Venice is perfect for a short trip to escape the 9 to 5 and really enjoy the hospitality and lifestyle of Italians. I spend 3 days in Venice and loved every second of it. If you want to get an overview of what we have done, you can check out my quick guide to Venice here .
The airport in Venice is a short one hour trip from the main part of the town and most airlines fly into this beautiful city. You can take busses and water taxis to arrive at your hotel. I can highly recommend Ca' Del Duca hotel. It's a cute little hotel only 5 minutes from Marcus Square. For 3 nights we paid €200 for a double room. Breakfast is included but you can also go to one of the many restaurants and cafes around town. Keep in mind though, that breakfast is the most basic meal for Italians so you don't get a full buffet or anything special.
Venice is the perfect city to walk around aimlessly for hours. We googled some main sights, and then followed an approximate route to each sightseeing spot. It did take a lot longer than Google Maps suggested but Venice guarantees an highlight around every corner.
We started at St.Marc or Marcus Square, the main event in Venice. Marcus Square is a 175 meter long piazza in the center of Venice. On one end, you'll see a beautiful basilica which dominates the square. The square is encompassed by beautiful 16th century style buildings. You can sit on the steps around the square and enjoy the atmosphere. If you aren't on a budget, you can also enjoy a coffee or cold drink in one of the many cafes in the square. Keep in mind though, that you will pay a lot for your coffee. You can visit the basilica for free, but will need to pay an entrance fee when you want to visit the museum. If you walk past the Basilica towards the waterfront and turn left, you'll come across the bridge of sights after just a couple of minutes.
Top Tip: The restaurants and cafes at the waterfront are significantly cheaper than the ones right at St.Marks Square. So if you want to stop and people-watch, I can recommend the restaurants and cafes at the waterfront.
After you've done 2 of the most famous sights in Venice, you can just wander through the streets. We had a couple more spots on the list, we wanted to check out. One being the Rialto Bridge, which is becoming more and more famous on Instagram. It's a beautiful shaped bridge which leads across the canal Grande. So it is quite busy but if you are bit patient, you can definitely get THE shot.
The other highlight for us was Scala Contarini del Bovolo. It is a beautiful shaped tower in a backyard in the middle of Venice. If you enter it in Google Maps, you should be able to find it. Currently, you need to book a ticket in advance to get up there. The tickets are around €8 but so worth it. You have a 360 view of the city below you and can take some beautiful pictures. As they allow only a handful of people on the tower at a time, you have plenty of time to enjoy the view.
Another Insta-famous hotspot in Venice is becoming Libreria Acqua Alta, which is a beautiful book shop with a backyard full with books. You can check it out and form your own opinion, but we weren't a massive fan as it was very crowded and not really enjoyable. As the shop is packed, you can't even enjoy the books on the shelves as people are trying to get to the backyard.
You can't visit Venice, without a Gondola Ride. A 30 Minute Ride costs around €80 but very much worth it. As you are walking around the city, you'll see gondoliers offering you rides. My recommendation would be to go away from the Grand Canal or St.Marks Square and take one of the rides from some smaller bridges. The gondoliers are nicer and are more inclined to extend your ride for another 10 minutes or so.
One of the highlights of the Venice Trip was our water taxi ride to Burano and visiting this beautiful island around 45 Minutes from Venice. It does cost quite a lot to take a water taxi to Burano (around €180) but feeling as you fly across the water is epic. Alternatively you can take the ferries or vaparetto from F.te Nove. It costs around €8 and takes 40 minutes. If you do want to take the water taxi, you need to take it on the way there as the taxis immediately return back to Venice, so it will be hard to find a water taxi when you are in Burano for the way back. We just took the vaparetto back to the Venice.
Burano is a very laid-back island and provides a peaceful retrieve of the buzzing streets of Venice. The island is full of beautiful, colorful houses. My recommendation would be to stroll around the small pathways and just see where it takes you. A couple of restaurants are located at a canal and the prices are fairly reasonable.
Top tip: One morning, I woke up for sunrise to enjoy the atmosphere at the waterfront right next to Marcus Square. Afterwards, I walked around aimlessly through the streets and experienced the city slowly waking up.
For sunset views, I can definitely recommend Ponte de'll Accademia Bridge where you'll have a perfect view towards Basilica di Santa Maria. The gondoliers go past this bridge as well, so you are guaranteed a beautiful atmosphere and views.
For a late night visit, I can always recommend Marcus Square. During the day, it is full with tourists and street vendors. But in the late evening, it becomes a lot more relaxed and serene. Just sit on one of the steps around the square and enjoy the atmosphere of Venice by night.
All in all, I can really recommend Venice for a girls trip. The people in Venice are so welcoming and friendly and guarantee a good time. This city offers something for everyone, you can go shopping, relax in a cafe or get lost in the streets of Venice.
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