Student’s feedbacks on Venice

Hi again friends!

We met a group of studens and we gathered their feedbacks on Venice. We wanted to know what are the best and the worst things for a tourists or any person who is not accustomed to this very particular city.

We thank everybody for their feedbacks, we really appreciate them and we’ll try to make the best use of them. If you have more don’t be shy, contact us here on our website or on our twitter and facebook pages.

Best things! 😀 :

1. Venetians are very friendly and helpful
2. Bacari, the typical Osterie where lots of venetians eat and drink
3. Life of locals, it’s very different from the life of someone who lives in the mainland.
4. Wonderful city, art and history. It’s like “going to sleep in a dream“
5. The atmosphere
6. Italian food, cicchetti, frittelle
7. Cheap bars

Worst things 😥 :

1. Dogs, there are lots of dog turds around the streets
2. Everything is expensive
3. It’s very crowded, especially during summer
4. The water is dirty, you need to wash hands and clothes well in case of “acqua alta” (high water tides)
5. Lots of mosquitoes during summer
6. Beggars that come into restaurants
7. Prices can be different for italians and for tourists
8. Service tax 12% in restaurants

Problems and questions  😐 :

1. I didn’t know that you can make a public transport card (ACTV) that makes you save lots of money
2. I didn’t realize that everything here has to be made by foot. It sounded obvious but it’s hard to imagine if you’re not used to it.
3. It’s very easy to get lost, especially without indications or explanations on the meaning of streets names
4. I like to run, but I don’t know where to go
5. I was surprised by high water and I didn’t have any information about it

What I would like to know  😮 :

1. I didn’t see many little kids in Venice, why?
2. What are the best restaurants, where italians go? How to read an italian menu?
3. A little history of the city
4. What can I do in the evening? What’s is the nightlife?
5. Monuments and museums. What are the most important places in Venice?
6. Typical Venice dishes and cuisine
7. Informations about events
8. Biological shops
9. Where to buy fish and how to prepare it

And we said:

Woah, that’s a lot of questions and interesting points, and some questions are not even easily answered.

Let’s just start with the easy ones.

High tides: 

A lot of tourists and even locals have problems with sudden high tides that flood the streets and make your movements quite troublesome. BUT, if you know when they are going to happen, you could be prepared, have plastic boots and just enjoy this unique adventure!

How to be prepared? 

You see, high tides DO NOT happen randomly. This is the official Venice webiste that tells you exactly when high tides are going to happen in the next days:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/2104

But wait, it gets better! If you don’t have an internet connection, you just need a mobile phone.

There is a free service that warns you about high tides! You just need to do the following to activate it:

1. register on this webiste: http://portale.comune.venezia.it/maree/iscrizione
2. send an SMS to this number: 342 4141041 writing MAREA ON

You will receive a free SMS each time there is a particular high tide. Read here for more information (only in italian):

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/2421

Next time you will know in advance if there will be high water in Venice, and you will be able to bring your boots with you!

Last tip: not all the streets in Venice are at the same level. Learn which route you can take to reach your destination and avoiding high water as much as possible!

Don’t forget to regularly check our blog for the answers to the other questions!

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Top 5 things to eat and drink in venice