THE GRAND TRAVELLER – BLOG ON VENICE CARNIVAL
February 2019
Venice Carnival can only be described as a magical experience, one I had longed for since I first visited Venice back in 2010 and 2014 with my husband and two children.
In Feb. 2019, I took a group of 11 travelling from Sydney with a stop over in Dubai for 2 nights and then a flight into Venice.
We hired a private boat to transfer us to our apartments in Castello .
When we first arrived for Venice Carnival I was helping a friend check into her hotel when I saw our first couple who where dressed up to go into the streets for photos, my mother and I jumped at the chance for a photo with them both.
Castello is a good choice during Carnival as it is a 10 min. walk to St Marks and you can also catch the water bus (vaporetto) for 20.00 euro a day will cover all of the water bus stops.
You take the vaporetto (water bus) from Arsenale stop to Saint Marks it only takes bout 5 min. and is just so easy to get around.
The main street of Castello has a great COOP grocery store for all your needs and many cafes and bars are also plentiful. Don’t worry if you can’t speak Italian, over the years I have learnt maybe 5 Italian words with lots of pointing and hand gestures it’s fun, only sticking point can be the cost in shops as I have no idea what they are saying but just look at the cash register and you can see how much.
Once you start walking towards St Marks you will start to see many people dress to the nines and let me tell you some costumes are out of this world beautiful and they all pose for photos with the tourists or they often stand in a certain spot and they have crowds of people with cameras flashing away. I have added photos but one really stood out, look for the man in Orange.
They even catch the Vaporetto with you its just so wonderful.
Our days were spent exploring the streets eating in restaurants and shopping.
We took a visit over to Peggy Guggenheim and caught the vaporetto on the Grand Canal over to Dorsoduro .
Dorsoduro, is a hop over the Grand Canal via the Accademia Bridge if on foot. It has many great museums, galleries and churches.
Usually this part of Venice is not as crowed but not during Carnival it is packed with Venetians in Costumes in front of the church and they are amazing, during Carnival if you want to see a lot of costumes this is the place as well as St Marks.
When in Dorsoduro, you can start at the Gallerie dell’Accademia (€15), which has an enormous collection of artworks by the Venetian greats – Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Tiepolo. Calle Sant’Agnese (which turns into Piscina Forner) for some souvenir shopping. Further on are small, modern galleries.
Stop for a coffee at the misleadingly named Corner Pub at 684 Calle della Chiesa, a hole-in-the-wall bar/cafe with a few stools outside – there’s no signage, so keep your eyes peeled.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection (€14) is Venice’s major modern art gallery. We found it by following the crowds and it was not too crowded we walked straight in. You have lots of places to eat in the area and the Guggenheim also has a café which offered nice meals at a reasonable price.
You can’t go to Venice without visiting at least one palazzo museum, and Ca’ Rezzonico (€8) it is much easier to see than the more famous Palazzo Ducale or Museo Correr in San Marco.
You are similarly spoiled for choice when it comes to churches, but Dorsoduro is a real find and it can help if you do your research prior to arriving in Venice best to pick the churches you want to see and grab a map.
A group of us had pre-booked a Gondola ride; they are not as steady as I thought it was quite a rocky and cramped experience.
We got 6 of us in one Gondola but the Gondolier tells you where to sit so he can make sure the Gondola is as balanced as possible.
The other highlight of this trip was we booked seats to Listen to the Four Seasons of Vivaldi in the marvellous San Vidal Church! An event where art meets music, a perfect combination to spend an unforgettable night!
The greatest Venetian violinists performed masterfully the Four Seasons of Vivaldi, his most famous masterpiece.
The marvellous background embellishes the night. The concert took place in the Church of San Vidal, a Venetian jewel in Campo Santo Stefano, few steps to Accademia Bridge.
I can hands down say this is worth every cent and not very expensive around 30 euro or so. We came out of the church to our private boat we had booked that day and with 10 of us it was only around 10 euro each very reasonable and we all kept saying how it was so magical to see this concert in Venice and have a private boat waiting to take us back to Castello worth every cent, it felt like a James Bond movie.
Hope you enjoy the photos below:
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DANIELLE STANTON
THE GRAND TRAVELLER
0420 536 366
danielle@thegrandtraveller.com.au
www.thegrandtraveller.com.au