Getting Lost in Venice Italy

The best thing to do in Venice is to get lost, as many friends assured me. In fact, one friend begged me to stay away from the touristy section and just stay where the Venice locals actually live. While we did not venture quite that far on our first brief visit, I do agree that getting lost is the best way to see the city. You can read about where we actually stayed in Venice here.

Neither Dan nor I are very good at wandering, so we set up a mission to find the bridges we had seen other people pose on. In fact, I considered for a moment making the title of this post “Donna poses on bridges.” This became a fun game, because there are endless bridges and canals that all look very similar, but then are ultimately quite different. I loved that each neighborhood sort of had a different vibe to offer, as well.

Outfit Details: Young, Fabulous, and Broke Marilyn Dress (different colors here and here, on Poshmark here, use code DONNA RIGGINS), Jeffrey Campbell Rattan Sandals, Tory Burch Sunglasses, Zara Rattan Bag (on Amazon here, similar here)

We started out by walking along the waterfront in front of the Doge’s Palace away from St. Mark’s Square. After three or four bridges, we picked a quiet alley to turn down and get lost. Even though we set no direction, I’m pretty sure Dan was secretly checking his maps because after a couple of hours we had circled back to St. Mark’s Square.

We had worked up quite an appetite, so we stepped into the beautiful Caffe Florian for a quick snack before we left for the airport. Sadly our short time in Venice had come to an end. The cafe, known for being the oldest cafe in Europe, has a gorgeous interior, as well as, an outdoor patio in St. Mark’s Square. We ordered Bellinis, Prosciutto and Melon, and a Coppa Amaretto (my favorite!), but there are plenty of other sweet and savory delights to be found on the menu.

After our meal, we returned to our hotel to collect our luggage and head to the airport. As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to ensure a positive experience in Venice so we splurged quite a bit. This included round trip private water taxis to and from the airport.

The trip was only 30 minutes each way (versus the hour and twenty minute long public water taxi ride), but it did cost a pretty penny. For both of us it was around 120 euros each way. We purchased the initial ride at the airport and then had our hotel arrange the return trip, and we were able to pay via cash or card on the boat.

Honestly, for how little time we had in Venice, I think the private water taxi was completely worth the cost, even more so than our hotel. We had such gorgeous views throughout the entire ride and it made the whole journey more relaxing. (See more on my Instagram stories.)

Before this trip, when people asked me where they should go in Italy, I usually told them to skip Venice and focus on Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Now, however, I would definitely recommend Venice for a quick visit. It worked out especially well for us on our Croatia trip (see here, here, and here), since there are so many affordable options to get from Croatia to Venice, including a few ferry routes or plenty of cheap flight options.