Venice travel guide

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Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto. It is one of the most interesting and lovely places in the world. The romantic charm of the city attracts more number of tourists than the people living here. Venice is the only pedestrian city in the world, with absence of cars, trucks etc, making it a pleasant place for holidays.

Fast Facts

There are plenty of things that will keep you occupied during your stay :

• Voga Longa is the yearly equivalent of a marathon run on water. You can participate in the race and enjoy the adventure.
• Celebrating a historic event known as Regatta where almost a hundred varieties of Venetian boats are displayed.
• You can ride a Vaporetto (Water Bus) down the Grand Canal right before sunset. It is a marvelous experience.
• Spend a day on the islands, mainly Murano, Burano and Torcello. There are boat services to all these islands at scheduled times. Enjoy the pristine water and golden sunshine.

Venice is packed with little stores in every nook and corner. The best buys here include carnival masks, glass, and marbled paper etc. Price can vary wildly, so it's a good idea to hold off buying until you have a fair idea about the prices.

Swimming jogging and rowing are the main activities for the tourists.

The newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport or Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo has several domestic and international flights to assist tourist to reach here comfortably. The airport has bus connections with Venice. The most popular way to approach Venice is by boat or train.

The main tourists attractions are :

• Saint Mark's Basilica : - is one of the highlights of the visit to Venice.
• Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari : - is a beautiful church, with fine monuments and paintings.
• Santa Maria dei Miracoli : - is a church that is simple but ornamented with fine exterior marble carvings.
• Some of the Venice's best known museums are located at Saint Marc Square like The Doge's Palace and Correr Museum. You can buy souvenirs from here.
• Ca' Pesaro : - is a beautiful palace housing the gallery of modern art focusing on Italian art.
• Ca' Rezzonico : - Museum of the 18th Century in Venice.
• Bell tower of St. Mark's (Campanile di San Marco) : - is a very high tower built in1912 which is the exact replica of the previous tower which collapsed in 1902.

Venice is the place serving the best Italian food at affordable prices. You can go to i Tre Mercanti which serves typical Italian specialties. Venice has some wonderful restaurants, serving some of the popular cuisines of Veneto. Specialties include polenta, made of corn meal; risotto with cuttlefish ink sauce and many more. In order to save money at lunch, eat standing up as sit and dine is quite expensive.

Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. The canals serve as the roads and every transport is on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest car free area entirely without motorcars or trucks. But still you can easily travel around inside Venice by water taxis, which are fast but quite expensive.