Venice Destination Guide

  Places to See in Venice

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Visit Venice - In the rich cultures of Europe and celebrated cities of Italy, few places capture the imagination as much as Venice. Its fabled canalled thoroughfares and gilded palaces possess a beguiling beauty unsurpassed by anywhere else on Earth.

No-one can forget their first view along the Grand Canal, Venice's main artery that bisects the city. Grandiose buildings in fabulous colours lean at crazy angles over dark water - at any moment you feel they could collapse into the lagoon, and this most precious of cities disappear forever. Overall there is an atmosphere of carpe diem, Venice is a city for enjoying now, as tomorrow, you feel, it may be gone.

Here the world is turned on its head - priceless art is commonplace and the bland is the exception: in its imperial hey-day Venice spent vast reserves of money on trinkets to augment its already beautiful architecture. Ships flying the flag of the Golden Lion brought back wealth from the Indies and the city shamelessly lavished it on fripperies, becoming famous for its decadence. It is a heritage that tourists now reap unashamedly. Everywhere you go you'll find works of art - in the architecture itself or within the walls of the palaces and basilicas that are liberally sprinkled in every area of the city.

Elegant Venetian buildings and palaces peer over the ancient maze of narrow streets and labyrinth of canals that contrive to make this a unique city. Tourists naturally flock to Venice to experience its inimitable charm. The downside of this can be felt in the narrow streets and cramped piazzas of its sought-after areas. A good way to get to know a more personal side of Venice is to saunter through its romantic back streets and residential quarters.

Venice rests on one of a series of 117 islands distributed throughout the Venetian lagoon at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea. This strategic position conferred on Venice economic and defensive advantages over its trading rivals. As the wealth of the city increased and its population grew, the composition of the city grew ever more dense and today only a handful of the islets that constitute the historic centre are not entirely developed.

Venice is an ever-changing, living canvas. No other place has such a mutable geography where you can discover delightfully peaceful piazzas and deserted canals seemingly unmarked on any map. No two wanderings through its back alleys are ever the same, and even people who have lived here for decades can still be surprised by a chance turning.

Flooded with tourists in summer and with the waters of the lagoon in autumn, Venice endures with the patience of a noble and bejewelled dowager. Teetering on the edge of ruin yet still féted by all who are exposed to its gaudy charms. Simply because there is nowhere else quite the same...

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