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One day in Burano – discover Venice lagoon islands

One day in Burano

One day in Burano: self guided day trip from Venice to discover Burano amazing colored houses,lovely Venice lagoon islands, secluded wineyards and delicious fish restaurants.

Tired of crowded Venice? Hungry to discover a completely different environment, where the scenery seems frozen in time? Then what you need is to spend one day in Burano and to enjoy the calm and beauty of Venice lagoon.

Actually most travellers visit 3 island at the same time, either self guided or with an organized tours. Murano, Burano, Torcello, in this order. My suggestion would be to go directly to Burano, so to skip the masses and to enjoy the island all for yourself.

You can then proceed to Torcello, before or after lunch, as you wish. If your pockets are deep enough, a lunch at the worldwide known Locanda Cipriani is a great experience, but an aperitivo could be good enough.

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Twenty top things to do in Venice, beyond the obvious

Top things to do in Venice - visit St Mark square at night

The best twenty top things to do in Venice (plus two seasonal opportunities): my personal unmissable itineraries, activities and experiences in Venice

I often receive questions such as “what are Venice highlights?” and “how long should we stay?” So I put together the things I like to do when I’m in Venice, to share them with you. Whenever it made sense, I tried to make suggestions “beyond the obvious”, in order to make your Venice stay a really unique and memorable experience. Continue reading “Twenty top things to do in Venice, beyond the obvious”

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Fabulous Venice Carnival

 

What to see, do and enjoy during Venice carnival, an unmissable Italian event.

Venice Carnival is much more than costumed chaos: parades, processions, masquerade balls, entertainment, music, and parties… well Venice Carnival will offer you everything you need to live a really unique and rewarding experience (especially if you manage to avoid week ends, when the town gets really crowded).

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Verona in one day

Garda lake in 1 week - Verona in one day

Top things to do and see in Verona in one day. A walking tour to discover in a day trip the top sights and attractions of Romeo and Juliet lovely town. 

Few cities in Italy and in the world can be as romantic as Verona, arguably a perfect destination for lovers of all ages. You can easily visit Verona in one day and enjoy everything you may desire from an Italian top destination.

Glorious past, beautiful setting, amazing monuments, delicious food, the story (legend?) of Romeo and Juliet… you name it, you’ll get it! Oh, Verona is also listed among Italians UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Verona in one day
Wine shop named after Romeo and Juliet in Verona city center

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Garda lake’s natural SPA

Relax in natural hot water pools, surrounded by centenary trees and beautiful lawns, less than 20 minutes drive from Peschiera and Sirmione, and for a very reasonable price? Yes you can, in the Parco termale del Garda (“Garda Thermal Park”)!

Terme del Garda

The Garda Thermal Park is not a traditional health spa at all (if this is what you are looking for, you have many options in the Garda Lake area:  http://www.lakegarda.com/wellness-spa-beauty-farm.php).

On the contrary, it’s much closer to a mountain lake surrounded by lush woods, but with hot water!

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Garda lake: biking tour on the Mincio river

This is a fantastic off the beaten path itinerary in the Garda lake area, that will make you discover by bike delightful hamlets, ancient water mills and peaceful river banks. It’s a perfect family tour, my 9 years old boy was delighted to have accomplished such an “adventure” and spent hours staring at (and playing with..) the many water mills in Borghetto sul Mincio. Continue reading “Garda lake: biking tour on the Mincio river”

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Venice with kids – how to make it a memorable experience

Top activities to do in Venice with kids: a two days itinerary for a great family experience. How to engage and entertain your younger travel mates in Venice.

 Visiting Venice can be a magical experience for kids, just like it is for their parents. My son is 9, and Venice is his favorite city, we have been visiting it at least  once per year in the last years.

However, in order to make your Venice with Kids experience a memorable success, you’ll need to tailor your itinerary and activities in order to best fit your children needs needs and to stimulate their interests.

In this post I put together all the “do and see” that I think kids will enjoy, based on my own travel experience with my son. It’s actually rather “stuffed”, so up to you to select what to skip and what could be more adapted to your family, based on your interests, the available time, age and resistance of the kids, etc…

Here are my suggestions for a two days stay. Continue reading “Venice with kids – how to make it a memorable experience”

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Venice off the beaten path – discover Cannaregio

Venice Tourist cliché

districts of Venice - Cannaregio.
districts of Venice – Cannaregio. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok, that’s the classical tourist cliché: crowds jostling on the Rialto bridge, expensive Gondola tours, bored “Gondolieri” singing O Sole Mio (which, by the way, is a Napolitan song, not a Venetian song…).

Yes, you will have it all! And, believe it or not, you will love it…

But there’s a Venice outside the classical Station-Rialto-San Marco itinearary, which is worthwhile to discover. And, by the way, you may discover that escaping from the crowd (and live for an hour or so like a true “Veneziano”) can save you quite a significant amount of money. Continue reading “Venice off the beaten path – discover Cannaregio”