Dog-Friendly Venice

“Every Dog In Venice…”

Alice and I spent a couple days in Venice alone, and a couple days in Venice with our favorite travel buddy: Sally!

When I was 19, I was in a musical called Nine about an Italian filmmaker, Guido, and the many women in his life. A large chunk of the show is set in Venice, where Guido is shooting a film. One song I love from the show goes, “Every girl in Venice is in love with Casanova / Every girl has kissed him once or twice…” - that is the source of the title of this post! Another song, “The Grand Canal”, was also running through my head every time I walked along the Grand Canal or saw a gondolier. Nine certainly romanticized Venice for me, and while it is a stunning city, it can also be a frustrating place to visit (particularly with a dog).

Venice is so crowded in the summer. I live in New York City, I’ve visited plenty of popular, crowded places around the world, but this was another level. On many occasions I picked Alice up because I feared she would get trampled. I have never had to do this in other cities. The amount of stairs in Venice also make it difficult to move around with luggage. Obviously I knew the city was full of canals, which would involve a lot of bridges. But had not accurately conceptualized just how many bridges, or that each bridge would involve several stairs on either side! I am so glad Alice’s cast was removed the day before we arrived!

Sally and I chatted about our time in Venice, and came to this conclusion: It is extremely beautiful, we are glad we experienced it, we will not be returning, the crowded areas weren’t really worth the hassle, the quiet areas away from the main sites were by far the best part of the city. For dog-owners specifically: if your dog gets anxious in crowds, or struggles at all with stairs, Venice will not be a fun time!

Where to Stay

If you have a dog and/or a roller bag, I would stay as close to the train station as possible. Otherwise, you’re either paying too much for a water taxi, taking a packed public transit boat, or carrying your luggage up and down so so many bridges. I liked my first hotel, Hotel Rio, but it was such a hassle to get there and it is in a very busy area. Once there, you’re about a ten-minute walk from the Rialto Bridge, a five-minute walk from Piazza San Marco, and a few minutes from the Bridge of Sighs. These popular tourist spots are beautiful, but unbelievably crowded in August.

Second time around (we were here on either end of our time in Croatia), we stayed at the Palazzo Marcelo Hotel al Sole. It’s a ten-minute walk from the train station, with just one bridge crossing! We also liked this area so much better - not nearly as crowded, but with really nice, calm views along the canals. Very disappointed that I didn’t take any pictures at this hotel, it was charming.

What to Do

A Gondola Ride!

A classic, must-do activity in Venice. And dogs are allowed! Our gondoliere put a towel over one of the cushions in the gondola for Alice, and she was very popular during our ride - I think at least 15 people took pictures or videos of her living her best gondola life. Beware, gondola rides are ridiculously expensive. We tried to be very clear about pricing, and where we wanted to go (avoid Grand Canal and busier areas) before we actually took off. But somehow he ended up charging us 20€ more than we thought we had agreed on. I am so glad that we stayed away from the Grand Canal and had a calm, beautiful ride. You’ll see gondola stands all over Venice, but this is where we found ours.

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo

This palace has a really beautiful spiral staircase with a great view at the top! There is also an art gallery included with the ticket. Dogs must be in a bag or carried!

Rialto Bridge

The bridge is very beautiful, with a lovely view of the Grand Canal, but it is packed! I would go early in the morning, especially if you’re there in the summer. You can walk up the stairs on either side (I prefer the view on the west side), and in the middle there are shops. Be prepared to pick up small dogs here as many tourists are not paying attention at all to where they’re going - a man walked backwards directly onto Alice’s paw, and didn’t even ask if she was okay when she let out a very loud yelp.

Photo Shoots!

The canals, bridges, boats, and colorful buildings make for amazing pictures. Of course, you’ll find plenty of good options along the Grand Canal, but you may be fighting with other people to get that perfect picture. One gorgeous spot for a photo shoot is behind the Hotel San Moise. We also got great shots around our second hotel, Palazzo Marcello Hotel del Sole. The calmer area along Rio della Misericordia has great views, and lots of bars and restaurants along the way (this is my favorite area in Venice). We also got some great shots when two bridges were right next to each other, like Ponte Barbarigo and Ponte Duodo. And finally, the views from/near Ponte de San Severo make for great photos!

Where to Eat & Drink

I definitely recommend trying cicchetti, which is Venice’s particular version of tapas. Most cicchetti places are very small, with more outdoor seating than indoor, and you can get a drink and snacks! The ones I tried and liked were Bacaro Risorto Castello, Bar all Mercato, Cicchetteria Al Pesce Rosso, and Terminal 2.0.

For drinks and light food (lunch or snacks), I loved Wine Bar 5000 - the wine, cheese, and view were perfetto! We also had great experiences at Vino Vero, TiME Social Bar, and Ombra del Leone. For dinner, the people at Al Grill were very friendly to Alice and the food was good (but heavy). After weeks of French and Italian food, I was craving Mexican, so I tried a place called Iguana, which wasn’t bad! I always lower my expectations for Mexican food in Europe, so with that in mind, it was pretty good. There is so much outdoor seating along the canals, so you won’t have trouble finding places to eat with a dog.