What to pack?

Historically, the weather at the end of May and early June is simply lovely in Venice! On average, the high is 70-75℉, the low is 55-60℉. Sneakers, loafers and comfortable sandals are suggested for touring the cobblestone streets and bridges. Mosquitoes love water - Venice is on the water, pack bug spray or buy some at a Farmacia (pharmacy).

Do you have a reservation?

Venice is a compact city. You will find that many stores and restaurants are quite quaint. To ensure you don't miss out on a fabulous meal, reserve a table. The bride and groom are turning in early the night before the wedding. Be sure to book dinner after the welcome cocktail party. Check out our recommendations.

What's in your wallet?

We recommend getting euros from an ATM in Venice. It's customary to have cash on hand for wine bars, cicchetti and espresso breaks although most spots accept Apple Pay and credit cards. Speaking of wallets and valuable items, be smart! It’s common sense to be aware of your surroundings in a metropolitan city - Venice is no exception so keep your valuable items safe.

Wait, what is cicchetti?

Small plates of savory snacks made up of local specialties (crostini, panini, meatballs and tramezzini) served at traditional bars in and around Venice. If you’re thirsty from the cicchetti, you must get yourself a traditional Venetian aperitivo - a spritz.

Check out this article on the Venetian cicchetti - beware, it will make you hungry…

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-cicchetti-bars/index.html

Wait, how much should I tip after my delicious cicchetti and spritz?

If someone pulls up their iPad and asks for 18%, 20% or 22% - you must still be in America. Believe it or not, waitstaff get paid a living wage in Italy and there is no cultural expectation of tipping. However, if you have an exceptional experience, have loose euros (2 euros is a coin), or simply want to leave a thank you for a job very well done, no one is going to stop you and tips are very much appreciated.

Where's breakfast?

Italians don't really do breakfast - they have cappuccino with a pastry or cicchetti. The Hilton Molino Stucky (one of the hotels we recommend, the hotel we have a room block at) offers a continental breakfast to accommodate us foreigners.

How do I order a coffee in Italy without sounding like a total idiot?

Yup, you ordered an iced coffee and got an espresso with an ice cube. Katie Clark Glasgow sure did - more than once!

Check out this article to learn how to order your morning coffee, and yes, drinking a cappuccino after 11:00am is frowned upon to say the least….you’ve been warned. https://www.foodandwine.com/travel/restaurants/how-order-coffee-in-italy-without-sounding-idiot

I shopped till I dropped, can I get some money back?

Matter of fact, you can! If you spend a material amount whilst shopping in Italy (or the European Union in general), ask for a VAT form when you are making your purchase. Generally speaking, retailers will ask for your passport to fill out this form, but you can usually get away with a photo of your passport if you’re not comfortable carrying it around. VAT is collected at a rate of 22% on most items at the time of purchase, and with the VAT form, you are able to get back most of the tax money prior to leaving the EU. This is done at the airport before you go through security. Allow yourself plenty of time to submit the VAT refund form(s) at the airport when planning your departure from the EU. Refunds are typically issued within 30 days.

Parli Italiano? (Do you speak Italian?)

No problem if you don’t - Charlotte doesn’t (yet!). English is spoken at nearly all hotels and restaurants - most young people in Venice speak English so you shouldn’t have any issues communicating. We do recommend leveraging Google translate when necessary.

As mentioned on the Travel & Accommodation page, the main train station in Venice is Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia. Trains are so easy in Italy - we recommend the train if you intend to travel in northern Italy, central Italy, north of Italy or west of Italy. These are the two most popular train lines out of Venice:

Trenitalia - https://www.trenitalia.com/en/purchase.html

Italo Treno - https://www.italotreno.it/en

If you plan to stay in northern Italy, we recommend Lake Como, Milan, Verona and the Cinque Terre (five beautiful hillside villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore - you can hike across all these towns).

If you plan to travel to central Italy, we recommend Tuscany and Rome (Charlotte’s favorite city in the world!). If you want to spend some time in Tuscany, we highly recommend going to Florence and the countryside (especially if you’re a fan of Italian wines…think Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Montepulciano - each of these types of wine have a beautiful village and surrounding landscape).

If you plan to travel west or north of Italy, you have a lot of options for beautiful places - south of France, Monaco and Switzerland to name a few.

If you plan to go south of Italy, a flight is your best option.