Happy pi day! Greetings and/or welcome back to my travel blog, where I teach you how to travel like a heartist<3 My name is Ritu, I'm a travel blogger and a multi-passionate creative from the bay area, California. You can read more about me and the story behind why I started this blog here. Last year I had a solo hot girl European summer in Italy, Switzerland, England, Poland, France and Malta. I have very many travel tips, tours and itineraries to share with you, so if you want to stay for the journey, please subscribe to my blog to be updated whenever I post about a new trip!
(Venice, Italy; June 2023)
This post is a guide for your travels to Venezia, or Venice. My last blog post was a 7 day itinerary for Milan that you can read here. I spent a month in Italy so I got to stay in Venice for 2 days and enjoyed every minute of my time in this picturesque city. Known as the "City of Canals," Venice is located in northeastern Italy, and it is considered to be one of Italy's most beautiful cities. It truly is an island city that lives up to its name.
(Gondola ride in Venice, Italy; June 2023)
Venetian history and culture is very rich since Venice was a great art center during the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. In this blog post I'll go over: ~ 2 days in Venice itinerary ~ Restaurants, activities, tours & sightseeing ~ Some fun facts about Venice and its history
Day 1: St. Mark's Square, Gondola Ride, Classical Music Concert
(Venice Train Station; June 2023)
Venice is incredibly beautiful, romantic, and a must see Italy destination in my opinion. You can get to Venice by plane, train or bus. I took the train from Milan with my final stop being at La Stazione di Venezia St. Lucia. From there I took a water taxi directly to my stay in the San Marco area. Fun fact: there are no cars in the Venice city center since it's made up of canals; it's made up of 118 islands that are separated by 150 canals.
Take a stroll to see the canals, Venetian architecture and all of the beauty around you. Seriously, the first thing I wanted to do when I got to Venice was to explore the city by walking around. You can also opt for a walking tour if you want to learn more about the history of Venice and its architecture.
(Piazza San Marco/St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy; June 2023)
Check out St. Mark's Square. Piazza San Marco or St. Mark's Square is the most famous square in Venice, and as you may see in the photo above, here you'll find some of the greatest landmarks like St. Mark's Basilica, the Bell Tower and Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace). Once you've been enamored by the sights and surroundings, go on a gondola ride.
One of the best times to go on a gondola ride is in the morning, since there are more options for private gondolas and well rested gondoliers. Sunset tours are more romantic but apparently more expensive since it's closer to the end of the day, the demand is higher as well, which means you may have to share a gondola with others.
(Keeping it classy in Venezia like Jolie in "The Tourist"; June 2023) I went in the evening and loved my solo gondola ride! I felt like I was in a movie, taking in breathtaking views, bridges, buildings and canals. The gondolier pointed out main buildings and attractions, shared some history about Venice and took photos of me during the ride. It was a seamless bucket-list experience. I usually don't share tour prices on my blog posts since prices tend to change, but I paid 80 euros for a standard 30 minute ride during peak season. Prices may vary depending on season, time of day etc. The gondolier may ask you if you know the price, meaning they can rip people off if they're unaware. Thankfully I did my research beforehand to avoid this. You can also get a cheaper gondola ride by booking a shared gondola tour. I'd suggest booking a ride in person because online prices tend to be much higher than the in person prices for the gondola rides; I paid for mine in person to avoid the online prices, and so that I could choose the time that I wanted to go spontaneously.
(Pesto gnocchi & prosecco at Ristorante Falciani in St. Mark's Square; June 2023)
Have an early dinner or even an aperitivo (Italian tradition of having a pre-meal drink to increase one's appetite before dinner) and go to a classical music concert afterwards. I love instrumental music, classical music and when I saw this tour pop up for my Venice stay, I just knew I had to book it.
The concert is held at Santa Maria della Pieta church, also known as the "Vivaldi Church," since Antonio Vivaldi worked here as a violin teacher and concertmaster. This concert presents Vivaldi's Four Seasons compositions and other classical European music. The concert is about an hour and ten minutes long. ARRIVE EARLY (especially if you're someone who's always late like I am LOL).
(Four Seasons Concert at the "Vivaldi Church"; June 2023)
I paid a bit extra for a closer seat but since I got there right before it started, someone had taken my seat, and the hosts didn't want to ask several people to move so I ended up sitting a couple of rows behind (this is why I mentioned to arrive early). I didn't mind though nor did it ruin the experience for me, as I still had a lovely view and was serenaded by the music for over an hour!
I noticed the background lights changed colors with each season during the music ensemble, which was a beautiful touch to the "Four Seasons" concert. There are various classical concert options in Venice, the one I booked is at the button below.
I walked around after the concert, was gifted a rose and got invited to dinner at the same restaurant I had dinner at just right before the concert LOL. The restaurant I went to is called Ristorante Falciani; the service, atmosphere and food were wonderful! The staff even let me borrow one of their umbrellas when it started raining. I made some friends here, drank free wine and continued to explore.
(A rose for a rose; June 2023)
One of the perks of solo traveling is having experiences like this that you normally wouldn't have if you were traveling with someone else/a group of people. This all makes it such a memorable and amazing journey. It's not enough to tell you, you have to go out there and see for yourself!
I've been solo traveling since I turned 25 and I honestly prefer it over traveling with others. Everyone always tells me that I'm brave but to me it feels like second nature. I get out of my comfort zone, experience serendipity and get princess treatment everywhere. When I look back at my entire Italy trip, I see it as the best trip of my life, and I am profoundly grateful for having experienced it.
Day 2: Murano & Burano Tour, Sightseeing, Souvenir Shopping
(Murano Island; June 2023)
Venice has an abundance of things to do, and one of the activities I decided to book was a Murano and Burano tour. Murano is known for its glass and Burano is known for its lace and colorful houses. This half day tour starts off with a boat ride to the little island of Murano.
In Murano, you get to experience an authentic glassmaking demonstration, where the artisan crafts a glass piece in front of you, while sharing some history about Murano's glass and what it takes to become a master.
(Murano Glassmaking Tour; June 2023)
Fun fact: it takes about 15 years to master this craft and artisans move on to become a Venetian/Murano glass master; OR if they haven't mastered it, then they are directed to be an assistant or something of that sort. Anyone can be a glassmaker but ONLY authentic Murano glass masters can make Murano glass. Another fun fact: authentic Murano glass can be found on the Murano island.
You may come across shops in Venice and other parts of Italy where people may try to sell "Murano glass" but it's not real, even if it states it's from Murano. It's usually cheaply priced as well which is how you'd know, if you couldn't tell by the quality. This completely discredits the authentic Murano glass artists who have spent over a decade to master their specific craft.
(Murano Glassmaking Demonstration; June 2023)
When you get to the glass gallery after the demonstration, there is an overwhelming amount of ethereal glass sculptures and pieces to see. It's expensive but you're given a discount for being on the tour. I definitely got a few glass souvenirs from Murano for myself and my sister since they were so pretty. No pictures are allowed to prevent outsiders from trying to plagiarize Murano's glass pieces.
This further proves the significance of this beautiful craft and how serious it is to Venetian history. With the little time I had left on the island, I explored a bit, had gelato for breakfast (without judgment LOL) and then headed to the next stop, Burano!
(Boat Ride to Burano; June 2023)
Burano is another scenic little island, most famous for its lacemaking and colorful homes. Fun fact: the houses were painted different colors because of the fog that usually surrounds the island during colder weather; fishermen were unable to find their homes in the thick morning fog, so they painted them in different bright colors to prevent themselves from going into the wrong homes.
The tour guide included a controversial story about how the fishermen would end up in the wrong home with the wrong wife LOL. Do what you want with that information.
(Burano Island Sightseeing; June 2023)
The tour includes a lacemaking demonstration as well, which was wonderful because I love lace! The local craftswoman showed us how to stitch and embroider lace in a quick workshop. You're also given a discount at the lace shop, so if you don't get a glass souvenir from Murano, definitely get a lace souvenir or two from Burano!
After the lacemaking demonstration, we were given some free time to explore or have lunch. I walked around the island to admire the colorful buildings, snapped some photos and got souvenirs. There are many different tour options for Murano and Burano, the one I booked is at the button below.
(Burano Lace Tour; June 2023)
After the Murano and Burano tour ended, I went to Vino Vino, which is a restaurant and wine bar with delicious food. Vino Vino is right next to the famous restaurant Antico Martini, which is worth a visit as well! Since it was my last day in Venice and I was short on time, I skipped my siesta and went to the private lobby of my stay to journal about my trip and wave at people on the gondolas.
The gondoliers were saying "ciao bella" as they passed by LOL. People recorded me because they thought it was kool to see where I was sitting, random people gave me compliments, asked me what I was drawing or writing; all of those brief interactions made it so much more fun! When I say I'm open to all blessings from the universe I mean it in all ways, including compliments <3
(Journaling & Peoplewatching in the Lobby; June 2023)
I went about the rest of my evening sightseeing, souvenir shopping, spent time by the water to watch the sunset, had dinner at Trattoria Ai Leoncini and allowed myself to get lost in the canals till my night eventually came to an end. Venice is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to, and somewhere I see myself going often in the future. But for now I am thankful to the most High for co-creating this visit with me.
If you'd like to see more photos and want to see my trips when I'm actually traveling, follow me on Instagram: @rituniverse. You can also check out the highlights of my Italy travels on my Instagram page. Next Italy blog post will be about my castle stay in the countryside. Stay tuned!
(Venezia, Italy; June 2023)
If you'd like to travel but feel overwhelmed about creating an itinerary, I offer services to help you plan and curate a beautiful trip [: if you have any questions or you'd like to know more about my services, please comment (as a guest or create an account) in the comment section below or send me an email at: tjsyouniverse@gmail.com.
Thank you so much for reading! Let me know if you have any questions about Venice, what other tips you'd like to know or what you found interesting or helpful in the comment section below. Love reading your thoughts and feedback!
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A presto! Ritu<3
Only Ritu makes Venice sound even more beautiful ❤️it’s definitely a dream city and I loved visiting it again through reading your blog