Venice
Getting There+
Thurs Sept 24
- Drive from Villa di Piazzano to Mestre, about 2.5 hours, and return the Mercedes at SIXT Mestre
- Cross the causeway: local train (about 7 minutes to Venezia Santa Lucia) or taxi
From the train station
When you arrive at Santa Lucia, you can either take a water taxi or a vaporetto to your hotel.
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Water taxi
- Find one on the Grand Canal in front of Santa Lucia to the hotel's boat dock. It will likely be €75.
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Vaporetto
- Find an ACTV kiosk along the canal to get your ACTV tickets using the code on your printed tickets: EBACKFL
- Your tickets are good for unlimited vaporetto use for 72 hours after your first tap on. Remember to always tap on for every boat ride.
- Find the Ferrovia “B” dock.
- Take the 2 Lido S.M.E. “E” ACTV boat (be sure to check the signage on the side of the boat)
- Make sure you scan your tickets at the entry to the boat dock — there are high fines for riding without a scanned ticket
- Take the boat three stops to S. Toma’ “A” (about 20 minutes)
- Walk about 5 minutes to the hotel
Stay+
A 16th-century palace on the Grand Canal, family-run by Nicoletta and Stefano, with a private dock. The hotel can arrange a private gondola with a musician, and a water taxi to the airport on your last morning.
Getting Around+
- Your ACTV (aka vaporetto) tickets are for 3 days from the first time you tap on for a ride. You can use the vaporettos as much as you want for 72 hours. Remember to always tap your card before you board!
- Be like a local and take the traghettos to get across the Grand Canal. These are gondola ferries that make it super easy to cross the canal. It's €2 per person. You can find them on Google Maps by searching for "Gondola Traghetto." There's one right by your hotel — Gondola Traghetto San Tomà — that will get you over to the San Marco area super fast.
- Water taxis are pretty pricey (usually €75–100), but it's definitely worth it to take a joy ride near sunset along the Grand Canal just to tour around and have a fun photo shoot.
Dine+
Thurs Sept 24 — pending final confirmation, watch for a message
Legendary Venetian seafood in San Polo — intimate, canal-side, local. A canal balcony table for two has been requested.
Dress: no shorts or sleeveless.
Fri Sept 25 — ask Palazzo Barbarigo to help book on arrival
The rooftop of Hotel Danieli, over the Grand Canal and the lagoon. Classic Italian, old-world grandeur.
Dress: smart elegant.
Sat Sept 26, 7:30pm — confirmed, in Tristan's name
Nine tables, steps from St. Mark's Basilica, run by father and son Gianni and Nicolò Bonaccorsi. Seasonal Venetian cooking.
Dress: smart casual, no shorts or sleeveless.
Drink & Eat Like a Venetian+
Venice has an enchanting and vibrant drinking culture. You've got the quintessential guide with you — Drink & Think Venice by Robin Saikia — a fun, quick read and a great way to get oriented before you go.
Cicchetti (chi-KEH-tee) is a way of life here — Venice's answer to tapas: small, inexpensive bites like crostini topped with bacalà, sarde in saor, or salami, traditionally paired with an ombra, a small glass of house wine. You'll find them at a bacaro — a small, informal Venetian wine bar, often standing-room only, with no menu and no reservations. The ritual is as much the point as the food: pull up to the counter with locals, point at what looks good, and when you're ready for another round, move on to the next bacaro — the Venetians call this a giro d'ombre, a "tour of shadows."
Three highlights to really immerse yourself in the full Venetian experience
The birthplace of the Bellini, and one of the most storied bars in the world. It's small, it's hectic, and it's exactly as legendary as its reputation suggests. It's also quite pricey, but it's worth one proper cocktail at the bar.
Schiavi (Cantine del Vino già Schiavi)
This 19th-century wine shop-turned-bacaro in Dorsoduro is where cicchetti culture lives. No seats — just a marble counter piled with inventive little bites, a wall of bottles, and locals spilling out onto the canal-side with a glass of wine in hand. Order an ombra and a few cicchetti, and eat standing up like everyone else does.
Steps away from Schiavi, this bacaro is directly across the canal from the Squero di San Trovaso — one of the last working gondola boatyards in Venice. Sip a spritz and watch centuries-old wooden gondolas get built and repaired right in front of you. Tiny, unpretentious, and every bit as beloved by locals as Schiavi — the two make a natural pair for a Dorsoduro bacaro crawl.
Do+
Around the city
- Private gondola at dusk with a musician — arrange via Palazzo Barbarigo's trusted contacts. Do not skip this!
- Get genuinely lost — one afternoon with no map, just wander the streets and canals and take in the mystery
- Rialto Market — Tue–Sat mornings, closes around noon; go before 10am
- Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries — hidden passages, interrogation rooms, the Bridge of Sighs from inside, Casanova's cell. Book at visitmuve.it
- Libreria Acqua Alta — secondhand bookshop in Castello, books stored in gondolas and bathtubs against the floods
Around the lagoon
- Burano — Vaporetto Line 12 from Fondamente Nove, about 45 minutes; painted houses, lace, seafood risotto. Half a day.
- San Giorgio Maggiore — vaporetto from San Marco, better views than the campanile, Tintorettos inside
If you have time
- Autodromo di Monza — a day trip for F1 fans, non-race-day guided tour. Frecciarossa from Venezia Santa Lucia to Milano Centrale (about 2h30), then Trenord to Monza (about 30 minutes). Full day. Book the "Tour Experience" at monzanet.it. Optional add-on: the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese.
Art Adventures+
Venice is a city bursting at the seams with art. It's currently Art Biennale season, so there's a ton of cool stuff to see. These are 4 choose-your-own-adventure options to get a taste of what the city has to offer.
Biennale Lite — The Giardini>
You've got two one-day passes to the Biennale that can be used on any day you choose. But no pressure to go — only do it if you want to!
The Biennale exhibition takes place in two locations: the Giardini and the Arsenale. The Giardini is the easiest and most lovely way to get a taste of the art show — about 29 pavilions scattered through a garden, each designed by an architect from the country it represents.
There's a lot to see in the Giardini, including the main exhibition space, which houses a massive show of 100+ artists. Tucked inside it is a secret you shouldn't miss — a hidden interior garden with a koi pond, designed by Venetian modernist architect Carlo Scarpa.
You could wander the Giardini for hours, but here are the three things not to miss:
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Austria: Seaworld Venice — Start your day here!
Florentina Holzinger's "Seaworld Venice" at the Austrian Pavilion has been the single most talked-about, most-queued-for pavilion at this Biennale all season. An underwater theme park and sewage treatment plant inhabited by live performers. This is real avant garde, must-see performance art. Performances happen 11am–6pm, Wed to Sun.
Pro-tip: The lines get very long, so to beat the queues, get in line at the east Giardini entrance, on the edge of the public park near Giardin Food & Art, by 10:30–10:45am.
When the doors open at 11am, scan your ticket, turn right, and go directly to the Austrian pavilion, at the opposite end of the stretch of pavilions. You'll catch the first human bell ringing of the day — you don't want to miss that!
- Japan: Grass Babies, Moon Babies — pop into this pavilion to spend some time with the adorable babies created by artist Ei Arakawa-Nash. As you approach the ground floor, you'll be invited to hold one of 200 baby dolls, each with their own little story. From there, wander into the building's interior, where a sound piece composed with the voices of Arakawa-Nash's own twin babies resonates throughout the space. Hanging with the babies is fun and silly and surprisingly tender.
- Spain: Los Restos — get lost in the never-ending grid of postcards collected by artist Oriol Vilanova over decades. It's a visual wonderland with nothing but opportunity for discovery.
After your tour of the Giardini, an afternoon spritz and snacks at Salumeria on Via Garibaldi, just a 5-minute walk from the Giardini exit on the Grand Canal side of the garden.
The Classic Tour>
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Peggy Guggenheim Collection — Peggy is an art and Venetian legend. She had the best parties, and collected art from all of her paramours. Wander through her gorgeous palazzo on the Grand Canal to see her collection of modern art. Open Wed–Mon.
Buy tickets in advance so you can skip the line.
The Slow Down>
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The Ear is the Eye of the Soul — you'll be at the end of a very long and full trip. If you want a bit of respite from the bustle of Venice, check out this incredible sound experience inside a secret garden tucked away next to the Santa Lucia train station, otherwise inaccessible to the public.
The Giardino Mistico dei Carmelitani Scalzi preserves a rare quiet. Behind its walls, the city's breath slows, and light moves across herbs shaped by centuries of prayer. Listening becomes central. New commissions by composers, musicians, poets, and artists form a shared sonic composition, developed in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective.
Buy your free timed tickets in advance at coopculture.it.
Art by Your Hotel>
- Secret Garden (map) — open Mon–Sat, 10am–1pm and 2–6pm.
- Fondazione Dries Van Noten, "The only true protest is beauty" — an incredible show of fashion, art, jewelry, and design inside a private palazzo. Comme des Garçons and Christian Lacroix are highlights. Buy timed tickets in advance — it's a little confusing, since you need to buy a "membership" for €22 and then a ticket to the show, at fondazionedriesvannoten.org.
Moving On+
Sun Sept 27
From the hotel
- Arrange a water taxi with the hotel to pick you up at 6:30am to take you to Marco Polo Airport.
- Check in online for your flights before you get to the airport — this will make things easier at the airport.
- If you need a place to relax before the flight after you get through security, you can pop in to the Marco Polo lounge. They have light snacks and drinks. They'll let you come in for a fee (~$50).
Flights
- Venice → London Heathrow · AA 6784 (operated by British Airways) · 10:10am → 11:35am
- Heathrow → Chicago O'Hare · AA 91 · 2:25pm → 5:15pm
- Chicago O'Hare → Austin · AA 2433 · 7:08pm → 9:58pm
- Record locators BICETU (British Airways), FVGIUH (American)
Important note
The flight from Venice lands at Heathrow Terminal 5; the Chicago flight departs Terminal 3. You will need to take a shuttle bus and re-clear security. Getting across Heathrow takes a very, very long time. Move quickly, and don't linger. The 2h50m layover is enough, but it's important to keep moving.