Let's start with shopping and the VAT in Italy. I explained the VAT in the post Dublin Ireland To Do's. Ireland is 23% with no minimum spend. Italy is 22% with a minimum spend of 155Euro in one location. Same rules apply - ask the retailer about the VAT refund.
Piazza San Marco - Saint Marks Square
Hands down our favorite in Venice. We have been to Venice in the summer and in the fall. In the fall the square was flooded and not too many tourists. In the summer it was full of life with tons of tourists and pigeons. The very first time we strolled into San Marco Square we were lost. The orchestras were playing and it was absolutely magical. I highly recommend sitting at one of the many bistros in the evening while enjoying a bottle of wine and listening to the orchestras duel. Keep in mind most bistros charge a fee just to sit. That keeps people from taking up seats and not ordering anything.
Find out more about the piazza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_San_Marco
Basilica di San Marco - Saint Mark's Cathedral
We have toured many Churches and this is one of our absolute favorites. Show up early because the line gets long. There are too many things to tell you about the Church so best to just experience it for yourself. Lady's must have shoulders covered. This is where a scarf comes in handy especially on a hot day.
Find out more about Basilica di San Marco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Basilica
Palazzo Ducale - Doge’s Palace - Bridge of Sighs
Right next (and partly connected) to St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace is arguably the second most important “attraction” in Venice after the basilica (if you don’t count the city itself as an “attraction”). While there are several good reasons to pay the hefty admission fee to tour the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale in Italian), probably the most popular stop on the tour is when you get to walk over the famous Bridge of Sighs. You can see the bridge from the outside without buying an entry ticket, but the only way to walk on the bridge yourself is as part of a Doge’s Palace tour.
Find out more about Palazzo Ducale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge%27s_Palace
Find out more about the Bridge of Sighs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Sighs
Get Lost
Nothing like getting lost in Venice. Take a long afternoon and just walk the canals. You will discover a ton of little hidden gems
Take the Public Water Bus for a Grand Canal Tour I think the easiest and most pleasant way to get around Venice is on foot, but the Grand Canal only has a few bridge crossings and taking a ride on Venice’s water-buses is a fun transport method. Even beyond the practical reasons for taking a vaporetto, however, there’s the fact that the slow #1 vaporetto that runs the length of the Grand Canal is the ideal equivalent to a city bus tour. I’d recommend either bringing along a self-guided tour book so you can pick out the sights along the way, or just sitting back and enjoying the view no matter what the significance of the buildings is. You’ll enjoy the ride either way, even more so if you’ve got a good seat and some gelato.
Ride in a Gondola
I warn you now - this is not cheap. Our first visit to Venice was in 2002 and even then a Gondola ride was expensive. But if you are in Venice it is a must. Sometimes you can split the cost if there are several in your group. I also recommend a ride during the day and a ride at night.
Some helpful information: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/gallivanting_by_gondola.htm
Rialto Bridge
Whether walking across the bridge on one side to experience the view of the Grand Canal or shopping on the other side - this is a must see.
Find out more about the Rialto Bridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rialto_Bridge
See Venice from up high from the Campanile
At almost 99m (325ft), the Campanile is the city’s tallest building, originally built between 888 and 912 (in July 1902 it collapsed, imploding in a neat pyramid of rubble. It was rebuilt exactly ‘as it was, where it was’, as the town council of the day promised). Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III rode a horse to the top of the original in 1451; these days visitors take the lift. The view is superb, taking in the Lido, the whole lagoon and (on a clear day) the Dolomites in the distance
Find out more about the Campanile: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Mark%27s_Campanile
Gelato
It is similar to ice cream but better. It is heaven!! You cannot go to Venice and not have Gelato. Just saying!!!
Be Bond - James Bond
To the east of campo Santo Stefano, campiello Pisani is overlooked by the impressive 17th-century Palazzo Pisani, now the music conservatory. The palace was used for the shoot-out at the end of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. An earlier Bond came to blows in the Torre dell’Orologio. Film buffs should also recognize the church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli from Nicolas Roeg’s dwarf-in-Venice movie Don’t Look Now. Other locations used include the recently opened Palazzo Grimani where the gruesome final scene was shot.
Seafood - seafood pasta
The lagoon city has a long and glorious culinary tradition based on fresh seafood. A writhing, glistening variety of sea creatures swims from the stalls of the Rialto and Chioggia markets into local kitchens. Going with the flow of la cucina veneta requires a certain spirit of openminded experimentation. Not everybody has eaten granseola (spider crab) before, or garusoli (sea snails) or canoce (mantis shrimps), but Venice is definitely the place to try these marine curios.
Bellini
Oh - maybe this is my favorite. Bellini is made in Venice and distributed by Canella. It is peach nectar in Prosecco. I keep a case at home because I love it so much.
Website: http://www.bellinicanella.com/ita/
Visit a Glass Factory
There are two main items you will see for sale in Venice. Glass - Murano being the most well known. You can find tons of glass souvenirs of all kinds. Figurines, jewelry, chandeliers, glassware, etc. I suggest taking a tour of a glass factory. The second main item is carnival masks.
Murano Glass Factory Tour: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/murano_glass_factories.htm
Why carnival masks: http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/en/
Attractions and locations of apartments. Apartments are the blue asterisks and the attractions are circled in red.
Locations of apartments in Venice by name:
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