Venice, Italy - A Travel Guide
Last Updated: September 7, 2022
NEED THE ESSENTIALS FOR BACKPACKING VENICE NOW?
ABOUT VENICE | SHOULD I GO? | WHAT TO DO | WHERE TO STAY | WHERE TO EAT | WHERE TO PARTY
Heads up: We sometimes work with companies to provide affiliate links and reviews - here's what that means. If it's here, we use it. We don't plug shit for profit.
History, canals, and pizza. What else do you want?
There are two things I want to open with here.
One: I only had two full days to explore Venice’s labyrinthine paths and canals and barely scratched the surface, so this is a brief guide and not a top-to-bottom shakedown of the city.
Two: It’s my new favourite city. Bar none.
Venice is the city of romance. Found in the north-eastern edges of Italy, Venice feels like it shouldn’t exist. It sits in a lagoon and is built entirely on over 100 densely-clustered lumps of rock, separated by channels of water slightly too far apart to jump across, and all about 500 metres offshore. Whoever looked at it and decided, “Yeah, we’ll have a crack at building there!” was either mad or a complete visionary. And I loved it, so I’m going to go with ‘visionary’. Although he (or she) must’ve had a job convincing anyone else that this was the future!
The result is a completely unique city that prospered as a mercantile capital of Europe. I’ve never been anywhere like it: endless canals, not a road in sight, and signs that only ever point to two places: the central market and the central square. The islands that make up the Venice you recognise from films have a population of just 55,000 today, with the vast majority of others living just across the water in the town of Mestre. This tiny population makes it all the more amazing that Venice had a truly formidable navy and possesses such a rich, textured history. A stable historical trade in silk, spices and grains has kept the city wealthy for over 1500 years, and it was finally incorporated into modern Italy in 1866.
A Last-Minute Decision
I ended up in Venice as a completely last-minute decision in October 2019. Me and a friend decided that we wanted a break and had a look at what the cheapest place to fly from Bristol was in the next week – enter: Venice.
Return flights for £50 and 3 nights in a private room in Mestre (the town with the bridge to Venice on the Italian mainland) for another £55 each? Yes please!
We booked the flights and a week later we were off. Venice has always been on my radar as somewhere I would like to go, but had never been a priority. I’d heard Greg raving about Rome, and how the food and the sights are just some of the things that make Italy such an enchanting, world-beating place to be. But I’ve always had a bit of hesitation booking trips around Europe, mostly because if I’m booking trips, the temptation to go as far away as possible usually gets the best of me. But this time I wanted something cheap, interesting, and to be there as soon as possible.
When you leave the UK and land in Italy, you expect to step out into a Mediterranean paradise, with the sun beating down and that thick smell of hot tarmac and resinous trees as you leave the plane. But in this case, I ended up with more clothes on in Venice than I did in Bristol - the rain and the cold were really taking the shine out of the arrival. You can never book the weather anywhere, but it always sucks when you only have a few days somewhere and the weather is punishing you.
As for the agenda, there was absolutely no plans for our trip – we were armed simply with Google Maps, Tripadvisor, and a mantra of “walk in, get lost”, and see what we found. And that’s the advice I’d give anyone else.
The city sucks you in and welcomes you into its criss-crossing paths, pastel-blue canals and complete lack of organisation. What you’ll find in its narrow streets is history, beauty, and some of the best food you’ll ever eat. And, if you go digging, drinks for 2.50€.
Perfect.
So Should I go there?
This is the most emphatic yes I’ve given yet.
This unique, richly cultural city is like nowhere else. Italy has a reputation for being expensive that I wouldn’t say it deserves. I mean, you could spend a lot here, but then you could anywhere. I managed to bring the whole trip in for under £250 for three nights – including flights, private accommodation, transport, food, drinks, and attractions.
The old town is beautiful in an old, slightly crumbly way. Because Venice floods regularly, there’s no point in trying to keep things pristine, and so there’s no polish to the place. It’s raw, it’s rickety, and it’s one of the prettiest places I’ve been. It’s like when you see someone in person and realise that it’s not make-up or Photoshop that makes them beautiful, they just are. That’s Venice. I stopped to marvel at a whitewashed building perched on a canal’s edge, slightly crumbling façade dipping into the water, and ramshackle arched windows looking out from its several floors. It looked old and majestic as it glowed in the evening sun. Turns out it was a Burger King.
If you like food, come here. Culture? Come here. Water? History? Architecture? Come here. It’s a completely disorganised, labyrinthine mess, where the transport never goes where it’s supposed to and paths lead to dead ends all the time. None of that matters because there’s nowhere bad to end up, nowhere that you should avoid, and so it’s an endless adventure. Where you’re never more than thirty seconds from a slice of pizza.
A Few Tips…
It’s vastly cheaper to stay in Mestre and cross over the water into the old town – buses and trams cost 1.50€ each way, and run late and start early.
Take precisely one ride on the water taxis, down the Grand Canal, to see the city from the water. Walk the rest of the way – there’s so much you’ll miss otherwise.
If you’re doing several museums, pick up a multi-pass before you go (just Google ‘Venice museum pass’, there’s a lot of combinations). The MUVE pass I had (20€) gave me entry to 11 museums and was cheaper than on-the-door entry to just the Doge’s Palace (25€).
Just get lost in it all. Walk-in without a plan and let it take you in.
What to do when Backpacking Venice
Whatever you have on your Venice bucket list, your first adventure should be to arrive in the old town and just wander in. Explore little alleys, stop in some shops, and maybe treat yourself to whatever you fancy from one of the little bakers, pizzerias, or cafes (Italy is legendary for its coffee, and you’ll often see locals heading in for ‘un caffé’ and knocking it back in one go before heading straight back out). Stop and take a look at some of the shops selling beautiful Venetian carnival masks, each one handcrafted, and arranged in cascading displays. I didn’t realise how iconic these are, and I’m sure that everyone reading this has seen one before.
Once you have a feel for the place, a good direction to head in would be to roughly follow the signs to Rialto Market. Don’t worry if you’ve lost your way, signs pointing to ‘Rialto’ and ‘San Marco’ are found city-wide, and you’re never far from one. Just keep walking in the rough direction, and follow the noise and crowds until you stumble out of the alleys and into one of Venice’s open squares.
Rialto Market
Venice loves its seafood. You will find plenty of fish on display, and the unmistakable smell lets you know you’re getting near long before you lay eyes on this market. And it truly is a market on a grand scale; row after row of market stalls overflow with not just fish, but fruit, vegetables, pasta... Truly everything you need to cook a meal can be found here.
It’s not the cheapest, but it’s honest, proper ingredients. This isn’t so much a touristy, artisan-food market, like Borough Market is in London, so don’t expect to be buying little polystyrene containers of cooked delights. Instead, you’ll find the beating heart of a city, where restaurants and families buy fresh produce to put on tables that night. It’s here for the locals and no-one else, and you get the sense that it’s been the same for hundreds of years.
Take some time to wander and let your senses be brought screaming to life: the heady smells of ripe tomatoes, fresh fruit and yes, fish, float in the air, the shouts of sellers hawking their wares break the general hubbub of activity, and your eyes will take in colours, people, and some of the most enormous fish I’ve ever seen for sale. Seriously, these things were huge – and seemed to go for up to thousands of euros. It’s quite the spectacle!
After the chaos of the market, maybe stop for a bite to eat – perhaps some cicchetti or tramazzini - and follow the only other sign in Venice to the main square – Piazza San Marco.
Piazza San Marco
I walked into this one and just said “Holy shit.”
St Mark’s Square is one of those places that needs to be seen to get a sense of the grandeur. The square is the size of at least two football fields, and is flanked on three sides by dozens of white arches holding up the several storeys of palace quarters overhead. Several fine dining establishments have seats cascading out into the square, and the flow of people from the seemingly countless ways in and out makes you question if ‘crossroads’ is a more apt description.
The truly towering Campanile (or bell tower) offers an imposing contrast to the pristine white. Its square, angel-topped red brick tower rockets above everything else in the skyline and sits at 99 metres tall. It’s one of my biggest regrets of the trip that we didn’t have time to head up and see the views from the top (8€ per person, or skip-the-line tickets available for more online), but it’s something I’d definitely do when I come back. The queues didn’t look too bad, but there was too much else to do! I’m told that if you time your visit to be on the hour, you’ll be there for the deafening ringing of the bells, which must be something amazing to behold. Also, if you’re a science buff like me, you’ll love to know Galileo had his observatory up here, using some of the first telescopes humankind invented to start exploring the stars and sharing the delights of this with Venice’s lords. I find this deeply awesome.
On the remaining end of the square you’ll find the Basilica. This beautiful cathedral is exquisitely ornate, and is coming onto being 1000 years old. It has influences from the eastern edge of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine, which extended over to modern Turkey and explains the slight Asian feel the cathedral holds. General entry to this grand site is free, with some specific areas being pay-to-access, but your biggest obstacle is likely to be the queues. I recommend coming early in the morning to beat the foot traffic, and see Venice at its less-bustling best.
Now, before I move away, I want to suggest that you head to the square at night. You’ll find tuxedo’d bands serenading the square with iconic classical music, and you can either grab a seat for a drink (or a meal, but food prices here are veeeeery high…), or do what we did and raid a supermarket for some alcohol and enjoy the free show. Lights will be trickling out through the arches, deep cellos and soaring violins will entwine with your ears, and, in my case, the taste of cheap supermarket lager will tease your tongue. It all felt very Italian.
And finally, on the end of the square opposite the Basilica, you will find the rather unassuming entrance to the Correr Museum. This unimpressive sounding name serves to distract from the fact that it leads the way to the palace that makes up the bulk of the square. This is part of the old royal palace and is a complete treasure trove of history and artefacts.
Now, I’m aware palaces can be a bit... well, crap (Greg absolutely railing on the royal palace in Sweden still makes me laugh), but because this is now displayed as a museum, someone has thought about the layout and how the information is presented, and it works. It’s chock-full of classical Italian artefacts (think of Michelangelo’s Statue of David), the old, immaculately preserved living quarters used by Venetian royalty (plus Napoleon), and it really just keeps going, with artefacts ranging from art to weapons to breakdowns of naval strategy. Particular highlights include the old walnut library with its centuries-old tomes, the art gallery in a regal hall presenting a clash of classical and modern art, and the hilarious number of statues that have bits missing.
If you want Venetian history, set aside a good few hours for this one. Entry is 20€, which sounds expensive until you realise the scale of the place (it’s also worth looking at multi-museum passes online – big discounts can be had if you’re seeing several, including the Doge’s Palace).
Speaking of which…
Doge’s Palace
Doge was the title given to the leader of Venice, roughly equivalent to ‘Emperor’ or ‘Ruler’. As you’d expect, he’s got quite a nice place located just around the corner from St Mark’s Square, with panoramic views out over the water from a nice, enormous balcony. The perfect place to fire up the BBQ when you have your ambassador mates over for a night on the sauce.
Made up of four wings facing onto a central courtyard, this is an opulent display of wealth, and is well worth a look (particularly if it’s on your museum pass list, which it likely is). The museum tours you around some truly grand halls, culminating in some gorgeous balcony views over the water and the courtyard. Truth be told, a lot of the rooms felt pretty samey – apart from the armoury, which was full of amazing ornate shields, melee and ranged weapons, and armour – but if you want to see somewhere that just emanates wealth, it’s worth heading in for that alone.
Grand Canal
If you start walking around, you’ll end up coming across a canal that’s not like the others. Lined on both sides with gorgeous architecture, the Grand Canal is huge. You’ll know it when you see it.
It’s said the best way to see Venice is by water, and this is the most iconic part of Venice. Instead of a private gondola ride (those are some pretty major money, 80€ for a 30-minute tour as standard), grab one of the water taxis to the other end of the canal from the many stations dotted along the banks, and get the same views for 10% of the price. With the weather being good and the boat not at all crowded, this felt like a bit of a travel hack, and I was loving it!
Chiesa di Santa Maria di Nazareth
I’ll keep this short and sweet. This is also known as Church of the Scalzi, and is the most beautiful church I’ve been in. The ornate attention to detail means there is nowhere for your eyes to rest, and the intricacies of the design keeps you spinning around. There’s a lot of plain churches in Venice, but this one is special. Done in the baroque style and featuring a ceiling fresco by Tito, this is just amazing. Please come here.
A few things to note: entry is free, but they ask (like most churches in Venice) that visitors dress respectfully (this means no shorts or short skirts, sleeveless tops or – gasp! – beachwear. Be demure.). Also, they make you exit through the gift shop, should you need some vials of holy water to go or something. Banksy would be laughing.
Where to Stay Whilst Backpacking Venice
This is a nice, short one. I stayed in a pretty crap Airbnb in Mestre that I wouldn’t recommend, which we got because it was one of the only ones available on short notice and it was the cheapest.
You have two options for geography – you can stay in Venice and pay the premium for the privilege, or you can stay in Mestre and lose the atmosphere, but it’s about 30-40% cheaper, and get the bus or tram in. The public transport is solid, and if you make sure you stay on the main tram lines you can be in Venice in 15 minutes for 1.50€ each way.
If you’re on your own I’d suggest grabbing a hostel in Venice itself – as always Hostelworld is a great shout for that! If there’s a few of you, hotels and Airbnb start to become more acceptable particularly in Mestre. And it’s not so depressing heading back to Mestre if there’s someone else to talk to. Misery loves company!
Also, heads up, you will be charged a Venice city tax if you’re paying to stay somewhere – this is collected by the hotel or hostel and is between 3.50 and 5.00€, depending on where you stay.
Where to Eat When Backpacking Venice
A lot of the time, you’ll be eating on the fly. There’s so many hole-in-the-wall places here that the whole of Venice is basically a huge street food fest. Think pizza and pastries to go, as well as pasta flash-cooked and served in pots, like ramen.
The result of this is that between my short stay, and just walking past stuff and buying whatever looked good and not paying any attention to where it was, I don’t have that many places to recommend for food. What I can recommend is you keep an eye out for a few delicious Venetian staples:
Tramezzini – These are triangular slices of bread, crusts removed, with mayonnaise and filled with any number and combinations of filling, stacked high. Yes, I am aware that what I’ve just described is a sandwich. But the Venetians fill them properly (not this single slice of ham bollocks you see in England) with combinations you probably haven’t had before, such as asparagus and eggs.
Cannoli and Beignets – Gorgeous hollow, flaky pastry, sugar-glazed and filled with cream (and often flavoured with
other goodness like coffee, chocolate, or pistachio). Roughly as addictive as crack. Desperately unhealthy. Also desperately moreish. Try these.
Cicchetti – The Italian equivalent of tapas, with some eclectic flavours served on tiny slice of bread, and found at a load of hole-in-the-wall type places around the city. Usually had for around 1.50-2.00€ a go, these make a great lunch.
Gelato – Like ice cream’s more luxurious brother. Had this twice, both were amazing – no idea where the ‘best’ is, but the coconut flavoured one I had was unreal.
Pizza – You know it, you love it. You’re in Italy. Get whatever looks good! And please, particularly if you’re American, don’t walk around complaining it’s “Not as good as the pizza in New York!”. You will end up in the bottom of a canal.
The Italians are rightfully proud of this.
If you want great pizza without breaking the bank – head to Arte Della Pizza to the north. You’ll find great huge slices of pizza that look intimidating until you realise the dough is actually softer and lighter than the air around it. It’s truly amazing. They have several toppings on display, you choose what you want, and they will run them back through the oven before serving (this is standard in Italy). At 2.50€ a slice, we spent 10€ and were both insanely full. The portion sizes are real.
Osteria Alla Staffa
My one true sit-down meal is a properly golden recommendation though! Whilst sitting down with a glass of spritz, we found out about Osteria Alla Staffa. Their Facebook page, Google and Tripadvisor all reported completely different opening times (this lack of any organisation was becoming normal by now), but they all agreed the restaurant was definitely open at 6.30pm. We set out to find this tiny restaurant, and walked straight past it and had to turn back. It’s fair to say it’s compact inside, but the fact there was only one available table was a sign that the
food must be good.
And oh. My. God. Seriously, this was divine. We were welcomed in by some super-friendly front-of-house staff (a rare thing here, apparently) and shown to the table. What followed was just amazing. An antipasti board of local meats, cheeses, vegetables and bread to start, with a glass or three of house red, plus a rich, dark duck ragu, preceded the most amazing lasagne I’ve ever put in my mouth. You know on adverts for Italian food where they say “It’s-a just like mamma used to make!” and it tastes, at best, average? Well, this was Mamma doing her Sunday best. Rich layers of fresh pasta and deeply flavoured mince were punctuated by the most incredible cheese sauce. Golden on top and had gone crispy at the sides. This was just unreal; one of the top five things I’ve eaten.
This was chased by a tiramisu that initially I was upset with as it looked small. It turns out they’d condensed all the flavours of a big tiramisu to make this absolute rocket-fuel of a dessert. This meal was so good I was practically in tears by this point, and also painfully full. Time for an espresso to give me the strength to walk out on my own! The damage for all this was just over 30€ a head, which for the quality and quantity (plus the booze), I think was amazing.
Where to Drink and Party when Backpacking Venice
I’m just gonna come out and say what I think you already knew. The ancient, regularly-flooded city of Venice doesn’t have a booming club scene. The bass would be enough to cause three building collapses a week. Sorry. If you want that sort of stuff I’d suggest looking in Mestre.
What Venice does have is several awesome bars that you see steadily opening as you wander the streets, with unassuming shutters being pulled back to reveal small little hubs of nightlife that provide the smoothest transition from daytime exploring to an evening relaxing I’ve ever experienced.
What you will find if you go looking for drinks is that everyone seems to be nursing a neon-orange cup of what appears to be Irn Bru with bits of olive and orange in it. But it’s not Irn Bru. What it is is Spritz, a mix of aperitif (usually Aperol) and prosecco that is one of the most refreshing drinks on the planet, and is about as ubiquitous with Venice as Guinness is with Ireland.
There’s not much I can recommend for this section, having only been here a short while, but we did have an excellent evening at Osteria Al Squero (Venice is littered with ‘Osterias’), watching the sun drop low over the canal and tucking into a few Aperol Spritz. Osteria is in the university district to the south of Venice, and, in classic student-bar fashion, does its drinks cheap at only 2.50€ for a spritz. They also do cicchetti (you remember, the tapas things from earlier?), meaning you can have two drinks and a few bites to eat and get change from 10€. It appears to be the Italian equivalent of the UK’s Wetherspoons for value, and had a properly buzzing atmosphere without feeling at all rowdy. My kinda place!
What You’ll Need To Blend In
The ability to not bat an eye when water starts filling your lounge
A powerboat licence
A complete disdain for the neighbouring town of Mestre
