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Italy
A haven of a bar near the Rialto in Venice! Happy hour between 5 and 7.30pm makes the delicious cocktails very affordable.
This was actually recommended to me by another traveler and the fact that I'm passing on the tip says it all!
There may be tourists here but they are mostly backpackers and young people, giving the bar a fun international flavor.
The owners are super-friendly too and seem genuinely interested in their visitors, particularly those from elsewhere in Europe so be prepared to engage in some lively conversation!
San Marco 5546, Venice
www.bacarojazz.com/
Popping into this cheap little Venice restaurant near the train station on the way home bought an unusual surprise.
I've been told since that it's a chain but it's not like places in England. The dishes are simple but tasty and my pasta was cooked fresh to order while I watched.
The salad was also good quality and (another surprise!) we had a reasonably priced beer to accompany it too.
Lista di Spagna, Canneregio 124
I don't know what to say about this Venice hostel except that it's everything a good, cheap hostel should be.
The location is unbeatable, a five-minute stroll to Piazza San Marco and even closer to the Rialto Bridge. You really get the feeling that you're staying right in the heart of the city and on a typical Venetian street.
It's very reasonable for a private room – and a room that's nice and sunny, too!
They said they do special last minute deals that work out even cheaper, but, it's such a great place I can't imagine they've spare rooms all that often.
San Marco 3358, Salizada San Samuele, Venice, 30124
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/italy/venice/25275/
All I wanted was the five Cs
Cheap – in Venice that’s almost impossible, but this was very reasonable.
Cheerful – fabulous smile from the receptionist on arrival and every time we returned.
Cosy – ask for an attic room at the back so you can spy down into the locals' gardens below, and see the ocean liners berth in the distance. The breakfast room overlooks a local canal.
Clean – room was spotless and cleaned every day.
Convenient – 50 metres from Piazzale Roma bus station and car park, 250 metres from vaporetto number 1 stop, and 5 minutes from the railway station.
Want to go to Venice but afraid of the hotel prices there? Stay in Mestre and commute to Venice each day. We did and found it fascinating to jump on a bus each morning and go to Venice with the workers. The view of Venice from a bus on the causeway is certainly different.
Only a few minutes from the railway station, bus station and Vaparetto stops, but tucked down a quiet alleyway.
The price is good (85 Euros for a single ensuite, 110 for a double) and the rooms, though small, are comfortable and spotless. Recommended for those on a budget who want a no-frills but pleasant place to stay in Venice.
I booked through www.venere.com but other agencies list the hotel as well.
Cannaregio 219 - Calle Gioacchina, Lista di Spagna, Venezia, Italia 30121. Turn left out of the train station down Lista di Spagna. The hotel is down a small alleyway about 3/4 of the way down.
The water taxi office at the airport is usually surrounded by tourists wondering whether their magical trip to Venice is quite so magical now they've found out just how expensive the water taxis are.
The cost of the trip is the cost for the whole boat, so just go ahead and ask "Does anyone want to share a taxi?" Even if split between just two couples the cost rapidly becomes less eye-watering.
The water taxi office is located with the car rental offices at the south end of the arrivals area.
Details of transfers are available from the Corsozio Motoscafi website: www.motoscafivenezia.it/trans.htm
I am Italian but currently living in the UK; I love Venice but I think that the prices of the hotels are too high, I suggest you to look for hotels in the pretty Mestre just outside Venice - the town is connected very well with Venice you could easily take a ferry to San Marco square and save yourselve a bit of cash. If you visit during the summer months you could also spend time on Mestre's beach.
Looking at the map of Italy just south of Venice on the coast.
A shot of espresso with a dash of foamed milk.
An excellent way to enjoy a shot of coffee, best taken standing at the bar. It is socially acceptable to drink anytime of the day, not marking you out as the sort of person who would drink a capuccino after lunch.
The splash of milk makes the espresso more palatable. But do not spoil this by adding sugar.
A macchiato is also cheap. Even standing in a cafe right by the Rialto bridge I have still paid only one euro for a macchiato.
Enjoy, but be careful, by the time you leave Italy you will be having one of these an hour.
Any Cafe, Bar
The area around the Rialto is the best place to eat in, away from the menu turistico of the restaurants in the central areas. The most tempting food shops and bars are here. Cantina Do Mori is a city legend, dark and secret. It serves the best cichetti, a bit like Spanish Tapas, and cheap wine that is drunk by the market traders. Eat in this area and it’s unlikely that you will go hungry or be disappointed.
Food of course is the highlight of each day, and one of the best ways to enjoy it is to take an apartment and shop in the market. If eating out, it can be expensive as can everything in Venice. Remember if you want to sit outside to see and be seen, it may cost you twice as much as sitting inside. Order a panini or tramezzini at the bar and either stand while you eat or take it out to eat at the edge of a little canal or on the steps of a bridge, even cheaper still.
This far north, pasta tends to give way to risotto and with so much seafood from the lagoon, the choice is large. Most menus have a zuppa di pesce, or fish soup, again with an infinity of ingredients. Specifically Venetian is carpaccio, thin slices of beef served in mayonnaise, or bigoli in salsa, noodles in an anchovy or sardine sauce.
Cantina Do Mori: San Polo 429, with entrances on Calle Galiazza and Calle Do Mori, In San Polo;
tel: 041 522 5401
Directions: Go to the San Polo side of the Rialto Bridge, walk to the end of the market stalls, turn left, then immediately right, and look for small wooden cantina sign on left.
Last August my partner and I stayed at Piccola Perla, a charming one-bedroomed apartment in St. Antonin, located roughly midway between St Mark's Square and Arsenale.
It was quiet, tastefully decorated and it was great to come back in the evening after a long day's sightseeing and put our feet up in the little courtyard, together with a drink of Prosecco. Being on a budget, some evenings we cooked our own meals, so it was good to be a couple of bridges away from one of only two supermarkets I have come across in Venice.
Recommended as a romantic getaway for a couple or an inexpensive spot for a small family (there was a sofabed in the living room).
www.ourveniceapartment.com - Tel. (UK) 01242 243693. Nearest Vaporetto: San Zaccaria.
Seven traghetto (ferry) points between the railway station and San Marco allow you to cross the Grand Canal without having to squeeze over the bridges. These decommissioned gondolas ply back and forth until dusk for 60c a trip. Venetians make the crossing standing up. Tourists sit down and worry about the rocking motion.
Look out for small yellow signs pointing down alleys leading to the Canal.
Take an ombra (a glass of wine) in a bar at mealtimes, and eat the delicious snacks on offer (whose special name I've forgotten) - all classic Italian antipasti. There are good cheap bars everywhere, each with their own ambience. Our favourite was facing onto the fish market.
First by day, and again at night - cheesy and touristy, yes, but utterly breathtaking.
Buy a slice of pizza and a bottle of wine, then sit on the steps looking down towards the shimmering moonlit cathedral and watch everyone come and go, the couples slow dancing to the string quartets dotted around the bars and restaurants. It's wonderful, and as good as free. Be prepared, however, to fend off approximately 400 rose sellers an hour.
St Mark's square
A small hotel on the island of Sant'Erasmo. The island is quiet and agricultural (artichokes their own endemic variety), few cars, you get bikes from the hotel. It is cheap and quiet and friendly. Getting to and from the main parts of Venice is easy, its not far from Murano.
Via Forti 13, Sant`Erasmo.
o4i 523 0642
www.latoazzuro.it
Take vaporetto 13 from Fondamenta Nuove to Sant`Erasmos
Small Italian hotel, some rooms overlook small canal and campo S. Apostoli, close to Grand Canal and Rialto, reasonable price and very friendly and helpful.
Camp San Apostoli, Cannareggio, Venice.
www.anticodoge.com/en/index.htm
A pizzeria in the back streets of San Polo that has an enormous range, great staff and even better prices if you're trying to do Venice on a budget. Used by a mix of locals and lucky tourists, so you get a good atmosphere, but also an English language menu if your Italian isn't up to scratch but want to try one of their more interesting pizzas.
Santa Croce, 1552/a; Go out of Campo San Polo to the north-west, and follow the calle straight, over a little cross-roads, and Ae Oche wil be on your left. Not easy to find, but worth it
Only a few minutes from Rialto Bridge it must be hard to find better value in this area. A garden that must be lovely in sunny weather and a very lively trattoria. On a damp Sunday the very friendly staff were almost overwhelmed with diners but kept it all going well. Quite a wide choice of pizzas (all around 8 Euros) and an extremely good value for money set lunch for either 14 or 16 Euros. It's all the traditional courses that you would expect (spaghetti al ragu, brescaiola, spaghetti with mussels and clams, squid) but each course cooked well and very tasty. Half a litre of good wine for 8 Euros. Unhesitatingly recommended - and as almost always in Venice restaurants, perfect for children too.
Sottoportico di Siora Bettina, Santa Croce 2338. Phone 041 5241169
Great little B&B near Genice, located in Oriago di Mira, on the Riviera del Brenta. They offer free internet access and bike hire.
Via seriola veneta sx 51, Oriago di Mira, Venice;
Tel: 041 428363 ;
email: info@faronhof.com;
www.faronhof.com
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