<p>My daughter, age 21 will be studying in Venice this summer for 4 weeks as part a college program. Is Venice considered a safe city? How much do you think she should expect to spend on personal expenses per week? The college has given her a guideline that she’ll need about $500.00 per week for food, travel outside of Venice and incidental expenses. (?)
She’ll be able to travel by train to other parts of Italy on weekends. She will be sharing an apartment with a kitchen with 3 other students. </p>
<p>Any other advice you can offer? </p>
<p>Anyone else who’s child is there now or has been there?</p>
<p>Thanks, the people on this board are great.</p>
<p>My daughter will be studying in Sienna for 4 weeks this summer and hopes to visit Venice. She spent a few days in Venice 4 years ago and said the hardest part was that the city was quite confusing and it was easy to get turned around. She does not speak Italian. She loved her brief time there. Most of my daughter’s food expenses will be covered with a daily allowance from the cost of the program. Not sure yet how much that will be. She will also be preparing meals in a shared apt.</p>
<p>I and my family visited Venice a few years ago. I really liked Venice because it’s such an unusual city with all the canals and no cars. It’s a pretty heavy tourist city but that’s because it’s interesting. When I know of someone who’ll be visiting Italy I always recommend they visit Venice.</p>
<p>I think Venice is one of the safer cities in Italy. You can do some research on it but I think it should be considered quite safe. </p>
<p>Also, it’s not that far from Venice to other cities like Florence (125 miles), Rome (300 miles), Pisa, Siena, etc. It’s also not far from the Alps.</p>
<p>Since it’s a tourist city she’ll need to be careful as to the restaurants she eats at since a number of the, are overpriced but I’m sure that since she’ll be there for that length of time she’ll find some great inexpensive ways to eat there.</p>
<p>I think she’ll have a great time there and I wouldn’t have any issues with my kids going there on a 4 week program.</p>
<p>Our family went to Italy, including Venice, in the summer of 2007. I did like Venice a lot - it is so unique because it seems suspended atop the water, of course. There is a little sense of decay as it is gradually sinking and (I seem to remember hearing) the local govt has historical integrity provisions that prevent property owners from doing some types of improvements. We took a vaporetto/water bus around the Grand Canal and most of the formerly grand buildings have ground floors that are partially flooded and simply not inhabitable anymore, so people just live in the upper stories.</p>
<p>We went with our two teenage daughters and it seemed safe enough, but then we didn’t stay out late at night. </p>
<p>Two pieces of advice for your daughter: 1) Research before you go - get a good map and a few good books - I like Rick Steve’s general philosophy on travel [Rick</a> Steves Europe Through the Back Door](<a href=“http://www.ricksteves.com/]Rick”>http://www.ricksteves.com/) and he absolutely loves Italy. And 2) Learn as much Italian as you can beforehand and while you’re there. Learning numbers in Italian was incredibly helpful - I remember at the train station they announced a binario/platform change in Italian and we happened to get on the right train only because I could actually understand the #s. Of course, knowing #s is good for buying groceries, meals, souvenirs, etc. </p>
<p>If your daughter can make it, suggest that she visit Cinque Terre, which is north of Pisa. It’s too long to go into here, but read Rick Steves to find out more. </p>
<p>About pickpockets… just be aware of what is going on around you. Watch for distractions - usually there is one person causing a distraction while another does the pickpocketing. Have your daughter carry one of those small bags across her shoulders and then keep her hand or arm on it when she’s in a crowd. </p>
<p>As others said, the crime is petty crime. During the summer the streets are so packed day and night that you can barely move at times and there is safety in numbers.</p>
<p>Your DD will find restaurants ridiculously expensive but grabbing a great pizza on a side street relatively cheap. $500 sounds fine for cooking, eating out some and everyday expenses, but doesn’t sound like it will leave much money for travel. I might budget separately for that depending on where she wants to go and maybe buy her a rail pass. </p>
<p>If she’s planning to stay in hostels when she travels she should book ASAP.</p>
<p>My daughter was there in November and loved it. There was severe flooding at one point this winter, but I’m not sure if everything is back to normal now.</p>
<p>Loved Venice and would go back in a heart beat. I would have no problems at all sending my S for 4 weeks (or longer).</p>
<p>Pickpockets are prevalent - just take the necessary precautions. And keep a copy of her passport, credit cards, and any other important documents in case she loses them. At least you’ll have all the information for easier replacement and you can call banks to put a stop on her credit card.</p>
<p>Since she’ll be there for an extended period of time (that is, not a 3-day tourist), she’ll figure out the reasonably priced restaurants. We spent most of our time off the beaten path (used Rick Steves’ guidebook) and had a fantastic time.</p>
<p>If you like anything glass, Venice is it, especially Murano glass jewelry. Wish I bought more.</p>
<p>My teenage daughter and her friend went by themselves last year and had a great time. Even though the streets may be confusing, it’s relatively tiny and as long as you have a detailed map, I don’t think there is any danger of getting lost. I wasn’t worried about their safety - my main concern was pickpockets. I recommend a small purse that you can keep your hand on at all times. Also, only carry in it what you absolutely need. The crowds can be quite overwhelming in the summer (especially in constricted places like the Rialto Bridge), which is the perfect opportunity for thieves.</p>
<p>Two of my Ds visited Venice three years ago and loved it. Another D and her boyfriend visited last summer and both of them hated it. I don’t know if it was just them or if there had been a shift in things in the city. They met several others while there who had similar complaints of unfriendly locals, poor service in restaurants and in the hotel where they were staying, which, by the way, was a nice hotel and not a typical student-priced place. They also noted how dirty everything was, but they found this in other Italian cities on their travels, too. Italy was actually their least favorite of the four countries they visited on that trip.</p>
<p>H&I were in Venice last summer. The morning was beautiful–not yet too hot and we took a wrong turn and wandered some side streets, found a few grocery barges for locals that were wonderful, a few quiet churches, and happened on a Da Vinci exhibit. Had a wonderful snack/lunch in a sidewalk cafe. In the afternoon, we decided we wanted to go to St. Mark’s–error! We got back on the beaten path and encountered the hordes of tourists. Very narrow streets and just a steady stream of people/strollers/groups moving along. It’s very hard to stop and window shop. Of course, the line at St. Mark’s was so long we didn’t even try. Spent a fortune on a drink in a cafe (we knew that would happen) and took the vaporetto back to the bus (we only had the day). </p>
<p>We had visited 25 years ago when S1 was a toddler and loved it. However, it was during the month of May and our ambitions were must smaller with a toddler. </p>
<p>I love Venice and would go back in an instant, but not during the summer. May-mid June and September are wonderful. </p>
<p>It will be hot and humid in the summer. No way to ever escape the humidity. If your D is there and can learn her way around the side streets and the interesting out-of-the-way places. If you’re going to visit the highlights, try to do it in the early morning or late evening when the day trippers are gone.</p>
<p>We went 3 years ago and loved it. We were not staying in one of the really busy tourist areas and really enjoyed wandering the shops and looking at the street artists. Ventured into the busiest areas to visit the main sights but were always happier once out of those areas. I really want to go back for a longer visit and explore the whole city. Though, like tango, I would avoid summer if I can.</p>
<p>It is *very *hot and very humid in the summer months. The crowds in the most touristy areas are a little overwhelming. If your daughter and friends speak some Italian that will help enormously as they will be able to eat and shop for food at the less touristy places. The tourist restaurants are very very expensive (and we were caught a couple of times by places that loudly published reasonable prices for entrees but really dinged us on extras) but if they can eat at non tourist places it will be more reasonable. I don’t speak Italian but did find that a little bit - the courtesies - did help.</p>
<p>As far as I recall tickets can be purchased in advance for a lot of the tourist sites which helps cut down on the line situation.</p>
<p>We have been to Venice 2x. It is my favorite city in the world, and if I had unlimited funds I would buy a 2nd home there and live there for Carnivale.</p>
<p>Bullet and I always ate on the Rialto at least 1x a day (varied lunch, dinner or late night desser), but we also ate in places off the beaten track. English/Italian language barrier is really not an issue, or at least we didn’t find it to be.</p>
<p>What needs to be understood, is Venice is like NYC, not a lot of people live within the city, most commute in. </p>
<p>Here’s a place I reccomendher to go at least once. SPLENDID SUISSE HOTEL. The hotel is located between the Rialto and San Marco square. The reason to go s they just finished their renovation in 07 on their rooftop bar…it is gorgeous and a great place to have a cocktail at night while looking down on the canals, and hearing O Solo MIO</p>
<p>Went years ago but in the winter. Even then, taking a boat to the Island of Lido was fun and possibly something your D would want to look into–just a short day trip.</p>