Anonymous wrote:Venice is tiny and horribly over-run with tourists. There is no off the beaten track.

I've been to Venice, I know how crowded it can be. But I also have been to other very crowded places and there is always something off the beaten track.

Anonymous wrote:Venice is miserable in January.

Nevertheless, that's when we are going.

Thanks for some of the recs. Ghost tour and a couple others sound great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuff other than Gondola or churches / palaces (unless it is a VERY neat POV for the tour). Already doing a gondola ride (yes, i know it's touristy but we're there, we're doing it). We're doing churches and things already in Rome and Florence.

We like food, animals, history, spooky.

We'll be there in early Jan.

Why would you go all that way and avoid the things that make the place famous? You're a tourist -- do the touristy things. Don't be one of these people who proclaim they are a "traveler, not a tourist." You're not fooling anyone.

Why is there always one jackass in the group? I never proclaimed that and we DO and have always done the touristy thing when we travel (ie, Loch Ness in Scotland or Kiss the Blarney in Ireland). So stop presuming. ANd in this case, WE ARE doing the touristy thing in the gondola. So . . .

I"m not sure the point of your bit---y post but it is not applicable to me.

Venice is tiny and horribly over-run with tourists. There is no off the beaten track.

Anonymous wrote:Stuff other than Gondola or churches / palaces (unless it is a VERY neat POV for the tour). Already doing a gondola ride (yes, i know it's touristy but we're there, we're doing it). We're doing churches and things already in Rome and Florence.

We like food, animals, history, spooky.

We'll be there in early Jan.

Check out https://www.musicapalazzo.com/en/

It is an Opera within a palace but in an intimate setting. We watched Rigoletto with our teens, last summer. Very unique experience.

Venice is miserable in January.

We enjoyed the Secret Itinerary Tour at Doge's Palace: https://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/the-museum/layout-and-collections/secret-itineraries/

There are no off the beaten paths in a city as crowded as Venice. Enjoy it for what it is.

When will you be there? If the Biennale is on (May-September 2026,) check out the pavilions and other associated art events going on. Not off the beaten path, but really cool.

Bologna

- Make masks at Alberto Sarria Masks
- Go to the Jewish Ghetto and Jewish museum
- Rialto market in the morning
- Go to a Venice soccer game if they are in town
- Go to the smaller islands on the Vaporetto or do a boat tour with Classic Boats https://www.classicboatsvenice.com/lagoon-tours/
- Guggenheim museum (touristy but not too bad if you book in the morning)
- Ghost tour https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/1873485
- Visit the last gold beating factory https://www.homofaber.com/en/artisans/marino-menegazzo-goldbeating-italy
- Search the Homo Faber website for other artisans that you can visit
https://www.homofaber.com/en/

You can try glass, but this is a path - like all paths at your destination - that is a heavily beaten path.


The ask is like traveling to Hawaii to avoid sun, and beaches, and Hawaii.

Anonymous wrote:Stuff other than Gondola or churches / palaces (unless it is a VERY neat POV for the tour). Already doing a gondola ride (yes, i know it's touristy but we're there, we're doing it). We're doing churches and things already in Rome and Florence.

We like food, animals, history, spooky.

We'll be there in early Jan.

Why would you go all that way and avoid the things that make the place famous? You're a tourist -- do the touristy things. Don't be one of these people who proclaim they are a "traveler, not a tourist." You're not fooling anyone.

Glass factories (where they blow glass particularly).

Stuff other than Gondola or churches / palaces (unless it is a VERY neat POV for the tour). Already doing a gondola ride (yes, i know it's touristy but we're there, we're doing it). We're doing churches and things already in Rome and Florence.

We like food, animals, history, spooky.

We'll be there in early Jan.