ahh…Venice
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There is no other like it. A city of intrigue, mystery, class and romance. It is also a city where divorce may occur if you don’t have a navigation strategy! See my navigation strategy below!
The Grand Canal
The Grand Canal is the main canal of Venice where you can catch a public water-taxi to get from point A to point B or if you are prepared to pay more you can hire a private water taxi. The popular gondola rides often pop out onto The Grand Canal as part of their tour as well.
A Gondola Ride
Venice’s maze of canals through the city is your cue to take a gondola ride! Mandatory or otherwise you haven’t visited Venice. I’ve taken two types or gondola rides, one was a private tour (for three of us) with a singing gondolier, dressed in the obligatory black and white striped uniform for about $90 to $105au and a shared tour with 6 strangers for about $47 or $67au with a serenade. I really enjoyed both, but of course the private tour was better.
Piazza San Marco
Piazza San Marco is full of Venice’s finest restaurant’s with the highest prices, some with orchestral entertainment sitting out front on the Piazza. The orchestra’s seem to have an arranged competition of sorts as each one tends to dominate in turn (my theory!). oh and don’t forget to get a high priced gelato – hey the atmosphere is worth the price!
St Mark’s Basilica and San Marco Campanile
St Mark’s Basilica,dominates the Piazza, and is also known as the Church of Gold because of the beautiful mosaics that decorate the church. It is opulent and clearly show’s of Venetian wealth and power.
San Marco Campanile is the basilica’s bell tower and is an imposing 98m tall. Trust me, you can’t miss it. This tower has been constructed a number of times as a result of lightening strikes and fires – the history is worth discovering. Personally I was fascinated by the five bells that sit in the top of the tower, which by the way I saw (and heard of course) strike in the new year in 2016 – a lovely moment in my travels. Apparently, back in the 17th century, each bell was sounded for different reason. One bell announced executions, another announced the sitting of the Senate, another chimed at midday, another called members to a council meeting and the largest marked the beginning and end of the work day. Oh and you can climb the tower for magnificent views.
The Rialto Bridge.
You won’t be able to miss the Rialto Bridge. You’ll see it on most water taxi rides, every gondola tour and as you wander around the water front of the main canal. Yes it is beautiful, but the little shops and (sometimes a bit cheesy) markets that sit on and around the bridge are just lovely and great to stroll around – look out for fantastic designer jewellery at reasonable prices that you are unlikely to find anywhere else.
Window Shopping Venice Style
Window shopping in the evening in Venice is like going to the theatre. Take it slow. Look at the magnificent displays and the careful detail that create the masterpiece.
Navigating Venice

Take photos of signs close to home to help with bearings!
Yes everyone gets lost in this magnificent city of canals. My tip? I must insist that you download the ‘Ulmon’ app. It is an app that allows to you to navigate with a map without the internet using GPS. You can mark your accommodation, ask it to identify where you are and mark where you want to end up. Perfect for every city but mandatory for Venice. I also like the Ulmon app because I find that I have less of my time with my head stuck in a map and more time with my head up exploring. You see once you have the basics marked, you can head off into any direction knowing the you have your return destination (your bed) marked and ready to navigate back to.
Accommodation in Venice
A recurring trend in the type of accommodation that I select is that it will almost always be an apartment because I like to stay a few or more days. Not in Venice. It’s too damn hard to find an unmarked apartment in the maze of streets and there is no-one at a convenient desk to ask how to go about seeing the city. Most buildings in Venice also suffer from damp as well, so at least you know that a decent hotel will be onto this and trying to oust the moldy spot. We stayed in an apartment the first time (musty, moldy, hard to find and not great value for money) and Hotel Fontana the second time (central, easy to find, easy to ask directions to, a helpful desk and great value for money). The hotel experience was much more relaxing.
Hotel Fontana
What a find. I will always stay here when I visit Venice! Hotel Fontana is great value for money in expensive Venice and is close to everything and most importantly is easy to find – a blessing in Venice as those who have been there can appreciate. This is a family run hotel that offers a warm welcome and a ‘nothing’s too much trouble’ approach. There is a small sitting area (where you can hook up to wifi) that leads to a breakfast room. The breakfast is basic but very fresh and delicious.
The bedroom was clean, tidy and well maintained and the bathroom was fine. There were shutters on the windows with double glazed windows and block out curtains to worked a treat.
On my last trip to Venice, I stayed in an apartment. It was OK but it was hard to find, not that well maintained and was filled with mold in the entry. There also wasn’t anyone to ask for assistance in this complicated city.
Stay in Hotel Fontana but don’t tell anyone else about it!
If you’d like to book Hotel Fontana, click through on the Booking.com logo below.
Or find your own incredible accommodation in Venice … just make sure you can find it again!