How is Venice changing after a rather difficult year 2019, and what is important to know for visitors now? While outwardly, the city is beautiful as always, there are a few things you need to take into account to prepare your visit in 2020 ff. In this post, we share our favorite resources (books, travel tips, travel websites). While some resources are equally relevant for all visitors, we mention specific tips for first-time, frequent visitors and “Venice experts / insiders”.
Basic resources for all visitors
These are our recommended resources for you to keep up in touch with Venice, and consult before your visit. Each of these links has plenty of suggestions to dig deeper and find your personal favorite topics.
- Venezia Unica not only offers updates on events in 6 languages but offers a website where you can book online combined tickets for museums and public transport as City Pass. By the way, did you know that each museum has a website of its own, that you can access via the MUVE website? Just scroll down to discover them all, from Doge’s Palace to Clock Tower. And there’s a nice section dedicated to the Museum Cafes, a wonderful opportunity to reflect and stay a little longer :-)
- OG Venice Travel Guide: For years, this has been my favorite resource, and I recommend it to you to find shops and restaurants. It also has lots of background information on arts and crafts!
- Venezia 360 gradi / evenice has the latest events and tips for your stay in Venice.
- Did you know? Seasonal festivities have their own websites: Click to discover the program and background of La Biennale, and here to discover historical events like Festa della Sensa, El Redentore and Madonna della Salute.
Resources for first-time visitors
Are planning to visit Venice for the first time, or are you returning after more than 10-15 years (a lot has changed ..). We can’t wait for you to discover the city and dive right in. Here are some resources for you:
- Venice for first-time visitors: Read our welcome blog post for first-time visitors.
- Dream of Venice: Discover the luminous first book of the Dream of Venice family – read my book review here on taking in the floating city with all senses.
- EnjoyRespectVenezia by Detourism Venezia shares a valuable collection of evergreen itineraries for your stay in Venice.
Resources for frequent visitors / Venetophiles
You return to Venice as often as you can, once or several times a year! You love exploring art and food and enjoy Venetian lifestyle. You do (much of) your shopping in Venice, some of you write blogs, love painting, or are photographers. Most of all, you love immersing yourselves into Venetian creativity, collecting books, paintings, and all websites and newsletters out there on Venice! Here are our suggestions for you, the frequent travelers – Venetophiles, for a fresh start into your new decade with Venice!
- For those of you who love art: Explore Sophia Khan’s thoughtful paintings of Venice and think of the stories behind. Sophia also offers a wonderful Letter from the Art Studio. In Venice, visit Fondazione Querini Stampaglia and her exhibitions, such as Venezia in 140 immagini tra Ottocento e Novecento. Venture out into the walled garden and think about the special Venetian garden style that architect Carlo Scarpa recreated (learn more about his garden masterplan in a blog post we’ll publish in early February). If you love art books, take a look at Dream of Venice in Black and White, revealing contemporary Venice and her unexpected connections with the past. Click here to read our book review.
- Explore the secrets of Venice with local tour guides: Monica Cesarato, in addition to working as tour guide and running the Culinary Studio Cook in Venice, writes a resourceful blog which includes wonderful stories about food and artists in Venice. Best Venice Guides also have a very valuable blog, taking up topics of history, art and architecture.
- For all our visitors who love photography: Venice is an endless resource and pleasure for all who love photography: Fabio Bressanello offers tours showing the city from the point of view of a professional photographer.
- Venetia – Venetian Culture and Heritage – The Complete Roadmap to Venice: Created for all who wish to explore the unknown Venice and the true stories of La Serenissima (421-1797), Venetia introduces the real city behind the scenes. We also lift the secret of Venetian cuisine, gardens and palazzi, sharing a special three-step roadmap to visiting the city in the decade ahead. Click here to discover Venetia!
Resources for “insiders / experts”
This is for all who call Venezia “home” or “second home”. You speak Italian and (!) Venetian fluently, plus the second and third former official languages of La Serenissima Republic, Latin and Ancient Greek (koiné to be precise). Thus, you are able read the original texts and draw your own conclusions. You contribute to shedding light on forgotten aspects of Venice, being a regular at the Venetian State Archive and museum libraries. We are happy to already have met some of you, such as historian Frederick Lane, whom Lina gave access to the library of San Zaccaria to do research for his book on money and banking in Renaissance Venice.
Perhaps you would like to focus on a certain topic in 2020 and explore it from original documents? What about the urban development of our city, why and how the ancient professions made Venice unique in the world? The shelves of libraries and the State Archive are filled with forgotten books waiting for us to open!
- Learning more about urban development: I nizioléti raccontano Venezia: Which specific features of the Venetian cityscape and their meaning pass on Venetian heritage, language and stories?
- I mestieri antichi di Venezia: Discover the role of ancient professions in Venice in this book by Antonio Manno, and then compare your findings with this 16-part-blog series written by Nino Baldan: Le attività scomparse a Venezia. Just think – which of these mestieri would be important to take up again? This is another topic we cover in Venetia – Venetian Heritage.
- Dive into history: Focus on the area around Campo della Bragora and the secret stories of families: Start with exploring the website of the church San Giovanni in Bragora and get to know the families living on this campo in the past (some still live here). How did they coin the foreign and merchant policy of Venice? San Giovanni in Bragora by Virgilio Boccardi reveals many secrets and is the only one mentioning the little-known fact that the Venetian Loredan family are the in-laws of Marco Polo, and their special relationship with the Medici of Florence.
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