St Mark's Square, Rialto Bridge!
Welcome to Venice!
Colorful architecture and only a few people around.
The Italian lagoon city looks fantastic on Instagram but how is it in reality?
Time to find out.
A heads-up: Venice is ALWAYS full of visitors.
It's unlikely you'll ever have anything entirely to yourself.
Even so, Venice offers lots of pomp and splendor!
Venice was once a great maritime power and it shows!
St Mark's Square is one of the most famous squares in the world.
And a popular photo motif.
But you'll be sharing it with many others busily snapping pictures.
Not even this construction site can tarnish the square's great beauty.
But you'll need to be patient if you want to visit any of the buildings.
Long lines in front of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica are common.
How about another must-see sight on St Mark's Square?
Like Caffè Florian, for example.
It's over 300 years old.
Expect lots of visitors, here, too.
Though with a little luck, you might find a seat.
Besides, the odds of running into a real Venetian are high:
If not among the guests, then at least among the employees.
Mauro Varagnolo was born in Venice and has worked at Caffè Florian for 20 years.
How does it feel to work where others go on vacation?
Our verdict: Caffè Florian IS worth a visit.
Although it's not cheap: a cappuccino costs 15 euros!
But it's right on St Mark's Square, which you shouldn't miss during a visit to Venice.
Just expect big crowds.
Let's visit the second Venice hotspot: the equally famous and much photographed Rialto Bridge.
From afar, the bridge looks large and it doesn't seem crowded.
But when you're ON the bridge, it gets very busy.
Why do people put themselves through this?
What's the reason you come to Rialto Bridge?
We acutally got here by accident, so it's my fault.
I'm kidding!
You have to see it, it's an iconic place to be.
Wow, it's stunning, it's gorgeous. For me: wow.
It's like living in a magical place, I wanted to try this experience.
When you're getting married, the people come here for the honeymoon.
Because it's very romantic.
It's a beautiful place, you see all the canals, the sunset, the sunrise.
It's a beautiful place, we can't complain anything about this thing.
We love to stay here for a while and enjoy the sunset.
Our verdict: though the bridge is crowded, the view of the Grand Canal is worth it,
especially when the sun sets in the west.
And speaking of water.
Our last hotspot is Burano island, reachable by water bus across the lagoon.
It takes 40 minutes to reach the small island.
Burano became famous on Instagram mainly because of its colorful fishermen's cottages.
Our first impression is that – yes – each of the small fishermen's houses has really been
painted in a different color.
But around lunchtime, it gets really crowded.
The elevated narrow bridges are particularly suitable for getting a good view of the cottages.
Here, too, it's worth taking a look behind the scenes:
Because many fishermen still live in Burano to this day.
The San Marco cooperative offers excursions where visitors can discover the lagoon together
with fishermen, like Andrea Rossi, watch them fishing, or learn about the local nature.
There are many small uninhabited islands, which are resting places for migratory birds.
Back to Burano.
Where we' ve still got to find found out just why all these houses are so colorful.
There we have it.
Whichever explanation is true, the colorful cottages of Burano are definitely eye-catching.
Our verdict: Burano is great.
The Rialto bridge and St. Mark's Square are usually very full,
but you'll want to visit them anyway.
What do you think?
Write your opinion in the comments.