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If you are a frequent driver in Europe, but never been to Venice, you’re in for a shock, all the streets are flooded and there is nowhere to park the car, taxi drivers wear flippers and lollypop ladies are trained lifeguards.  While you may be thinking all this surely can’t be true, you would be wrong, in fact non of it is true, but, I cannot emphasize enough that Venice has a distinct watery feel, and despite it’s worthy reputation as one of the world’s great romantic cities, along with the likes of Paris and Rome, it may not be everybody’s cup of tea, the canals are murky, the streets are narrow and dark and there is more than a whiff of decay about the place, particularly on hot summer days.  Having said all that, you would have to go a long way to find anything near what is, without doubt, the world’s most unique city. Well, as far as Amsterdam at least, but Venice has much more to offer than the Dutch city, like the stunning architecture, the annual carnival and more art than you can shake a gondola’s pole at.

Once you are in Venice the best way of getting around is on foot, it is the only way of sampling the unique atmosphere of this enchanting place and exploring the intricate network of canals, but take my advice and invest in a good map from the offset, not only will it save you some shoe leather but help you appreciate the city’s layout.  Venice, is of course an island fragmented by literary hundreds of canals, linked by a similar number of bridges, all traversed like a snake by the ‘Canal Granda’ or the Grand Canal.  Surprisingly, only three bridges cross the Grand Canal, the Ponte Scalzi at the station, the Ponte Dell Accademia near the exit to the lagoon and the most famous bridge of all, the Ponte di Rialto, built between 1588 and 1591, this iconic masterpiece is at the hub of Venice’s major attractions and centre of the island.

Italy is famous for, among other things, its Piazzo’s and Piazzo San Marco is one of the country’s most recognisable town squares and the place where some of the city’s best buildings can be found.  Basilica di San Marco is one such building and was built to house the resting place of the city’s Patron Saint – St Mark, work started way back around 828 and was completed in 1094, however, a further nine centuries were spent encompassing the magnificent blend of European, Islamic and Byzantine forms of architecture.  Close to the Basilica is the Campanile, the tallest building in Venice at 98 meters above Piazza San Marco, offering fantastic views over the city and lagoon.  Just off Piazzo San Marco is the Ponte di Sospiri, otherwise known as ‘The Bridge of Sighs’, which links Palazzo Ducale with the prisons and is reputedly named after the sighs of local inmates, Casanova was imprisoned here in 1755.  The Piazza itself, is a place for people watching, about the size of a football pitch, the locals and visitors alike tend to congregate to enjoy the sights, whilst enjoying what is probably the most expensive Cappuccino on earth.  Once you have managed to swallow that last gulp of coffee, along with the price, what better way of spending the rest of the morning, than floating round the maze of canals on a Gondola.  Gondola’s don’t come cheap either, but if this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip, then why not splash out and take the plunge – if you know what I mean.

Apart from the obvious beauty of Venice, perhaps the most outstanding aspect of the place is its structure, nearly all of the buildings were built on pilings driven into the bed of the lagoon, thus protected by the lack of oxygen, but with frequent low tides the wooden pilings are now subjected to air and pollution accelerating the decaying process.  In recent years steps have been taken to minimize the destruction, but some of the poorer areas built on less substantial foundations are still at great risk.

The annual carnival is held for two weeks every February and is an event worth remembering if you are thinking of maximizing your Venice experience, but for those who are unable to visit then, symbolic Venetian masks serve as a constant reminder and are on sale as souvenirs.

So lets consider the best way of getting to this shimmering jewel in the Aegean Sea.  A low cost flight from the East Midlands to Venice Marco Polo Airport is the most direct way and Marco Polo boasts the very latest toilet seat cleansing technology, triggered by an electronic sensor, the seat revolves 360 degrees as you exit the cubicle, however, in my case a malfunction made the experience a less unforgettable one, lets just say the words, ‘rice pudding’ and ‘microwave’ spring to mind. Nevertheless, I digress from the variety of ways you can be whisked away from the airport to your hotel, buses, taxis and trains are all easily accessible from the arrivals hall, but the most stylish way has to be your very own water taxi direct to the hotel door.  I chose car hire for my trip, as a drive through the Italian Dolomites is only a few hours north, this gave me the opportunity of seeing some of the most stunning mountain scenery in Europe, but before my drive north I stayed at a hotel on the outskirts of Venice, but within easy reach of the Autostrata, nevertheless, having a car can pose a problem once you have crossed the Della Liberta Causeway – parking can be troublesome and expensive, so arrive early and park up in one of the multi story car parks near the railway station, better still, park outside Venice and take a bus or train.  Most visitors are day trippers from Lake Garda or Verona, who probably come by coach as part of a touring holiday, but with up and coming Slovenia within close proximity, the Capitol Ljubljana and Lake Bled are also contenders for pretty convenient visits.

Hotels vary enormously in both prices and standard, but one thing is certain, prices are generally higher during the peak months of July and August and carnival.

Venice may not be a place to spend more than a few days, but it is somewhere you would want to return to again some day and few places around the world evoke the magic and romance of Venice, the city built on the sea.

Frank Fell