Venice help

[kcbmarek]

DH and I will be here for 3 days prior to our cruise.  Anyone have hotel, dining and must do recommendations?

[gtkim]

We stayed at the Hilton Stucky Molino because we had points, but you can also typically get it for a great rate on Priceline.  It is across from St Marks Square on a little island but has a water taxi that operates every hour or so and we found it very convenient to be away from the hustle and bustle.  They have a rooftop bar with fantastic views too.  We sailed out of Venice and it is spectacular.

[babygirlpriest]

We did the same thing (arrived a few days early for a cruise) several years ago. The only really specific recommendation I have is to get the Vaparetto (sp? - the water bus) pass - or at least several years ago that was the best, cheapest way to go.

We did the usual, touristy stuff:
1. Venice Guggenheim
2. St. Marks (climb the bell tower for great views)
4. Doge's palace
5. Day trip to Burano and Murano
6. Rode the Vaparetto around to see the famous bridges, etc.

My other tip is to leave plenty of time to wander about. Some of my favorite memories are just wandering down side streets, getting utterly lost, etc. (Another advantage of the Vap pass is, even when lost, you can eventually find a 'bus stop' and get yourself back on track).

[Deleted]

We stayed here and it was great because we had canal views and it was really close to the train station/cruise terminal.

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187870-d289202-Reviews-Hotel_Antiche_Figure-Venice_Veneto.html

[gt7301b]

Pick up a copy of Rick Steves' Venice and do everything he says, and make sure to book your tickets to St. Mark's in advance.

[anna7602]

I enjoyed wandering the food markets by the Rialto and getting fresh seafood everywhere. I can't remember the names of any of the restaurants we visted, but I got all the recos from guidebooks and the NYT 36 hours page and was never disappointed with anything I ate. Be sure to try the Venetian-style "tapas," too ( sorry, I am blanking on the proper Italian name for these).

I found I actually didn't need a Vaporetto pass. We walked just about everywhere except for to/from the airport. We took the Vaporetto one day just to get nice views of the Grand Canal.

[Deleted]

We stayed at Hotel al Piave, which was a small hotel walking distance to everything. We were pretty happy there, good service, breakfast included, good location.

We had fabulous dinners at Osteria alla Botte and La Mascareta Osteria Enoteca. I recommend both, if you want a romantic dinner La Mascareta was perfect.

We did a lot of wandering around, St. Marks (worth paying extra for a guided tour in my opinion), Doge's Palace tour (self tour).

[wanderlustfoodie]

Bookmarking since it looks like Italy will be our winter trip this year. I've been to Venice but many, many years ago so need to freshen up on restaurants since pretty much the whole purpose of going to Italy is the food!