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    So, Venice then

    I'll be there with my mum and my brother as a 60th birthday present (for her!) from 22nd-26th April. I was there when I was 6, but not since.

    Any recommendations/places to avoid?

    Wanted:
    Lots of art
    Places that do good veggie food (for me and my brother) but where my mum doesn't feel she's missing out.

    Sadly neither my mum or brother have any interest in sport though.

    #2
    So, Venice then

    The art's not a problem. Difficult to avoid it, in fact. There's the Accademia and the Guggenheim, for starters.

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      #3
      So, Venice then

      I did all my Venice recommendations over on the old board,is it back up & searchable yet?

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        #4
        So, Venice then

        I did remember a thread on the old board, but I don't think it can be searched yet.

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          #5
          So, Venice then

          Is the Guggenheim collection a bit more modern? I'm sure they'd be happy with wall to wall renaissance art, but I like a bit of post-impressionism as a balance.

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            #6
            So, Venice then

            I don't know if it's the same in April, but in August once in Venice I got bitten by the nastiest most poisonous swamp insect, it was *really* revolting, so you might want to consider insect repellent.

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              #7
              So, Venice then

              You really need the old board. There is a rather detailed thread.

              Yes, the Guggenheim is more modern (and Palazzo Grassi is often contemporary).

              "Interesting" vegetarian food is going to be more of a challenge. Though you will be able to eat just about anywhere, the cuisine is very much based on seafood.

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                #8
                So, Venice then

                The Accademia is stuffed to the gunnels with medieval and rennaisance art.

                How are you getting there? If it's a flight into Marco Polo, there's a water bus that'll take you to the island, though it's a bit slow as it does the Lido and Murano etc before making it's way round to San Marco. Still, if you've got the time/it's daylight, it's a nice way to arrive in Venice. You buy the ticket in the arrivals hall from a booth to your left as I recall. There's a private boat service but you want the public one.

                The Danielli is lovely for drinks - most people head to the Gritti Palace hotel for posh drinks and overlook this jewel. I've only eaten there once. It wasn't cheap. Indeed, very little in Venice or indeed Italy generally is. Don't bother with Harry's bar. It's a rip-off, the cipriani's are over-priced and the staff surly.

                Having said that you must go to Florian's coffee house In Piazza San Marco. Try and get a seat in the window. It'd dead famous. Everyone from Byron to Henry James and Dickens went there. It used to be a brothel. Quadri across the square was the favoured haunt of the Gestapo apparently. As with most bars in Italy, it's cheaper if you stand/sit at the bar than at a table, but that's not really the point of Florian's.

                Try and get to Basillica dei Frari. Wonderful. It's got the tomb of Canova in it. One of the most melancholy sculptures I've ever seen.

                The Doge's Palace is of course worth a look. As is the Basillica San Marco, to say the least.

                The vaporetto's (water buses) are a very efficient way of getting around, but make sure you buy a ticket. There are frequent checks and being a tourist isn't enough to get you off. There are two day passes you can get, which are activated from the first time you use them.

                The vaporetto ride along the legth of the Grand Canal is the best way to see all the Palaces along it. Go to the back of the bus and try and stand/sit in the open section.

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                  #9
                  So, Venice then

                  What gt3 said about the water buses. I was staying in Cannaregio and the trip from the airport wasn't as circuitous as the one he describes.

                  The day passes are fantastic value I reckon, enabling you to nip over to Lido or Murano on a whim. But if you do nothing else on the vaporetti, do traverse the length of the Grand Canal.

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                    #10
                    So, Venice then

                    Yes, yes, yes; re the vaporetti and the day passes. The single tickets are generally poor value, and one can very easily spend most of a day on vaporetti that carry "real" Venetians.

                    I also highly recommend taking one of the "communal" gondolas that cross the Grand Canal at various points where there are no bridges (on both sides of Rialto, for instance). 50 euro cents a head for two minutes of suspended tourist reality).

                    If you find yourself with time to get away, seriously consider a trip to Torcello, much more than the super-touristed Murano. If you don't have that kind of time, go to cemetery on San Michele.

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                      #11
                      So, Venice then

                      What ua says re the "communal" gondolas. Don't even think about hiring one or the traditional tourist gondolas. Not unless money is no object.

                      AC - I went last December and it definitely did loads of other places before San Marco. Not that I was complaining mind.

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                        #12
                        So, Venice then

                        Yeh, I got off at one of the first stops in the city over on the side facing Murano. You're right, the bus goes on from there to San Marco by a rather winding route.

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                          #13
                          So, Venice then

                          If you're going very upmarket, the Met at The Metropole is an asotnishingly good restaurant.

                          Harry's Bar is well worth avoiding, and astonishingly overpriced even by Venice standards. Although I did sit at the table next to Elton John when I was there.

                          The water buses are good, but, again, if you're going slightly high budget it's fantastic fun to take the water taxi from the airport to the town (and if there are 4 of you the price difference between that and the water bus isn't so extreme). They're shiny polished wood and speed along.

                          Don't go on a normal gondola, of course.

                          Do the San Marco stuff early in the morning, or you'll be in very long queues.

                          Best thing to do in Venice is to walk. Take the vaporetto out to the station end of town, get into the Canareggio, and just spend hours walking back towards San Marco and beyond.

                          Murano glass is crap, and generally not from Murano.

                          I was a bit underwhelmed by the Guggenheim.

                          I'll second the recommendation for the Dei Frari. I had no idea about it and just stumbled across it walking around. It's a lovely building.

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                            #14
                            So, Venice then

                            Can't tell you about the queues. I only ever go to Venice in the winter when you never have to queue for anything.

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                              #15
                              So, Venice then

                              You might wish to read Ruskin before you go, or at least look at some Turners. The "light of Venice" stuff is probably largely psychological, tied up with a sense of elegy for a declining power, but it might inspire you. Ruskin can certainly write prose.

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                                #16
                                So, Venice then

                                Nah, read Michael Dibdin's Dead Lagoon.

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                                  #17
                                  So, Venice then

                                  A quick art hijack could be attempted here, I think.

                                  Anyone beat this among paintings in Venice? Giorgione's Tempesta.

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                                    #18
                                    So, Venice then

                                    Wear comfortable shoes - you will do a lot of walking.

                                    Try and get out early - Venice has a fantastic atmosphere just exploring the alleys - not much going on at night (apart from being mysterious, beautiful & haunting)

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                                      #19
                                      So, Venice then

                                      The Doge's palace is a good recommendation - if ever a building summed up the power of a city during a time in history then that is it. The artwork and scale of the rooms are something else.

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                                        #20
                                        So, Venice then

                                        Nah. Read Jan Morris and John Julius Norwich.

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                                          #21
                                          So, Venice then

                                          Chubby and I have similar taste in Venice books, I see. You might also consider taking along Death in Venice, particularly if you can read it on a fog-bound early morning vaporetto over to Lido.

                                          Second everything that loose cannon has said today as well. And I'm with Tubby, the Giorgione is the best painting in the city (though there is quite a bit of competition).

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                                            #22
                                            So, Venice then

                                            We don't share the same taste in normal literature. Death in Venice was dreadful (although admittedly I read it when I was young and had never been there).

                                            Norwich's Byzantium books are great, in particular, although they don't paint the Venetians in a very pretty light. Morris is the best transexual travel writer on the planet (although I preferred her Trieste book to the Venice one).

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                                              #23
                                              So, Venice then

                                              Possibly art anoraky, but maybe take a little book of Canaletto with you. Though elements in it are often topographically accurate, I'm told the overall arrangements are often not. Might be fun to look into that.

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