I went to Venice last November with my sister. Looking back I should have gone with a boyfriend, but I didn’t have one at the time. Venice is a very romantic city and there were so many couples around. It is certainly not for those looking for a bar hopping and clubbing weekend.
My sister and I flew into Venice on Thursday evening for a long weekend. When we arrived at the airport, we had to wait which seemed like ages for a bus to take us to the outskirts of Venice where we caught a boat to St Mark’s square. It was such a rainy and gloomy evening, but you can’t expect great weather in November. We stayed at a 3 star hotel called hotel Paganelli, five minute walk from the Palazzo Dulce and St Mark’s Square. It was a nice little place, only about 6 rooms. Breakfast was included in the price of the double room we had and was about £140 for 3 nights.
Friday we decided to walk around St Mark’s square and the little streets just behind it. However, as there had been so much rain in the weeks leading up to our trip, we found a lot of Venice was flooded. You can see in the photo, what normally is a busy St Mark’s square is submerged under half a foot of water. Parts of Venice were flooded just in the morning when the tide was high. But we still needed to buy ourselves a pair of rain boots or “wellies”!! A bargain for just 10 euros, considering how often I was going to use them. The rain didn’t stop us and we walked for what seemed like ages around Venice.
We went to the Rialto bridge where there are lots of market stands. Here, we purchased many Venice souvenirs and Christmas presents. We also went into the Palazzo Dulce, you should go in the morning to avoid the queue. There are lots of “free” things to do in Venice. St Mark’s Basilica is free to enter, but expect to queue here as well. The Santa Maria della Salute – the main part is free. I Carmini – the Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo which has paining by Lorenzo Lotto and Cima da Conegliano is free.
The last day we were there, it was nice and sunny. We took the opportunity of this good weather and walked all the way along the waterfront to the park Parco delle Rimembranze. If it is sunny, you should take a gondola, it is about 80 euros for a 40 minute ride and some gondolas take up to 6 people. There are gondolas all lined up just outside St Mark’s square, it looks just like it does in the "movies".
I would recommend going to Venice in the early autumn or early spring to avoid the huge crowds that descend on the city. November probably isn't the best time to go, although if you are sticking to a student budget, it is the cheapest. Even the shops give you discount as it is very quiet, we managed to grab quite a few bargains when we were there.
