6 things I learned on my first trip to Venice
I waited far too long to visit Venice. Finally, in June 2025, I joined the zillions of tourists, and had a look for myself. It was a wonderful, hot, tiring trip, and Venice has now become one of my preoccupations. Here are 6 of the things I discovered –
1) Some of the seagulls are different!
It took me a while to notice this, but some Venetian seagulls have very pretty yellow legs. These birds (Larus michahellis) have only recently been recognised as a distinct species, and had previously been lumped in with herring gulls. This is very rude behaviour towards anything that has yellow feet. I may be their biggest fan, though – there are online surveys asking Venetian residents their opinion on the creatures, and many articles (like the one below) see them as a problem –
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34720570/
Plus, there are warnings all over the city –
2) The Grand Canal is Venice’s highway!
I took over 20 vaporetti when I was there, and it was the best part of my holiday. I couldn’t get over all the things that were being transported, quickly and effectively, up and down the Grand Canal. We’re talking food, freezers, alcohol, people’s possessions, small cars, even cement mixers. I could have watched this logistics show all day.
3) Supermarket sandwiches are tastier, and cheaper!
There are these sandwiches – called Tramezzino – which I bought in industrial quantities from the supermarket chain DESPAR. Truly the most comforting food ever - I tried cheese, ham, egg, shrimp, tuna, and more - and each pack cost about a pound. I can’t get these delicacies out of my head.
There’s an interesting article on the recent arrival of the Tramezzino to New York below –
https://www.italiani.it/venetian-tramezzino-lands-in-new-york/
4) Venice has a very famous graphic artist!
From my first day there, I kept seeing these beautiful comic books.
There’s even a whole shop (in the Cannaregio region)!
Loving the images, but confused, I asked the manager of the shop how Corto Maltese came to be such a huge figure. She kindly explained that the creator – Hugo Pratt – lived in Venice, but has been claimed by both the French and the Swiss as theirs (because he spent time in both countries). Pratt was also Jewish, and so the bookshop has been located in the Ghetto area of Venice. I’m so pleased to have discovered Corto Maltese and have made a vow to only buy more of the books when I return to Venice.
5) Don’t assume you’re safe in a gallery!
My visit to a restored typewriter showroom – Negozio Olivetti – almost ended in disaster. I stepped back to get the perfect picture – (Exhibit A) – and nearly fell 5ft onto the concrete floor below.
Exhibit A
The showroom, it seems, is too concerned with elegance to put protective glass and a rail up. The only thing that warned me of the risk was a ‘guard rope.’ I’ve left 2 reviews warning visitors, and even emailed the showroom itself. Peril in Venice, for sure.
Negozio Olivetti - Venice | FAI - Fondo per l'Ambiente italiano
6) Don’t argue with an aggressive beggar!
I’d read scary stories about pickpockets, but it was only in the last 1o minutes of my trip that things got hairy. I was waiting, hot and tired, for the airport bus when along came another lady traveller with a suitcase.
“You are travelling alone?’ she said. “I am also travelling alone. Can you advise me?”
Maybe, I thought, but not when she started talking about needing to get back to Milan from Venice. “I can’t give you money, I’m afraid”, I announced, more confidently than I felt. “Why not?”, she hissed.
Later, she tried her luck with another lone woman traveller. I watched the woman lean in with sympathy. I must warn her, I thought, and that was my mistake.
I ended up being pursued by the begging lady, who then pinched me very hard on my arm. “What’s your game?’, she said. “Why did you warn her, you did not want to give me money, okay, but why warn her?’ Why indeed?
As I write this, my souvenir bruise is still changing colour. ‘The lady must have had a powerful grip to leave a bruise like that,’ my mother observed.