Gift ideas for those who miss Venice

This year, many of us haven’t been able to travel to our favourite holiday destinations. If one of your loved ones hasn’t been in Venice this year, a gift from the list below will certainly be appreciated for the festive holidays, for a birthday or anniversary or as a token of love. Of course, you can also treat yourself with a gift.

I made a selection of presents which will bring back good memories of Venice and which will make you dream about a next trip. Feel free to share any additional suggestions in the comments below.

Take a look at Notebooks – Private virtual walk – Puzzles – Books – Pictures for personalized presents – Vintage posters – Biscuits – Artisans’ products

Notebooks

The notebooks of Signed are not only beautiful but also unique. The covers are handmade from recycled materials such as old city maps, road maps and atlases. They are perfect to keep track of your memories, to take notes during your trip, to use as a bullet journal or to stick pictures or notes. You can choose any country or city you have in mind, whether it’s Venice, your home country or any other destination you love. I can’t resist buying notebooks so I ordered 5 of them, each with a different map of Venice as you can see in the banner above this post. One of them is from the ‘Pianta e Storia’ city map. They are almost too beautiful to use. The website is mainly in Dutch, but you can send an email to Petra in English and she will answer you asap.

A beautiful notebook with a cover made from a recycled city map of Venice

Private virtual walk around Venice

Luisella Romeo has adapted her normal guided tours around Venice to a new way of cultural experiences. On such a virtual tour, you will follow her online from the safety of your home while she walks around her city with her tripod and phone. She can take you on one of her standard tours and explain you everything you want to know about the history or cultural highlights, or you can ask her to take you through your favourite area of Venice. I have followed in her steps in Dorsoduro and it’s an amazing experience. It’s like joining a friend and seeing the city through her eyes. You can contact Luisella via email to plan a surprise walk as a gift for your loved one, or to buy a voucher so your friend or relative can design a tour with her.

Luisella Romeo on Piazza San Marco during one of her virtual walks (© Luisella Romeo)

Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are perfect to keep you busy when you’re stuck at home, whether it’s due to a lockdown or due to the cold and wet season. Or maybe you just love the challenge of puzzling. When the theme of the puzzle is your favourite city, then it’s even more fun as you might discover details which you hadn’t noticed in the city itself. There are plenty of puzzles dedicated to Venice but I love this panoramic puzzle of San Giorgio Maggiore and the gondolas in front of it. If you have been to Venice, you will immediately recognize this view. There are also several 3D puzzles of Venice if you prefer these. Alternatively, you can also design a jigsaw puzzle from your own pictures. You can even choose the number of pieces (from 12 up to 2,000). I have already ordered a few of these and the quality of the print and of the pieces is perfect.

A panoramic jigsaw puzzle of Venice

Books

I am a big fan of books related to Venice, whether they are novels, photography books or guidebooks and I regularly buy new books. Therefore, if you are buying a book as a present for a Venice fan, you might want to buy one of the latest editions to ensure they don’t have it yet. I can recommend ‘Venice, The Lion, the City and the Water’ of Cees Noteboom. The book is a collection of short stories which can easily be read separately. I started reading it a while ago, and I pick it up from time to time when I miss Venice. Besides in English, the book is also available in Dutch (the original version), French and Spanish. Another new book I love is ‘Venice with Turner’, whose stunning paintings will transfer you immediately to Venice. Of course, you can find plenty of other ideas for books related to Venice in my book posts.

Pictures for your personalized presents

It is very easy nowadays to create personalized presents through various websites. You can print a picture on t-shirts, face masks, mugs, you can create posters to frame or design your own jigsaw puzzle. I now offer pictures taken by The Venice Insider for sale (20 euros) in case you can’t find one in your own collection. You will receive a high resolution file without the watermark of my logo which you can then use to create your gift. You won’t receive the copyright, so you can use it for personal use but you are not allowed to sell it, share it or use it for commercial purposes. I have selected a few of my favourite pictures from the thousands I have by now. If you don’t find one you like in the selection below, feel free to contact me. If you have seen an image on my site which you love or if you have a specific location or topic in mind, I will check if I have one which suits you better. You can send me an email if you want to order one or have a question on this.

A selection of pictures, taken by The Venice Insider, which you can buy to create a personalized gift

Vintage posters

If you are looking for a decoration gift, then I recommend you to take a look at the stunning vintage posters on the website of Ciao Tutti. There are plenty of posters of Venice and other Italian cities. The posters cost only 1.99 euros and will be sent to you via email. You can then print them in the size you want, frame them and give them as a present. The site is in Dutch but you can write an email to Saskia in English or Italian and she will be happy to help you. And while you’re on the site, you might also want to check her very interesting posts about Venice and Italy. If you don’t speak Dutch, you can use Google Translate to read them.

A selection of vintage posters of Venice (© Ciao Tutti)

Biscuits

Who doesn’t love the traditional Esse biscuits of Burano? I certainly can’t resist them and always buy a few packets before returning home as they stay fresh for 45 days. I especially like the ones from Majer, a Venetian brand that produces the biscuits based on ancient recipes. The recipe for their Esse biscuits for instance dates from 1924. The good thing is that you can now also order these online (within Europe). Besides the Esse biscuits, you can also buy a wide range of other biscuits handmade in Venice or their coffee which is roasted in Cannaregio.

Delicious esse biscuits of Majer (© Majer)

Artisans’ products

There are plenty of artisans in Venice who sell their products online, ranging from etches over glass to jewelry or lace. I have written about some of them before, such as Plum Plum Creations, Eredi Jovon and Alessia Fuga. There are also several mentioned in my gift guide ‘My top 8 non tacky gifts and souvenirs of Venice’. Monica Cesarato has now written a post with gift ideas from local artisans, so I suggest you take a look there as well to discover additional inspiration. Besides jewelry, it also includes ceramics, antiques, lace and chocolate.

Customized cameo cufflinks carved by Eredi Jovon

Enjoy the shopping!