Why Venice Is Overrated (But Still Worth Visiting)

When you google images of "Venice", you see rows and rows of photos of gondolas, beautifully green-ish blue canals, picturesque sunsets, it's magical, it's mysterious, it's a beautiful city floating on water. It's overrated.

It's expensive - I heard the Italian tax is increasing this summer and every breathing day in Venice is going to cost you €10. We were also intensely deliberating on whether or not we should hop on a gondola ride (for like €70-80 per person for less than half an hour, we found some deals online offering it for €33-ish but it's still a big chunk of money), our thought processes included: Is this an experience we would want to spend that kind of money on? That's also three large pizzas. Are we missing out on much if we don't? Are we just going to end up taking photos on it and totally miss on the views? Venice is THE place to ride gondolas, should we really sit out on this one? What if Venice sinks and we never get this chance again??? We decided to opt out, I guess we just decided that we didn't need to be spending that kind of money on a wooden boat (we'll just go to the floating markets in Thailand).

It's crowded - every time you try to take a photo of the glowing and radiant Basilica, you have tourists (or bird, being fed by tourists...) in your photos. It gets a little annoying, before your eyes are tour groups after tour groups of people who aren't even all that interested in the rich history of the landmarks we have stepped on. It's almost pretentious, "I was in Venice!". I'm not going to act as though I'm a fan of facts and/or history and lie and say I spent generous amount of time reading up about these palaces, or cathedrals or towers. But I do, at least, spend a couple of seconds to admire where I am at. Here is a stunningly golden sculpture of what looks like the Last Supper. If you also paid close attention to the architecture, you would notice spikes being planted on every balcony with bits of feathers stuck to them (I am assuming this is how they keep most of their artefacts poop-free). You're squeezing through tight spaces, you're saying "excuse me" every other minute and you're trying not to accidentally photobomb anyone.

It has too many stairs. Perhaps because the entire city's infrastructure revolved around the water element - it has many bridges, which came with many stairs (I just checked my Heart app and saw that each day in Venice was an average of 15 flights of stairs). I would say that if you have some forms of discomfort or might be in need of physical support, you'd be in a touch situation. If it's possible, pack light, because if not you'd be dragging your luggages up and down and up and down and...

It's apparently quite known for its seafood.

It's still worth it.

The tsunami of tourists over the past few years has essentially driven out the locals, it wouldn't be the purest "Italian" experience, other than the Gelato and the physical landmarks and the occasional dirty laundry hanging over your head. But it's beautiful. I don't think there are many places in the world that (still) heavily relies on its waters - trash collectors come pick up your shit in boats, mailmen deliver your mail in boats, the police were on boats. It was a very interesting way of life. I'm also assuming everyone knows how to swim. I just checked: there are no recent statistics but apparently a lot of people drown in these canals.

Its architectures and infrastructures are magnificent. The details in every mural and painting and sculpture are truly worth admiring.

The details are amazing. This beautiful couple is right next to the Bridge of Sighs.

It has many gems. There are quieter areas where tour guides don't venture into (which is great for us), and thanks to Pinterest and the recommendations of friends and just by walking and wandering about, we found non-mainstream places that were breathtaking.

We stumbled into this gorgeous greenhouse - Serra dei Giardini. It had a wide selection of dessert and drinks (including different types of tiramisu). It has the bestest chocolate cake and a pretty interior. It also sold flowers (which gave it a nice and bright fragrance and ambience) and served as an event space. Loved it.

Cantine del Vino già Schiavi: Cicchettis are small Italian bread snacks and the place we discovered was beautifully located next to a canal and radiated a calm and peaceful vibe. I could sit there all day eating these little yummies.

I'm not sure if I'll ever visit Venice again, I really don't want to be paying that expensive tourist tax, and I think it's nice to let others have the opportunity enjoy this wonderful place. But do I want another one of that pumpkin cicchetti? 100%.