Discover the Hidden Gems of Venice

Venice. It’s a city for lovers. The perfect place to stroll around with far too much time on your hands. So what do you do when you only have a day and you’re exploring the city solo? The answer is: discover the hidden gems of Venice!

I filmed a video while I was there which you can watch below, and then read on to learn more about each of these discoveries (as well as a couple of extras)!

Things to see & do in Venice:

The main attractions

If you’ve done any research, you’ll know that the main sights of the city include St. Mark’s Square, Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs.

Like any main attractions in a destination, these are all well worth seeing but, as always, certainly not the only things to add to your itinerary.

My tip for you is to arrive early to see these three sights. Before 10am they’re relatively quiet, which makes for much better photos and a relaxed stroll or lingering look.

Once the hordes descend, it’s all hustle and bustle.

Literary Venice

On a tiny backstreet called Sestiere Castello you’ll find Libreria Acqua Alta: the most incredible book shop I’ve ever seen!

Books are kept in boats and bathtubs to keep them safe from the regular floods of Venice, and cats wander up and down, begging for attention.

You could spend hours here inspecting English and Italian books from every possible genre and there are even tables and chairs for you to sit and while the hours away.

Public Transport

Whenever I’m in a new city I like to catch public transport to get a feel for local life.

Venice is no exception, but where London has buses and tubes, Venice has boats. Vaporetti, to be precise. A vaporetto will take you along the main canals, to most of the major places you’d want to visit.

Grab a 24 hour ticket for €20 and see as much of the city as you can.

The local’s gondola

A gondola ride costs €80 for a 40 minute ride (this is the official price, set by the city, although you can find cheaper rates), but what if I told you that you could ride in a gondola for just €2?

The traghetto is a type of public transport in Venice that takes locals from one side of the Grand Canal to the other, where there isn’t a nearby bridge.

Sure, the journey is only 2 minutes or so, but for only €2 you can ride it multiple times (like I did) and have an authentic, local experience while you’re at it!

Lose your way

There are very few cities in the world in which getting lost is considered a highlight.

Venice is one such city, as every corner unveils another picture perfect scene.

Don’t stress about getting lost – it’s pretty much inevitable as very few maps exist that show all of the winding alleys of the city – just enjoy what you uncover as you go!

Where to eat in Venice:

A day is certainly not enough time to really discover the best food a city has to offer, but I can say without a doubt that you must have dinner at Il Certosino on the island of Certosa.

The island itself is a hidden gem; it’s a stone’s throw from the main part of Venice and yet you feel like you’re hundreds of miles from a city.

Certosa is uninhabited apart from a few staff who work at the boutique hotel in the sprawling park that comprises the island.

There’s a bar, a small restaurant (where I had dinner) and a whole lot of peace and quiet. Eating at Il Certosino makes you feel like you’ve discovered Venice’s best kept secret; the food is simple, fresh and bursting with flavour, and there was not a word of English on the menu.

My waitress even taught me an essential lesson in Italian: bellissimo is not the correct word to describe delicious food. The correct phrase is buonissimo. And buonissimo it was!

Where to stay in Venice:

I’m not really a hostel person, but every once in a while if a property looks really good, I’ll give it a try.

Generator Hostel didn’t look like your average backpacker, bedbug-ridden hostel so I booked in for one night and hoped it was as stylish as it looked in the photos online. Overall, I was impressed.

The location is incredible (you can see St. Mark’s Square across the water), the staff are super friendly (they even loaned me a European adaptor when I’d forgotten mine) and the common areas could rival a hipster hotel in London. Dimly lit with moody lighting, quirky curiosities and yummy food and drinks available day and night, and that added bonus of free wifi, it was as cool a place to spend an evening in Venice as any.

I have to be honest about a couple of negative features though. The dorm rooms, although clean and neat, were extremely basic without much room or any real amenities. The bathrooms were, quite frankly, pretty poor – too few showers, almost no privacy and no space for personal belongings.

But if I did stay here again (and I would definitely consider it) I’d simply book a private, en-suite room. From €22.50 per person per night, you’d get all the benefits of this funky hostel with none of the traditional backpacker woes.

*Just letting you know: Generator Hostel generously provided me with one night at their Venice property in exchange for an honest review of their facilities and services. My writing and my opinions, as ever, are all mine.