What to do in Venice for 2 days?

In two days I'll be on a plane headed to Europe for a week- the first 2/3 will be spent in Germany (including a trip to- and around if all goes well- the Nurburgring) and then to Venice. I'm not too worried about what to do while in Germany- we've got that reasonably well mapped out and having lived there as an Army Brat I know I'd frankly be able to keep myself entertained just wandering around.

Venice however is a different story- I've never been there, and neither have any of my friends who are going along. Any suggestions/tips/stories from those of you who have? Going there with a group of other guys, so no need to worry about any romantic spots or activities (will save those for if/when I make it there with my GF...). Thanks!

Eat, drink, walk around.

you can also find a plethora of concerts all over the various islands. Classial ones, but they are interesting.

And if you are there between Aug 28 and Sept 7 this year, there's the Venice Film Festival.

nab some italian poon?

Datsun1500 wrote: I was there for a week in April, not much to do at all. Piazza San Marco is neat to see, but for a guys trip, other than walking around just looking at cool architecture, there is really nothing.

I had nearly the same experience. The place itself if beautiful, but it's a gigantic tourist trap. It's very, very difficult to find a place to eat or drink that isn't an over priced "restaurant" that serves microwaved food to tourists. We did find one really nice pub that was off the beaten path that we proceeded to get really, really, drunk at, but that's about it.

Steal a E36 M3load of gold?

I've been there a few times, and as much as I want it to be special, I haven't found it to be. Too many tourists, too many businesses targeting tourists, too many aggressive Nigerian street vendors, too expensive. Now that I've revitalized my interest in photography, I might find it providing some good opportunities there, but as a visitor with no ulterior motives, I'd go somewhere else.

Visit some of the glass factories. There are some beautiful pieces made there.

Eat!, Also we visited the PUMA store and posed next to the Ferrari F1 car.

One thing that will help- do a little research to find where the locals live. We did that on our first trip there, and found a little hole in the wall pasta/pizza place. It was great. Right next to wine store- where the wine came in kegs, you bring a bottle.

Go explore some catacombs.

Take a boat ride down the channels.

Have a nice lunch at one of several bistros

Maybe meet some cool Fez wearing dudes.

Perhaps take a lovely German girl back to your room

But bad food in Italy is still better eating than most any other place. I say eat, drink, catch a Vivaldi show, drink, take in San Marco, walk, drink, watch people. I had a pretty fun time there with the wife. Lots of walking, but we got lost and got found. Cool place. Two days is probably enough. We happened to be there the night that John Paul died- not Christians, but (respectfully) observing people's mourning in the piazza was a memory I won't forget.

Datsun1500 wrote: I assume anyone that is saying eat has never actually eaten in Venice. It was the worst food I've ever had.

FTFY

My wife and I got a little lost through the more "residential areas" and it was like night and day! It was the more "hold hands, walk slow, barfy love stuff" that we were expecting but didn't get in the more "touristy" areas. Plus there was a small fountain that, if I stood in front of and took a picture, it looked like I was peeing this monstrous stream of... ahem... So that was fun too.

But back to the food: Just buy some cheap Pizza, it's a lot better than anything else we've tried there.

There are some gems when it comes to food, but most of it is just kinda overpriced. Get away from the touristy stuff and visit the older cathedrals. San Marco is neat, but its been beaten by flooding and tourism. Basilica de SS Giovanni e Paolo is a remarkable church in that is was mostly in Rosestone and Brick. As a vocalist, I can say it was some of the most odd acoustics I've experienced. Its also interesting in that it was a poor-people's church, but many rich and powerful people chose to be entombed there.

I also second the glass factory tours. Murano has some of the finest. Hand-crocheted lace is also a big thing in venice.

http://www.venicewelcome.com/ has some good info.

Kayak down the walkways when the tide comes in?

EvanB wrote: Steal a E36 M3load of gold?

I was thinking the exact same thing, even if the remake was nowhere near as good as the original

Murano is one place I have noted that I want to go from what I've heard about it both in general and from when my Mom was there on business. I'm sure we'll hit up the 'normal' tourist places like San Marco, but I hope that the rest of the group will be up to simply picking a direction and walking in it and seeing what we find- an approach I've found works quite well almost everywhere I've been (moreso now that I can note where the hotel is on my phone's GPS and therefore be able to easily get back to it when the time comes ).