Richard and I recently came back from a 36 day long backpacking trip to Italy and Greece! We had an amazing time, learnt lots
about different cultures and ate like royalty. We started our big adventure in Venice! Here are the top 10 things to while in Venice!
1- Eat your heart out!

This being the first place we visited in Italy, all we wanted was pasta and pizza. But we quickly realized that Venice was not the place for this! Venice isn’t typically seen as a very gastronomic destination within Italy. But if you submerge yourself in the culture and get off the beaten path, you’ll find what Venice is known for… Seafood! Duh! The whole place sits on the ocean. Our favourite meals in Venice included mussels, crostini with different fish spread and patés.

2- Don’t miss out on the nightlife!

We visited mid-April, it was still slightly chilly out. But we wanted to sit on a terrace and drink a bottle or two of wine, snack on antipasto and
watch people go about their evenings! I still think of that night where e shared an amazing bottle of red and ate an antipasto platter while watching the young college students party
the night away in the piazza!

3- Wander! Wander and get lost!

Venice isn’t very big, but gett
ing anywhere takes quite some time. At first we set goals for our days, trying to plan out how to get to a specific neighbourhood was a challenge. Not all alleys lead to a bridge, you might be
heading in the right direction, only to realize that you’re starring at a dead end.

Our advice, just walk… walk and get lost. Venice is be
autiful, magically romantic. We stumbled upon the jewish ghetto and it was the most beautiful neighbourhood we saw in Venice.

4- Sit back and take it in! 

Venice is packed with tourists all the time! It can be overwhelming. We found ourselves stressed out due to the crowds and had to find a little table with a nice view, share a bottle of wine served with a bowl of chips… watch the boats go by in the grand canal! We sat there for almost 2 hours, and then really realized where we were.
5- Skip the lineups!
We don’t mean to skip the line literally. Haha. We mean, if the line is too long for your liking, don’t stand there for 5 hours to visit a museum! Unless you are there for the art museum and insist, then we suggest getting up early to beat the crowd. We saw all the major sites from the outside and were very satisfied! We don’t feel like we missed
out at all.

6- Visit Burano!

Burano is a small island outside of Venice. You can take a vaporetto (water taxi) for 20 euros a person and get on and off all day to all the islands. Burano is a charming little place, very small, colourful houses lined up perfectly by its canals. It doesn’t let down.
7- Rent an AirBnB!

Hotels in Venice are expensive $$$$! And if you are lucky enough to find an affordable one, it probably has a terrible location! We rented an AirBnB apartment in the heart of Venice! We walked out the door to restaurants and shops. Our favourite Piazza was near by, where we could enjoy wine and snacks, and breakfast in the morning!

8- Take advantage of apperitivo! 

In Venice, as well as lots of other places in Italy, they
have what they call “Apperitivo” between 17:00 and 19:00. Cananda really needs to get their stuff together, because we re missing out! The idea is, you buy a drink… a spritz or a glass of wine, a beer or whatever you want really.. and then you can eat as many crostini as you want. Basically, for 10 euro you have dinner! Thats one way to save during your stay!

9- Follow the locals!
Don’t be a creep, don’t literally stock them! If theres a lineup of locals, it’s probably because it’s worth lining up for! Be spontaneous and try it out! The best restaurants, bars and cafes are in the touristy areas. You have to get off the beaten path and find where the locals eat! Ask around, walk around… the place is beautiful!

10- Drink Prosecco!

Ice cold, fizzy and refreshing white wine! Affordable and
absolutely delicious! It is Venices local specialty after all! You know… while in Venice!

In the end, whatever you do in while in Venice is up to you, but we guarantee that you can’t go wrong! It’s nice to go to a place and not worry about getting around, renting a car, public transportation and all the stress of big cities. Venice is there, you walk around and stumble upon beautiful churches, monuments, art work and charming neighbourhoods. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Jenn&Rich