Location: Venezia (Venice)
Have you ever noticed that Venice is shaped like a fish? If you’ve read my post about Pompei you’ll have noticed that is as well. Unlike Pompei, Venezia is actually comprised of 118 seperate islands, connected of over 400 bridges. So the shape seems to have been determined by nature, cool huh?
Thankfully the noise from the port drastically reduced once 2 massive cruise ships had been navigated across the lagoon. Unfortunately it was immediately replaced by the sound of descending aircraft, as the flightpath for Venice airport was directly overhead. The noisiest camping experience of my trip by far, this site definitely requires earplugs if you want to sleep past 5am.
On the bright side, at least I was up nice and early, and could make the most of the day. So I made my way to the showers.
Oddly although situated alongside the loos, which were quite decent, the showers were a bit grim. I’d like to say they’d seen better days, but even that is questionable. I was really glad I had worn flip flops so could keep them on in the shower. By now I was running out of strikes.
But luckily I had a fabulous day lined up. So having showered, I made a coffee, got myself ready for the day and headed back to the water taxi and over the lagoon.
Stop 1: Rialto Bridge
I had a long 2 part tour organised today but before it started I wanted to explore a bit more of the city.
One of the sights I had really wanted to see was the iconic Rialto Bridge. Venezia is not that big a place and according to Google Maps it would not take long to reach. But Google Maps is completely unaware of the huge number of tourists in the city. If you do have somewhere to be in Venezia I would advise at least doubling the amount of time Google tells you it’ll take.
When I did arrive at the Bridge, I was slightly underwhelmed if I’m honest. The structure is quite cool, but I wasn’t feeling any of the history. That was possibly due to the sheer volume of people, jostling for a space to take pictures. I suspect that, as with Rome, an out of season visit is likely to be better to enjoy the city properly.
After having secured my teensy photo opportunity, I made my way to the visitor centre at Palazzina Selva (Venice Pavillion) to pick up the first part of my tour.
Stop 2: St Marks Basilica
My tour of St Marks Basilica had been organised via my favourite operator, Get Your Guide. They are a great operator and the tour guides are always fantastic. This time was no exception. I had bought a combined tour of the Basilica and Doges Palace, as it was better value and also a better use of time, with only a short break between the 2 parts.
From the Venice Pavillion ticket office we walked up through the Piazza San Marco and into the queue for the Basilica. We weren’t waiting long, but all the while our guide was passing on interesting facts about the square and the buildings all around us. For instance, I was very surprised to find out the ‘seating’ that I thought had been kindly provided all around the square, was actually there to act as a raised walkway. This area, and the Basilica included, is particularly prone to flooding and special flood barriers have been built to protect the lower levels.
As with many other religious attractions, the Basilica requires visitors to be appropriately dressed. I am actually stunned by how many people rock up in shorts and vests, especially as the ‘dress code’ is quite clearly stated on the ticket confirmation. Nevertheless, I still couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for the lovely Canadian lady who ended up doing our tour wearing her husbands jumper as a skirt.
The inside of the Basilica was breathtaking, with the gold mosaic walls scintillating in the sunlight that streamed through the upper windows. And although I’m not a hugely religious person, I couldn’t help feeling quite moved. I was somewhat surprised to hear that the Basicila is still very much used as a place of worship for the residents of Venezia. For this reason, tours can occasionally be cancelled at short notice, but good operators like Get Your Guide will offer alternatives.
The tour I had booked included access to the upper floors housing some of the key relics. So having been guided through the lower floor we made our way up the stairs.
From the first floor balcony you get a close up view of the mosaics that decorate the Basilica. It’s quite something to realise that the shining golden walls and ceilings are totally covered in hundreds of thousands of tiny glass pieces!
The first floor houses some stunning exhibits and provides great information on the restoration projects constantly taking place in the Basilica.
There is also a great view of the square and St Marks Clocktower and our guide had timed it perfectly for us to see the amazing ‘Moors Clock’ chime the hour.
Stop 3: Doge’s Palace
Having had a very quick comfort break we made our way to the next part of our tour, the Palazzo Ducale, known in english as the Doges Palace. A ‘doge’ was a nobleman who had been elected to be head of a particular Italian state, and the palace his seat of power.
The Palace is now a museum and gallery, but many parts of it are exactly as they would have been many centuries ago in the peak of its political importance.
As well as political decision making, the law would also have been administered here. One of my favourite parts of the tour was visiting the panelled ‘court’ with it’s secret passageway to the dungeons via the famous ‘Bridge of Sighs‘.
I was surprised to learn that there are 2 passageways over the bridge. The one that the prisoners would have walked is not the one often photographed. Rather than looking out to the Grand Canal, their last view of freedom would have been into the city.
There was a lot to see in the Doges Palace, and the hours just flew by. Before we knew we were saying cheerio to our wonderful guide and emerging into the bright sunshine.
It was well past lunchtime and I was having a bit of an energy dip. So I made my way across the square and into the maze of little passageways to find somewhere to get lunch. There are lots of small bars and restaurants in this area, but they can be a bit pricey. I luckily stumbled upon a lovely little sports bar where I had a panino and a beer and stayed for quite some time.
It was great timing as there was some fabulous free entertainment being provided by a hilarious group of UK seniors, clearly having the time of their lives. Their rendition of classic 70s and 80s tunes was really something to behold and made me feel weirdly at home.
Stop 4: Gondola
There were still quite a few things I might have seen and done, but the 5am start had definitely taken it out of me. And I could not have been happier with everything I’d experienced and learned on my organised tour. So I decided to end my day, and my visit to Venezia, with the gondola ride I’d not done the day before.
It was a very fitting and relaxing end to a lovely day and to my visit to Venezia. I had decided not to hop back across the water the next morning as originally planned. The huge crowds really were not for me. If I do visit again, I will try to pick a quieter time and hopefully visit the galleries and museums. But for this trip, it would be ciao for now.
Overnight: Camping Fusina
When I got back to the campsite, I chilled for a while perched on the edge of my TentBox, reflecting on my mixed experiences in Venezia. I noticed that the nice Flemish couple I’d camped next to yesterday had also moved further away from their foul mouthed neighbour. And just at that moment the guy appeared waving and called out “hello UK”. I laughed and wished him a good night, then settled into my TentBox feeling happier than I had all day.
Thankfully the second night at Fusina was much quieter, at least I think it was, as I slept all the way through.
