This is about the Venice dos and don’ts, about how to move around in the Venice environment without looking like you’ve just stepped off the airplane. In short the dos and don’ts of Venice.
It’s really not difficult to feel at home in Venice. In Italy, in general, it’s easy to relax and have a good time. Venice is no exception. The Venetians accept the tourists and even appreciate them. After all, it’s they – you – who have made Venice one of the most visited and famous tourist attractions in the world.
This is a practical guide. How to dress, how to move around, and what not to do… The don’ts. Even though the Venetians are friendly and normally accept the hoards of tourists, there are a few things to be aware of.
- Don’t block the passage. If the street is narrow, walk in a line.
- Take off your backpack on buses and Vaporettos.
- Never ever show yourself with a bare upper body, even if it’s hot.
- Be aware of Pickpockets, on buses, Vaporettos, and any other crowded area.
Every now and then I witness some Venetian old lady furiously throwing insults at a poor Indian couple or some gentleman from Brazil. These situations are so very easy to avoid. Often it has to do with not blocking the streets, but I’ll get back to that. So, let’s dive in:
First; as already stated, Venice is a small town with a huge amount of tourists. Roughly 50.000 people live here and there are over 25 million tourists. That would be as if New York City was invaded by 4 billion (4000.000.000) visitors every year.
You can’t ignore that all these tourists put a strain on the everyday life of the ordinary citizen. But he will still greet you with a smile if you just comply with a few simple rules. It’s a matter of mutual understanding that we all share the same space.
How to dress in Venice
Anything goes, really. If you want to go into the churches, shoulders should be covered and no very short skirts for you ladies. Some religious buildings (for example la Basilica di San Marco… ) don’t accept shorts or t-shirts, the dress has to cover the knee, and the neckline should be reasonably high. But in other churches, they are normally less strict. These aspects are considered also at the Theater and the 1st class restaurant.
As in the rest of Italy, people are generally very well-dressed in Venice. Milan is one of the most important fashion capitals in the world. And many of the most famous fashion houses are Italian. Often the Italians tend to be a little more relaxed in the evening when you’re done with the stylish meetings in or out of the office. You meet with your friends over a snack and a drink and you leave the jacket at home and turn up in a sweater or a loose, comfy shirt.
In the beginning, I missed that a few times. Someone asked me out and I showed up all dressed up. I figured “If they are so trendy daytime, what will they be like in the evening?”. But my friends and colleagues all came in T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. And they smiled at me and commented on my efforts. I didn’t feel all that awkward though, the Italians are extremely easy to have a good time with.
A good idea for the Ladies is to bring a light silk scarf. It weighs almost nothing in your purse but it’s very useful. If your skirt’s too short, wrap it around your hips and you have a dress. If you can’t get into the church because of your shoulder straps, just throw it over and you’re covered. It protects your legs from the burning sun and if you know your trade, you can even cover your head with it.
Venice dos and don’ts and the Big No’s
A bare upper body is a no-no, double no-no. Just because the temperature is tropical and you’ve just come from the beach, you guys have to cover your upper body. Apart from not being served anywhere, people will think of you as a somewhat ignorant person.
Socks and sandals. You wear those sandals without socks. Socks are for shoes. White thick sports socks are OK for long trousers but not for shorts. For shorts, the Italians use very-short-not-over-the-ankle-socks, fantasmini. I recommend that you do too.
Swimsuits. No comment on that one.
Flip flops. They too are for the beach. The problem here is that they will hear you from miles away.
Avoid tank tops.
Baseball cap. It’s OK to use it, just don’t turn it backward.
No high heels. That’s more of a practical consideration. It looks good, but you will walk a lot in Venice, and you will walk on paving stones from the Middle Ages on vertical wood pilings in mud. It’s not flat, to say the least. So leave the high heels for sitting events and wear something comfortable.
Like in many other cities where the rich and famous gather, as well as the wannabes and the once-was, people dress in all possible ways. You can see the strangest outfits on perfectly normal couples at the groceries. It’s Carnival all year round. So don’t feel intimidated if you want to dress up.
We just don’t want beach clothes, swimsuits, and flip-flops, in San Marco.
Don’t block the narrow calli!
If you remember only one thing from my Venice dos and don’ts list, this should be it..:
Do not block the streets!!
There is nothing as disturbing to the Venetians as a group of tourists of 10, 15 people that walks slowly and takes the full width of the passage. The locals will say in a loud voice: Permesso!! That means: Step aside. I want to come through! But the tourist maybe doesn’t understand and he can’t see why this lady suddenly becomes so furious.
Remember that some people here really have to be on time for work or arrive in time for a meeting although the bus was late and the running isn’t what it was anymore. The streets are very small and if you always leave a little space for faster feet to overtake, then you’ll be all right.
This is the habit that turns the normal citizen from being an enemy to being a devoted friend. Do not occupy the full width of the street, keep right and walk in a row. Not doing so is the one single, major reason for confrontation.
Backpacks
In Venice, it’s very important to remove your backpack on the bus and Vaporetto. The reason for this is obviously that a large 60-pound trunk on the shoulders of a healthy 25-year-old man can easily knock a somewhat smaller and older person to the floor. But it’s more than that… It is hard to explain but it has become a sign of respect, a way to consider your fellow traveler, and it’s very important for the locals. So if you want to keep your 10 liters, tiny thing up on your back while riding the almost empty Vaporetto, make an attempt to take it off, look around as if to say: OK, I know but it’s so small… Can I please keep it on?
I am sometimes approached on the Vaporetto, like the German gentleman who at 10 o´clock in the evening, in very fragmented Italian said that I had to take off my empty, extremely small backpack. He probably had been severely corrected by someone and wanted to get back at me. Of course, I did as he told me.
Safety
Venice is a safe town. The crime rate is somewhere in the upper middle of Italian cities, but the statistics are calculated in crimes per resident, and as Venice has very few inhabitants and all those tourists, the real, actual crime rate is very low. Violence and robbery are very rare. There is only one real problem worth mentioning: Pickpocketing.
You’ll find them anywhere where there is a crowd, on Saint Marks Square, around the train station, on the Accademia bridge, and on Vaporettos and buses. The rules are as always: Don’t keep the wallet in your back pocket, zip the bag and hold it close to the body, etc, etc. Often they work in movement… You stand still on the Vaporetto and nothing happens. At the stop, people get off and others get on and you try to find a better spot. That’s when they go to work. A push, you turn around and from the other side, someone else grabs your purse. Often they work in pairs.
Normal caution and you will not have a problem. Read more about safety in Venice here.
Talk!
The Italians are talking people. When you enter a room it’s not enough to nod and smile. You have to speak, and pronounce the words. When you go into a bar or a restaurant, don’t think they’re hostile just because they don’t smile at you and ask you what you desire. From an Italian point of view, you may be in for a look around or for some other hidden reason. If you don’t speak and greet the barman, you won’t get any attention.
Go in, say Buongiorno or Buona Sera (after 4 -5 p.m.), comment on the nice atmosphere, comment on the hot weather, ask politely if they speak English (… or German or Spanish… or if you can do with Italian.) and then order your coffee. And you will not only have excellent service but you will be considered a nice guy.
And by the way, don’t assume that everybody speaks English, because they don’t.
Buses and Vaporettos.
Get your ticket and validate it on the bus or before entering the water bus. There are quite frequent controls and the fines start at 60 euros plus ticket cost.