Venice (Italy)

Advantages: Beautiful, unique, hasn't disappeared yet
Disadvantages: Daily budget - ouch

...booked us 5 days in Venice next February”. “DOV’È?” – Or “I’ve Heard Of It, But Where is it?” The city of Venice lies in a shallow lagoon on the north eastern coast of Italy, in its own region known as Il Veneto, which it shares with Il Mestre and Padova (Padua). Flying there takes about 1:40 from Heathrow, all the way to its very own Marco Polo Airport. We really need a new name for Heathrow – how about Dick Turpin International? After all, he ...
...some idea at least that Venice (i.e. the famous bit) is surrounded by water, and they’d be right. It should therefore come as no shock to realise that the airport and the city are separated by some considerable miles of lagoon. So, to get your ‘life aquatic’ off to a good start, why not take a boat over to the main waterfront? OK, you CAN take taxis, buses and even trains over on a causeway to the edge of the main city, but that’s as far as you ... Read review

Advantages: Absolutely stunning and romantic
Disadvantages: None for me!

...get a train straight into Venice to Ferrovia (the main station) which is right in the hub of Venice. We arrived into Venice Airport in January 2007. There are lots of methods to get into Venice from the Airport including Water Taxi, Train and bus. We intended to use our budget wisely, and so opted for the cheapest method - bus. We got on an ATVO blue bus which took us direct to San Roma (the cities bus station) for 3 euros' each. The station at San ...
...the centre of Venice. Venice has no cars and so your only choice is by water. We purchased a 72 hour ticket which enabled us to travel freely on all water buses for 25 euros (we also then discovered that on an ACTV bus this would have covered our transport to and from the airport). A single ride on a water bus (Vaporetto) is 5 euros and other than our feet it was our main method of transport. I loved the water bus. It enabled me to take pictures ... Read review

Advantages: Lively, interesting and different.
Disadvantages: A bit expensive

...is so much written about Venice so I thought I would write about the practical things which I thought about or affected me rather than an in depth history of any place or building I visited. If you are interested in visiting Venice I am sure you will have your favourite attractions. The guide books say there are about 400 bridges; they are not as tiring on the legs as you might imagine. There was a lack of children walking and in pushchairs and ...
...daily life without cars, in Venice everything is moved by boat, the postal services, parcels, logs for building in fact all kinds of building materials and all the goods for consumerism - The boat ambulance and police force -just about every thing. I only saw one person in a wheel chair and I would say that Venice is not really a place for the disabled but it made me think, I saw one bridge with a stair lift and some larger toilets at the airport. ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful, unique
Disadvantages: a bit smelly in the summer, tourists

Venice is both everything and nothing as you expect it to be. It is a city that it is impossible to visit 'blind' with no previous ideas or imaginings, but it still manages both to charm and to surprise. Venice was the last of the quintessential 'must-see' Italian cities that I visited. Somehow, I was never really so interested in her, I thought, as friends had told me, she would be a kind of majestic disney-world type place, a ghost city, full of ...
...made a home. Venice is built on hundreds of interlinked islands. The bridge to the mainland and dirty, unloved Mestre is just over a hundred years old, but it takes more than that to accustom the Venetians to the links to the mainland. Most of the work and workforce is in Mestre, but Venice is so very different. From the initial trip on train or by rail across the bridge, best taken in the morning when there is a hint of mist on the horizon, Venice ... Read review

Advantages: lots to see, unusual with the canals, interesting place to visit
Disadvantages: water can smell in summer, money vanishes too quickly, not good for a long holiday

...spend a few days in Venice at the end of the holiday, and had a fantastic (if expensive!) time. Think "Venice"...what comes to mind? No doubt canals, a rich history, gondolas and a terrible stench in summer...well, this may sum Venice up briefly, but the city has plenty more to offer. Read on for a brief guide to one of Europe's most fascinating cities. THINGS TO SEE: I'm guessing people have heard that Venice is impossible to navigate without ...
...taste of the sights that Venice has to offer - but we found that rather than using a map or a guidebook, the best way to explore was just to wander round randomly - that way you end up going off the beaten track and finding some very pretty little side streets and bridges. It really is a beautiful city, with far too much to see! SHOPPING: If you want big department stores and supermarkets, then you're in the wrong place! Venice's shops are mostly ... Read review