please.
Discussion
Hi guys
We're spending some time in Venice soon and a friend of mine has advised that in Venice, more than any other Italian city, you've got to be careful where you eat.
We're flying into Teviso and need a car / water taxi booking. It'll only be two of us, so a nice car would be preferred.
Once in Venice we want some decent restaurants and generally prefer grills or fish.
Can anyone offer any up to date recommendations regarding the above please?
If staying in Venice you cannot make use of a car. It would be a liability you'd have to park up outside the city. We avoided getting one for this reason and instead got a regular bus transfer from the airport. That gets you as far as the bus station just outside the city proper.
We found a hotel in Santa Croce that we could walk to from the bus station dragging our case. This saved a LOT on Water Taxi / Porter services. From there it was a longer trek to the sights but walking through Venice is hardly a chore. The entire place is amazing!
We found a wonderful Trattoria (Trattoria la Rosa dei Venti) we ate at every night. The waterbus staff ate there. Local people know where to get good food at a decent price. Follow the locals.
Have a great time.
We found a hotel in Santa Croce that we could walk to from the bus station dragging our case. This saved a LOT on Water Taxi / Porter services. From there it was a longer trek to the sights but walking through Venice is hardly a chore. The entire place is amazing!
We found a wonderful Trattoria (Trattoria la Rosa dei Venti) we ate at every night. The waterbus staff ate there. Local people know where to get good food at a decent price. Follow the locals.
Have a great time.
Don said:
If staying in Venice you cannot make use of a car. It would be a liability you'd have to park up outside the city. We avoided getting one for this reason and instead got a regular bus transfer from the airport. That gets you as far as the bus station just outside the city proper.
We found a hotel in Santa Croce that we could walk to from the bus station dragging our case. This saved a LOT on Water Taxi / Porter services. From there it was a longer trek to the sights but walking through Venice is hardly a chore. The entire place is amazing!
We found a wonderful Trattoria (Trattoria la Rosa dei Venti) we ate at every night. The waterbus staff ate there. Local people know where to get good food at a decent price. Follow the locals.
Have a great time.
Thanks Don.We found a hotel in Santa Croce that we could walk to from the bus station dragging our case. This saved a LOT on Water Taxi / Porter services. From there it was a longer trek to the sights but walking through Venice is hardly a chore. The entire place is amazing!
We found a wonderful Trattoria (Trattoria la Rosa dei Venti) we ate at every night. The waterbus staff ate there. Local people know where to get good food at a decent price. Follow the locals.
Have a great time.
To be clear, we plan on getting a car transfer and water taxi both ways. Not hire a car for the duration.
It is my understanding that you can pre-book a Mercedes car / water tax as opposed to being hassled by providers at the airport. I have Googled for providers but would prefer personal recommendation.
More than any Italian city, eating where the tourists eat will give you a 40 euro bill (or more) for something you could have microwaved at home.
I would recommend the same as Don. Personally, I found all the tourist traps... My wife who knows Venice well took me to the Jewish Ghetto, where we found some amazing non-touristy places. They were as good as anywhere I've eaten in Italy.
Forget transfer by car, full stop. Just get the bus to the Vaporetto stop and take it from there. Travel light- you'll have to carry everything at some point!
I would recommend the same as Don. Personally, I found all the tourist traps... My wife who knows Venice well took me to the Jewish Ghetto, where we found some amazing non-touristy places. They were as good as anywhere I've eaten in Italy.
Forget transfer by car, full stop. Just get the bus to the Vaporetto stop and take it from there. Travel light- you'll have to carry everything at some point!
13m said:
Why do you say this?
Thanks for the pointers though.
Sorry, I ought to elaborate: If you don't mind the cost then you can get a water taxi from the airport to wherever you choose, and possibly someone to carry it to your hotel for you if you've booked at a canal-side hotel. Water taxis are very expensive though. The vast majority of residents and tourists get around by Vaporetto (water bus), and it's a very effective system. It's rather like a water-based London Underground in terms of its effectiveness, but the views are far better...Thanks for the pointers though.
However, most places aren't by the water's edge and the paving surface is old/uneven/cobbled, so it's not uncommon to have to carry your luggage over places where it's a pain to wheel your suitcase. You'll notice lots of delivery workers pushing large-wheeled gurneys (same principle as large wheeled mountain bikes) for this very reason.
First trip to Venice: By myself, expensive, frustrating, crap. Left hating the place.
Second trip to Venice: With my wife avoiding the tourist traps, laid back, relaxed and ate/rested better. Left really attached to Venice...
Edited by blearyeyedboy on Sunday 25th September 12:45
Did Venice last year as part of a road trip, as you drive in you are directed to the car park and then take a water taxi down the grand canal. very easy, but the car is no use to you. cost wise I thought that anywhere more than 25 m of St Marks sq was ok price wise anywhere on the sq was very expensive.
There is a nice basic grill restaurant in Campo San Polo - Birraria La Corte. Probably not worth lugging over town especially but if you are wandering round the area it is OK with a nice setting.
The bar on the opposite corner does a killer Negroni.
Lots of places in Venice serve small plates a bit like Tapas - it's worth trying a few of them out, lots of places that serve a plate and a glass for a decent price and sometimes you find something lovely.
Lots of places do decent grilled fish - avoid the plastic menu places and you should be OK.
If you are looking for a "Set piece" place to go then both the Gritti Palace and Cafe Quadri are good but pricey.
The bar on the opposite corner does a killer Negroni.
Lots of places in Venice serve small plates a bit like Tapas - it's worth trying a few of them out, lots of places that serve a plate and a glass for a decent price and sometimes you find something lovely.
Lots of places do decent grilled fish - avoid the plastic menu places and you should be OK.
If you are looking for a "Set piece" place to go then both the Gritti Palace and Cafe Quadri are good but pricey.
desolate said:
There is a nice basic grill restaurant in Campo San Polo - Birraria La Corte. Probably not worth lugging over town especially but if you are wandering round the area it is OK with a nice setting.
The bar on the opposite corner does a killer Negroni.
Lots of places in Venice serve small plates a bit like Tapas - it's worth trying a few of them out, lots of places that serve a plate and a glass for a decent price and sometimes you find something lovely.
Lots of places do decent grilled fish - avoid the plastic menu places and you should be OK.
If you are looking for a "Set piece" place to go then both the Gritti Palace and Cafe Quadri are good but pricey.
Ah, I am quite partial to a Negroni and the small plates sound good. As i type this I am eating Spanish tapas which, it occurs to me, suits us better than a full meal.The bar on the opposite corner does a killer Negroni.
Lots of places in Venice serve small plates a bit like Tapas - it's worth trying a few of them out, lots of places that serve a plate and a glass for a decent price and sometimes you find something lovely.
Lots of places do decent grilled fish - avoid the plastic menu places and you should be OK.
If you are looking for a "Set piece" place to go then both the Gritti Palace and Cafe Quadri are good but pricey.
I'm surprised you're going to Venice and flying to Treviso Airport, not Marco Polo International at Venice. If that's what you're doing then I can see why you need a car to get you close to the city and then water transport. As others have said, you can get a water taxi, perhaps right to your hotel ....fab but truly expensive....or the waterbus (vaparetto) to, say St. Mark's Square. Once at St. Mark's you can get a man with a trolly and he'll take your bags to wherever you want to go. This is the way we did it. Mind you, for the return a week later week got a water taxi from our canal-side hotel to the airport which was a superb way to leave the city.
We felt the need to have a coffee and grappa at the Florian Café in St. Mark's Square. That cost about £35 and that was more than 25 years ago. Must be done though! Same as a trip on a gondola: we shared and split the cost which was fine by us all.
Mention has been made of Murano and the glass. Did not rate that at all. However, we really liked the trip out to Burano and had superb lunch by the local canal...made this a nice day trip and good to get away from the city centre for a while.
R.
We felt the need to have a coffee and grappa at the Florian Café in St. Mark's Square. That cost about £35 and that was more than 25 years ago. Must be done though! Same as a trip on a gondola: we shared and split the cost which was fine by us all.
Mention has been made of Murano and the glass. Did not rate that at all. However, we really liked the trip out to Burano and had superb lunch by the local canal...made this a nice day trip and good to get away from the city centre for a while.
R.
The Leaper said:
I'm surprised you're going to Venice and flying to Treviso Airport, not Marco Polo International at Venice. If that's what you're doing then I can see why you need a car to get you close to the city and then water transport. As others have said, you can get a water taxi, perhaps right to your hotel ....fab but truly expensive....or the waterbus (vaparetto) to, say St. Mark's Square. Once at St. Mark's you can get a man with a trolly and he'll take your bags to wherever you want to go. This is the way we did it. Mind you, for the return a week later week got a water taxi from our canal-side hotel to the airport which was a superb way to leave the city.
We felt the need to have a coffee and grappa at the Florian Café in St. Mark's Square. That cost about £35 and that was more than 25 years ago. Must be done though! Same as a trip on a gondola: we shared and split the cost which was fine by us all.
Mention has been made of Murano and the glass. Did not rate that at all. However, we really liked the trip out to Burano and had superb lunch by the local canal...made this a nice day trip and good to get away from the city centre for a while.
R.
We are flying to Treviso because that is where we can get to from our local airport.We felt the need to have a coffee and grappa at the Florian Café in St. Mark's Square. That cost about £35 and that was more than 25 years ago. Must be done though! Same as a trip on a gondola: we shared and split the cost which was fine by us all.
Mention has been made of Murano and the glass. Did not rate that at all. However, we really liked the trip out to Burano and had superb lunch by the local canal...made this a nice day trip and good to get away from the city centre for a while.
R.
I am not a fan of Venice - too busy, too expensive and often too hot but this is probably the best restaurant I have been too anywhere - https://www.locandacipriani.com/en/restaurant/
Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
85Carrera said:
I am not a fan of Venice - too busy, too expensive and often too hot but this is probably the best restaurant I have been too anywhere - https://www.locandacipriani.com/en/restaurant/
Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
The example menu seems to be in Lira!Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
13m said:
85Carrera said:
I am not a fan of Venice - too busy, too expensive and often too hot but this is probably the best restaurant I have been too anywhere - https://www.locandacipriani.com/en/restaurant/
Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
The example menu seems to be in Lira!Great food, impeccable service and superb location away from the crowds. Need a water taxi back which makes it expensive but the restaurant itself is not badly priced for the quality. Plus the water taxis are pretty cool ...
Don't dismiss the idea of getting the water bus, rather than a taxi. It's a great way of seeing the islands
We went at the beginning of the year, but I think we flew into Marco Polo Airport.
One thing that I was very glad we did was arrive in style, yes the private water boat Taxis are expensive, but we booked ours through this site and it was €70 return if you share the boat with another couple, if there isn't another couple waiting then it sill costs €70 return, and you are taken to, and collected from the closest possible mooring point for your hotel. We had the boat to ourselves, fabulous.
https://www.sharevenice.com/en/
How to arrive in Venice.
One thing that I was very glad we did was arrive in style, yes the private water boat Taxis are expensive, but we booked ours through this site and it was €70 return if you share the boat with another couple, if there isn't another couple waiting then it sill costs €70 return, and you are taken to, and collected from the closest possible mooring point for your hotel. We had the boat to ourselves, fabulous.
https://www.sharevenice.com/en/
How to arrive in Venice.
Was there last month, and stayed on Guidecca - there was a small chain called Majer had opened up and while it is mainly a bakery/coffee shop with a kitchen where the menu extended to some very good pasta, steaks and Italian craft beer at pretty reasonable prices, and is somewhere I would definitely go back to. I'd assume the other branches are similar, but without the view across to San Marco that you get from Guidecca.
Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
Edited by hoegaardenruls on Monday 26th September 09:01
hoegaardenruls said:
Was there last month, and stayed on Guidecca - there was a small chain called Majer had opened up and while it is mainly a bakery/coffee shop with a kitchen where the menu extended to some very good pasta, steaks and Italian craft beer at pretty reasonable prices, and is somewhere I would definitely go back to. I'd assume the other branches are similar, but without the view across to San Marco that you get from Guidecca.
Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
We are staying on Guidecca too, so any more tips would be appreciated.Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
Edited by hoegaardenruls on Monday 26th September 09:01
13m said:
hoegaardenruls said:
Was there last month, and stayed on Guidecca - there was a small chain called Majer had opened up and while it is mainly a bakery/coffee shop with a kitchen where the menu extended to some very good pasta, steaks and Italian craft beer at pretty reasonable prices, and is somewhere I would definitely go back to. I'd assume the other branches are similar, but without the view across to San Marco that you get from Guidecca.
Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
We are staying on Guidecca too, so any more tips would be appreciated.Another on I enjoyed eating at was a basic family run place called All' Orologio in Campo Santa Maria Formoso, which had tables in the square - it was basic but did some very good pizza. What was entertaining was Mamma (who looked about 90) would occasionally come out and chase pigeons away with her broom, and Papa was sat in the kitchen shouting 'prego' at the staff
We were there as part of a road trip, so the car was left at the Tronchetto car park, and used the water taxi for the transfer to the hotel from there which made life pretty easy..
Edited by hoegaardenruls on Monday 26th September 09:01
Guidecca itself is pretty quiet, but a good contrast from the main island, and it's worth walking the length of the island just for the views across.
There is a restaurant overlooking the boatyard on the south of the island that is worth trying, but we noticed Majer and ended up eating there (it's not far from the Pallanca water bus stop). There are some small pizza restaurants as well as ice cream shops, etc. Top-end on the island would be the restaurants at the Belmond.
We also found the small Co-op store on the island quite useful for small items, the odd bottle of wine, etc. rather than paying minibar prices - it down one of the side streets, but quite easy to find after you've found it once.
For transfers, if arriving by train/car you can pick up a water taxi at Piazza Roma, but it is probably easier to be dropped at the Tronchetto if travelling by car and find the Water Taxi stop there (not far from the people mover). As an alternative, the water boat does include Marco Polo Airport as its stop on the mainland, and they Blue Line stops outside the Hilton. Although from Treviso, train into Venice might be an option..
http://www.alilaguna.it/en/linea-blu/blu-timetable
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