Venice 2023

At the end of last year I took a trip to Venice and despite travelling mid-October, I was quite lucky to have avoided the rain until the last few days of my trip. If you’re planning to book a holiday to Venice searches will suggest the best time to go is between April and September (which are also the busiest periods), but my trip from 16th-20th October still gave me a bit of sunshine (even some slight sunburn one day) and long enough day light to be out exploring for most of the day.

Of course when I travel my camera comes with me and I can easily say Venice is just as photogenic as you’d expect it to be. Whether you’re a photographer, or just purely heading to Venice for a nice vacation, every street has something around the corner to see and you honestly feel like you’re in a little maze or adventure game, wandering around the city without a worry. Below you’ll find some of my favourite travel photos from Venice, as well as some of my top tips and things to see and do in Venice.

I stayed at Ai Cherubini, which was on the street that these two photos were taken on.

The location was great and only a 4 minute walk from the water bus station, (which is pretty much like a floating bus station, but for the boats), which meant getting to the hotel from the airport and back was super easy, and the short distance means you don’t have to carry your luggage too far!

Explore all Venice has to offer!

As you would expect all of the main tourist attractions and areas surrounding these are fairly busy, but if you go and explore you’ll find much quieter areas and streets - I’d recommend doing this on any trip anyway, as you get to see so much more and you’ll come across things you may have never seen otherwise.

Take a gondola ride!

You can’t go to Venice and not take a gondola ride, but before you jump into the first one you see, or instead of heading to the main tourist spots, look around and think about the route that the gondola will take, as there are many boarding locations around the city! The gondolier (pilot of the gondola) I was in, was happy to chat and point out key locations - he’d been doing this job pretty much his whole life so had a wealth of knowledge.

Visit the island of Burano

There are many other small islands around Venice that you can get to easily using the ferry boats, some tickets allow you to hop on and off so you can visit multiple islands in one day. Burano is particularly popular with tourists because of its brightly coloured buildings (ideal influencer/travel selfie type location) and it’s also known for its lace work, so you’ll find lost of shops selling lace, and glass from neighbouring island Murano.

Look for something different

This is one particularly for the photographers - whether you’re in a popular tourist spot or off the beaten track, try and look for the non-typical scenes, the pictures you wouldn’t necessarily see in a tour guide or brochure - the ‘street photography’ images that tell a different side of the story.

Other must do things in Venice

Buy a Venetian mask: There are so many stores dotted around selling various different masks, but if you want to buy a ‘proper’ mask, look for the older stores! Some even offer workshops to create your own.

Visit Gianni Basso Stampatore: This traditional stationary workshop has no website and you can only make an order in person or via post! A favourite with celebrities (as you’ll see from the business cards in the window, or the photos and previous orders dotted around the workshop, of which includes the late Queen Elizabeth II) make sure to pop in, purchase some of the beautiful designs and have a chat - he’ll tell you some stories! Find the workshop at 30100 Venice, Metropolitan City of Venice

Explore the Doge’s Palace: You’ll need a good few hours to explore the Doge’s Palace, but whether you love a bit of history, architecture, or museums in general, it’s worth a visit - there are also some great views from some of the windows! You can queue up on the day or book tickets in advance.

Head to the Libreria Acqua Alta: If you’re a book lover, visiting this book store is a must, but otherwise it’s become a popular place for tourists because of the outside walls made of books (damaged from previous floods) and the store itself even has gondolas and bathtubs as shelving and storage to help protect books from future floods! (There’s also some great views from over the wall in the garden out back too, you just have to climb up the steps made of books!)