“Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times, and of all the cities of the world is the easiest to visit without going there.” Henry James, Italian Hours (1909).
An interesting read, to see Venice through a contemporary eye. Henry James is a timeless companion in Venice. Your up-to-date report makes me glad I visited multiple times many years ago way before mobile phones and Google maps when you used mental faculties to plan to route, pleasantly got lost repeatedly, discovering wonderful nooks and crannies, and all the churches were open! My glass beads from Murano transport me back. I always went by train as I would do should I go again which is unlikely - I think there's an airport within reach but I don't fly nowadays because of the climate crisis.
We visit Venice every year in november, as my husband has Venetian roots. We live in Munich, so it‘s just a five hours drive from us. We always stay away from the main tourist spots and mostly visit the Biennale, a huge international art and architecture exhibition that takes place every year. The exhibition is located in the „Giardini“, a beautiful park in which many countries have their own pavilion, which mostly are architectural gems themselves. Really worth a visit... we go there tomorrow and I can‘t wait!
We’ve been several times but always for the day, taking the train from wherever else we were staying. Absolutely love it but very much like visiting a stunningly beautiful and self-aware theme park at times.
Our solution has been to wander off piste. Our best finds have been lunches in small cafes off the beaten track where men (they were always men) from local building sites were having lunch. Always a good sign (though maybe not necessarily in the UK).
Plus boats to some of the islands. Burano is such a feast of colour
We’ve been several times but always for the day, taking the train from wherever else we were staying. Absolutely love it but very much like visiting a stunningly beautiful and self-aware theme park at times.
Our solution has been to wander off piste. Our best finds have been lunches in small cafes off the beaten track where men (they were always men) from local building sites were having lunch. Always a good sign (though maybe not necessarily in the UK).
Plus boats to some of the islands. Burano is such a feast of colour
How exciting to visit Venice for the very first time! I used to have crazy dreams about it before I ever went (probably based on photos in art history books) but I could never have imagined what it was really like. One fantastic place to visit that tourists never go is the Natural History Museum, tucked away in a quiet corner west of the Rialto--it's retained many of the exhibits as they were originally installed 100 years ago.
I've always found Ruskin hard going, but I just finished reading To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters by Suzanne Fagence Cooper, and it certainly me reconsider my prejudice. And his drawings of Venetian architecture are exquisite.
Oh no - I want to go there now having read this. The crowds I can imagine all too vividly have put me off more than any other reason. But you have changed my mind with your fab pics and words. The highlight of any trip for me is if I have managed to do a little water journey, so Venice seems obvious. Now to break it to my husband.
Would you be willing to share the name of the airbnb w=your friend recommended? And/or the coffee place? It's been a long time since I've been in Venice, and I'd be grateful.
Venice was my first trip overseas. I went alone in October 1976. After the tourists, before the rains. No GPS, no cell phones, and I didn't have a map. But I never got lost, walked or took the vaporetto, and stayed in a single room for $7/night. I accidentally had a private tour of the glass museum on Murano. It was a magical trip, and the beginning of my love for traveling alone.
It was pleasure meeting you yesterday. Lovely piece about Venice, definitely need to revisit and spot your interesting finds especially reconnecting with the street signs. Happy stitching on your collage/or crosses.
Such a lovely column that reminded me how much we loved our trip there in 2017…pre-Covid times. Yes, St. Mark’s Square was so crowded we never made it to the church, as was the Rialto Bridge. But we shopped locally for our meals; gondolas along the canal with fruits, vegetables and plants, fisherman selling the catch of their morning and a wine shop where you siphoned wine into a plastic bottle (€5 a liter). And a night at the opera…La Trivata at the Fenice Opera House. Thank you for highlighting the beautiful details that make that city so special. And I loved the doorknobs in the middle of the doors.
Transported me right back there - been a few times but there’s nothing quite like the first time - the realisation that there REALLY are no cars & and that you can feel comfortable whilst feeling & being permanent lost. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection has been on my agenda every time which says it all !
I've never been to Venice, despite being a Proustian. It sounds as if an out of season visit is essential - rather attracted by the idea of a winter visit, with lingering morning mists and mysterious evening fogs. Well done to the Venetians being even-tempered. I recall with shame my own bursts of short temper as an Edinburgh resident during the Festival. Never directly to anyone, but I'm sure I carried an aura of grumpiness when trying to make headway in the streets. The Venetian typeface was a discover from your post. How wonderful that there are typefaces that encapsulate places - like the Belgian station signs.
I have never been to Venice either, but have fully intended to go for most of my adult life. I was given a guide book called Venice for Pleasure by JG Links, which I was assured was the only book I would ever need. But I think your pithy guide will come a close second and it might actually get used. Another excellent Sunday morning read.
An interesting read, to see Venice through a contemporary eye. Henry James is a timeless companion in Venice. Your up-to-date report makes me glad I visited multiple times many years ago way before mobile phones and Google maps when you used mental faculties to plan to route, pleasantly got lost repeatedly, discovering wonderful nooks and crannies, and all the churches were open! My glass beads from Murano transport me back. I always went by train as I would do should I go again which is unlikely - I think there's an airport within reach but I don't fly nowadays because of the climate crisis.
I agree with you such a unique place. I will never tire of the memory’s of coming up the grand canal in the early morning mist. Quite spectacular.
We visit Venice every year in november, as my husband has Venetian roots. We live in Munich, so it‘s just a five hours drive from us. We always stay away from the main tourist spots and mostly visit the Biennale, a huge international art and architecture exhibition that takes place every year. The exhibition is located in the „Giardini“, a beautiful park in which many countries have their own pavilion, which mostly are architectural gems themselves. Really worth a visit... we go there tomorrow and I can‘t wait!
We’ve been several times but always for the day, taking the train from wherever else we were staying. Absolutely love it but very much like visiting a stunningly beautiful and self-aware theme park at times.
Our solution has been to wander off piste. Our best finds have been lunches in small cafes off the beaten track where men (they were always men) from local building sites were having lunch. Always a good sign (though maybe not necessarily in the UK).
Plus boats to some of the islands. Burano is such a feast of colour
We’ve been several times but always for the day, taking the train from wherever else we were staying. Absolutely love it but very much like visiting a stunningly beautiful and self-aware theme park at times.
Our solution has been to wander off piste. Our best finds have been lunches in small cafes off the beaten track where men (they were always men) from local building sites were having lunch. Always a good sign (though maybe not necessarily in the UK).
Plus boats to some of the islands. Burano is such a feast of colour
I enjoyed this immensely. And it really is the closest I'll ever get to visiting, thank you.
How exciting to visit Venice for the very first time! I used to have crazy dreams about it before I ever went (probably based on photos in art history books) but I could never have imagined what it was really like. One fantastic place to visit that tourists never go is the Natural History Museum, tucked away in a quiet corner west of the Rialto--it's retained many of the exhibits as they were originally installed 100 years ago.
I've always found Ruskin hard going, but I just finished reading To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters by Suzanne Fagence Cooper, and it certainly me reconsider my prejudice. And his drawings of Venetian architecture are exquisite.
Ruskin took us to Murano to a church with an exquisite mosaic floor 👌🏽
Oh no - I want to go there now having read this. The crowds I can imagine all too vividly have put me off more than any other reason. But you have changed my mind with your fab pics and words. The highlight of any trip for me is if I have managed to do a little water journey, so Venice seems obvious. Now to break it to my husband.
I’m here right now! Are you still here? We are staying right down the way from that pensione you photographed—it was a startling coincidence!
No, back home now. Have a great time!
Would you be willing to share the name of the airbnb w=your friend recommended? And/or the coffee place? It's been a long time since I've been in Venice, and I'd be grateful.
Venice was my first trip overseas. I went alone in October 1976. After the tourists, before the rains. No GPS, no cell phones, and I didn't have a map. But I never got lost, walked or took the vaporetto, and stayed in a single room for $7/night. I accidentally had a private tour of the glass museum on Murano. It was a magical trip, and the beginning of my love for traveling alone.
It was pleasure meeting you yesterday. Lovely piece about Venice, definitely need to revisit and spot your interesting finds especially reconnecting with the street signs. Happy stitching on your collage/or crosses.
Such a lovely column that reminded me how much we loved our trip there in 2017…pre-Covid times. Yes, St. Mark’s Square was so crowded we never made it to the church, as was the Rialto Bridge. But we shopped locally for our meals; gondolas along the canal with fruits, vegetables and plants, fisherman selling the catch of their morning and a wine shop where you siphoned wine into a plastic bottle (€5 a liter). And a night at the opera…La Trivata at the Fenice Opera House. Thank you for highlighting the beautiful details that make that city so special. And I loved the doorknobs in the middle of the doors.
Transported me right back there - been a few times but there’s nothing quite like the first time - the realisation that there REALLY are no cars & and that you can feel comfortable whilst feeling & being permanent lost. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection has been on my agenda every time which says it all !
I've never been to Venice, despite being a Proustian. It sounds as if an out of season visit is essential - rather attracted by the idea of a winter visit, with lingering morning mists and mysterious evening fogs. Well done to the Venetians being even-tempered. I recall with shame my own bursts of short temper as an Edinburgh resident during the Festival. Never directly to anyone, but I'm sure I carried an aura of grumpiness when trying to make headway in the streets. The Venetian typeface was a discover from your post. How wonderful that there are typefaces that encapsulate places - like the Belgian station signs.
I have never been to Venice either, but have fully intended to go for most of my adult life. I was given a guide book called Venice for Pleasure by JG Links, which I was assured was the only book I would ever need. But I think your pithy guide will come a close second and it might actually get used. Another excellent Sunday morning read.