Hotel Al Piave

When visiting Venice, there are a plethora of hotels to choose from.  Some are cheap hostels that can be good for college students.  Some are super expensive for the rich.  If you're looking for one that is moderately priced (around $200/night), Hotel Al Piave is a top notch choice.

The hotel is centrally located, making it within easy walking distance of most places in Venice.  When you first arrive in Venice either by public transit boat, shuttle boat or taxi boat, you'll need to get off at the S. Zaccaria landing, which is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel.  The hotel provides easy walking directions from this dock on their site.

The hotel itself is very clean, with a friendly staff.  They even let us use the dining area when it was closed to eat lunch we brought back to the hotel.  In the mornings, a free full breakfast is provided.  They also provide a free shuttle service to Murano at any time that is convenient for you.

While the hotel is centrally located and easily walkable from most tourist sites, it's on a quiet road so that you aren't bothered with the hustle and bustle like some of the hotels in Venice.

Another positive was a great air-conditioning system, which during the summer months is definitely needed.

Torre Dell'Orologio Tour

In the Piazza San Marco is the historic clock tower, called Torre Dell'Orologio. The clock face tells more than just the time, it also tells the location of the moon and the sun as the location of the moon in astrological signs. Pretty cool huh?

Well, you can also tour the inside of the clock tower by scheduling a Torre Dell'Orologio Tour ahead of time or heading to the Musei Civici Venezia at the far end of San Marco and purchasing a tour ticket there.

Tours are guided and are only held in English at certain hours on certain days (make sure you schedule one of those!).

San Marco - Piazza San Marco, Basilica dei San Marco and the Doge's Palace

A must stop for all tourists in Venice is Piazza San Marco. It's a beautiful square, filled with open air restaurants, gelato stands, souvenir stands, a historical clock tower that you can tour, and it's surrounded by the Doge's Palace and the Basilica di San Marco.

However, because this is the must stop for every tourist in the city, including the day trippers on cruise liners, it can get crowded. And, if you want to tour the basilica or the Doge's Palace, you could be waiting in a very long line.

Also, the restaurants in this square are very pricey. Granted, you are paying for the location - in the square and right by the Grand Canal. And a few of them have live music and outdoor dining on nice days. However, if you walk a few blocks off of the Piazza in any direction, you'll find delicious restaurants at half the price - for both the entrees, drinks and seating charge.

If you want to tour the basilica, I recommend getting there early. We were there about half an hour before the basilica opened and the line was already forming.

Reserve a specialized tour for the Doge's Palace online before you head for your trip and you can skip the ticketing line in the piazza. We did the Secret Itineraries tour, which takes guests to areas that are normally off-limits in the palace, and was a very interesting tour, to boot.

Museo Storico Navale

On the East side of Venice, far off the typical tourist path is the Arsenale, which is part of the Italian Navy.  Right outside of this restricted area is the Museo Storico Navale, which allows visitors to get a glimpse into the history of the Italian Navy, both in terms of history and the equipment they have used.

Admission is only 3.10 Euros, which makes it quite affordable.  Being away from the main tourist area also means there are less crowds to wade through.  Another positive of this museum is by walking to it, it allows you to see a part of Venice where real Venetians live, which was a nice highlight of this visit.

The Guggenheim Collection

Peggy Guggenheim was an art aficionado who built museums around the world to display pieces of art from her own private collection, as well as others.  One of her top museums, and where she has her ashes resting, is in Venice in the Dorsoduro sestiere in an 18th century palazzo right on the Grand Canal.

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection contains works of all types from the 20th century.  It has students from America brought in to help curate the museum as part of their education.  As long as you're an art lover, this is a museum that will interest you.  The size of its collection is modest, so it doesn't feel overwhelming on your trip.