Where to stay in Venice? Is Florence worth it?

[lane99]

Glad I noticed this thread. Am going to Venice and Florence this month. And don't have any accomodations booked. Sure this thread will help.

[rapsrealm]

Glad I noticed this thread. Am going to Venice and Florence this month. And don't have any accomodations booked. Sure this thread will help.

You want to book quickly. You should check out venere.com to see what's available. You should check if there are any promotional codes as well since it reduces the price a bit.

I will be going next week and I'm staying at Ponte Vecchio Suites and Spa in Florence and Ca' Angeli in Venice.

[rapsrealm]

Hi there,

the trip was fantastic! Florence was amazing and I did the Viatours that Pete Coach suggested. Thanks to everyone for their wonderful advice- and you guys were correct, buying train tickets was no problem. I'm happy to have been to Italy. Will post another thread in the near future for more travel advice when I decide on my next vacation.

Again, thanks to everyone!

Can you tell me more about the tours that you booked. I've booked the Tour of Tuscany with Viator in Florence and was wondering how that was? I'm leaving for Italy next week!!

[Pete_Coach]

Can you tell me more about the tours that you booked. I've booked the Tour of Tuscany with Viator in Florence and was wondering how that was? I'm leaving for Italy next week!!

Exactly what tour did you book? Tuscany in One Day tour? If so, it is a very good one day tour. You see a lot and it does not feel tiring.
If your signature is true and you are a foodie, you will love Italy. it is the small trattorias and cafes that will give you the "taste" of Italy. They are the places that make the food for Italians and not the tourists. Fortunately, even the local restaurants post their menus outside and you can look at them.
It will be smokin hot over there right now.

[ilfsoy]

Glad I noticed this thread. Am going to Venice and Florence this month. And don't have any accomodations booked. Sure this thread will help.

Budget? Likes? Area/planned activities?

There are many good choices in each city. A couple of good ones are the Laurus in Florence. Well located. Antiche Figure is quite near perfect in Venice mind it's just a three star.

[ItechJester]

LOVE THIS THREAD!

What about Pisa? From Florence. Worth the trip just to see the tower? Should we get off at the closer station (Pisa S Rossore) to get to the tower? I heard it was in a sketchy area...

[Yu_Qing]

I am glad to hear ewverything worked out for you. Now at you have been to Italy, you can sort of understand my facisnation with that Country.
Did you see everythng you wanted? I am certain that you can understand when I say to people that it takes time to see Italy. There is so much and darting from one place to another cannto do it justice.
Did you get to taste the variety of foods they have? It will be hard to eat Itaian food anywhere now without comparing it to what you ate over there. My biggest dissapontment is every time I eat pizza here now, my taste buds are expecting real Italian pizza and it just is not here LOL.

Oh Pete Coach, your advice was great. Yes I saw almost everything. One disappointment is when I went to Venice, I stayed there too long. While beautiful, it is definitely a tourist trap- we stayed there for 3 nights and 4 days which was a bit much. Meals there were much more expensive and mediocre in quality. I think 2 nights would have been sufficient.

Though we did make good use of the extra time we had. We went to Murano and Burano. My biggest regret is not visiting Torcello (far and not enough time to fit everything in a day). Torcello used to be populated with 20,000 people. Then Malaria became a big threat and eventually a problem and people died or fled. Now there's only 16 people (3 families) who actually live there. It's supposed to have a creepy yet fascinating feeling which is what I'm into. Apparently, Ernest Hemingway spent some time there writing!

If any of you plan on going to Venice, please visit these islands- especially Torcello. I regret missing it and have to resort to google images and wikipedia to learn more about/ see the island.

The people there were nice for the most part, but to be honest- I got the impression the people in Italy do not like Asians. Maybe Im just being paranoid, but I did get that feeling here and there. Service wasn't as great for us (perhaps cause we are tourists) but other tourists seemed to receive more cheerful and courteous attitude from waiters than we did. Pizza was ok. I don't eat enough pizza to know which is good (even in Canada). But I do notice the difference in the quality of olive oil. I wish I brought a bottle back.

The only thing I didn't see was the real statue of David in Florence. Florence was our last stop of the entire trip and by then, I think I got tired of seeing so many attractions that required fees or long lineups.

Other than that, everything was great!

[Yu_Qing]

Glad you had a great trip... Haven't been on here in a while, but the thread title caught my attention. Is Florence worth it? Gah, of course Tuscany is define. Train travel in Europe and Asia for that matter is in many cases the best option and rather simple too. If you haven't already wandered the Tuscan villages, Cinque Terre, and the smaller cities near Venice I must recommend all that as well. Bellissimo.

Florence was DEFINITELY worth it! I stayed there the longest compared to Rome and Venice.

[Yu_Qing]

Glad I noticed this thread. Am going to Venice and Florence this month. And don't have any accomodations booked. Sure this thread will help.

Please book right away. It's high season and last thing you want to do is get stuck with a hotel that is below your standard or is too far from the city attractions.

I enjoyed Hotel Pierre- it was in the middle of EVERYTHING in Florence!

For Venice, keep your expectations low. Space comes with a premium- so if you need a big hotel room, you will have to pay a lot. Ours was extremely tiny and we paid for the same price as what we paid in Rome.

*edit: forgot we are in august. it may not be high season after all. only concern is less shops/ restaurants open cause italians like to go away for vacation.

[Yu_Qing]

Can you tell me more about the tours that you booked. I've booked the Tour of Tuscany with Viator in Florence and was wondering how that was? I'm leaving for Italy next week!!

Hi there!

Yes, I booked the Tuscany in One day sightseeing tour: http://www.viator.com/tours/Florence...19-5070TUSCANY

as well as the Cinque Terre hiking tour: http://www.viator.com/tours/Florence...519-5070CINQUE

I did these based on Pete Coach's recommendations. For both tours, the bus picks you up from the Florence train station and it includes lunch. I liked them both, although there was a disappointment for the Cinque Terre tour. It promised us a boat ride, but the weather wasn't great so the tour cancelled it. They "made it up" to us by giving us one glass of wine. Not exactly a fair equivalent. In hindsight, I think Cinque Terre day tour was sufficient. Initially we were planning on doing it ourselves and book a hotel overnight. It's fine if you want to do that too...but you still need to pay for train tickets to get to Cinque Terre, and the train to get from each village, and you have to pay to hike the trails. For us, it was just easier to go on a tour.

Overall, these tours were great. It was refreshing to see other smaller towns/cities away from major hubs. The tour guide was great (mine was named Alex for the Tuscany tour). Food was excellent but too small

[Yu_Qing]

Glad I noticed this thread. Am going to Venice and Florence this month. And don't have any accomodations booked. Sure this thread will help.

Also, I suggest you stay in the San Marco area of Venice. It's the most busiest. Other areas like San Paulo, etc wasn't super busy and you'd have to walk far.

[truel1111]

The people there were nice for the most part, but to be honest- I got the impression the people in Italy do not like Asians. Maybe Im just being paranoid, but I did get that feeling here and there.
Other than that, everything was great!

I had the same feeling when I was in Venice 13 years ago. It is their lost if they continue to treat Asian tourists badly, they don't understand the big spenders are Asian now.

I searched for Murano and Burano islands photo, they are beautiful. But Torcello photo does not look interesting to me, I don't think you miss much.

Do you know if there is any free Wifi in Venice ? Is it worth pay 8 Euro to go up the bell tower ?

[truel1111]

While beautiful, it is definitely a tourist trap- we stayed there for 3 nights and 4 days which was a bit much.

Hi Yu_Qing,
It is tourist trap city. 7 Euro for a vaporetto ride, 20 Euro for 24hr vaporetto ride. Sounds like a good deal compare to 1 ride. But locals only pay 1.20 Euro a ride. I think most of the attractions are within walking distance except to other islands.

Did you go to Vernon which only 1 hour train ride from Venice?

[rapsrealm]

So here is our final itinerary for our trip...any tips would be appreciated!

August 11

Rome--Arrive 1:30 pm

August 12
Tour at 12:40pm
Colloseum
Roman Forum
Campo Di Fiori

August 13

Pantheon
Spanish Steps
Via Veneto
Trevi Fountain

August 14 Rome

Tour at 10:30am
Vatican
St Peter’s Square

August 15 Rome to Sorrento 5:30 pm Train.
Sorrento/Amalfi Coast
August 16 Sorrento/Amalfi Coast (Capri)
August 17 Sorrento/Amalfi Coast (Pompeii)
August 18 Naples to Florence
August 19 Florence
Academia Gallery

August 20
Cinque Terre Day Tour

August 21
Tuscany Tour-Viator 8:30 am

August 22 Florence

Uffizi Museum 12:15pm

August 23
Florence to Venice (arrive in afternoon)

August 24

Day Trip to Verona

August 25

Flight from Venice to Toronto 6pm

[Pete_Coach]

So here is our final itinerary for our trip...any tips would be appreciated!

August 11

Rome--Arrive 1:30 pm

August 12
Tour at 12:40pm
Colloseum
Roman Forum
Campo Di Fiori
Campo de Fiorio is where we always stay when in Rome. http://www.hotelcampodefiori.com/en/home.htm
It is nice there but, the market is only there in the morning, it starts to shut down by noon. It then goes into clean up mode and by 4 the restaurants start to open. Piazza Novana, just a block and a half from Fiorio is worth seeing. Some spectacular fountains and the Piazza is full of artists trying to sell you their wares (there is some nice art there). Navona is also surrounded by restaurants in the evening. It is a great place for people watching. Get a seat in a restaurant by 7, sit close to the street (but not on it because everyone will hit you up for a Euro or two as they go by), leisurely enjoy a few glasses of wine, eat your meal, have dessert (don't forget a Limoncello apres dinner) and listen to the entertainment as it strolls by. A great way to spend a Roman evening.
........

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August 19 Florence
Academia Gallery
Boboli Palace and Gardens
walkabout in central Florence

...........

August 24

Day Trip to Verona
While Verona is different, it is no different than seeing Venice. The only two things there are Shakespeare's Juliet balcony and the Arena for a concert. The balcony takes 2 minutes and the concerts (Carmen on the evening you are there) in the Amphitheater are really worth it but, require you stay till late in the evening. http://www.goingthroughitaly.com/149...%80%99s-arena/
August 25

Flight from Venice to Toronto 6pm
You need to be at the airport by 4 so, your day will be short.

Like Yu_Quing mentioned, her time there was a little long in her opinion (3 fuull days) but in my opinion, your time in Venice is a little short. Murano and Burano are worth a visit and they take the better part of a day. Just seeing things like San Marco and the Doges Palace take most of the morning or afternoon. A stroll out to Santa Maria Della Salute is worth it as well as visit to Accadamia (yes, there is one in Florence too). You will be here with a gazillion tourists, slow down and enjoy.
So, in the end, I would pass on Verona.

Forgot to mention, August is vacation time for Italy (yes, almost the whole country goes on vacation) so, there may be some things that re closed. The major sites and attractions would be open but many little trattorias, shops and some restaurants could be closed. Venice is often unaffected (with exceptions of course) but other places (like Verona) may be a bit 'quiet".