Our first day and a half in Venice had been fun, but we were put off by the size of the crowds and the press of people in and around St Mark's Square. The square is huge and during the day it literally was full of people, pressed close together! The streets close the the square were equally jammed. We soon learned that the overload of people come from the cruise ships that dock early and stay all day. The crowds they dump onto Venice really distort the environment around St Mark's Square.
We decided to get away and see what else Venice had to offer. So Saturday morning we had breakfast in the beautiful hotel garden room, then set off for the Rialto Bridge, which is lined with shops like the Ponte Vecchia in Florence. There are also produce and fish markets near Rialto that we wanted to visit. After crossing the Gande Canal on the Rialto we walked through the produce and fish markets, then set off to explore farther away from St Mark's Square. We were pleasantly surprised to find a cleaner, calmer, more enjoyable Venice. We found local people shopping at the markets, European couples and families on holiday but away from the tourist areas. We walked through residential streets and discovered small squares (called Campo's) that were like a small community with its own shops, cafe's, hotels and markets. We saw small boutique hotels and B&B's that look really interesting. It was a different Venice.
Below are a few favorite photos from that day, and the full album link is below. These are some of my best photos of Venice.
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