Our last stop in Italy was Venice. We took a pleasant train ride from Florence that ended up at the last part of Venice that is on the mainland. So when you leave the station, you are confronted with your first taste of Venice: going on a vaporetto (waterbus) to get near your hotel, and heading down the grand canal. The sights are just beautiful.
I wish all buses offered these views.
We were fortunate to be staying near St Marks square, which is magnificent.
To appreciate the square, you need to see it from the balcony of St Marks Bascillica. Beautiful, but a little stressful as I’m afraid of heights.
And to *really* appreciate it, and all of Venice, you need to take a vaporetto across the canal and head up to the bell tower of the church of San Georgio Maggiore (the fact that they had an elevator to the top did not minimize my fear of actually getting to the top)
There are no wheeled vehicles permitted in the historic part of the city. No cars, bikes, buses, or taxis. You walk. And wander down incredibly small alleys which they want to call “streets.” But I’m thinking if two people can’t pass each other, it’s charitable calling it an alley. Here are just some random pictures from walking around or taking vaporettos. You not only get lost in the beauty, you literally get lost.
Of course there are some must-see sights, including the Rialto Bridge.
And the Doge’s Palace and the prison, which were remarkable.
One of the main attractions at the Palace is the Bridge of Sighs. This is the bridge that people crossed on their way to the prison after being found guilty of a crime at the court in the Palace. This was the last image of Venice that many prisoners had. Here is a photo from inside the bridge, looking towards another bridge and the grand canal.
And here is a picture from the bridge near the grand canal, looking back at the Bridge of Sighs.
I wish we had more time to explore Venice. It’s a city I can’t wait to go back to.
–Bret