4 pieces of advice to live Venice at its best

Being a city so different from any other in the world, Venice needs to be treated with more than simple respect. Visiting Venice is not like visiting a big city like New York or Singapore, its ecosystem is so fragile and delicate that needs to be protected, by educating people to a sustainable tourism. 

In order to preserve the beauty of our city and help our tourists to understand its uniqueness, the Municipality of Venice launched the hashtag #EnjoyRespectVenezia during the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. If you’re sharing any picture of your trip to Venice on Instagram and want to sustain the cause, feel free to add this hashtag to it.

To make our part in this initiative, we thought to write this brief guide about how living and enjoying Venice at its best during your stay here, following these 4 simple rules.

1. Walk on the right side of the streets

As you know, Venice streets (called “calle”) are narrow, and considering how many people come to visit the city every year, it would be impossible for residents to feel comfortable while they go shopping, for example. As you do when you drive your car on the street, try to stay on the right side of a calle while in Venice, in this way you won’t stop the people flow and everyone can enjoy visiting the city.

2. Wear comfortable shoes

Walking in Venice is part of the game. Even if you’re planning to take the vaporetto to move across the city, you’ll walk anyway to reach the attraction you want to see and it’s better if you’re wearing a pair of comfortable shoes.

Venice has more than 400 bridges, and we bet you won’t miss the chance to cross the most iconic one, the Rialto Bridge, will you?

3. Don’t eat on the street

Venice is not an amusement park, but a historical city that deserves your respect. If you don’t want to have lunch in a restaurant, you can eat a sandwich inside one of the beautiful parks and gardens around the city or you can stop by a typical bacaro and try a traditional Venetian snack together with a sip of spritz. 

4. Don’t be afraid to get lost

Last rule but not least: don’t be afraid of going off the beaten path! Getting lost in Venice gives you the chance of discovering a city a lot different from the one you’re used to seeing on the internet. There are a lot of hidden places in Venice to find out, even if you’re spending only a couple of days in town.