Tag: Venice

Venice Day & Night

After three enjoyable days touring the Valpolicella wine district, I had one more night left in Italy and since I was leaving from Marco Polo airport, I decided to spend my last night in Venice,

I’ve been to Venice several times before on day trips with my relatives from Chioggia, but I’ve never spent the night in the city until now, and it has been over fifteen years since I visited the city, so I was looking forward to spending the day in the city.

It was a beautiful October day, perfect for a walking around the city. What surprised was how crowded it was the first week of October. I’ll be sure not to visit during the summer months.

When I got off the main roads and wandered in the back alleys, the crowds thinned out somewhat. At night instead of sitting around a restaurant, I had my evening meal by going on a wine crawl. I would walk until I saw an interesting bar, usually with people hanging around outside drinking and socializing and stop in for a glass of wine and a cicchetti and then move on to the next bar. This way I had a meal and did a bit of sightseeing at the same time.

What can you say about Venice? It’s one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. Every bridge you walk over is a picture postcard, every alley you walk down is history.

Chioggia Day & Night

Chioggia is a small port town on the southern end of the Venetian lagoon about 16 miles south of Venice. It’s an ancient town, older than Venice and like Venice, it was built on islands, has canals and bridges that span them.

It’s scenic “Main Street”, the Corso del Popolo, spans the length of the town and is surrounded by shops, restaurants and cafes with characteristic narrow streets, called calli radiating outward from the main street.

The town has old churches, a fish market, ferries to Venice and the oldest clock tower in the world. It’s also my father’s hometown and I spent my time there visiting family.

Not too far from the old town is the newer Sottomarina which is a beach resort with a long sandy beach and the hotels and restaurants that cater to the beach tourists.

Up until recently it was an off the radar stop for American tourists but an article in the travel section of the New York Times earlier this year has brought more of them into the town and I’ve noticerd more restaurants and B&B’s than the last time I visited.