Gulf of Mexico gulf front/waterfront condo

About Venice

Venice is a small town with more canals than its namesake. This lovely town is on the Myakka River along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, south of Sarasota. Take a relaxing ride down the Gulf shore on one of the bikes available to our renters. Swimming, fishing and shelling is right outside your door! You'll enjoy the easy stroll to the South Jetty to watch dolphins play and a constant parade of boats. Venice has been in the top 10 best places to retire! Venice is celebrated for its beautiful beaches, prehistoric sharks' teeth, scenic parks and Northern Italian Renaissance architectural style. It's a quaint corner of paradise we hope you will share with us. Only 15 miles to Sarasota, FL.

In and Around Venice
We don’t claim to be the best source for information about Venice but we have indeed seen a little and have come away with some first impressions about the little town at the bottom of Sarasota country Florida. You can get more information at www.venicegov.com. We aren’t going to give you a history lesson about Venice but we will direct you to a web site venicehistory.com, which will help you see why Venice is on the map.

The first time you drive west on Venice Avenue toward the gulf you will see how the city has retained its small town charm with the classic Mediterranean Architecture, beautiful Palm trees, Live Oaks with Spanish Moss, and Old Banyon trees lining the boulevard. You may also see a Model T Ford as well as other classic cars, which are driven daily by Venice residents.

RESTAURANTS
Now lets say you are in town for more than a few hours and need something to eat. Well in the shopping area on Venice Avenue there are three ice cream shops all of witch serve up great cones, Sundays, shakes and sodas. There are also a number of restaurants in the same area, which too have fine menus.

It is generally accepted that for fine dining the Crows Nest, second floor, is the premier dinning experience in Venice. It also happens to be across the street from the condo. It can be found by taking Venice Avenue to the gulf and turning north till you almost run out of land. The upstairs is the best and fairly expensive dining experience. Dress is casual but chic but you will see shorts and sandals. Downstairs is more a sports bar but still people dress up for dinner. It is also less expensive with a smaller menu.

The next Venice Restaurant we recommend is not even in Venice but because it is close and is so good, it needs to be on our list. It is the Saltwater Café, located in Nokomis on Route 41, north of Venice on the southbound side. Swiss Chef Rolf, who you will also see cooking on the local Comcast channel, has a large electic menu with reasonable prices. I had the best steak I have ever had there and I have eaten in some of the best New York steak houses.

A newer place, at least for us is Scamotz (of course Bill the owner doesn’t have a web site as his food does all the advertising he needs, so I’ll send you to Yahoo reviews), who serves maybe the best Tomato Pie you have ever had. Scamotz is located on the island just across from the Venice Theater. I know you can’t find a good pizza in Florida, but wait, this is it, the best thin crust pizza you’ll ever have. They also have the best salads, and the salads are so big you better order only one for the two of you. The last time we were there we shared our table, al fresco, with the biggest and most fragrant Rosemary plant we ever saw.

Sharky’s on the Pier is another nice restaurant which is best known for the view. They are right at the beach end of the Venice fishing pier. For lunch (be there at 11:30 it fills up fast) or for a sun set diner.

The next place is more than just a restaurant but is also a snapshot into Florida’s past. It is a fishing camp located on the Myakka River and is called Snook Haven. You will find Snook Haven by taking Venice Avenue east untill you run out of road, then park. It does become a dirt road. They also have river trips, which are a must, and you will likely see some big gators. There is also a restaurant, which has live lunch music every day. Our favorite day is Tuesday (12 noon through 2) because the Silver String Dulcimers Band plays, but only during the season.

Maybe you always had the dream of surfing. Well Venice is the perfect place to learn. There are sections of the beach which are ideally suited for the beginner or intermediate surfer. You can rent or buy equipment and even take lessons from highly qualified instructors. We recommend Bluewater surfboards and the owner Erin Howard. Erin runs a full service surfing business which includes custom shapes, ding repair, all fiberglass fabrication and instruction. You can contact Erin at 941-539-5007 or email howard/bluewater@myspace.com.

You may also be into music as we are. If so there are lots of free music concerts in Venice. Monday evening, in the Venice Beach pavilion there is Blue Grass music. It appears to be a pickup concert, where different guys show up and some time it is great and other times they are short. With a dobro, base, banjo, guitar and mandolin. Things really get going. There is also Country Music on Tuesday and Jazz at the gazebo. Elin Larson offers free beach yoga classes, in fact there is so much going on that the Venice web site is a great place to find out where and what’s happening.

We hope this web site helps with your Venice expierence.

For more information about Venice go to www.venicechamber.com