# Travel to Venice Italy



## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Has anyone been to Venice recently? Am considering a family trip there for fall or spring and have some concerns about the Muslim issue in Italy. Have never been to Venice before but I have traveled elsewhere in Italy. 

Also, is there a preferred season for Venice? I've heard to definitely avoid the herds of summer but wonder if fall or spring is preferable.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

Venice is a very beautiful city indeed, but it is visited by a great many tourists each year, about which the residents complain bitterly. It can be very hot there in summer, from a UK point of view, but it depends what you're used to.

There are Muslim people living in Italy as there are in most European countries. Most of them are ordinary people who would no more think of committing a terrorist act than you or I would. As in all Europe there is some risk of terrorist acts from a small number of disaffected people - driven by, amongst other complex causes, terrible wars in Syria and Iraq and conflict in other Middle Eastern countries. Italy is not very near to these, but gets its fair share of refugees coming from across the Mediterranean sea.

The risk to an individual is small, but it is there. European intelligence services, police and military do a very good job of managing the threat, and in most European countries people don't feel under threat in their day-to-day lives, though occasional events do remind people forcibly of the threat.

In my childhood there was similar anxiety about the IRA in Britain - it's the way of the world, unfortunately.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

We have traveled to Venice in the beginning of October a few years ago and we will repeat it in the same season in the future. In October the average day temperature hovers around 25 degrees Celsius: perfect weather for walking + perfect weather for making photos/videos, because the daylight is not so hard anymore and colours will be magic. We did everything by _vaporetti_, the speedy ferry boats, for which you can buy in advance a x days-pass (quite expensive, but Venice is done by boat). We had an apartment in Cavallino looking out on the Adriatic sea: wonderful!


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

I was in Venice two years ago and had no problems, only three words of advice.

1. Stay in Mestre (cheap and only 10mins train trip to Isl)
2. watch out for all the Chinese tourist taking photos - I saw one fall in the water lol
3. Don't try to tell your wife lets go check out McDonalds here for lunch (she was not impressed)


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

EddieRUKiddingVarese said:


> I was in Venice two years ago and had no problems, only three words of advice.
> 
> 1. Stay in Mestre (cheap and only 10mins train trip to Isl)
> 2. watch out for all the Chinese tourist taking photos - I saw one fall in the water lol
> 3. Don't try to tell your wife lets go check out McDonalds here for lunch (she was not impressed)


Basically there are three decisions to be made:
1. Where to stay. It is possible to take an hotel in the centre of Venice, which is expensive. Or you can go to the outskirts of Venice, where one may find cheaper options.
2. Use the _vaporetti_ pass or not. If you want to do Venice only for a day or two, you can do without the boat taxi and just walk & walk to San Marco and back. But if your stay is longer and you want to see more, using the _vaporetti_ becomes a must. We remember Venice the best when thinking back about all those boat trips, which are big fun. Once you've decided for the boat taxi, you may also find a cheaper hotel on one of the outskirt islands.
3. Where to eat. We decided for an apartment with our own food preparation. Personally I'm quite sensitive for salt and lots of Italian restaurant meals happen to be quite salty. Cavallino has a well equipped Lidl supermarket.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

Go very much off season and rent a palazzo. Otherwise avoid it; Waaay too many tourists. Quite beautiful though.

One of the last remaining indigenous Venetians told a story of a tourist asking: "when do you close", as if his city were an amusement park. Anyways, same problems as with every first world city with some appeal to the masses.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2017)

I was in Venice in June, 2009. We stayed in Campalto, a 15 minute bus ride away but a pleasant enough semi-rural area. I disliked Venice completely, regarding it as an over-rated, smelly, theme park which has no semblance of 'real people'. Couldn't move, the heat was terrible and the rip-off prices and bog standard food were a major deterrent. We bought an expensive piece of Murano glass (10kg) and Emirates kindly looked after it on the way home, otherwise Venice was a dead loss. Sorry I couldn't be more positive but I couldn't wait to get out of the place. When that hire car pulled up outside the hotel to drive us to Marco Polo Airport was a happy day for both of us.

I've been to other places in Europe I'd regard as world heritage "theme parks" and wouldn't ever go again. Too many tourists, extortionate rip-offs and souvenirs and rackets to draw in the travellers are not my forte.

My eldest son's (recently) ex girlfriend lives close to Milan and she said they're all at the end of their wits about "the migrants" and have "had enough".


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> I was in Venice in June, 2009. We stayed in Campalto, a 15 minute bus ride away but a pleasant enough semi-rural area. I disliked Venice completely, regarding it as an over-rated, smelly, theme park which has no semblance of 'real people'. Couldn't move, the heat was terrible and the rip-off prices and bog standard food were a major deterrent. We bought an expensive piece of Murano glass (10kg) and Emirates kindly looked after it on the way home, otherwise Venice was a dead loss. Sorry I couldn't be more positive but I couldn't wait to get out of the place. When that hire car pulled up outside the hotel to drive us to Marco Polo Airport was a happy day for both of us.
> 
> I've been to other places in Europe I'd regard as world heritage "theme parks" and wouldn't ever go again. Too many tourists, extortionate rip-offs and souvenirs and rackets to draw in the travellers are not my forte.
> 
> My eldest son's (recently) ex girlfriend lives close to Milan and she said they're all at the end of their wits about "the migrants" and have "had enough".


Thanks for your comments. The architecture is what appeals to me as I too am not into the various tourist activities and distractions. The Soros-led invaders are driving most Europeans mad.

I had similar experiences in the need to get out of there ASAP in China. A madhouse. While I could easily live in Japan any day.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

TxllxT said:


> We have traveled to Venice in the beginning of October a few years ago and we will repeat it in the same season in the future. In October the average day temperature hovers around 25 degrees Celsius: perfect weather for walking + perfect weather for making photos/videos, because the daylight is not so hard anymore and colours will be magic. We did everything by _vaporetti_, the speedy ferry boats, for which you can buy in advance a x days-pass (quite expensive, but Venice is done by boat). We had an apartment in Cavallino looking out on the Adriatic sea: wonderful!


Is there a better or worse season for the flooding issues? Or is one best to just bring rubber boots?


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

TxllxT said:


> Basically there are three decisions to be made:
> 1. Where to stay. It is possible to take an hotel in the centre of Venice, which is expensive. Or you can go to the outskirts of Venice, where one may find cheaper options.
> 2. Use the _vaporetti_ pass or not. If you want to do Venice only for a day or two, you can do without the boat taxi and just walk & walk to San Marco and back. But if your stay is longer and you want to see more, using the _vaporetti_ becomes a must. We remember Venice the best when thinking back about all those boat trips, which are big fun. Once you've decided for the boat taxi, you may also find a cheaper hotel on one of the outskirt islands.
> 3. Where to eat. We decided for an apartment with our own food preparation. Personally I'm quite sensitive for salt and lots of Italian restaurant meals happen to be quite salty. Cavallino has a well equipped Lidl supermarket.


Did you find an apartment in Cavallino? We are also of the cook-your-own variety as the quality and costs of restaurants leaves a lot to be desired.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

JJF said:


> Did you find an apartment in Cavallino? We are also of the cook-your-own variety as the quality and costs of restaurants leaves a lot to be desired.


We found a very nice 'Eurobeach' venue through Booking.com. (We had our car with us however.) When I look for an apartment, I immediately look on Google Maps for the supermarket that is closest to this apartment. If you have no car at your disposal, you can look for apartments that are within walking distance from a _vaporetti_ stop.

Next week we are staying at an aparthotel on Malta and the supermarket will be next door


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

JJF said:


> Is there a better or worse season for the flooding issues? Or is one best to just bring rubber boots?


My guess is that late September & early October are wonderfully steady & safe for the Mediterranean. The rubber boots are good for the wet season (late October until early Spring) and when you want to celebrate Carnival in Venice. I remember Venice in early October to be quite OK with regard to the number of tourists. But it is a fact that the number of Chinese & Asian tourists is rising. To evade them I would certainly opt for the _Vaporetti_ pass.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> I was in Venice in June, 2009. We stayed in Campalto, a 15 minute bus ride away but a pleasant enough semi-rural area. I disliked Venice completely, regarding it as an over-rated, smelly, theme park which has no semblance of 'real people'. Couldn't move, the heat was terrible and the rip-off prices and bog standard food were a major deterrent. We bought an expensive piece of Murano glass (10kg) and Emirates kindly looked after it on the way home, otherwise Venice was a dead loss. Sorry I couldn't be more positive but I couldn't wait to get out of the place. When that hire car pulled up outside the hotel to drive us to Marco Polo Airport was a happy day for both of us.
> 
> I've been to other places in Europe I'd regard as world heritage "theme parks" and wouldn't ever go again. Too many tourists, extortionate rip-offs and souvenirs and rackets to draw in the travellers are not my forte.
> 
> My eldest son's (recently) ex girlfriend lives close to Milan and she said they're all at the end of their wits about "the migrants" and have "had enough".


There is Venice and there is Venice. Your Venice experience is hot weathered & related to the San Marco centre. Our Venice was much more among the Venetians in the off-season, hopping from one island to another. You've got to get a balance between the big San Marco crowds and the quiet of Punta Sabbioni, Lido, San Giorgio, the outskirts behind the Arsenale.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2017)

There's a good deal of truth here!! There's no experience like being 'embedded' with the real people; that's the ultimate reward, IMO. I was wanting to see Monteverdi's tomb in Venice but the crowds made that untenable. To be honest, Italy in toto doesn't interest me.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

I've been to Italy many times because my dad's side of the family is from there, and I have many relatives who live there. Most of them live around the border between Tuscany and Latium, but they have also taken us to Venice. We went in October, though, so it was a bit different than going during the peak summer crowds. We also went to areas of the city that were less popular with tourists, and often ended up walking down narrow passages that were completely deserted. And I loved it.  We stayed in the Lido and took boats to San Marco and also visited some of the outer islands, some of which were quite empty at that time of year. 

Being with family who spoke fluent Italian helped make the experience better, though. I didn't notice any "Muslim problem" there, but that seems to be a pan-European issue at the moment. Also, considering some of my family is Muslim/Middle Eastern, I don't tend to notice it as much as others do.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

Tristan said:


> I've been to Italy many times because my dad's side of the family is from there, and I have many relatives who live there. Most of them live around the border between Tuscany and Latium, but they have also taken us to Venice. We went in October, though, so it was a bit different than going during the peak summer crowds. We also went to areas of the city that were less popular with tourists, and often ended up walking down narrow passages that were completely deserted. And I loved it.  We stayed in the Lido and took boats to San Marco and also visited some of the outer islands, some of which were quite empty at that time of year.
> 
> Being with family who spoke fluent Italian helped make the experience better, though. I didn't notice any "Muslim problem" there, but that seems to be a pan-European issue at the moment. Also, considering some of my family is Muslim/Middle Eastern, I don't tend to notice it as much as others do.


In Italy our own experiences didn't show Muslims, but droves & droves of Africans, who flock near traffic lights and try to wash windows or sell umbrellas in an annoyingly forceful manner. When we visited Pisa, the sheer number of indolent migrants became a bit frightening.


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

A bit overcrowded for my taste.


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