The island of Pellestrina
My first one is actually the place we stayed in which was the little island of Pellestrina. It was completely different from the busy streets of the main island of Venice as it was a more residential non-touristy place and was extremely quiet all throughout the day.
It was so lovely and quiet and it was like stepping back in time to a classic Italian village plus it had the most amazing view of the sunset every night over the water. I don't think anywhere else will beat it! The residents were lovely and tried helping us as much as they could (we had a few mishaps including a flat bike tyre and not been able to find our house when we first arrived) even though there was a huge language barrier in that they spoke no English and we spoke no Italian.
We rented our house from a lovely lady from Airbnb (You can find the one we stayed in HERE. If you have never used Airbnb before you can use my link HERE to get £25 of free travel credit when you sign up. It also gets me £15 of travel credit once your trip is done). She left us with 2 bikes which we could use around the island and we definitely made use of them! The island is very long and thin with only 1 road running down the middle with a beach on one side and a harbour running down the other.
Overall it was the BEST place to stay if you don't want the mania that is the main island of Venice and you want somewhere that is a little more budget friendly too. It is the type of place I would love to retire to in the future.
At the time I wish I had written down the name of the place as it took me literal hours to find it on google. I even searched images of the cloth and plate designs, that's how deep the search went so I was very glad when I found it.
You can see more information about it on TripAdvisor.
Trattoria Alla Rivetta
We were looking for somewhere random to eat an evening meal with no idea where we were going until we came across Trattoria Alla Rivetta which was hidden down the side of a small bridge (literally a hidden gem!). It had a very small entrance so could be easily missed. We were seated with an amazing view of the canal and the gondolas going past, so we couldn't have asked for anything better. The food we had was also divine. I can't remember the exact name of the dishes we had but they were seafood (I have attached a photo below). I would definitely recommend eating here, if you can locate it of course! The address is Castello 4625, Ponte San Provolo, 4625 Venice so good luck!At the time I wish I had written down the name of the place as it took me literal hours to find it on google. I even searched images of the cloth and plate designs, that's how deep the search went so I was very glad when I found it.
You can see more information about it on TripAdvisor.
Burano
This hidden gem was submitted by LeAnna at Well Traveled Nebraskan.
Nobody doubts that Venice is beautiful, but that is what makes it so touristy. We decided to ditch the crowds by hopping on the #12 Vaporetto boat and head to the island of Burano, just off of Venice. A lot of people opt for its sister island, Murano, known for its exquisite glass blowing, but Burano seemed to be a bit more off of tourists' radars and was known for its delicate lace and delicious white wine. I was sold.
By getting there in the late afternoon, we had the added bonus of missing out on most Venetian cruise boat tourists and basically had the pastel canals all to ourselves.
We almost forgot about the throngs of people waiting for us back in Venice as we strolled the picturesque lanes window shopping and taking it slow at a cafe sipping on wine as we people watched…just like the locals seemed to be doing.
Walking in Venice is the first thing you will experience when visiting the city. Google maps still hasn't mastered the "best routes" in that little city and with all the little alleyways, the little bridges and the canal, getting lost is inescapable. I don't think I went a day there without getting lost at least a few times. On one of my uncertain walks in the very big summer crowd, I found a little gem that was not on my radar before visiting the city. The window was the biggest draw for me and I couldn't resist the inviting art supplies, so I went inside Arcobaleno Pigmenti. It is an Italian brand with natural, colourful pigments that I absolutely loved! It's a fantastic shop for art lovers or if you want to buy presents for artist friends. It was my one of my highlights there.
The small cluster of man-made islands to the north-east of Venice is the island town of Murano. Just a few minutes water taxi ride from Venice, it is almost like a suburb but has an entirely different vibe from Venice or it’s sibling islands of Burano and Torcello. The three beautiful islands make for a perfect day trip from Venice.
Murano is famous for its glass art. Many glass factories give tours during their working hours. Some visitors purchase exquisite glass pieces to take or ship home and others take pictures and experiences.
Read more about Murano at https://storyateverycorner.com/murano/
Arcobaleno Pigmenti
This hidden gem was submitted by Esra at Arabian Wanderess.Murano
This hidden gem was submitted by Jyoti at Story At Every Corner.Murano is famous for its glass art. Many glass factories give tours during their working hours. Some visitors purchase exquisite glass pieces to take or ship home and others take pictures and experiences.
Read more about Murano at https://storyateverycorner.com/murano/
Have you ever visited Venice? If so did you come across any of these hidden gems? Let me know in the comments below.
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