Top 5 Things To Do
There are many attractions worth every traveler’s visit in Venice. Venice is a big city of Italy consists of 6 Borough including the historic island, Lido island, and other 4 in the mainland. If you have just a few days to explore the city, try concentrating on the main historical island, as it is where most of the tourist attractions are located. Instead of rushing endlessly, it would be more fun and memorable to stay on just the Venice Island and explore it to the fullest, especially by walking.
Venice, often enough being referred to the historic island, is a relatively small but highly frequented pedestrian island consists of 6 administrative districts. One can walk from one end to reach the other in half an hour. So if you know which district is best to explore Venice, you would certainly enjoy your visit to Venice. Here are the top 5 places to visit in Venice Island, if limited time and budget is your concern.
- San Marco – One of the 6 districts of Venice island, San Marco is definitely the most heavily touristed area of Venice with many popular attractions among tourists, or tour groups, which include the iconic St. Marco Square, St. Marco Basilica, The Bridge of Sigh, and San Giorgio Maggiore church across the Grand Canal, to name a few. No vacation travel to Venice would complete without visiting San Marco. There are too many hotels, restaurants and shops in the area to feed your soul.
- San Polo – The smallest districts, San Polo is one of the oldest parts of the city, having been settled before the ninth century. It has been the site of Venice’s main market since 1097, tourists can spot numerous shops selling Venetian products from leather, bakery, gelato to Venetian masks. The prominent tourists feature of San Polo is Rialto Bridge, which connects San Polo to the eastern bank of Grand Canal and San Marco district. San Polo is also a great area to stay in Venice with much cheaper accommodation but relatively close to main attractions as well as the main St. Lucia Rail and Piazzale Roma bus station.
- Santa Croce – Santa Croce is another district occupies the north west part of the Venice main island. Piazzale Roma at the North end is the last stop for any road vehicles to the island, with the only car parks and bus station found on the island. Towards the south eastern part of the island, tourists can explore the older part of the city with various historical architecture and churches that iconize the Venice. Staying in this area is near to catch your early trains to other part of Italy and is also cheaper than the rest of the island.
- The Grand Canal – Being the most important access from mainland to the city centre of Venice, Grand Canal is the largest canal found on the island, stretching from the main Santa Lucia railway station at North West to the San Marco Square at South East. It is also the route of Venice water taxi and water buses connecting the various main parts of the island. Taking a water bus from one spot to the other for can let you admire the facade of those beautiful buildings lining along both sides of the canal. Visitors can also find lots of Gondola along the canal.
- Cannaregio – Cannaregio is the 2nd largest district of Venice island occupying the whole Northern bank of the Grand Canal. It is also where most of the local people staying in Venice Island nowadays. Apart from the touristic route from the Santa Lucia station to the San Marco Square along the side of Grand Canal, going off the beaten track into the residential area elsewhere can let you explore the insight of the city culture where you can find and experience the local markets, shops as well as restaurants for the local people. Main attractions in the area include the second largest canal besides Grand Canal, the Cannaregio Canal, Ponte Delle Guglie, the main bridge crossing the canal, and the Venetian Ghetto, the Jews community in Cannaregio area is also worth a visit.
All above photos were taken with Nikon D60 attached with Tamron SP10-24mm Ultra Wide Angle lens. Click here to view more travel photos of Venice. These are actually 5 areas of interest in Venice island. I’m not targeting to any single travel attraction here as exploring Venice should not be limited to landmarks or icons such as St.Mark square or Bridge of sigh only. Travelers must explore Venice by areas as a whole to appreciate the true culture and history of this City of Romance of Italy, and trying the various local foods on the island is also a must of your travel in Venice. 
– Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel guide to Europe
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I just back from a tiring but peace of mind trip to Europe. Don’t get me wrong. I felt tired after 3 weeks of my Europe travel MkII this year because of too much walking for sight seeing and photo taking but not wasting any time in searching, booking and checking anything else. This was a total peace of mind trip as we spent all our time to only enjoy our journey in Europe, as well as enjoying each and every meal on our travel. We didn’t search around for anythings else except cheap and good local food restaurants and supermarket; We didn’t check and book for any trains and flights except weather forecast for best photo taking hours and time for our breakfast in the next morning.
How could we do that? How should we prepare our trips in order to have a total peace of mind on travel? These are 5 steps on how I did it for my Europe Travel MkII this year.
1) First, I have to know how long and how many cities we were going to travel in Europe. I knew 3 weeks is the maximum I could get away from my daily job as well as my kids. Within this period, I had to confirm which part of Europe I would love to visit this time. Since I have visited Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome last year, I had planned a preliminary itinerary to visit other cities, which included Barcelona, Luzerne, Interlaken, Berlin, Copenhagen and Brussel;
2) Secondly, search and book for my flight to entry point and from exit point of Europe. Since I had confirmed my period of traveling, searching and booking for my first and last flight is relatively easy. I just needed to wait for low fare sale on Air Asia and grabbed it! Having it booked first also had ensured my round trip to and from Europe. If I was too busy to plan anything else, I could still take the flight there and plan as we go;
3) Thirdly, search and book for transportation from one to another city, not domestic transportation in this case. At this stage, how comprehensive I would book for those connecting trains and flights merely depended on how flexible I wanted for my journey and how much time I had. Since I had only 3 weeks to cover 6 cities, I had to save as much time as I could for other things on travel and went ahead to book all my flights between cities online. However, I still left those local transportation within cities to when we were there to retain some flexibilities. It was good decision as we detoured too much when we were in Switzerland by getting a Swiss Pass;
4) Next, search and book for accommodations. Having my criteria in hotel searching set, what I care most are internet access and privacy of my rooms. Off course, free breakfast, low price and strategic locations also part of my requirement. Again, limited traveling period meant I had to book most of our accommodation before departing to Europe. There are many trusted online hostel booking websites to help us.
5) Lastly, if you are an avid traveler like me, you should sign up for a travel insurance. Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance is one of those travel insurance packages that will cover you a certain number of days in a year while traveling abroad so you could save more money. With this insurance coverage, I can always enjoy cheap holidays abroad with total peace of mind.
With all these steps performed prior to my actual travel to Europe, we had maximized our time on actual travel to Europe and had gained much more fun and experiences than many other flash packers that we came across, albeit a hot summer sun that burnt our skins so badly. – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel blog
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Guest Post
Planning a spontaneous break? If so, you can be quite confident that you’re going to be the envy of your friends as you step on a plane and escape the gloomy weather that Britons are used to. However, it’s important that when you’re booking last minute holiday deals that you do it right; and this way, you won’t end up paying through the nose for not making an advanced reservation for plane tickets, hotel rooms and car hire. In this article, we’re going to look at the five things you should know when making your reservations.
1. It might not be as cheap as you would have hoped
There are some things in the travel industry that come with a premium, such as first-class flight tickets or an executive suite instead of a standard room. Booking tickets for your room at the last minute is another thing that you pay through the nose for, especially if you don’t have the initiative to book in advance.
In order to ensure that you don’t get hit hard with all sorts of surcharges and fees, there are some things you can do. For example, make sure you compare and contrast the fares from leading airlines who might all be offering regular flights to your destination. Having a bit of flexibility may prevent you from having no other choice than to pay extortionate prices.
2. Some websites are there especially to give you the best deals
Some websites are determined to save you some money when booking for the days and weeks immediately ahead of us. It’s common to find a website that will provide you with a calendar, showing the cheapest dates that you will be able to fly on. Some websites even offer secretive deals where you receive an exclusive offer on hotels with one catch: you won’t know the exact identity of the accommodation you have chosen. This is an exciting marketing technique which is based on one notion: a deal is so good that a hotel might not want to ‘own up’ to being so generous!
You shouldn’t despair too much though; you are given plenty of information such as testimonials and a detailed description of the hotel’s amenities to go off as well.
3. Going for the cheapest deals might not be in your best interests
We’re all looking to get a great deal when we travel, but going for the cheapest option available isn’t always the best thing to do. After all, what’s the point in going to an airport that’s 25 miles away from your hotel with £25 off your air fare if you can land at a more centrally-located airport where you won’t have to pay heavily for transport?
In addition, early flights may mean that you’re unable to make the most out of your first day there because you’ll be too tired. Therefore, make sure you have a good look at the flight times available. If there are frequent services, you might want to opt for a flight that’s a little later in the day.
4. Booking a package is a good idea
You may think about getting prepared for your holiday as a bit like having a checklist. Have you arranged your flights? Yes. Are the hotel rooms booked? Yes. What about your car hire?
It’s always a nightmare coordinating everything with timings that are convenient for your holiday, and this is why package deals can come as a godsend. In some cases, not only will you have your travel expenses and your accommodation thrown in, but all-inclusive deals may mean you get unlimited access to the food and drink offered at your hotel as well. A travel agency might also have an exclusive relationship with car hire companies in the area that are happy to give you promotional discounts you’ll love, and for less than you think.
5. You’ll have a great time
Sometimes, the stress of booking a holiday can make you think ‘why have I done this?’, however, you should just think of the fun you’re going to have when you arrive at your destination and can hit the beach. From holidays in Cambodia to city breaks in New York, there’s so much scope for travel exploration with deals that can be found from leading airports throughout the country. Air travel has made the world a small place, so get out there and take advantage of the opportunity to discover, explore and ignite your imagination!
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I would hope that I knew these before my trip to Italy last Spring. There are things that you should learn and know when preparing for your trip to Italy. Off course you can still travel to Italy without knowing these, but you would definitely be appreciating more and getting the maximum out of your [...]
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