Out to the Veneto

Although Venice has hundreds of sights and can bear many years of repeated visits, we also find our visitors enjoy the fact that Cannaregio is the nearest point in Venice to the further attractions of the Veneto hinterland (“terra firma” as the Venetians like to call it). The Veneto region was the final footprint of the Venetian empire, and its many towns and villas are testimonials to Venice’s wealth and addiction to beauty in many forms. You can easily reach the marble-paved streets of Vicenza in under an hour’s rail journey from Venice. There are many, many more such wonderful sights.

The natural beauty of the region is also in a league of its own. The Dolomites loom above the plain that sweeps down to Venice. Hire a car and you will be able to reach the Dolomites in under two hours, and you will find a jagged playground of summits and snow, limpid lakes and ideal walking territory. But even on the plain, the vineyards and hot springs are compelling attractions, complemented by the famous ensemble of Palladian villas – the most civilised farmsteads you’ll ever see.

Venice is blessed with an amazing variety of attractions in easy train journey reach from Santa Lucia Station, which in turn is about 15 minutes from our vacation rental properties. Click on each pin on the map to show one of the major attractions you can reach within about 45-90 minutes on the train from Venice (Trieste takes a bit longer).

We find the rail services that run from Cannaregio’s Santa Lucia Railway stationto be reliable, good value and enjoyable to use. Journeys are generally charged by the kilometre so the fares are much more rational and reasonable than those we are used to paying in Britain. There are high-speed trains to Milan, and using the same service you can even take a day-trip to Florence and back.

We also have used the car-rental agencies at Piazzale Roma. As there are four or five located in a cluster, it is generally easy to find a car to hire on a whim, and prices are around €70-€90 a day for a small hatchback. Within minutes you can be on the main motorway heading up into the Dolomites. And, as ever, you can take one of our many guidebooks or art/architecture books, supplied in the houses, as your cicerone on your travels!

Padua tourist information

Just over half an hour from Venice. Padua’s treasure is the Scrovegni Chapel, Giotto’s masterwork; the Giotto chapel official home page tells you how you can book tickets in advance (essential to avoid disappointment). The official Padua tourist office site , run by the APT (Azienda di Promozione Turistica di Padova) is also available.

Vicenza information

Just 20 minutes further than Padua by train, this town is a living museum of Palladio. Vicenza’s official APT tourist guidance site. Along with the main Palladian monuments in Vicenza, above all the Teatro Olimpico (see a site focused on classical music played at the Teatro), most visitors want to see the Palladian villas of the Brenta – ably described by Boglewood.com, which describes Palladio as “the most influential architect in the history of architecture”. The most convenient way for you to see the villas is to hire a car at Piazzale Roma for the day – or to take a trip with …

Walking trips in Venice and the Veneto

Monica (Italian) and Jonathan (British) offer intimate, well-informed day tours of the Veneto region, picking up the eight participants (maximum) directly from Venice. Tours include: Palladio Villas and Palladio’s Vicenza; the Dolomites and Cortina; Verona and the Soave, Valpolicella and Prosecco wine regions; and the Eugenean hills. (They also offer walking tours in Venice itself).

Verona official sites

The Romans were long gone by the time Venice was founded. For a dose of Roman remains, Verona is your place, above all the Roman arena with its open-air summer opera festival . Take a look at Verona’s excellent official tourist information site , which shows the many attractions of this exceptionally beautiful city.

Bassano del Grappa

On our blog you will find a detailed guide to this delightful town from guest blogger Judy Roy.

Belluno & Cortina – Dolomites information

Hardly twin towns, as they are a good distance apart, but both interesting destinations on a drive up into the Dolomites – where Italy begins to looks like Switzerland or Austria – and both share a single official Belluno and Cortina APT tourist office site.

Day trips to Florence

Florence is now just two hours away by train. It’s an easy day-trip – see one of our blog posts for more information about train times, ticket prices, etc.

Milan shopping

Milan is well beyond the Veneto, and may not win the beauty contest, but for fashion, shopping and opera it has few rivals in northern Italy. After a long absence, there is now an official APT tourist information site for Milan. The opera house Teatro alla Scala has a full, informative website.

And Trieste (ah Trieste!)

Or more precisely, as James Joyce wrote in Finnegan’s Wake: “And trieste, ah trieste ate I my liver“! This is a crossroads city, with allegiances to Austria and the Balkans. The Trieste official Azienda di Promozione Turistica site (in English) is a good, informative site.