Venice – City of Love and Home of Yummy Dishes
Next stop was the city of love. But first was a night in Murano – a small island a few hundred yards from Venice. From the airport to the island was a quick water taxi, pricey but worth the experience. You may want to see if your hotel will pick up the bill. Other options include a cab or bus ride which costs significantly less and wouldn’t take too much longer. The charming little island was the first taste of what we had come to see. Surreal canals and water water water everywhere. Eating spots were limited in Murano but we did manage to find a few authentic places to eat, the best being Dalla Mora. The cigarette smoke everywhere takes some getting used to but stick your face in a bowl of pasta or down a “Spritz” and you will forget all about it…. well sort of. The US dollar is quite strong compared to the Euro so eating was a bargain and the average pasta dish was under $15.
You will want to spend a few days in Venice since there is so much to see and so many places to eat. You really can’t go wrong with any of the restaurants but be careful since some charge a hefty service charge just to plant your butt into a chair. Venice is inundated with tourists and it is evident the second you step into the city. With street vendors trying to sell you everything from a t-shirt to a license plate, it is easy to get caught up in the madness. Don’t be sucked into the first shop, there are tons everywhere with a variety of items. The key to the city is getting around. It is a twisty maze of canals and it’s easy to do circles but make sure you leave the grand canal to get a more “local” feel. Below I’ll go into the crux of the city.
Transportation: The best way to get around is of course the water bus, try to avoid the taxi service which is really expensive. Getting a ticket is a little challenging since the hours of operation are limited but look for a 3 day unlimited pass which will work on Murano and Venice. You will need to seek out a ticket office to get a discounted 3-day Rolling Venice card for the children which is considerably cheaper for those between the ages of 6 and 29. The water bus (Vaporetti) gets you up and the canal without difficulty but you may have to fight some crowds so it isn’t for the covid fearful. Tickets must be validated before use so look for the white electronic card reader near the walkway that leads to the floating vaporetto platform. (Some stations also have green card readers that cannot be used to validate tickets.) As for Venice itself you’ll have to see it to understand how amazing it is there.
Although the entire city feels like a huge tourist trap, there are tons to see and straying off the grand canal will get you glimpses of the gondolas and local life. Now is the gondola worth it? The jury is still out. The $80-$100 ride lasts about 30 minutes and takes you nowhere you couldn’t walk. You pay for the experience and not the scenic tour or the romance.
how we got to Venice
Venice is one of the 3 stopovers in Europe with our Around-The-World flight tickets by All Nippon Airway. From Barcelona, we took Lufthansa Airbus A320neo, transferring in Frankfurt, and landing in Marco Polo Airport in Venice, Italy. We had previously transferred at Frankfurt so we were well aware of how humongous the airport was. Although we also had to take a transfer bus to get to the departing terminal, but since this time we didn’t have to go through customs into EU (since both Spain and Italy are part of EU) so the entire process was a lot more speedy.
hotel recommendations
The first night we stayed at a neighboring island called Murano, which was only a 25-minute water bus ride away from the main island of Venice. The best part of Hyatt Centric Murano Venice’s unprecedented customer service was the complimentary airport pickup from Marco Polo Airport. For a family of 4, this ride with a semi-private water taxi, could have easily cost you $120 euro. But we got it all for free as staying guests at Hyatt Centric Murano Venice.
As many of frequent travellers to Europe would know, one of the biggest headache of making hotel reservations for families with kids is to make sure the hotel can accommodate all of you in one single room. I had encountered many pushback from European hotels asking me to book either connecting rooms, one for my husband and I and one for my 2 boys, or something like presidential suite would be my only option. I encountered no such headache booking a room here at Hyatt Centric Murano Venice and I paid just about $120 USD to book a Duplex Suite. This 38 sq m (409 sq ft) loft style configuration is great for our family of 4. I had previously communicated with the hotel when booking and requested the sofa bed in the living room to be converted to a bed plus one rollaway bed.
As a Hyatt Globalist member, booking a Hyatt property without a club lounge would entitle you a free breakfast at their restaurant on site for 2 adults and 2 kids. With that, we thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast buffet’s variety of food choices and selections at Osteriva Restaurant next morning. And the best part is it was all complimentary for my elite status.
