Venice is a very confusing city so I highly recommend printing a map and the instructions to your hotel before you arrive. I did not do this. I had the instructions to me hotel on my phone. I arrived in Venice after 6pm and got the boat from the train station to the stop closest to my hotel.
At that point my phone's battery died. I knew the address and name of the hotel; however, no one I asked could tell me where to go. After wondering around very lost a kind American came up to me and asked if I needed help. It turns out that I did not have the street name but the region of Venice. Venice is divided into sections (San Marco etc) and the houses are given a unique number. He did know exactly where my hotel was but we were able to find it.
I spent the next day with my new friend. We went to a couple of museums, including one that had built many of Di Vinci's inventions (some worked as intended). We also went to the only park (by the train station).
Saw the graveyard from afar (it's its own island).
The Rialto Bridge where there are many stores.
San Marco Basilica and many other churches.
And many canals.
He left the following day so I was alone for the rest of my time in Venice. On my second day, I continued getting lost (although I was getting better at navigating and as long as you keep walking generally in one direction you'll eventually find a square or the grand canal. Venice isn't that big so you can't really get that lost.)
I went to an exhibit inside a church with a bunch of old musical instruments. In the evening I bought a hand made mask and the owner demonstrated for myself and another couple how he makes the masks.
The following day I went on a walking tour. I'd highly recommend it as you learn a lot more about the city. The city floods every year with flooding starting in October. The flooding occurs with the high tide and in San Marco Piazza (the lowest point) the water will sometimes be above knee level. Nothing of importance is put on the bottom floor of the houses and the doors all have these metal sheets that can be put in during flood.
In the event of a sudden flood, apparently a siren goes off. The flooding is so frequent you can see algae growing.
Venice looks like it doesn't have any trees but most people have their garden at the back of the house by the canal.
For a long time there were no bridges and everything was boat access. You see a lot of small bridges that go to only one house. These were put in because originally that house could only be accessed by water.
For many years, Venice had a window tax. The more windows you had, the more you were taxed. To combat this, many people filled in some of their windows with bricks.
Since Venice is built on a marsh, Venice is also sinking and falling apart. You can tell that you are on the original land if there are trees (more earth), otherwise you never know if you are on a natural or man-made island. When a buildings cracking you find some interesting patchwork.
The are also buildings that are starting to lean because half of it is on solid ground.
That night I went to an excellent concert in a church. They played music by Vivaldi and Mozart. On my final day, I continued navigating the streets of Venice and went on a gondola ride.
Venice was absolutely incredible. Leaving Venice and my short trip to Vienna coming up next.
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