There Is Only One Venice
It is the world’s most
beautiful city and greatest destination but tread carefully!
As far as tourists are
concerned, there is no greater destination than Venice. It is, quite simply,
the most beautiful city in the world. The first time I went there, a decade and
a half ago, I felt that I was in a dream. The beauty was so unreal that Venice
seemed like a work of art rather than a functioning city. But here’s the twist.
As far as tourists are concerned, there is also no worse destination that
Venice. It is a city designed for 200,000 residents. Yet, each year, it gets
between 25 million to 30 million tourists. The streets can be hideously
overcrowded. Hotel rooms are often overpriced. Every second shop is run by a rip-off
merchant. Most of the restaurants are horrible. And the food can be terrible.
Pure beauty
But, God knows, I love
Venice. This was my fifth trip there and if you asked me what my favourite
destination in Europe is, I would say Venice; at least on those occasions when
I can afford it.
I have told the story of
Venice on these pages six years ago. (http://read.ht/Bqv3) But here’s a
summary: The city was created in the Middle Ages by people fleeing Attila the
Hun. They built it on a base of nothing. It was constructed on marshland and
islands that were filled up to allow structures to be constructed.
Because hundreds of tiny
islands made up Venice, the men who created the city did not link them all up.
Instead, they left waterways or canals between the islands, giving the city its
peculiar character. Even today, there are no motor vehicles in Venice. You
either walk, or you take the boats on the canals.
Because this is not a
city that grew up organically as much as one that was constructed out of
nothing, Venice is like a giant stage set, designed to impress.
The history of Venice
reflects this theatrical urge to show off. Till a few centuries ago, Venice was
one of the world’s greatest trading centres and powerful city states. The
Venetian fleet travelled far and wide, spreading the city’s power. Venice
sacked Constantinople, plundered its wealth and Venetians controlled the land
route to the East, making fortunes from trade.
After Vasco da Gama discovered
a convenient sea route to the East, Venice began to lose out. But it reinvented
itself in a variety of ways. It became a centre of art with such painters as
Tintoretto and Titian becoming world famous. Its architecture set global
trends. The city became the world’s pleasure capital with the best brothels and
casinos, a sort of early (but more tasteful) prototype for Las Vegas.
And most significantly
for us, it became the world’s first great tourist centre. Such was its
reputation for beauty and of course, for fun, that rich people from all over
Europe came to Venice. Wealthy young English noblemen made it the centre of
what used to be called The Grand Tour and over the last two centuries, Venice
has been where the world’s rich went when they wanted to see great beauty – and
be pampered and indulged at the same time.
Sometime in the 1950s and
1960s, with the introduction of jet travel, this began to change. Americans
discovered Venice and the traditional hold of the English and European
aristocracy was broken.
Venice
can be challenging. The crowds can be suffocating, the cheap hotels can be
dodgy. But it’s the world’s most beautiful city
Then, in the ’90s, as
Asia (and the Middle East) grew in wealth, Asians discovered Venice. Since
then, in the era of cheap flights and downmarket cruise ships, Venice has
become the world’s greatest mass tourist destination.
There is nothing wrong
with that – Venice should be for everyone. Except that the city was not
designed to accommodate so many millions of visitors. So the 200,000 or so
Venetians who grew up in the city are moving out. Today, only around 50,000
remain.
The millions of tourists
need servicing, however, so each day, around 125,000 people commute to Venice
from the surrounding areas. They work in the shops, hotels and restaurants and
their presence often reminds the native Venetians that they have lost control
of their city.
If you do go to Venice –
and I reckon you should, it’s a much smarter thing to do than to fly to
Switzerland to see where a Bollywood film was shot – then be warned, it is not
cheap. On the other hand, it is probably cheaper than London, Paris,
Switzerland or the South of France.
There are many ways of
doing it. The two least desirable ways are of taking a day trip from some nearby
Italian city or by coming on a cruise ship. Venetians hate day-trippers and
with good reason. They crowd around Piazza San Marco and a couple of other
tourist sites, take selfies, understand nothing of the art or ethos of the city
and leave by the evening.
People who come on cruise
ships are even more hated. The ships are huge, floating hotels that disfigure
the Venetian lagoon and the passengers wander zombie-like through Venice,
spending little money (they eat and sleep on the ships) and crowding out other
visitors.
The way to do Venice is
to go for three to four days and to immerse yourself in the dream of Venice.
There are three
categories of Venice hotels. There are the grand hotels. Of these, the Cipriani
(which is not really in Venice but on an island in the lagoon) is the best
known along with the Gritti Palace. I haven’t stayed at the Cipriani but I
stayed at the Gritti this time.
I am not easily impressed
by famous hotels and when I am paying high rates, I tend to be more critical.
But the Gritti is one of the world’s great hotels; among the best I have ever
stayed at. It is a palazzo which is many centuries old, the public areas look like
they are out of a painting, the rooms are magnificent and the service is
outstanding. This is the most tightly managed grand hotel I know.
Then there is the
Danieli, which I stayed at last time and I liked. This time, however, I thought
it had a certain down-atheel, lazily-run air about it with tour groups sitting
forlornly on their suitcases in the lobby. The Bauer is well-regarded though I
have no personal experience of it.
There are also the five
star hotels, the JW Marriott, the Kempinski and the Hilton, all of which are
outside the main city and are run to modern standards with prices that are on
par with similar hotels in other European cities.
And then, there are the
four and three-star hotels. Some are good but many are not, so choose
carefully.
It is the same with
restaurants. They fall into categories. There are the grand restaurants like
the Club del Doge at the Gritti (the best meal I had in Venice), the overpriced
terrace at the Danieli where the chef’s ambition is not matched by the talent in
the kitchen and a disappointing tasting menu for two cost us 370 euros with
only local wines.
There is Harry’s Bar,
where the Bellini cocktail and the Carpaccio were invented. Harry’s is a
tourist trap during the day but turns into a clubby restaurant at night for the
rich and wellconnected. The food is good but only if you stick to classic
dishes.
There are the foodie
places. Quadri in San Marco square is above a famous café of the same name but
has excellent food, is Michelin-starred and designed by Philippe Starck.
(Quadri is run by the owners of Le Calandre, one of the world’s great
restaurants, which is near Padua). Al Covo was made famous by Anthony Bourdain
but despite the influx of American visitors, standards have been maintained.
Then, there are the
places locals go to. Most are good but they are off the beaten track and can be
hard to find. (And no, I am not going to tell you the ones I go to.)
And finally, there are
the tourist traps which constitute 80 per cent of the restaurants in Venice.
The food is always disgusting, the owners can be cheats and many don’t even
have chefs: they buy pre-packaged food from industrial catering companies and
reheat it in microwaves. As a general rule, if a restaurant has a Menu
Turistico or if it sells pizza, don’t go in.
So yes, Venice can be
challenging. The crowds can be suffocating. The cheaper hotels can be dodgy.
Most of the restaurants are terrible. You should never shop in Venice because
95 per cent of the shopkeepers will sell you overpriced tourist tat, much of
which is produced in China.
But I still believe you
should go. Try visiting off-season (spring or winter), my favourite times in
Venice when the tourist hordes have stayed away. Choose your hotels carefully.
Research your restaurant on the net. Do not take small children: they will miss
the point of Venice and you will spend more time looking after them than you
will in enjoying Venice. But hey, it is the world’s most beautiful city. How
can you not go?
VIR SANGAHVI
HTBR 26AUG18
No comments:
Post a Comment