How to survive Venice: Strategies for an over-touristed city - Part 1
By Leanne Kitchen
Venice. You know you want to. Or do you really? The over-tourism. The queues. The heat. The mozzies. The expense. It’s all a bit off-putting.
I found myself in Venice in the early summer for the very first time and as a fan of shoulder and off seasons, it wouldn’t have been my pick of months to go. Tacking it onto the end of a work trip, it was what it was. And what it ended up being was actually pretty darned amazing, my trepidation of tourist masses notwithstanding. And yeah, I realise I’m a tourist too when I travel. I just prefer to avoid mega-subscribed destinations, even if they are Venice. And Venice is second only to Dubrovnik in being the most over-touristed city in Europe, with 21 tourists to 1 Venetian over the year. (Dubrovnik checks in at 36 to 1 if you’re curious). That’s a LOT of tourists and not a lot of locals.
I learned though that it is possible to avoid the worst of the crammed streets and sights and still snatch a bit of Venice’s singular magic. If you’re going there and are keen to do the same, I’m sharing my overall approach – none of which is rocket-science BTW. So if you know all the below already, just enjoy the pics.
1. I stayed close to Santa Lucia train station: I wanted to be able to get to and from my hotel with ease as I was on my own and I travel heavy. You don’t need to walk far on Venice’s cobbled streets before one of its 355 bridges (give or take) become an issue. Crossing them is a exhausting with luggage. Porters can be hired to help, and I was charged €7 per bag for a 600 metre schlep to the airport bus. If you were going further, it’d no doubt cost more.
2. I got out and about super early: It’s daylight by 5am during the northern Italian summer and it’s worth getting up then to have the city largely to yourself; it’s also preferred by street cleaners, joggers and local dog-walkers too. The vibe is magically tranquil and you get a real feel for the place. By 7-ish, the train station starts disgorging streams of new arrivals and day-trippers from the mainland and by 8am, the reflective mood is pretty much gone and the city becomes manic for yet another day. Oh and speaking of day-tripping, unless you have absolutely no other option, don’t treat Venice as a day trip from somewhere else. I stayed for 6 days but I could easily have added 4 or 5 more. There is just so much to see, eat and experience.
3. I prepared for fish: Which I love, but realise not everyone else does. I watched tourists literally screw their faces up when they read menus filled with endless fish and seafood options. And then ask bemused waiters if there was anything else to eat besides… fish. Venice sits firmly in fish territory (it’s in a 550 square kilometre lagoon so there you go), and has notable fish dishes that deserve to be tried. Such as sarde in soar (sweet-sour marinated sardines in vinegar, raisins, onions and pine nuts), baccala mantecato (dried salt cod whipped to a creamy frenzy with olive oil… so delicious and commonly served on bread as cicchetti), bigoli in salsa (thick strands of pasta in an onion and sardine sauce), and pasta or risotto al nero di seppia, or in squid ink. White polenta is a favourite carb and you’ll find tiramisu, which was created in nearby Treviso, on plenty of menus.
4. I hung around Dorsoduro, San Croce, San Polo and Cannaregio: Plus parts of Castello (although I saw not nearly enough of Castello; I ran out of time). While nowhere in Venice is crowd-free, San Marco’s attractions are where most people bee-line and in certain of the city's other sestieri, or neighbourhoods, you’ll detect more lived-in vibes. (Cannaregio and Castello are where most locals on the island live). Think bacari (bars) filled with Venetians, washing on lines strung between windows, university students filling the lively Campo Santa Margherita with happy noise, and kids kicking balls around other small, cute campi, or squares. If I ever get back I’ll definitely visit the island of Lido, famous for hosting the Venice Film Festival and a preferred destination for Italians. A local friend kept urging me to go but I knew I didn’t have time to lap up its beaches, cycling opps, beloved local seafood restaurants and grand art nouveau villas. But I’d so love to; it sounds brilliant.
5. I made a thing of breakfast: There are lovely old pasticcerie in Venice where the local breakfasting style is to stand, down a coffee and pastry, then dash. Some venerable bars, notably Do Mori, open at 8am and while it may not have a full inventory of tramezzini and cicchetti (see number 7, part 2) on offer at that time, it’s great to go when it’s quiet. Because #vibes. Do Mori has been open since 1462; legend has it that Casanova himself used to take his first dates here so it’s incredibly atmospheric, to say the least. During the day it’s one of the places frequented by vendors from the nearby Rialto produce market, taking a break over reviving drinks and quick bites. As for the pasticcerie, my absolute fave was the lovely, super-friendly Tonolo, followed closely by Dal Mas and the incredible Rizzardini, established in 1742 and the oldest cake shop in town. With most hotels offering breakfast as part of the accommodation deal, it’s a meal that many tourists don’t venture out for.
6. I booked a few select restaurants before arriving: This was a lifesaver. Good places can book out weeks in advance so it pays to reserve if there’s somewhere you really want to try. I carefully researched, choosing Antiche Carampane (family run, the freshest fish ever and just so incredibly good), Trattoria all Madonna (adorable olde world vibes and lovely traditional food), and Osteria Cà D' Oro Alla Vedova (said to serve Venice’s most famous polpette, or meatball), where I had a lovely convo with Mario Zara, the charming young, fifth generation owner. My stand-out fave of all, Trattoria Gatto Nero on Burano, fed me a lunch I’ll remember until I die. Dining on a simple feast of steamed-open piscine critters plucked straight from the lagoon, followed by a deep-flavoured and properly creamy risotto, was a near-religious experience. Family-run with Massimiliano Bovo on the floor and his septuagenarian dad Ruggero in the kitchen, it was a true Venice highlight. (The same can’t be said of the rest of Burano, but that’s personal. It’s pretty, for sure, but wildly overrun and crazy-busy). For my next visit (I’m already scheming!), I have Ristorante da Ivo in my sights (Clooney dines here!), as well as Osteria alla Testiere (recommended by my Lido mate) and the more humble Trattoria alla Rampa, popular with local foodies as well as cookbook author the late Russel Norman. Who wrote ‘Polpo’ and ‘Venice: Four Seasons of Home Cooking.’ He knew Venice well.