Venice-europe's best preserved big city

Grand Venice

 

View entering the city from our private balcony

Today, I experienced the grander of Venice, one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the world. This car-free wonderland of a hundred islands laced together by 400 bridges and 2000 alleys,

welcomes millions of tourists per year.

Everywhere you go, you see reminders of its glory days as a great trading empire, its leadership in the Italian Renaissance, and it's appetite for decadence.

Passing through picturesque waterfronts as I left my cruise ship on a motorboat transfer to St. Mark's area, I began the day with a guided walking tour of the most renowned sites including the Doges palace and St. Mark's Square and Cathedral.

Here is a video of our motorboat ride to St Marks:

Our first stop was the Doge’s Palace, the ancient residence of the governor of the Republic. Well known for its ornate façade and multi-arcaded loggia, the Doge’s Palace is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. Inside the palace, we climbed the famous golden staircase, saw prison cells, crossed the bridge of sighs, and admired the grand paintings.

At St. Mark's Square we strolled pass the stately buildings, elegant cafés, and enjoyed the colorful locals, musicians, artists, and the famous pigeons. Of course, we saw the famous Clock tower, towering over the city, adjacent to St. Mark's Cathedral.

We ended our tour by visiting a local glass show room where we saw artisans at work, producing the famous Venetian glass.

 

 

 

more:

Next, we followed the signs through the narrow cobblestone maze of streets to the famous Rialto Bridge. Here we visited this distinctive and dramatic stone structure that crosses the Grand Canal. The views from the top reveal life along one of the canals, where you see gondoliers, happy tourists, and delightful cafés.

In Venice, you navigate by landmarks, not by streets.

For lunch, we enjoyed traditional margharita pizza in a quaint Italian restaurant.

Although the crowds were big, in November there are a lot fewer people than in summer and the weather is cooler.

 As we made our way back to St. Mark's Square, darting in and out of colorful shops, we looked for the Vaporetto station.

The public transit system is a fleet of motorized bus-boats called Vaporetti. They function like city buses except that they never get a flat, the stops are docs, and if you get off between stops, you may drown. 

Our goal was to tour the entire Grand Canal from St. Mark's Plaza back to the crew ship port by taking either Vaporetto #1, the slow boat which takes 45 minutes or Vaporetto #2, which makes fewer stops and takes 25 minutes. Tickets cost 7 Euros.

As planned, we sat right up front in the Vaporetto which afforded us unobstructed views of  all the great landmarks from the stately buildings along the way including Ca’ d”Oro, The fish and produce market, numerous merchants' palaces, and the Accademia art museum.  We rode along with locals, 20,000 a day of whom commute into the city every day.

Our ship stayed overnight so I had scheduled an off-the-beaten-path walking tour for the following day. Unfortunately I was sick and stayed on the ship. I will explore that adventure during my next visit to this wonderful city.

Ride Up The Grand Canal:

 

 

 

Leaving Venice From Our Private Balcony: