With only a day and a half in Venice we dropped off our bags and hit the streets. Venice has its share of major tourist attractions and sights - The Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs, Doges Palace, St. Mark’s Square and Basilica. Many tourists climb the Campanile Tower for an incredible view. Others line up for a romantic gondola ride. And yes, there are museums, and guided tours and just about anything else you might expect in a town that attracts over 50,000 tourists a day, 32,000 of them jumping off cruise ships alone. (Tip: Check the Cruise Ship schedules if you want to avoid the crush).

We had a different plan.

In Seach of Cicchetti

We’ve heard about Cicchetti’s, basically small plates of anything and everything that’s fresh for that day. Figure each item is €1,50 to €2,50, a glass of wine around €4, you can have a lot of dining adventure for not a lot of money. We went to Cantina Do Spade, a restaurant that’s been around since 1448. You can study up on their cicchetti menu if you want. We just went and pointed, we grabbed a seat in the window, it was an authentic local experience.

We learned later that many locals and tourists in the know go from place to place to drink and eat cicchetti’s in place of a sit down dinner, a sort of walking bar hopping that seems like a really good idea. We wished we had done that - next time for sure.

We wandered without a map, walking down deserted alleyways (Venice is very safe, even at night) and making our way over the Rialto Bridge where the tourists flocked to take selfies. As the sun set we rounded a corner and this is what we saw.

The Dueling Orchestras in St. Marks Square

We had heard about this - small orchestras set up around the St. Marks Square that take turns playing, a sort of Battle of the Bands. This was too much! Can Italy get much better? I mean, come on, we saw ancient ruins in Rome, we saw famous art in Florence, we visited the colorful stacked buildings balanced on the cliffs in Cinque Terre, and now we stumble upon live orchestras playing in St. Mark’s Square?

We had to dance. It was the perfect cherry on top of an incredible vacation.

Seeing the Sights of Venice

The next day we hit up the big name sights but also roamed the local neighborhoods, including the Jewish Ghetto (map) that was not “ghetto” the way we define it in the US. No, it was just a nice, quiet stroll along canals with locals milling around. For anyone saying that Venice is too packed or touristy, a side trip to this area on the train station side of the island will change your mind.

Later we hopped on a Vaporetto, the water bus that took us up and down the Grand Canal. At first it seemed like a huge mistake, the boat packed with selfie stick armed tourists fighting it out for the best background image and donning their dreaded selfie smiles. We got on at the main station near the train station and traveled towards the canal outlet near St. Mark’s Square - where everyone got off. We stayed on and the ride back was nearly like having our own private boat, a much better experience. You can buy day passes for the Vaporetto, a good idea since you can jump on and off without paying another fee.

Here’s a bunch of webcam of Venice if you want to check out the crowds. This is a cool link as it’s a number of different webcams, all in real time.

We visited one museum, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum with modern art. My wife the artist loved it. But I had my thoughts on something else. Lunch.

Away from the Crowds

Our hotel host told us of a lunch spot that serves up extremely high quality meats and cheeses and cichetti, all from local producers, called Enoiteca Al Prosecco. Don’t let their terrible website sway you, this could be one of the best meals - and best afternoons - you will have on your trip to Italy.

The neighborhood is worlds away from the cruise ship crowds by St. Mark’s Square. We almost felt guilty, spending a quiet afternoon in a local neighborhood enjoying a relaxing lunch. We thought for a moment about all the people pushing and shoving to get a photo near the Bridge of Sighs and quickly forgot about them as we poured another glass of wine.

A Few Moments Left

And then before we knew it our vacation was coming to an end. The next day we would fly out to Paris for a quick weekend before flying back to the US. 14 days, a trip of a lifetime. But before we left we had one more evening, a stroll along the canals, a romantic dinner under candlelight, and our final toast to Italy.

We saw a lot in Venice in our day and a half but we missed a lot, too. We’ll add these to our next trip but you should consider them if you have the time.

VISIT THE OTHER ISLANDS, particularly Murano where they have blown glass for centuries, and Burano, the island with the houses so colorful you’ll be accused of over enhancing your photos. Visiting both would make an excellent day trip away from the busy crowds.

GONDOLA RIDE: We went back and forth whether it was worth €100 to ride in a gondola for 40 minutes. In the end we opted not to and while I don’t have serious regrets I put that in the same category as not going all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

LIBRERIA ACQUA ALTA: I know, this might be a tourist trap but I totally forgot to see the bookshop where they stack the books into boats and gondolas for when it floods.

DOGES PALACE: We didn’t go in due to the crowds but it would have been fascinating to not only see the art but to get a deeper dive into the history and architecture.

ST. MARK’S CAMPANILE: I guess every tourist but us went to the top to take a photo. Maybe it’s worth it, maybe not.