Lost and Found in Venice

Beyond the attention-grabbing sights lies a city turning on the wheels of everyday people who call it home. To find it, you must first get lost.

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Ah, Venice. Car-free and ethereal, the floating city is simply enthralling with its labyrinthine canals, palaces and piazzas. Fitting then that on arrival, the first thing that should jostle for attention are street vendors selling selfie sticks. An apt offering considering this is another solo trip not long off the back of Zadar. Solo or not, who wouldn’t want to capture their moments here?

Time here ticks to the beat of iconic buildings such as the Doge’s Palace, St Mark’s Basilica and Torre dell’Drologio. These are all big attractions in the San Marco sestiere (neighbourhood). Venture into Venice with no fixed plan and plenty of time, and there’s a joyous unpredictability to moments that stay with you long after you have left. Where does one start on such a day? With something to eat, first of all. 

Eating in Venice

The backstreet of Santa Croce, one of six neighbourhoods, turns out to be a quiet place to dine like a Venetian in the city famous for its seafood. At cosy Osteria Alba Nova dalla Maria, owner Maria cooks a tasty spaghetti scampi and stops by for a chat. We speak about how every part of Italy is unique.

“Italy is like a different country wherever you go.”

Maria – owner, Osteria Alba Nova

Surely, this is part of the charm that keeps Italy front and centre of dreamy holidays you could do many times over. It’s the perfect moment to order a glass of local wine to go with the hearty plate and sip to la dolce vita.

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Getting Around Venice

Buoyed by the meal, it’s time to take to Venice by water. A gondola ride is almost customary. However, at €80 a pop, it is not the most budget-friendly option. By a stroke of luck, a seat becomes available at the front of a vaporetto, one of the waterbuses navigating the Grand Canal. With enough imagination, you can even pretend it is a suitable alternative. From this vantage point, it is easy to marvel at the flotilla of criss-crossing vaporetti and ferries on the Grand Canal. There is complete enchantment in the idea that Venice uses water where other cities use asphalt.

WoW Tip: A vaporetto ride is €7 per journey. If you are in Venice and plan to use vaporetti often, a €20 day pass offers unlimited travel and is more cost-efficient. There are also options for 2, 3 or 7 days.

Venice is beautiful and busy. At the heart of the city, Piazza San Marco simultaneously dazzles with European and Byzantine architecture – and dizzies with throngs of people. An escape from the maddening crowd is in order.

San Giorgio Maggiore

Slink off to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore which has one of the best views of Venice from the bell tower (Entrance: €6). It is reachable by vaporetto line 2.

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Under an unbroken clear sky, the Grand Canal ripples with lovers in elegant gondolas. It feels like a world away from the bustle. Feeling ready to re-enter the fray? Come on then – there’s more of Venice to see!

WoW Tip: The observation deck is reachable by a lift, saving you a power climb up.

Getting Lost in Venice

Getting lost in maze-like alleys is a rite of passage Google Maps will not save you from. There lies the beauty of discovering the city of canals. Stroll past calle (alleyways) lined with shops, cross centuries-old bridges and pause for yet another photo. Stop for that most Italian of creamy treats, gelato, and trust you’ll walk it off in the circuitous streets.

The Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World

Let yourself go and you just may stumble into the quirkiest bookshop in Venice, complete with resident cats. Libreria Acqua Alta modestly calls itself “the world’s most beautiful bookshop”. However, the understated front appears not to match the bold claim at first. Until you enter. There’s a heady interior of books piled into bathtubs, canoes, even gondolas, and a canalside exit with its own picture-ready gondola. No surprise then that you soon find yourself agreeing with the initial claim.

The name translates to “bookstore of high water”. Enchanting as it appears, the arrangements in the store are sobering reminders of the city’s battle with flooding. Venice’s vulnerability with water is well-known, and calls to mind similar observations about Keta, the land between sea and lagoon.

Final Thoughts

It is impossible to navigate Venice without observing the fragility. In the signposts strewn across the city entreating people to respect it. The packed squares. In the peeling walls tinted greenish brown at the base by lapping canal waters. On crowded bridges sighing with the weight of overcrowding.

Venice sometimes appears otherworldly, but a look around shows the thread of local life; present and quietly unravelling. Clothes flap in the breeze. An elderly grandmother sits on the steps outside her house and puffs slowly on a cigarette. A chubby-cheeked toddler waves from the upper floor. A kiosk blooms with attractive floral displays as the florist rearranges one with a critical eye.

Venice is home to real people and stories beyond the rose-tinted romanticisation of popular culture.

Get lost here and you will find a city turning on the wheels of everyday people who call it home.

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