OG VENICE ITALY TRAVEL GUIDE
  • Venice City Guide
    • About Venice
    • Tips & Tricks
    • WiFi & Cellular Phone Service
    • Transportation
    • Food >
      • Cicchetti Spots
      • Restaurants
      • Rialto & Shops
      • Bakeries & Pastry Shops
      • Speciality Food Shops
    • Bars & Nightlife >
      • Rialto Bars
      • Castello Bars
      • Dorsoduro Bars
      • Cannaregio Bars
      • Santa Croce Bars
      • San Marco Bars
    • Lido Beaches >
      • Beaches
      • Lido Snacks
    • Shopping >
      • Fine Art & Antique Books
      • Murano Glass & Sculpture
      • Murano Glass Jewelry
      • Fine & Designer Jewelry
      • Leather Goods & Handbags
      • Clothing & Shoes
      • Bookstores
      • Artisan Shops & Souvenirs
      • Vintage & Second Hand
      • Florists & Flower Shops
    • Necessities >
      • Hardware & Electronics
    • Excursions
    • Key Resources
  • Venice Tours, Walks & Excursions
    • Island Farms & Wine
    • Inside Murano Glass Tour
    • Murano Glass for Interior Design
    • Veneto Excursions
    • Gourmet Shopping Tour
    • Lido Market Stroll
    • Artisan Shopping Walk
    • Private Historical Tours
    • Tours FAQ
  • Travel Consulting
  • Images

Inside Of OG Venice Travel Guide

10/18/2014

 
Sign painter in Venice Italy, Street sign in Venice Italy, Per Rialto, Per San Marco
OG Venice is the first, and still the only, strictly "city" guide to Venice Italy.  It is the only guide to Venice  that focuses exclusively on artisan shops, local eateries, beaches, nightlife and providing detailed and accurate practical information about life in the most serene republic of Venice. I started this project more than five years ago, after nine years of watching, listening and learning around Venice, with one not-so-simple goal:  To create a guide that could free other tourists from the theme-park experience and help them discover the living breathing Venice behind the breathtaking facades of this City.  What does such a guide include?  Hmm...
Practical Information.  As Venice has become increasingly mass-tourism centric, accomplishing everyday things has become more and more difficult.  This is true for everyone in Venice, tourists and locals alike.  The first Thank You letter OG Venice received was from a group of students who were overjoyed to have been able to, finally, find a grocery store and a laundromat near the apartment they had rented. Now, OG Venice can direct fellow travelers to virtually anything they may need, from Vaporetto passes to Food to Pharmacies.  And, as unglamorous as these things may sound, they are not only the first things you should take care of in Venice, they're also the tasks that are most likely to put you in contact with real Venetians right away.  If you have any practical questions about life in Venice, check out these sections of OG Venice Travel Guide:
  • WiFi & Cellular Phone Service.  You can stay connected for a lot less money than an international mobile plan would cost you...
  • Tips & Tricks.  Learn about all the surprises that Venice will throw at you and master some tricks for going with the flow like a native Venetian.
  • Transportation. Unless you can walk on water, you'll want to know about boat services in the lagoon!
  • Food.  Forget everything you've heard, it is possible to eat very well, even on a very tight budget, in Venice.
  • Necessities.  It is much more difficult to find a hair dryer in Venice than it is to find a priceless work of art.  But OG Venice can help you find just about any seemingly ordinary thing that can be seemingly impossible to come bye in Venice!
Nightlife.  Don't let the elegant facades fool you!  Venice is a loud-singing hard-drinking town.  As Venetians like to point out, "It's not as though you'll be driving anywhere!"  Adjusting to Venetian nightlife, which seems to begin at around 10AM for those who have the day off, is a challenge.  But here's the thing: Venetian nightlife, especially bacaro hopping, is really not about sloppy drunkenness at all.  It's about the community in Venice and the exchange of ideas.  Bacari are the places where Venetians go together to catch up on life and discuss the goings on in their town and making "bacaro tours" is a local tradition practiced by Venetians of almost all ages and backgrounds.  Children play in the squares while parents enjoy a spritz and groups of childhood friends who have been practicing together for decades perform music of all genres.  That's right, you can't even go out at night without meeting an artist, in Venice!
  • Our Bars & Nightlife Section features local-favorite bars in each district of Venice.  Now, Venice has a lot more bars than just those listed here. But those listed here are bars wherein I am absolutely certain that everyone who walks through the door will be treated well and honestly, and where we tourists have a chance of mingling with some real Venetians.  
Shopping.  Venetian artisans have been renowned throughout history for their skill and creativity and the historically famous Venetian arts are still coveted by many travelers today.  Sadly, however, many tourists miss their opportunity to acquire authentic Venetian treasures in Venice.  There are an unfathomable number of fake Venetian products being sold to tourists in the center of Venice itself.  Worst of all, since most people don't even know they're purchasing fakes, this has sullied the reputation of contemporary Venetian artists.  Are they really still making cheap versions of post-war favorites?  Of Course Not!  They are making gorgeous contemporary treasures unlike anything you've ever seen before.  The Venetian artists of today are still among the most creative and talented artists in the world.
  • Our Shopping Section proudly features more than 60 contemporary Venetian artists and artisans engaged in crafts ranging from jewelry to glass work, from sculpture to clothing design to leather works.  All of these shops are Venetian owned and many of the artists you will meet in these shops create their contemporary pieces using traditional Venetian methods and materials.  These are places where you can find the new treasures in Venice.
Excursions.  Visitors to Venice  can quickly come to feel disconnected from nature, surrounded as they are by cobble stone streets and marble and plaster buildings.  Venice can seem like an entirely man-made environment (Venice is architecture!), and most of the gardens one sees a wisteria creeping out of are off limits to the rest of us.  Yet, Venice is situated in and dependent upon an extremely unique and beautiful natural environment:  The Lagoon!  There are many Islands in the lagoon, each with its own population and culture, and each of which contributes its own gifts to Venice.  Lido has beaches.  Sant'Erasmo has farms.  Burano has lace and gorgeous colored homes.  Murano, of course, has glass factories… and there's more!  The Island of Certosa, for example, has an enormous marina and acres and acres of nature preserve.  
  • Our Excursions Section and our Lido Beaches show some of the myriad options there are for exploring all of the different worlds, environments and lifestyles there are to be found in the lagoon.  All of these places an easy and inexpensive to reach.  And, as incredible as it may seem, they are also all really Venetian.
More!  Oh yes, there's more… 
  • Experience providers.  Believe it or not, it is possible to go to Venice, stay for for three days, and still never actually meet a Venetian.  (The percentage ratio of Venetians to Tourists is truly shockingly small.)  Yet, the best way, perhaps the only way to really see Venice, is in the company of Venetians.
  • Local Tourism Sites and Key Resources.  OG Venice provides links to the most useful and informative local tourism sites.  Through these links you can buy boat and museum passes, learn about eco-friendly tourism initiatives, read local news…or just book a taxi from the airport…
  • The OG Venice Trip Planner.  The very steps I use to plan my own travel to Venice, updated to include the services of some amazing startups - Hopper.com & AllTheRooms.com - Which have made travel planner so much easier not just for Venice, but the world.  

So… It may be a little quiet around the OG Venice Blog for a while as I focus my energy on improving OG Venice Travel Guide.  But hey!  That's exactly what I am here for:  To continue to create the first, only and very best city guide to Venice, Italy.  
<<Previous

    OG Venice Italy Blog

    Our Venice Italy travel blog is packed with both pretty pictures and useful information about life in the most serene republic of Venice.  Enjoy!

    Recommended Reading in & about Venice:

    Things to Do & See in Venice:

    Tours of Venice Italy, See Venice Italy, Venice Island Tours, Island of Sant'Erasmo Venice, Northern Lagoon of Venice, Venetian Lagoon, Venetian Artichokes, Food in Venice Italy, Farms in Venice Italy, Views of Venice Italy
    Tours, Walks and Excursions
    Picture
    Eredi Jovon Cameos

    Blog Categories:

    All
    About OG Venice
    Aperitivo In Venice
    Arts In Venice Italy
    Bars & Nightlife
    Bookstores In Venice
    Carnival Masks
    Cicchetti
    Concerns About Venice
    Eating In Venice
    Events In Venice
    Excursions In Venice Italy
    Food In Venice
    Food & Wine
    Handmade In Venice
    Humor
    Images Of Venice
    Jewelry In Venice Italy
    Lagoon
    Leather Goods In Venice Italy
    Lido Beaches
    Life In Venice Italy
    Murano Glass
    News Of Venice
    Restaurants In Venice
    Saving Money In Venice
    Shopping In Venice
    Sightseeing In Venice Italy
    Souvenirs From Venice Italy
    Spritz
    Tips & Tricks
    Tourists In Venice
    Tours

    RSS Feed

    Venice Blogs & Websites We Love:

    Naturally Epicurean -
    Venice Food Guide and Healthy Italian Food Blog full of both excellent recommendations for eating out in Venice and​ lots of healthy recipes to try at home.
    La Venessiana- Wonderfully Written and Curated Mix of History, Tradition and Recipes all Originating in Venice.

    Colazione a Venezia - Breakfast in Venice
    The ultimate journal of teas, coffee and pastries in Venice!

    Detourism - Sustainable Tourism - Regularly Published Newsletter of Off-the-Beaten-Trail Tourism Suggestions for Venice

    Gruppo 25 Aprile - The Blog of a Non-Partisan Citizens Group Sharing Statistics About Venice and Citizens' Concerns about Life in The Lagoon.

    Cook in Venice Blog - Recipes, Cookbooks & All the Food News of Venice

    I Am Not Making This Up Blog - Witty, Humorous and Impeccably Written Observations about Life in Venice

    Venezia Nascosta (Hidden Venice) - Images and Posts Discussing the History, Mysteries and Traditions of Venice

    Venezia da Vivere - The Cultural Activity Guide to Venice
Looking for something special in Venice?  OG Venice Travel Guide has more than 250 listings. Search Inside: 
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
Media Kit
© 2018 OG Venice Italy