Goldenbackpacker.com

VENICE - STAY FOR LESS "Euros"

VENICE is like no other City in the World and when you arrive (for your first or 100th time) you must start by boarding "Linea 1" Vapparetto (water bus) at the top of the Grand Canal. It begins a journey of fantasy when you leave the ordinary behind & float down a busy waterway of strange craft & ornate buildings and eventually arrive at magical - San Marco Piazza. To stay here, for less, needs local knowledge & GB offers you some invaluable advice.

ACCOMODATION - GB had found a gem, indeed, its not just a hostel but a 16th Venetian Palace!

No 1 - "Foresteria Valdese" (Palazzo Cavagnis) at Castello 5170 tele 041 52 86 797 Email: valdesi@doge.it - nr. Santa Maria Formosa Piazza - E20 incl breakfast 3 dorms x 12 bunk bed rooms (sep wash/ shower &wc rooms) No self cat. but can eat in large "grand" dinning room - sep. lounge (TV) - SMOKE - other individual rooms 2x to 7x & apparts. Fresco's on ceilings & walls, gondolas float by front door it's a unique place to stay.

Reserve - Venice International Youth Hostel at Fondamenta Zitelle 86 tele 041 52 38 211 Email: vehostel@tin.it - on the separate island of Giudecca, looking over to San Marco front E16 pn incl break - 260 bunk beds in 20, 6+ dorms ( sep large shower/ wc rooms) No self cat. but large café/ eating area, evening meal (6 -9, 15000Il) No lounge TV N/S. (NB Extra E3 day for Vapparetto over to main island, return trip). Great hostel but has a curfew at 11.30 pm.

FOOD - For self caterers, supermarkets are not easy to find in Venice as the frontages by law have to fit the historic facades & are expensive in the tourist central area. But there is a good comprehensive one called Billa on the Fond. Zattere, nr the Vapp. stn San Basilio. It has ex. fruit & veg. frozen foods & delli. wine & spirits the lot a & good value, for Venice that is, and it doesn't close in the afternoons, horrah! The next place is the morning Fruit & Veg. and Fish Market nr. the Rialto Bridge its also an education in gastronomy! Near the main hostel are a few specialist food shops one making pizzas (yum!) & another makes fresh bread, a treat to walk past each day. There are of course many restaurants, cafes & fast food outlets (yes Macs x3 are here) and the San Marco Square café's will serve you a " caffe or acqua ¼" for E4 +tip.

TRAVELLING AROUND is mainly on foot & you need a good map & even then you'll get lost in the narrow alleyways & dead end or canal end streets. This is part of the unique Venice experience where around each corner can be another surprise, a bridge with a gondola passing underneath. On the main canals, however, the mode is Vapparetto which is like a metro system on water. The Vapp. route maps are similar to the metro ones as is the frequency of the trains x/no Vapp's which follow each other around the system. Now the charges which are not easy so listen up! for a Vapp. E3 one trip, 24 hour and 7 day passes are available. There are also special excursions to the Islands or Lido for example with special charges & also sleek water taxis & not to forget the ultimate Venice transport, the gondola - prices E60 for 52 mins for 6 people + tip (pause for a think... say E12 each) not really too bad.

"FREE" SIGHTS TO SEE IN VENICE

1. San Marco Piazza - architectural magnificence of this vast square with bobbing gondolas.
2. Rialto Bridge - as the gondolas float by feel the marble stones & look at the "live" Canaletto.
3. San Marco Basilica - outside is a mosaic masterpiece inside religious opulence.
4. Grand Canal - Venice M1, so much traffic with postal, rubbish and also funeral boats!
5. Giardini Pubblica - A rare garden haven to sit & relax in, see the gondola boats parked behind.
6. Fish, Fruit & Veg Market (Mornings) - from strawberries, squid & other treats, many unknown?
7. Arsenal Gates - See downtown Venice where the money was originally made from war trade.
8. Gondola Repair Yard - where the MOT's are carried out, you might pick up a good runner here!
9. Canal Walkways & Narrow Passages - its a delight to wander around in this magic City

MAIN "CHARGE" SIGHTS IN VENICE

1. San Marco Basilica - Sanctuary to see Pala d'Oro ( gold slab) Loggia d'Cavalli (3000Il) roof .
2. Doges Palace - 14/15thc Italian old master paintings leading to Bridge of Sighs & old prison
3. Accademia Gallery - houses the finest collection of Venitian paintings in the world.
4. Campanile - 98m tower in San Marco Sq. with magnificent views of the isle & bay.

(Diana, Lance, Nicky, Scott, Tina, Tim, Monty, Ossy)