There is truly no other place like Venice. The floating city of Venezia is one of my favourite places in Italy, with mazes of canals and beautiful pastel buildings that make you feel like you’re wondering through a real-life fairytale.
Down every tight alleyway you’ll find another Insta worthy moment, whether it be a drool worthy #foodporn pic of your gelato or a candid exploring shot showing off your euro-summer outfit.
Venice is a very busy city all year round, but is especially chaotic during the warmer months, which makes getting a photo-bomb free picture nearly impossible during the day.
If you’re dedicated to the gram life and take pride in having perfect travel shots, I’d recommend waking up early and hitting the city bright and early to get your photos. I started my day at 8am and beat the crowds to all the photo hotspots, and saved my in-depth exploring for later in the day.
So set your alarm, put on your walking shoes and don’t forget an Italian espresso (or two), to fuel your morning of photographing Venice’s most Insta-worthy gems.
St Mark’s Basilica
The Basilica doesn’t open until 9.45am, however the line starts building up early, so if you’re wanting to experience the beauty and history inside the cathedral I would suggest arriving around 9am. To enter you must be dressed according to the guidelines, meaning covered shoulders and legs.
Piazza San Marco
In the heart of Venice, adjacent to St Mark’s Basilica lies Piazza San Marco, full of history, architecture and lots and lots of tourists (and equally as many pigeons).
If you’re not afraid of birds and want to take your insta-photo to the next level, you will always find vendors selling bird seed for a few euros in the Piazza. Throw some seeds in the air and capture the crazy swarm of pigeons that will follow.
Ponte di Rialto Bridge
The Rialto Bridge is another Insta hot-spot, always filled with tourists fighting for the perfect photo positioning, so this is another landmark I’d recommend visiting bright and early in the morning.
To capture a great angle of the stunning stone arch, you can walk down onto the wooden docks below where water taxis depart.
An Iconic Gondola Ride
When I think of Venice the first thing that comes to mind is the image of a gondola drifting through the canals while being serenaded by a charming gondolier.
If you’re wanting that iconic shot cruising down the river but can’t justify spending 80 euros for a ride, you can experience a very brief gondola ride on a traghetto for only 2 euros to cross the Grand Canal.
Libreria Acqua Alta
The world’s quirkiest and cutest bookstore lies in Venice at a store called the Libreria Acqua Alta. Due to regular flooding the books are kept in bathtubs and gondolas, and even features a staircase made of books and a few stray kitties lingering through the store. The bookshop has its own gondola sitting in the canal, so here’s another place to get that money shot without hurting the travel funds.
Burano
The colourful island of Burano is only a 40-minute ferry ride on the vaporetto from Venice, and is an Instagrammers heaven on earth. Burano is a little rainbow town filled with colourful fisherman’s houses, each painted a luminous colour so they could find their homes in the thick fog. You can easily spend a few hours here wandering through the lace shops and enjoying a mouthwatering Italian pizza and Aperol Spritz.
Santa Maria Della Salute
If you cross the Grand Canal into Dorsoduro you will find the stunning 17th-century domed church called the Salute. This district of Venice is a lot less commercial where the locals will typically go to eat out. For an affordable and authentic taste of Venice, fuel up for lunch at the Pasta Academy.
Scala Contarini dei Bovolo
This gothic-style palazzo is a hidden beauty of Venice, unknown to most tourists. The small palace has a spiraling staircase that offers stunning panoramic views of the city below. The entrance fee is €7.
Ponte Dei Suspiri
The Bridge of Sighs is another unmissable photo opportunity, and also a famous symbol of love and romance in Venice. You can get the best view of the bridge from Ponte della Paglia.
