Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Venice, Italy

Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Venice, Italy
GETTING AROUND
If you really want more for your money, skip the overpriced gondola ride for a more scenic tour on the vaporetto, a water bus that charges a measly €6. Besides the savings of up to €80, you get a view of the entire city center that the gondola rides don't offer
However, for those who really want the experience of riding on the iconic Venetian boat, there is still the traghetti: old gondolas stripped of traditional furnishings and rowed by two oarsmen. These boats travel across the Grand Canal, meaning that the view is not as panoramic as the vaporetto, but it is equally dramatic. Amazingly, only three bridges cross the canal, but you can catch a traghetto at any of its seven stops. The ride costs mere pocket change--about half a euro.
ISLAND OF COLOR
If you desire a different scene, consider taking off to another island near Venice, called Burano. Located seven kilometers north of Venice, Burano is a tiny, relaxed island that is free of cars and full of tightly packed houses. Its intimate and brightly-colored architectural design differs from that of Venice, making it seem worlds away.

To get to Burano, head to Venice's Fondamenta Nuove and take the vaporetto lines 12 or 14. The ride is about 40 minutes long, so make sure you give yourself a day to fully enjoy this place. Try to get the seats on the deck to get a scenic tour while you ride.

A PERSONAL TALE: FELICE ANNO NUOVO, OR … WHEN NOT TO VISIT VENICE

I thought I knew what to expect when celebrating the holidays in Venice. I was wrong.

Things started out nicely. When the sun set on New Year's Eve, my boyfriend and I splurged on our first gondola ride, and it was worth every (expensive) cent. As it turns out, while the city partied, the Grand Canal itself was quiet and uncrowded. All around us, the sunset cast a yellow undertone over the waters and buildings, setting a calm and peaceful scene.

Then we decided to go out for dinner ... what a mistake.

Restaurants were packed with both locals and tourists while hungry crowds impatiently spilled into the streets. When we finally did get a table at Osteria Ca' D'Oro, we got the worst service possible from waiters who tossed out "quality" in favor of "quantity."

Ironically, they spent the first hour rushing us through our meal and then made us wait 40 minutes for the check. Fortunately, the manager was so hassled and overworked that when we voiced our complaints, he let us go without paying the bill. But free meal or not, it wasn't worth the frustration of dining on New Year's Eve in Venice.

We made another blunder by making our way to Piazza San Marco at 11:30 p.m. Though it started off joyously as we followed a train of revelers through the city's narrow streets, things quickly came to a grinding halt.

When we finally reached the edge of the Piazza, we could go no further. Packed in like sardines, I could only stand helplessly while getting elbowed in the head in the crowd. Before the countdown had even started, people became increasingly agitated, until someone decided to pop a cork and spray the crowd with champagne. That's when a small riot broke out.

Needless to say, my boyfriend and I got out of that mess as quickly as we could and enjoyed slivers of fireworks from the safe distance of our room.

By Sheena Pantaleon for PeterGreenberg.com.