Venice is a truly unique, beautiful, and captivating city; we absolutely adored our time there! Our entire day in Venice was made even more special as it coincided with Rooney’s 5th birthday, making it a cherished memory for us.
We were incredibly fortunate to enjoy breathtaking weather throughout our day in Venice. The clear blue skies and pleasant late September temperatures enhanced our experience. Although there were still noticeable crowds at the tail end of peak season, we found it manageable and not overly chaotic.
Where We Stayed
We reserved a cozy two-bedroom apartment on the ground floor, nestled in a tranquil corner of the Cannaregio neighborhood. Located on Calle Rotonda, close to the rio de S. Alvise, it was just a short stroll to the Madonna dell’Orto ferry stop, which provided direct access to the airport.
We truly enjoyed this area due to its quiet streets, which were free from the crowds of tourists found in other parts of the city. Surrounded by picturesque canals, wandering through this neighbourhood felt like an authentic Venetian experience.
The highlight of our visit to Venice was undoubtedly the gondola ride. While it may be the most touristy activity, it offers a delightful and traditional perspective of the city from its canals. Rooney, the birthday girl, was particularly eager to experience the gondola, and it certainly became one of our favourite memories from the trip. We boarded a gondola at Ponte Ubaldo Belli and glided through the quieter canals before merging into the Grand Canal and returning to our original spot. We had no issues hailing a gondola that was waiting for passengers, and we paid with cash. However, during peak travel times, it's advisable to reserve online in advance.
Aside from the gondola ride, we spent the majority of our day, leisurely wandering and exploring the streets. On the first afternoon, we strolled from our accommodation towards Santa Lucia Train Station and Ponte degli Scalzi, admiring the shops along Rio Tera Lista di Spagna.
The next morning, we walked along Strada Nova, the main shopping district, towards the Rialto Bridge and then onto Piazza San Marco. These two iconic landmarks attract many tourists, making them must-see but vry crowded. From there, we took a water taxi back along the Grand Canal, enjoying views of the Rialto Bridge from the water.
Where we ate
Since it was Rooney’s birthday, we allowed her to choose where to have lunch, and guess what she picked… McDonald's, of course! The McDonald's on Strada Nova was incredibly busy, so we were fortunate to snag a table.
We should highlight another restaurant where we dined twice: Ristorante al Gazebo. This eatery was spacious, the waitstaff were friendly, the prices were quite reasonable, and the food was delicious. They even had robots delivering meals from the kitchen, which was an unexpected delight in Venice, and the kids absolutely loved it. We discovered it on our first night and were pretty happy overall, then on the second evening, we planned to eat at a restaurant with views of the Rialto Bridge but were taken aback by the price hike simply because of its prime tourist location. So, we opted to walk back to our reliable spot from the previous nights. It was here that the girls tried the unique combination of Rockmelon and Prosciutto , a dish we were surprised to find on many menus across Italy.
Getting around Venice
Although we had a rental car, we chose to leave it in the long-term parking area at Venice's Marco Polo Airport and take a water taxi instead. Since we were flying to Greece for ten days afterward, we found that leaving the car in long-term parking was more economical than paying a one-way hire fee. While driving around Venice isn't possible ( it’s totally car free! ), if you do have a rental car, you can drive onto the island and park near the train and bus stations.
I had purchased a Water Bus Transfer from a company called Alilaguna, which seemed like a great deal since it included unlimited access to their water buses for our entire stay. Getting from the airport to our hotel was straightforward; however, our return trip to the airport turned out to be one of the most stressful events of our entire trip. The nearest water bus stop to our accommodation, Madonna dell’Orto, was the last stop before heading to the airport. The water buses operate every 30 minutes, but the 11:30 am water bus was already at full capacity when it reached us, and the following one at midday was also full and could not accommodate us. At this point, we began to stress out, facing the very real possibility that we would miss our flight to Athens.
We decided to walk to an earlier water taxi stop along the same route, thinking our chances of getting on would improve. Even if it meant waiting a bit longer, we’d still get over to the airport eventually.
While strolling down a quieter canal, we spotted an empty private taxi boat passing by. We called out to the driver, who casually responded, “Yes, of course, I can take you to the airport,” as if it were no trouble at all. Relieved that we now had a chance to reach our flight on time, we hopped on board. As we set off down the canal, we noticed a young man who had also been waiting at the original water bus stop. Knowing he was headed to the airport as well, we invited him to join us. It turned out he was a young Ukrainian guy living in Geneva, traveling for a Tae Kwon Do tournament. He was very grateful for our assistance but we were just happy to help him our - our good deal for the day. I felt proud of how we all handled what could have been a very stressful situation, kids included.
So my advice for getting to the airport would be. - book a dedicated private transfer even if it does cost extra money, don’t rely on the water buses unless your at a location that is early in route and your one of the first people to get on.
Venice is a place I would love to revisit and dedicate more time to exploring, avoiding the crowded tourist spots and simply wandering the canals, living like a local. It is truly unlike anywhere else in the world and is rich in history that we barely touched upon. Perhaps one day in the future, we will return