Romantic Venice

By Farah Amin

Making your way down The Grand Canal is nothing short of an extraordinary experience. Between the magnificent main streets is a graceful backward ‘S’ sweep of water that flows between churches and the historic palazzi. Board a vaporetto (a rounded 230 passenger boat),which is one of the most wonderful ways to tour the Grand Canal. It’s a three and a half (2 mile) trip from the railway station to San Marco and it gives you an excellent introduction to the city and how it works and always has.

Napoleon once referred to it as the ‘drawing room of Europe’ where it appears that the whole of Europe is crammed in it, the piazza San Marco is quite the incredible place to be and just by standing in the middle of it all is an experience in itself.

Some of the city’s major attractions are situated; the St Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and Torre dell’Orologio, Teatro La Fenice.

No trip to Venice would be complete without an iconic Gondola ride in the picturesque waterways of the city. Then after that you could relax with some drinks the Italian way during aperitivo time when Venice’s cool crowds begin to line up for drinks and cicheti (snacks). Grab a Grand Canal-facing table at Naranzaria or Bancogiro. Alternatively, head to Ardidos for the coolest design, Al Marcà for an ombra (bit of shade) on the hoof or Skyline Bar for a drink with a view.

Take a trip to the lagoon city for a glorious culinary experience, where you can get fresh seafood like no place else. There is a variety of sea creatures available for eating and requires a spirit of open mindedness. Be brave enough to give a try the

granseola (spider crab), or garusoli (sea snails) or canoce (mantis shrimps), but Venice is definitely the place to try these marine curios.

Get a bird’s eye view of Venice and go up the city’s tallest building, standing tall at 99 meters. The building collapsed in 1902 and was rebuilt exactly as it was and where it was. It has quite an amazing view of the whole city taking in the Lido and the whole lagoon and the Dolomites.

Besides the beautiful architecture of the city, Venice has a unique and precious repository of art from the Middle Ages until the mid 18^th century. Major artists have left their mark all over the city. See Titian’s glorious ‘Assumption’ above the high altar at I Frari, Tintoretto’s epic masterpiece ‘Crucifixion’ at Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and Tiepolo’s monumental frescos at the Pietà and Ca’ Rezzonico.

The Carnevale is the world’s largest and most famous masked ball and has been around since the Middle Ages. It takes place in the piazza San Marco where professional posers dress in ornate costumes and are photographed by the world’s press.