🌍Discovering Italy: 12 hours in Venice

Venice is one of the most beautiful and famous city here in Italy and maybe the most romantic of all! Since it takes only 2 hours by train from where I live, yesterday I decided to have a one day trip in Venice and here's my suggestions on what to visit!

Stop #1 - Calatrava bridge, Saint Mary's Basilic & Punta Dogana

I started from Calatrava birdge, I've never seen it and it's pretty notorious because part of its steps are made out of glass and tons of people fell over while crossing it.😌

From there it's a labyrinth of narrow streets and bridges and I ended up in front of this beautiful baroque styled church, Saint Mary's Basilic (Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute). I didn't visit the inside, but I bet it is as eye-catching as the outsides! From there, I walked beside the canal and reached Punta Dogana, which is the end of the island I was on and headed to Saint Mark's Square thanks to another group of brigdes and little streets.

Stop #2 - Rialto Bridge,  Saint Mark's Basilica and Square

Rialto bridge (Ponte di Rialto) is basically like Ponte Vecchio in Florence, meaning it is full of shops, mainly leather bags and the product Venice is famous worldwide: its glasses. It's always really crowded, but it offers stunning views on both sides. One thing you should definitely do is to cross the bridge and take some pics from the other side of the shore!

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Venice top spot is, indeed, Saint Mark's Square and Basilica (Piazza e Basilica di San Marco), as it gathers turists from everywhere, all year long. The first church has been built in 820 d.c. and it has been reconstructed, expanded and restored until 1617. Since it's so well known, you have to wait in long lines to enter both the Basilica and the Campanile nearby, but if you plan to stay in town for more than one day, you HAVE visit them both, you won't regret it!
Saint Mark is the city's patron and his symbol is a lion, that's why you'll find the animal's image very often.

Stop #3 - Bridge of Sighs, Saints George, Helen and Peter's Islands 

Another turistic spot is the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri). This bridge connects Palazzo Ducale to the prisons and this is the reason behind its name: prisoners used to sigh just before entering the prison, with the prospective of never see the outside world ever again.

I didn't want to stay in the turistic streets, so I decided to go down through the Canal Grande and I ended up on the more southern islands of Saint Helen and Saint Peter. There's nothing in particular to see, beside some characteristics neighborhoods, but if you're sick of the caos of Saint Mark's square, you could have a pic nic in one of the nice green areas there.

If you want to see as much of the Serenissima as possible, I suggest you do the tour of Murano, Burano and Torcello. There're boats departuring from Canal Grande at 9 and 11 in the morning, it is a 6 hours tour and you'll get the chance to explore these beautiful islands, famous for their glass masters (Murano) and colourful houses (Burano).

Acqua Alta Bookstore

If you are a Pinterest maniac, you've probably stumbled into the best world bookstores list and found this particular bookstore, situated 5 minutes away from Saint Mark's Square. It's as fascinating and original as it looks, and check this: THERE'S A FREAKING GONDOLA INSIDE the shop...oh and a bathtub! All filled with old books...you won't find 50 Shades or Paper Princess here, but you can have Tolstoj, Austen, Dickens, and others for incredibly cheap prices, most of the books are second-handed. And there're sections for English, German and French books as well! A must visit if you're a book worm (like me) and what to see something different than the usual itinerary.

Last Stop - Ghetto Ebraico

Last stop of the day was a stroll through the Jewish Ghetto, which is in the northern area of Venice. Jews were sent to live there during the Venetian republic period, back in the XVIII century. Nowdays it preserved the Jewish spirit with its 2 main synagogues and the Jewish museum. Maybe it was because it was late afternoon, but I found the quartier a really quiet and chilled place, I'm glad I had the chance of visit it.

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So this was my midsummer day in Venice, an unique city, so beautiful and particular. To visit at least once in a lifetime, if you want my opinion...Even just walking around and getting lost will offer Instagram worthy views!

All photos are mine, if not otherwise stated.