Venice is so beautiful and an all-time classic. It feels like every year millions of people come here and it seems like everyone we know was here at least once.
Looking at Instagram, you will see everyone had posted at least one pic of Venice.
It’s really beautiful. Walking along the alleys, gazing at the canals while walking over the little bridges, taking pictures from Gondolas and eating expensive gelato. Oh my god!
Mass tourism at its best
Venice is the best example of what happens to a city or a country, when hordes of constantly picture taking humans gather at one place temporarily: Everything becomes expensive!
It seems as if they can take anything from tourists as they all seem like they love to pay the astronomic prices.
When it’s hot, loud, expensive and overcrowded, things can become really annoying. We show you, how you can still make this trip memorable and affordable at the same time.
Don’t eat and drink at touristic hot spots
No matter if it’s St. Mark’s Square or around the Rialto Bridge: Avoid those places. Of course, you should see all the sights and you should definitely fill the memory card of your camera. Eating and drinking should be done somewhere aside of those places.
The prices for Espressi are extortionate. Needless to tell you about restaurant prices. You just have to walk along the side alleys and the world changes. It’s more romantic and definitely cheaper.
Aside from those places there’s also more variety of food.
Buy take away food
If you also don’t want to pay the prices in the side alleys, you can buy sandwiches or slices of Pizza in one of the many snack bars and sit down at the Canale Grande.
It’s not that someone from Europe cannot afford it. It’s just a principle. Touristy places can always be more expensive, but what happened to Venice is just not funny anymore.
Drinking in a bar is actually not so expensive. You can definitely enjoy an Aperol Spritz in a not-tourist bar for normal prices. Hoorray!
‘Gondola, Gondola’ – Better not
This is very popular among Venice tourists. Prices are extortionate: A 20 minute ride with a Gondola costs around 80€. For us, this is just insane. Watching them from the really cute bridges is better anyway.
Walking a lot
Again we were full of self-hate and made a very long walk from St. Mark’s Square to the former Jewish Quarter. The reward was a non-touristy version of Venice. You can see locals and prices suddenly become much better.
Generally, Venice is more than just St. Mark’s Square or the Rialto Bridge.
If you like it calm, you should take advantage of the early morning hours. Less people are here and you don’t have to share the main sights with thousands of other visitors.
Ask for the Student’s quarter
As we made a day trip here, we didn’t have so many expenses. But if you’re staying longer in Venice, you should dare to ask young people for cheaper spots. Usually those areas are the ones with many student bars and restaurants. Don’t be afraid. Normally people are very friendly and are glad to help you.
Museums
This is something you should do: Venice has some fantastic galleries. You don’t have to see each one of them. If you’re spending some nights here, inform yourself in advance so you know which one’ interesting for you.
Hotel and flight
Just as mentioned before, we just made a one day trip here. We thought about staying one night here, but we were already too late back then to find an affordable hotel. But we saw that most of the times this hotel and flight packages were cheaper than booking them separately. At least from Germany. You should have a look at those offers. Maybe you can save some money here.
Avoid main season
Not only because of the prices. We were here in the middle of September (after school holidays) and it was really crowded. We really don’t want to know what’s happening here in the main season.
We hope this small list helps you a little bit planning your Venice trip. If you have any more hints, tell us. We would be glad to know.
Leave a Reply