A brief travel report from Verona and Venice

[Adar]

I am lagging behind on my travel logs (you can find them listed here) but I will try to restart my uploads in a more compressed format. I will upload pictures and rather ugly maps of general interest and support this with quotes from Wikitravel on locations that I liked instead of trying to write complete diaries.

Verona (http://wikitravel.org/en/Verona)

Verona was taken over by the Roman Empire in the First Century AD and many Roman-era ruins have been preserved, notably the Arena (which is in the same style as Rome's Colisseum). Most of the historical sights, however, date from the past 800 years. If you are keen on art history, Verona offers a golden opportunity to see the transition of Western European art from late-Medieval to early-Renaissance styles, with its rich offering of 12-Century churches and art museums.
After the Roman Empire came the Republic of Venice from 853 AD until Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the republic. After the Fall of Napoleon in 1815, the Austrian Empire took over the city until 1866.

Verona is a beautiful city with very nice houses and a well preserved arena. But it is a city centre dominated by tourism (which I blame Shakespear for) and food prices are correspondingly fairly high even if the food was both better and cheaper than in Verona. Due to work related reasons I did not do much in Verona but if you end up there (perhaps passing by to Lake Garda) it is well worth taking a day in the city. Apparently Castelvecchio (the castle) contain a museum well worth visiting if you like historical art but I missed that and the castle itself is rather lacklustre.

City map

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

What I can recommend from Verona is:
Aperol appetizer before dinner. Almost everyone drinks it and for good reason.


Trying to find a concert to attend to inside the Arena and walking by the Scaliger tombs which are housing members of the Scaliger family from the 13th and 14th century.

Pictures from Verona:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

View along the river


The Roman arena. I was lucky enough to visit the city centre at a night when a scout jamboree occupied the arena and the chants and noice carried beautifully over the city. Opera inside the arena is also highly enjoyable for people outside which makes the restaurants very crowded on opera nights.




The Gothic tombs mentioned above. I stumbled upon them by accident.


Verona city centre by night.


Evening time is by far the best in Verona. This time it is the bell tower (reachable by lift for a fee).

Venice in a separate post.

[Adar]

Venice (http://wikitravel.org/en/Venice)
Venice is a truly unique in many ways and conveniently located so that you can take the ferry from Pula or Rebec in Croatia and then take the train from Venice to the rest of Italy or Central Europe. At the right time Venice is breathtaking, beautiful and uniquely integrated with the surrounding lagoon. At the wrong time it is crowded, smelly and possible slightly below the surface of the surrounding lagoon. Furthermore the most serene island of Venice is connected by a bridge to Mestre which is a more conventional city on the mainland where I suspect that most people working in Venice actually live.

Due to it's popularity and lack of modern buildings this mean that both food and accommodation in Venice is very expensive compared to it's quality. Luckily the city is small and the train connections excellent so you can either live on the mainland or stay a single night in the city but still have time to experience most of it.

Things I recommend:

Try to eat Cuttlefish in it's own ink. It sounds a bit disgusting but the meat is much better than calamari or octopus and the ink based sauce can be very good.


Goccia Nera, a liquorice liqueur (liquore liquirizia in Italian) which is very popular in the region. I bought a very unfancy one pictured below as I was somewhat skeptical but it was very good.


Enoy the city by vaporetti (water buses). They are somewhat noisy but they are highly convenient bringing you around the city at a price similar to buses in most western cities while also providing beautiful views from the water.

More famous locations worth visiting:

Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), (San Marco Square), [3]. From April 1st to October 31st: 8.30 am – 7 pm (last admission 6 pm); from November 1st to March 31st: 8.30 am – 5.30 pm (last admission 4.30 pm). Closed on December 25th and January 1st. If the ticket line is long, you can buy regular tickets across the square at the Museo Correr. Don't miss the guided tour named Secret Itinerary (€20), which will let you discover the part of the palace where the city's administration worked, as well as Casanova's jail and the wonderful five hundred year old roof structure. Regular ticket €16 valid for the Doge’s Palace and the Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, and Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana.

Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), Piazza San Marco (Water lines # 1, 52, and 82 will take you from Santa Lucia (the train station) or Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Lucia. Walking is another option but will require a map and lots of time and energy.), ☎ +39 041 5225205 (procuratorial phone number), [6]. 1st October to 31st March: 9:45AM-4:45PM; 1st April to 30 September: 9:45AM-5PM. Saint Mark's Basilica is on the Piazza San Marco and is one of the highlights of a visit to Venice. As with most churches in Italy, you must be dressed appropriately to be allowed in; this means no short skirts or bare shoulders. You are not allowed to carry large bags or rucksacks inside. You must deposit them just round the corner from the main entrance. Filming and photography is forbidden so be prepared in advance. The visit within the basilica lasts ten minutes. Waiting for entry into the basilica can last up to five or so hours and it may be wise to buy a ticket from the official site [7] (reservation costs €1.50). Once you have a reservation you can take the group entrance on the left, where you give in the printout of your reservation. These reservations are only available 7 months out of the year, 1 Apr-31 Oct. The symbol of St. Mark’s Basilica is a masterpiece of the Greek Hellenistic sculpture: the famous gilded bronze horses. A visit to St Mark’s Basilica is a must! It is renowned worldwide for its priceless treasures and fascinating secret places. Some of them, such as the Baptistery and the Zen Chapel, are usually closed to the public. Admission to the basilica is free; however, the museum upstairs costs €5 and to view the high altar and treasury costs €2. edit

Correr Museum, San Marco 52 (on San Marco Square). Very interesting collection of globes, starting from the 16th century. There is also an only library hall, an archeological museum of Roman antiques and an important picture gallery. At the end of your visit, don't miss the museum art cafe, with their tables on the San Marco Square. Admission is €16 (reduced €10), which also includes Doge's Palace..

If you prefer to buy local delicacies that the locals actually eat (rather than the tourist shop version). Then I suggest Conad in Northern Venice (https://goo.gl/maps/0PG9X) or Coop close to the train station (https://goo.gl/maps/OkzV7) to buy food or drinks normally purchased by locals. Due to the low proportion of local inhabitants it is a bit tricky to find normal super markets in Venice.

Now for the images:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Your typical view of Venice


San Marcos square viewed from the harbour area. To the left you have the Doges Palace and then the Basilica di San Marco which give the square it's name.

The square is really the heart of Venice and the fancy restaurants around it even got live pianists contributing to the atmosphere.



View of San Giorgio Maggiore located on an island opposite to the San Marcos square with it's 16th century church.


The south western part of the Venice main island is filled with more modern infrastructure such as a cruise ship harbour and the police head quarters.


View of the entrance and inside of San Marcos Basilica. Much of the interior decorations is clearly influenced (and in many cases looted from) the Byzantine empire which makes Venetian art unique in Italy as it draws on Eastern as well as Italian influences.




The Doges palace is lavishly decorated and beautiful from both an artists as well as an engineers perspective. This main chamber was for many centuries the largest chamber without pillars in Europe.


Some more decoration in the palace.


Gondoles may seem romantic but the more narrow channels are often crowded and a lot of tourists will photograph you. Not to mention that the view really isn't much better than what you get from walking along the channels.


And yes, Venice is really built around boats. DHL, police, ambulances and even firefighters rely on boats.

[Aru]

Does Venice still smell like a sewer?

[Adar]

Does Venice still smell like a sewer?

I think it is a very seasonal feature of the city and I was there in November so for me it was okay. My next report on the list is btw Croatia thanks to your list last year (arriving in Venice from Croatia does btw sound like a great idea if my grandmothers sister is to be trusted).

[Aru]

I had a terrible bad luck when I visited Venice (around 16 years ago). Duke's palace was renovated and it was covered by a picture of itself. St. Marks church was locked. All my attention in the streets was devoted to avoiding the river of tourists from the other direction and keeping up with my group. In fact all I remember is a smell and the st. Mark's square, basically red tower and the columns next to it. Also I saw my first Mcdonalds there so that's where I ate. So I can say I've been to Venice, but not much else. The only other city with similar crowds I visited was Dubrovnik, but that was even earlier, just after the war and there wasn't that many tourists so I really did see everything there was without interruption.

[DAVIDE]

Does Venice still smell like a sewer?

Happens with the low tide. The smell of algae comes up.