Page 260 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Venice & The Veneto

258  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

ENTERTAINMENT IN
THE VENETO

Venice was once one of Europe’s liveliest The day-to-day evening entertainment in
night-time cities, and it still has an impressive Venice itself tends to be far less frenetic than
range of special events throughout the year. in the heyday of the Republic (see pp50–51),
In every season there are some distinctively though there are still a few clubs and discos
Venetian festivals, and in late summer to be found across the causeway in Mestre.
the normal city diet of opera, theatre and For those that fancy a flutter, try the casino.
concerts is augmented by the world-class The quintessential Venetian romantic
International Film Festival and the Biennale. experience is, of course, a gondola ride
The mainland has its share of entertainment. by moonlight (see p283). However, there’s
Verona hosts its famous opera festival in the plenty to do in the evenings for free,
Roman Arena throughout the summer and the including a stroll along the canal, or
smaller Veneto towns hold pageants. The chess passeggiata, a visit to the central squares
game in Marostica is certainly worth seeing. of the Veneto, or a drink at a bar or café.

Practical Information
Information about what’s on in
Venice can be found in Leo
Bussola, a free bilingual Italian
and English booklet published
quarterly by the Tourist Board.
2Night is a free fortnightly
publication with listings of
concerts and events. Another
publication, Un Ospite di Venezia
(A Guest in Venice), comes out
fortnightly during the summer
and monthly in the winter, and
is available from most hotels.
The Venetian news paper Il
Gazzettino also lists cinema
performances, rock concerts Partita a Scacchi, the colourful human chess game, in progress at Marostica (see p176)
and discos under Spettacoli. Booking Tickets
Posters advertising forthcoming to pay an advance booking
cultural events are displayed Booking in advance is not part supplement, or prevendita,
all over town. of the Italian lifestyle, where which is usually about 10 per
For details of events and decisions are made on the spur cent of the price of the seat.
festivities in the other towns of the moment. If you want to The price of a theatre ticket
and cities in the Veneto, ask be certain of a seat you will starts at about €16, though
at the local tourist offices. have to visit the box office in prices are likely to be five
Regional newspapers also person, as they usually do not times as much for star-name
often have listings of what take bookings over the performances. Tickets for
is on in their area. telephone. You may also have popular music concerts are
normally sold through record
and music shops whose
names are displayed on the
publicity posters.
Whereas tickets for classical
concerts are sold on the spot for
that day’s performance, opera
tickets are booked months
ahead. There are very few ticket
touts, so it is almost impossible
to obtain tickets when the box
office has sold out. The Teatro
Goldoni box office is open
The lavish interior of La Fenice opera house (see p97) 10am–1pm and 3–7pm.

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