New Year in Venice and on the islands of the lagoon

Trip Description

Accomodation

Stay program

• day 1

  Venice

  

  Remember to store your luggage upon arrival in Venice, as we will only collect it again in the late afternoon to go to the hotel. Meeting at 9:40 am at the luggage storage of Venice Santa Lucia train station. First discovery of Venice through the districts of San Polo and Santa Croce, the Rialto, the church of dei Frari and the famous Assumption by Titian. A multitude of small squares, churches, canals... In the late afternoon, transfer by vaporetto to our hotel*** located in the lagoon and check-in at the hotel. Walking time: about 4 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: dinner. Meals not included: breakfast, lunch.

• day 2

  Southern and eastern part of Castello, Murano islands and Green islands.

  

  Boat to the San Zaccaria docks. After a quick glance at the too-famous "Bridge of Sighs," we will walk along the docks towards San Francesco della Vigna to reach the Arsenal district and its famous Lions of the Gate of Honour. Visit of this quiet district, away from the crowds of St Mark's Square. Detour to the small island of San Pietro di Castello. It was the first to be inhabited, as it was at the entrance to the Lagoon, close to the sea. The island has a cathedral, built in the 8th century, which hides the mysterious "Throne of Saint Peter" dear to Corto Maltese. Then we will board for Murano, the island of Glassmakers, where we will have a picnic and visit, among other things, the glass museum as well as the magnificent church of Santi Maria e Donato. Glassblower demonstration if possible. After a short vaporetto ride, we will board a small private boat to the island of San Francesco. We will visit the cloister and the church of the Franciscan convent. The boat trip offers us a unique view of the Lagoon, with its stretches of marshland populated by myriads of birds. Return to the hotel. Walking time: about 5 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 3

  Venice, the southern sestieri of the Serenissima: Dorsoduro and San Marco.

  

  We begin this second day of our visit to Venice in the San Marco district, which houses the prestigious buildings that attract visitors passionate about art and history, as well as the unconditional lovers of this fascinating sestiere. Admirers of this unique city may not leave the heart of the city, hypnotized by the architectural magnificence of the Doge's Palace, the Basilica, Piazza San Marco, the alignment of the Procuratie, the Marciana Library, the Correr Museum... without a pang in their hearts. Yet, this district favored by the Gods, the most visited in Venice, has other wonders, other secrets, such as the La Fenice theater or the magnificent staircase of the Palazzo del Bovolo. Visit to the Basilica San Marco and its superb mosaics from the 12th and 13th centuries. We then return to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and its superb Palladian church before continuing to the island of Giudecca for the lunch break. The island of Giudecca belongs to the Dorsoduro district from which it is separated by a canal over 300 meters wide. It is the union of eight small islets connected by canals. Its position facing Venice makes it a magnificent balcony, far from the hustle and bustle of San Marco. We then head, at the beginning of the afternoon, to the Dorsoduro district. It is an old district where it is pleasant to stroll. It occupies the southwest part of the city. An elegant district, full of museums, lined with many welcoming quays, endowed with delightful campos, topped with magnificently decorated churches, Dorsoduro gives the impression of offering only wonders, especially if one has the "eye of the soul." It is on the rio Trovaso, which crosses Dorsoduro, that gondolas are repaired and repainted for the coming season... The day will end with a visit to the Rezzonico Palace, to appreciate the splendor of a patrician residence on the banks of the Grand Canal. Return to the hotel by vaporetto no. 1 which runs along the Grand Canal. Walking time: about 5 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 4

  The Lido, the island of Pellestrina and Chioggia

  

  After a short stop on the island of Lido, famous for the Venice Biennale which organizes, among other cultural events, the international Venice film art competition (the Mostra), awarded the famous Golden Lion, we will head to the island of Pellestrina (by bus and by boat). Magnificent walk between sky and sea on the thin lagoon strip and its fishing villages with a peaceful atmosphere, far from the hustle and bustle of the Serenissima. As we move forward into the vast expanse of the Venetian Lagoon, the silhouette of Pellestrina, loved by Thomas Mann, appears before our eyes. An 11-kilometer ribbon, protected by the Murazzi, the backdrop of Venice, punctuated by small villages such as Portosecco, San Pietro in Volta, and Santa Maria del Mare, with the churches of Santa Maria, San Vito, and Sant'Antonio, the Zenetti district and its small square. Next, discovery of Chioggia at the southwestern tip of the Lagoon. Chioggia is a miniature replica of Venice, with a few canals, the main one being the Canale Vena, and characteristic narrow streets, the "calli"; the three other canals are the Lusenzo canal, the Lombardo canal, and the San Domenico canal. Return to the hotel by vaporetto. Walking time: about 5 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 5

  The islands of Burano and Torcello - free afternoon in Venice

  

  Boarding in the morning for the northernmost islands of the Lagoon: Burano and Torcello. The Venice Lagoon has several dozen islands, some small, but also sometimes of significant size. Before settling on the Realtine islands, which today form the historic center of Venice and give their name to its most famous bridge, the Rialto, the heart of the city was located in Torcello, ancient Venice. There are still some architectural remains there, including an imposing church with its bell tower. For the rest, nature has completely reclaimed its rights and "swallowed" what men had laboriously built there over the centuries. The abandonment of Torcello is, according to historians, linked to mosquitoes. It was these small animals and the diseases they carried that got the better of the inhabitants of this former Venice and pushed the Venetians to settle permanently on the Realtine islands. Venice is still a city that beats to the rhythm of its Lagoon, its tides, its moods. It is this maritime character that has long shaped the destiny of the Serenissima, a republic of sailors, warring and trading throughout the Mediterranean and beyond, but also, more modestly, a city of fishermen. And this history, these special ties with water have over the centuries shaped the particular character of the Venetians, giving them that peculiarity common to islanders of feeling different and of protecting at all costs their independence from those of the "continent", the "Terra Ferma" as it is called here. During this day, even more than during the day dedicated to Murano, the city of Glass Art, you will be sensitive to the particularism of these islands with Torcello, the ghost town mentioned above, but also with Burano, the city of lace with discreet charm, a city where women, from the "maestra" to the worker, have forged all the history and reputation. On the return from the islands, in the early afternoon, after docking at Fondamente Nuove, we will part ways until dinner time at the hotel. You can take advantage of this free time to do your shopping in Venice before the departure the next day. There is no shortage of souvenir shops: Burano lace, Murano glass objects, Venetian masks... but beware of "made in China" imitations. Walking time: about 3 hours. Accommodation: hotel***. Meals included: breakfast - lunch - dinner.

• day 6

  North of Castello and Cannaregio - End of the stay

  

  After storing our luggage at Santa Lucia station, we will take the vaporetto to the Rialto Pescheria. After a short stroll through this colorful and lively market, we will cross the Grand Canal by gondola for our last visit to Venice, exploring the northern part of the Sestiere di Castello and that of Cannaregio. To fully enjoy all the bustling Venetian life and the beauty of the Pescheria stalls, we will go there directly. And as the Venetians say, "fish has 24 lives and loses one every hour." After 11 a.m., even if a few merchants are still there, the stalls are already half empty and the atmosphere is no longer the same. Cannaregio is bordered to the north by the Lagoon up to the canal of the Mendicants. The boundary with the Sestiere di Castello is determined by this canal to the south up to the rio de Santa Marina. Heading west, the boundary then follows this last canal, then the rio de San Lio and the rio del Fontego dei Tedeschi, which separates it from the Sestiere di San Marco, up to the Grand Canal. The main waterway serves as the boundary with the Sestiere di San Polo and Santa Croce. The main canal is the Cannaregio Canal, which connects the Grand Canal at the level of the San Geremia church, with the Lagoon. Two bridges cross this canal: the Ponte delle Guglie, whose four corners are decorated with obelisks, hence its name, and the Ponte dei Tre Archi. This last three-arched structure is the only bridge of its kind in Venice. From Campo San Geremia, it is easy to cross the slender Ponte delle Guglie and reach the Ghetto. Settled there for more than five centuries, Venetian Jews founded their synagogues and their university there, building "a city within the city." It is a rather dark neighborhood where the inhabitants seem to have retained a reserved attitude. Venice is both a Western city and one of Eastern influence. The domination it exercised over its colonized territories resulted in the mingling of populations of different origins. Various traditions have taken root in the social and cultural life of Venetians over the centuries. Of all these inhabitants of diverse origins, the Jews have certainly been the most harassed. Walking time: about 4 hours. Meals included: breakfast. Meals not included: lunch - dinner.