You must get away from the tourist areas.
quietstreetYou’ll need to spend some time in tourist central (AKA St. Mark’s Square) because it is the sight in the city, but you’ll want to get more than a few blocks away from that and the other tourist magnets for most of your stay. Wander. Get lost. No, really – get absolutely and completely lost. What’s the worst that can happen? You are on islands, you cannot wander so far that you’ll never get back again, and you will stumble upon the most interesting parts of the city this way.
When you’re through wandering aimlessly, just ask someone how to get back to St. Mark’s, or the Rialto Bridge, or the train station, or whatever major landmark is close to your hotel and from which you can navigate back to familiar ground. Keep asking the same directions from people you pass until you get where you want to go. You’ll get lost again doing this, because there’s more than one way back to where you came from, but you’ll get there. Just be patient. Which brings me to…