Three Days in Venice: My Venice Travel Diary

Venice was the last stop of our trip and it was definitely a highlight. It screamed romance and culture and I loved every second of it. We decided to make this the longest leg of our trip and I’m so glad we did. We were able to fit a lot in but definitely not everything so you better believe I plan on coming back.

Just like in Florence, there was so much history to take in but because this was our first time here and my first time in Italy, I really just wanted to focus on experiencing the culture and the people. We did lots of eating, lots of getting lost, lots of talking with locals and everything in between and to be honest, I wouldn’t have done my first time here any other way.

So, without further ado…the last on my Italy travel series: the Venice Travel Diary!

Watch the Venice Travel Diary!

Getting There

Because we were coming all the way back to Venice from Cinque Terre, the journey here was a little long. Five hours to be exact. We purchased our train tickets online before we left Atlanta. We had a few stops including La Spezia and Milan but each stop was only a few minutes. The trains were nice and we upgraded to first class when we could for a little extra legroom. It’s worth it if you ask me and only a few dollars more.

Once we got to the Venice train station, we took a water bus to the Rialto bridge stop and walked to our hotel from there. The water bus was about 8 euro and a really easy thing to navigate!

Stay

One of the first hotels I found when searching for a place to call home in Venice was Splendid. I fell in love with the peachy exterior, modern meets classic decor and optimal location. This was seriously one of the most charming hotels I think I’ve been to and I’m so glad we stayed here. The hotel was a 2 minute walk from San Marco square and a 3 minute walk to the Rialto bridge. We walked EVERYWHERE. We could catch a water bus if we wanted to go further but the location was just so perfect for us. We were also surrounded by tons of restaurants, shops and cafes.

The hotel itself was beautiful. The rooftop terrace was by far my favorite. I went up there on our last full day and took a solid two-hour nap under the sun with a bellini in hand. The breakfast each day was so fresh and the concierge was super helpful as we planned a few activities during our stay. Highly recommend this one guys!

Explore

Getting Around

Venice is a walking/water city. No cars, buses, taxis, etc. They do however have two modes of water transportation: water taxis and water buses. Water buses are definitely the cheaper option but can get crowded. Water taxis start at around 50 euro and I personally couldn’t justify spending that much to go 10 or 15 minutes. We did, however, get a water taxi from our hotel to catch the ride for the airport so we could set our itinerary perfectly so we didn’t miss the flight. Everything else is walking!

Eat

Venice had some of my favorite pasta dishes by far. They’re known for their seafood but because that isn’t really my thing, I kept it simple and had lots of pomodoro, arrabiatta and cream sauce dishes. The Aperol Spritzes also used blood oranges which was a different twist compared to the ones we have previously on the trip.

We didn’t make reservations for any meals but did make a list of a few places we definitely wanted to visit. Harry’s Bar was our first stop and the bar/restaurant where the Bellini was invented. Harry’s still has all of it’s original decor and the bellinis were amazing…but they were way overpriced. 21 euro for one small glass. It was worth the experience but I wouldn’t plan to eat a full meal there because the food was even more pricey. We also stopped by Cafe Florian which is said to be the oldest cafe in the world! This is located in San Marco square and has some of the best ambiance. Live music, lots of food & beverage options and the best people watching.

To Do

We definitely did the most on this trip. Again, we didn’t get in as much of the history as we probably could have but we did A LOT.

To get in the sites, I highly suggest visiting San Marco’s Square. Tip: go early AF as in before 9am. It gets so crowded so if you want to truly experience it and take it all in without having selfie sticks shoved in your face every 5 seconds, get there as early as possible. Here you’ll also find St. Mark’s Basilica and Campanile di San Marco, both of which you’ll definitely want to visit. Make sure you get the skip-the-line passes online before you go! It’s so worth the few extra dollars. Get ready for amazing views of venice, y’all!

Another “touristy” thing we did was take a boat out to Murano which is known for the glass making. We got a tour of one of the glass factories and got to experience all that goes into handmade glass – SO cool. If you’re going to buy something, get your pockets ready because it isn’t cheap but they definitely have a few items that aren’t too expensive. We also went to the Gallerie dell’Accademia which was a beautiful museum not too far from San Marco square.

And obviously, we did a gondola ride. This was such a must when it comes to experiences but it was a little underwhelming. They’re pretty pricey and the canals get really crowded. The shortest tour which is 30 minutes cost 80 euros (about $100). Don’t get me wrong, it was worth it to say I’ve been in a gondola but I wouldn’t do it again unless I was on a romantic trip with bae. I have a feeling a sunset ride might be even better, maybe with some champagne!

What I Wore

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