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two Venice questions


poss
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1. Guides: We've been to Venice a number of times and have always just used guidebooks, enjoyed wandering around, getting lost, etc. This time we'd like to engage a guide. I'm hoping that some of you may have had good experiences, either with the free guided walks or with another sort of guide. If so, I'd appreciate recommendations.

 

2. Dinners: We'll be staying at the Westin, on points. I know that restaurants near San Marco tend to be more expensive, but we need the dining place to be no more than about a 15 min walk. Hoping to find a moderate restaurant, where we can just order maybe a pasta or risotto or fish soup. Recommendations would be great.

 

Many thanks.

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While recently in Venice we enjoyed a meal at Osteria Enoteca San Marco, a very short walk from the main square. It was a casual Italian bistro with simple, delicious fare and reasonable pricing. We had our concierge book the reservation for us after reading the many positive reviews online.

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Poss, glad to hear you are cruising!

 

We have always just wandered around on our own in Venice. We enjoy taking the ferry to Murano and Burano.

 

As far as places to eat, our best find is a no name hole in the wall pizza place just a short ways behind and around the corner from St Marks Cathedral. I have no way to explain how to get there, but I could take you there. Look for a line! Cheapest and best meal we have ever had in Venice.

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We also just walked around until we found something that looked good. Check out who you see eating, if you don't see a lot of locals move on till you do. Also a good Concierge at your hotel, (not someone just behind a desk) but a real

Concierge can really help you here. Look for the "keys" and your get the help you want.

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Thanks for the responses. Have made notes.

Rachel: Well, I hope we'll be cruising. It's kind of fingers-crossed this time, I mean even more than in the past. Health issues of various sorts for both, but cruising remains our best option for traveling now, despite whatever increasing limitations. Hungry to be back on ship (June 1), and back to Med (about half tried and true ports for us, but a good handful of new ones on the 17 day cruise).

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I'd second the recommendation of Osteria San Marco and also suggest Antica dolo, had a great lunch there not many tourists.

Also had a tour with bestveniceguides.it/en/guida/patrizia-bracceschi/. She was very good and will customize according to what you'd like to see.

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Can't speak for the entire menu, but the tiramisu at Aciugheta is out of this world. I could spend an afternoon there with a cup of that and some espresso...

 

Also had a good pasta lunch at Bar Oasi on Calle dei Fabbri. I'd think you could walk it from San Marco in less than 5 minutes.

 

But as others have said, you've got a much better chance of finding a good meal in Venice than finding a bad one (although bad ones do exist, I'm sure...)

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Thanks for ringing in, Bill. And thanks, too, for your very worthwhile and often very funny other posts. You're a witty chap; always a delight.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks for ringing in, Bill. And thanks, too, for your very worthwhile and often very funny other posts. You're a witty chap; always a delight.

We are arriving on May 31 about 10 AM Venice airport. Looking for someone to share a water taxi to our hotel near San Marco Plaza. Hotel Savoia & Jolanda.

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Thanks for ringing in, Bill. And thanks, too, for your very worthwhile and often very funny other posts. You're a witty chap; always a delight.

Poss, thank you. I try to add a bit of humo(u)r to the posts - although sometimes I may go a bit overboard, I try to keep it fairly normal...with varying amounts of success, I'm afraid...

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Poss - For what it's worth. We are currently on travel through Europe (not a cruise - but on our own land tours with a rental car). The last two weeks, we were all over Italy and this week, we've flown up to Inverness, Scotland (where we are now) and are doing private limo tours all over the highlands (including whisky distilleries) and Skye. Tomorrow afternoon, we head back to Edinburgh and will then head down to London for a week.

 

On these trips, we book private limo tours most every where we go for just our own small travel group of friends. There's 4 of us now on this trip. I highly recommend that you contact Tatjana at AngelTours (dot com). And if possible, see if you can ask for "Cinzia" as your private walking tour guide for a 3-hour walk around Venice. Cinzia is a wonderful guide and she will not only take you through the Doges Palace (if you wish), but will walk you back into all the little "nooks &crannies" of Venice the normal visitor wouldn't know about. She will ask you about the kinds of things you want to see and will suggest a few things of her own.

 

We arranged personalized/small group guides/tours through "AngelTours" in Sorrento, Pompeii, Venice, Florence, and Rome. Our 3-hour personal walking tour with Cinzia cost 385 Euro (total) for 4 of us - about 96 Euro each - which was paid to Tatjana at Angel Tours by Credit Card in advance and we personally tipped Cinzia (about 10 Euro each - total of 40 Euro for the group of us 4) at the end of the tour. We met her at the base of the 2 columns in St. Mark's square at 11AM and said "good-bye" to her (regrettably) around 2-2:30pm.

 

We booked 8 separate personal tours with AngelTours while we were Italy over the last 2 weeks and every one of the tours was outstanding. In several cases, we had the same guides from previous trips in 2013 and 2015. If you go on Trip Advisor (sister web of CC) and research Angel, you'll find that they come highly rated and provide a very personally-tailored and friendly service to those who want something "special".

 

If you need any further info, feel free to ask. So it's now 7:45AM and I'm off to breakfast in Inverness! Best Regards.

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pingpong: Thanks very much for your wonderfully detailed response. Ah, Scotland and England-- need to go back! Enjoy your travels!

 

mayaart: I've found that it's sometimes possible to hook up with other people right in the airport itself, or out at the boat pier. The taxi drivers tend to help with that. Just make sure that the cost really does get split however many ways.

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