Venice, a city of dreams and waterways
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Travel writer Ron Smith ventures to Venice and finds out why millions each year visit a city known for its unique history and for its canals which provide the waterways for everyday living.......
In the withdrawn book sale at Keith Library there was a guide book to Italy – just the thing I needed for my trip to Venice. However, the chapter on Venice started by saying that there has been so much written about the great city over the centuries that it would not be repeated here, and only went on to list hotels and restaurants.
In one way, the author had a point, just about everybody will have heard of Venice and will have pre-conceived ideas, but none of that prepares you for the real thing; it is simply stunning. It is such a mixture of sensations and experiences you have to go and see for yourself.
While I was there I spoke to several tourists who all said that they were there again – always coming back, it is that sort of place.
The history of Venice is long, complicated and fascinating, but as the guide book said, it is not worth putting into a travel article.
Venice sits on a cluster of 118 wee islands, with 177 canals and 409 bridges. The population is only 60,000 people, with 31,000 more living on the other islands close by. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Apostle St Mark believed that he would be buried here, but died and was laid to rest in Alexandria, Egypt. The Venetians decided to carry out his plan, and in 828 AD raided Alexandria, bringing back the body to place in the huge Basilica in St Mark’s Square, now the main tourist centre of Venice, and even in March it was packed shoulder to shoulder with tourists all day, every day. It is spectacular.
To get into the Basilica it is best to wait until the evening when all the groups trailing along behind guides talking into their microphones have gone. The Basilica has a one-way route for tourists to circulate, walking on hard mats to protect the floor.
The number of tourists is amazing (proof of the attraction of Venice) estimated at 20 million people a year in some guides, around 5 million by the tourist board, but it is hard to calculate. The majority of tourists are Italian, who come for a day trip.
The island is connected to the mainland by a road and rail causeway. The railway station has no less than 23 platforms and trains are coming and going all the time. The road way terminates in a huge car and bus park, as there are no roads in Venice of course. All this activity means that it is easy to get there.
I went from Aberdeen via Amsterdam with KLM, seamless and easy. The airport (Marco Polo) is on the mainland. To cross you can take a bus, a water bus, or a water taxi. The water bus runs frequently, costs Euros 27 return and takes around 1.25 hours, depending where you get off.
Of course, if you really want to arrive in style, take the Orient Express luxury train from London which takes you all the way there. It has been doing this for many years, maybe one day.
The railway station is a large, flat, fascist concrete building, totally out of character with the higgledy piggledy, crammed in ancient buildings that are the rest of Venice. There are narrow lanes in all directions, and you keep coming across tourists huddled over maps trying to work out where they are, but it is difficult to get lost on this relatively small island, and there are large yellow signs on buildings pointing the direction to the Rialto Bridge, Railway (Ferrovia) and St Mark’s Square.
Walking around you are continually being confronted with interesting buildings and sights, small squares, statues, and the famous gondolas squeezing around corners in narrow canals with consummate ease by the gondoliers with their one oar standing at the back, and occasionally one passes with a singer serenading the guests.
Public transport is by boat, of course. The main (and cheapest) is the water bus. These run all around the island and the main canals, to a timetable and are very popular. There are a range of tickets, starting with Euros 7 for one hour.
Also going by boat are the police and ambulance service, with flashing lights and sirens, rubbish collections, parcel deliveries, deliveries of food, laundry, etc to hotels. While having a meal in a restaurant we suddenly heard the wail of the police siren and a patrol boat came roaring past (on a one-way canal) at such a speed that the wake made the moored boats crash around and the waves splash up onto the pavement.
The water is the Adriatic part of the Mediterranean. Unlike in this country, the tide rises and falls only inches, so there is little height in the sea wall. They suffer occasionally from "Aqua Alta", high water, when there is a high tide and if the wind is blowing in the right direction the water floods over the pavements of the city.
Stacks of walkways are dotted around. When there is going to be such a high tide, these are spread out to create walk ways about 2 feet above the pavement level. I couldn’t understand how the buildings survive, but it was explained to me that damp courses made of marble stop the water damaging the bricks above.
Most buildings in Venice look like they are in need of some attention, most brick work is crumbling, and repairs are on-going constantly (by builders in boats). The main waterway through Venice is the Grand Canal, a motorway for boats. Italians are rather flamboyant when they get behind the wheel of a car, and they are just as extravagant when they are driving their boats.
There does not even seem to be a "keep to the right" rule, boats zoom along in all directions, and there are frequent traffic jams where boats shunt back and forwards, hoot, weave around gondolas (I saw one woman get very wet when her gondola was passed at close quarters by a water bus that was avoiding a delivery boat which was reversing out of a side canal). It is generally great fun to watch.
Three bridges span the Grand Canal, the most famous being the Rialto, a wooden bridge from 1172 replaced by the current one in 1591. It is wide, has paths on each side and down the middle between tourist shops.
At least 19 out of 20 shops are selling tourist junk, although there are luxury shops, too, and, believe it or not, a MacArthur Glen outlet shopping centre. Things are expensive, especially near St Mark’s Square, where you can pay up to Euros 10 for a cup of tea. A little further away, and prices drop significantly, but Euros 2.50 for a cuppa is normal.
If you want to buy food, snacks etc, the Coop is the best. There the prices are normal prices; the range is good and the quality excellent. Eating out is expensive. The restaurants charge a "cover" charge of anything from Euros 1.50 to Euros 16 per head, and a service charge of at least 10% on the total bill, including the cover charge.
So be careful, the price in the window may look good, but the eventual bill will be about double that. There are restaurants which clearly state "no cover charge or service charge" – but then their prices are higher to start with. Again, if you go away from the main centres (and nowhere is very far) the prices are better.
I found the Trattoria Da Giorgio, Castello 4988 - 4988, to be reasonable and excellent quality and quantity. There are a great many hotels, of all types. I picked the Hotel Savoia and Jolanda (www.hotelsavoiajolanda.com) from the internet and was very pleased with the very high standard.
The location on a main thoroughfare by a water bus stop close to St Mark’s Square was superb. I have only praise for this hotel, apart from the tea pots. It is always difficult to get a good cup of tea, but they are used to our ways and give you a tea pot and a wee jug of cold milk – but no tea pot lid. A man on another table handed me his, suggesting that I keep it in my pocket as it appears to be the only one. It was comical that such a superb hotel, so well run, such high quality, has run out of tea pot lids.
You will spend a lot of time walking in Venice, exploring the narrow lanes and coming across so many dark churches, glimpses into alleyways with washing hanging from wires (no gardens, of course, so no drying greens) and little canals with gondolas moored to catch a weary tourist, and often with the gondolier with his trade mark striped jersey and straw boater hat dozing on a chair.
Lots to see and explore, and if you do fancy a change, regular water buses run to the other islands. The Savoia and Jolanda hotel organise a free water taxi (a superb boat with glossy woodwork) to take guests to the island of Murano, which is dedicated to glass making. They make beautiful things, and the island has a whole string of shops along its main canals, 90% of which sell glass items.
The island has only one public toilet, charging the usual Euro 1.50 entrance fee. Toilets in Venice are rare, too, and you will see "WC" signs on the ground directing you to the few that are there, and they all charge.
Returning from Murano on the water bus we passed the cemetery island. Of course, there is no space on Venice for a graveyard, so this wee island, impressive with its church and mausoleums. I changed buses at the railway station stop to take another one along the Grand Canal, again to marvel at the bustle and activity of boats going in all directions, and to pass the grand palaces and museums.
You will find something to do in Venice all through the year. Its specialities are glass and lace and salt production, there are exhibitions concerts and all manner of cultural activities, including operas and ballet and of course the famous carnival. A great many shops sell carnival masks and costumes, which were appreciated by a noisy English stag party.
Having had a great many centuries of tourism, Venice has developed an attractive offer, so you will find something that suits you no matter what time of year you go. Personally, I cannot imagine being there in the heat of the summer with the peak season for tourists, there were enough people there in March for me, so probably the spring and autumn would be best.
It is true that there is a quality of light there that reflects in dancing sparkles off the water, making silver ripples cascade under bridge arches, superb sunsets casting rose coloured glows on the domes of the mighty churches, making Venice a truly magical place to visit.
All the millions of tourists can’t be wrong. If you haven’t been there, go, even if only for a day trip from the mainland. You will not be disappointed, and like so many, you will probably return again and again.
