Rick Steves Venice

by Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Overview

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when visiting the island city of Venice.

Following the self-guided tours in this book, you’ll explore Venice’s most important landmarks and cruise the Grand Canal for a close-up look at the elegant palaces, bridges, and churches. You’ll discover picturesque lanes, enjoy the best city views, and tour outlying islands in the lagoon. Dine at a romantic canal-side restaurant, or join the locals at a characteristic cicchetti bar and munch seafood-on-a-toothpick. As the stars shine over St. Mark’s Square, sway to the free music of café orchestras.

Rick’s candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. You’ll learn how to explore Venice hassle-free and get up-to-date advice on what’s worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612389622
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	09/30/2014
Series:	Rick Steves' Travel Guides Series
Edition description:	14th Edition
Pages:	508
Product dimensions:	4.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Rick Steves has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. Rick produces a public television series (Rick Steves' Europe), a public radio show (Travel with Rick Steves), and an app and podcast (Rick Steves Audio Europe); writes a bestselling series of guidebooks and a nationally syndicated newspaper column; organizes guided tours that take thousands of travelers to Europe annually; and offers an information-packed website (RickSteves.com). With the help of his hardworking staff of 80 at Rick Steves' Europe, Inc.—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.

Gene Openshaw is a writer, composer, tour guide, and lecturer on art and history. Specializing in writing walking tours of Europe's cultural sights, Gene has coauthored 10 of Rick's books and contributes to Rick's public television series. As a composer, Gene has written a full-length opera (Matter), a violin sonata, and dozens of songs. He lives near Seattle with his daughter, and roots for the Mariners in good times and bad.

Table of Contents

Venice 5

Venice by Neighborhood 9

Planning & Budgeting 14

Travel Smart 23

Orientation to Venice 25

Sights in Venice 39

San Marco District 43

Behind St. Mark's Basilica 49

Across the Lagoon from St. Mark's Square 50

Dorsoduro District 50

San Polo District 53

Santa Croce District 54

Cannaregio District 56

Castello District 59

Venice's Lagoon 63

Self-Guided Tours

Grand Canal Cruise 65

St. Mark's Square Tour 80

St. Mark's Basilica Tour 91

Doge's Palace Tour 110

Correr Museum Tour 126

San Giorgio Maggiore Tour 137

Accademia Tour 146

Peggy Guggenheim Collection Tour 158

La Salute Church Tour 172

Ca' Rezzonico Tour 177

Frari Church Tour 190

Scuola San Rocco Tour 199

Venice's Lagoon Tour 208

Self-Guided Walks

St. Mark's to Rialto Loop Walk 224

Rialto to Frari Church Walk 233

St. Mark's to San Zaccaria Walk 241

Sleeping in Venice 248

Eating in Venice 267

Venice with Children 292

Shopping in Venice 300

Nightlife in Venice 309

Venice Connections 316

Near Venice 325

Padua 327

Vicenza 359

Verona 363

Ravenna 388

Venetian History 412

Practicalities 425

Travel Tips 425

Money 428

Sightseeing 433

Sleeping 436

Eating 444

Staying Connected 461

Transportation 465

Resources from Rick Steves 475

Appendix 477

Holidays & Festivals 477

Books & Films 479

Conversions & Climate 482

Packing Checklist 485

Italian Survival Phrases 487

Index 489

Map Index 502

Editorial Reviews

"The country's foremost expert in European travel for Americans."—Forbes

"Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world's greatest cities, towns, and monuments."—USA Today

“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness."—Society of American Travel Writers

"Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided."—NBC News

"His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around."—The New Yorker

"Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury—it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet."—The New York Times Magazine

"[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar's appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free."—TIME Magazine

"Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture 'beyond Orlando.'"—Forbes

“…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans."—Outside Magazine

"His books offer the equivalent of a bus tour without the bus, with boiled-down itineraries and step-by-step instructions on where to go and how to get there, but adding a dash of humor and an element of choice that his travelers find empowering."—The New York Times

"His penchant for creating meaningful experiences for travelers to Europe is as passionate as his inclination for making ethical choices his guiding light."—Forbes

"[Rick Steves'] neighborhood walks are always fun and informative. His museum guides, complete with commentary about historic sculpture and storied artworks are wonderful and add another dimension to sometimes stodgy, hard-to-comprehend museums."—NBC News

From the Publisher