What to do in Venice, Italy

Venice is one of those cities you either love or hate. I personally, love it. And so did my husband. This was my second time to Venice and I actually loved it even more this time than last. From the water canals to the tiny streets. I love everything about this charming city.

We visited in the beginning of June and the weather was perfect, crowds really weren’t bad and everyone was incredibly friendly. And surprisingly, I think traveling with a baby actually made the trip even easier. The moment the Italians saw our little bambino they bent over backwards to help us. We are already dreaming of our return!

Itinerary
In hindsight, I wish we would have stayed in Venice at least one extra day- maybe even two.

• Day 1 – We arrived early, explored on our own all morning & early afternoon, then had a private walking tour of Venice, where the tour guide showed us many of the must see attractions and told us all of the best places to eat!
• Day 2 – Explored Valdobbiadene & Valdo Prosecco, then returned to Venice to enjoy dinner
• Day 3 – Explored Venice at our leisure
• Day 4 – Attended Mass at St Mark’s Cathedral, explored more of Venice on our own in the morning, then took the train down to Naples & headed to Positano

Airport/Train Stations

• Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
• Venice Santa Lucia Train Station
• Venice Mestre Train Station

Hotel

• HomeAway
• Airbnb
• Palazzina G

Restaurants

• Breakfast
  • We had breakfast everyday at our hotel {the Palazzina} each morning and it was perfect!
• Lunch
  • Baci & Pasta :: simple, delicious food. try the Gnocchi!!
  • Da Mamo :: delicious, authentic Italian
  • La Palanca :: gorgeous view, great food
  • Osteria La Lanterna da Gas :: sit outside so you can people watch
  • The Gritti Terrace :: ask for a seat alongside the water. the views are unreal!!
• Dinner {we did the tasting menu for each of the following restaurants & highly recommend you do the same}
  • Harry’s Bar :: Home to the Bellini and frequented by Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen and a plethora of celebrities. Reviews online are mixed, but the food and the service were over the top good! Like, ‘you really can’t skip this place’ good. The risotto primavera and meringue cake were divine! The restaurant is surprisingly simple in design, but be sure to ask for a seat upstairs by the windows! At the least, go here for a Bellini!
  • Terrazza Danieli :: The view is gorgeous, but we were somewhat let down by the food and service. But the views really are hard to beat. Overall I would still go back here, but since I’m not a huge meat eater I probably wouldn’t do the tasting menu here again.
  • Ridotto :: The BEST! This Michelin star restaurant literally only has 9 tables in the entire restaurant and when you sit down, the table is yours for the night. Everything we ate was incredible- except for the bay leaf ice cream with candied olives. When we admitted we loved everything but the desert, they actually brought us out a new desert {ricotta gelato with pistachio and a hot orange chocolate drizzle} which was phenomenal.
• Dessert
  • La Boutique del Gelato :: recommended by a local
  • Gelateria Alaska :: natural ingredients & has some fun, obscure flavors
  • Gelateria il Doge :: so so so good!!

Transportation

• Walk
• Boat

Recommendations

• Take a gondola tour. Sure, they are touristy & pricy- but they are well worth it! Choose a gondolier NOT on the Grand Canal. Find one on his own on a smaller canal- their tours are more intimate and authentic.
• Do a day trip to Valdo
• Must See Attractions
  • St Mark’s Basilica
  • St Mark’s Square
  • Take the Elevator to the Top of the Campanile in St Mark’s Square
  • Doge’s Palace
  • Grand Canal
  • Santa Maria Della Salute
  • Ponte di Rialto
  • Bridge of Sighs
  • San Marco Campanile
  • Burano Island (a colorful island within the Venice district)

With a Baby

• Multiple people told us not to bother with a stroller here, but to be honest, you can totally explore with a stroller. We personally opted to carry Cayson in our Wildbird sling or MiaMily most of the time, but we did use the stroller a few times.
• Italians LOVE babies. I can’t tell you how many times they would come up to Cayson and play with him and speak to him in Italian. In multiple restaurants they would even pick him up and walk him around the restaurant while we ate- ha. Embrace it & enjoy the little date time with your spouse! After befriending so many Italians, I like to think my baby now mumbles in Italian ;)

Did I miss anything?
What would you add to the list or what would you like to know more about?

^^Cayson was clearly having a blast ha ^^