Have you visited this dockyard in your three day Venice stay?
This post will be a sort of my boiling pot host. By boiling, I need to express my frustration as a lot of social media posts promote nearly just a few days. Maximal three days not more.
It’s all social media marketing dear, I got it.
As someone who keeps coming back to spend sometime in Venice however, I always leave the Serenissima wanting to spend more days. My companion, who was with me on my latest Venice trip, shared this view.
“Venice has a lot to see, a few days here don’t do any justice to that place”, says my companion as he was ending his first-ever trip to Venice.
In the real world though- we got limited holidays and we struggle to manage how to relax ourselves during our off-duty days.
If you need a 12h+ flight to come to Venice/Europe, I imagine you delimiting your visit time in Venice. Our Venice reddit shows fellow tourists asking some opinions for their 1-3 days in Venice while they plan to explore other Italy destinations like Rome and Florence.
I’m also someone who has the tendency to pack a lot of destinations in one trip and who is open to visit new destinations I never had been.
But for Venice, it’s a different story for me. As I said, I keep coming back there again and again and feeling I haven’t seen everything I got to see in Venice.
Now you would like to know why? Please keep reading this post on..
Venice is not your typical quintessential European town – uniquely Venice.
As I wrote this, an image of “Typical European City” just came to my mind. Perhaps you’ve seen on social media as well. The image comprises of a walled old town, canals, a cathedral in the heart of the old city, the run-down new city lies just outside the walls.
One of my old flatmates (who came from Italy also) agreed on this image and how similar every European city she had visited is.
If you also entertain this thought of striking similarities European towns could have – then Venice will be definitely eye-opening for you!
Here are some facts why Venice is definitely not your typical European destination represented on memes.
Venice is artificially reclaimed land since the 6th century AD in the middle of Venice Lagoon that flows to Adriatic Sea. The city is nearly total car-free, bicycle free-zone which means your means of transportation is either by walk, by gondola, by water taxi or by vaporetto (water bus).
You can’t cycle or drive in Venice like you could in other European destinations which have fitted driveways and bicycle lanes. So please don’t ask how to get to Piazza San Marco by car. You need some walk, vaporetto rides to reach there.
Have an appointment with animals? Yes, at Fontego dei Turchi.
Want an unobstructed view of Venice? Just go higher.
Remember, Venice isn’t all about crowds. You just need to venture away from busy streets and hit the quiet corner like this.
You will never get tired of Venice.
I came across someone online asking a very interesting question: Would Venice bore you after the “first wow”?
As a seasoned traveler, I understand that some tourist destinations may become boring once your eyes get used to them or once you spend a few hours there. You may notice that some tourist areas are easy to walk around, and you can see everything in just a couple of hours.
Sometimes people are even satisfied with a quick layover trip, like the ones you can do in Singapore or Istanbul—just enough to experience the world outside the confines of the airport.
But here’s the catch: I would never do a layover trip in Venice, nor would I brag about knowing Venice after visiting it for only a few hours.
I have stayed for more than two weeks in total in Venice and the surrounding areas, and I still feel like there is so much more to discover in this region.
During each stay, I would regret not spending enough time in specific places in Venice. It is a city where you discover so much simply by losing yourself in narrow alleys, hidden islands, and quiet nature escapes.
The Venetian Lagoon is home to a whopping 176 islands. Unless someone lives there full-time, a tourist might never visit all of these islands in their lifetime.
So now you can understand how difficult it is to truly grasp the richness of Venice in just three days.
St. Elena island, just a stone’s away from Viennale locations
One of the 176 islands, Lido got a famous golf course where even Hitler and Mussolini met and had meetings over golf rounds.
Also one of the hidden islands, San Lazzaro degli Armeni is home to a secluded monastery where is a still sacred ground and a place of worship.
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