One of Italy’s top travel destinations, Venice may be a unique town in that is built upon a lagoon surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. Set in northeastern Italy, Venice is an archipelago of 118 islands all connected by many lovely bridges and scenic canals. Of the canals, the Grand Canal is most famous and divides city into 2 sections. Picturesque waterways and historic architecture make Venice one amongst the most romantic cities in the world.
Venice is commonly crowded and expensive but well worth visiting to see its impressive landmarks like Saint Mark’s square and Basilica, Doge’s Palace and Rialto Bridge. One amongst the most well-liked things to do is to take a gondola ride along the Grand Canal. However, it’s even as equally pleasant to ride a vaporetti along the quiet back canals.
Every year, Venice hosts one amongst Italy’s liveliest Carnival festivals where the streets are full of folks wearing colourful costumes and masks, and also the Grand Canal is packed with fleets of decorated boats and gondolas. A well-liked souvenir to purchase in Venice is one of the superbly crafted carnival masks.
There are no cars in Venice, so people either walk or ride the water taxis along the canal system. Travelers should note that Venice frequently experiences high water in the spring and fall.
Ca’ Rezzonico
Of all the stately palazzos that line the Grand Canal, no building better illustrates what life was like in 18th-century Venice than the Ca’ Rezzonico. Used as a setting for the 2005 film “Casanova” starring Heath Ledger, the palace’s Grand Ballroom has played host to over-the-top parties for more than 200 years. English poet Robert Browning was one of the last to make the palazzo his home. Today, the entire building is open to the public as the Museo del Settecento. While many of the paintings on display are reproductions, the fabulous ceiling frescoes by the Tiepolo family are authentic and have been restored to their original glory.
Grand Canal
There’s no better way to begin an exploration of Venice than with a gondola ride down the Grand Canal. In a city where cars are banned, gondolas, water taxis and public vaporetti (water buses) are the primary sources of transportation. The city’s aquatic thoroughfare snakes through the center of the city from Saint Mark’s Basilica to the Church of Santa Chiara. Lined on either side by Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance structures, the Grand Canal is crossed by four bridges, the most famous of which is the 16th-century Rialto Bridge. The best time of the day for a gondola ride is in the early morning when the canal shimmers with golden light.
St. Mark’s Basilica & Campanile
Situated in St. Mark’s Square, the soaring 30-story Campanile and also the huge basilica behind it are 2 of the foremost well-liked traveler attractions in Venice. Both date to the 9th century but have been rebuilt and embellished extensively over the centuries. San Marco Basilica is a showcase for the wealth that Venice accumulated as a military power. Its design mixes Byzantine and Gothic architecture styles in a very unique way. Elaborate medieval mosaics cover much of the cathedral’s walls and vaulting. Behind the tomb believed to hold the remains of Saint Mark stands the altarpiece Pala d’Oro, a jewel-adorned screen of gold that is considered one of the finest works of Byzantine craftsmanship in the world.
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