Moonlight in Venice - Venice At Night

I’ve written how enchanting and enthralling Venice can be at day. Watch out, its beauty is lethal at night. The city has a special life at night. I’m not talking about partying in the streets ‘til dawn. Rather, the city reveals its serene side at night.  

Venice is eerie and fascinating at night. I initially planned joining a Venice guided night tour but since I was having a blast exploring the city alone, I scrapped that plan.

Jolie lookin regal. From the movie The Tourist.

Venice is coined as one of the most romantic cities in Europe. It doesn’t seem like that at day. But shows how romantic it can be at night. Well, it is difficult to absorb all the romance-ness when you are exploring the city alone. Haha.

I had a jam-packed morning and I spent most of the afternoon happily getting lost in the narrow and nameless alleys. I retreated in the comforts of my hostel – and rested my tired legs. By sunset (which is around 7-8pm), I was ready to feel Venice’s magic again.

It was getting dark. There were still crowds but they’re just a fraction of what I saw during the day. Even though I went out alone by myself in Amsterdam, I was quite scared sifting through the alleys of Venice at night - although my roommate said it was fairly safe. I opted to use my transportation pass and rode the vaporetto until the Rialto stop.

No lights from the windows.

Excuse this bad shot. I haven't completely mastered using the settings of my camera.

From there, I took a well-lit path going to St. Mark’s Square (again).

Looks pretty safe.

The pigeons were gone.

There was a live orchestra playing.The music drifted throughout the plaza.

I spent more than an hour admiring the plaza's night charm.

The Campanile at night.

Excuse the grainy shot.

One popular thing to do in Venice is to ride the gondolas at night. I didn’t do that because:

1) I was travelling alone and;

2) I didn’t want to shell out money. A gondola ride in Venice costs € 80 for one freakin ride. Yes, 80 freakin' euros for that touristy gondola ride. Eeew. *Kuripot mode on*.  

Anyway, my €18 transportation pass allowed me to enjoy the canals just the same.

Parked gondolas

I wasn't feeling very brave this time wandering off in the deserted streets at night. I followed the chain of people heading to the Rialto and rode the vaporetto back to my hostel. It was barely 11pm but I noticed that the well-lit restaurants are already closed.

I have to go back to Venice and take better night photos.

I still can’t figure out where the locals are or what they do. Some vendors and shopkeepers look like immigrants so that leaves me wondering if there are actually "hard-core" locals still living in the island. 

I am glad I spent two nights in Venice. Back at the hostel, I packed my stuff while chatting with my roommates. Most of them spent their time getting lost while eating gelatos too. 

I only spent two full days in Venice but it became my second favorite city during my whole Europe trip. I didn't get the chance to explore the other islands like Murano and Burano (part of the original plan) . I guess I'll just have to go back to Venice someday.