Get ready to get lost and other Venice, Italy General Tips

Favorite Thing: It's difficult to suggest anything in particular as there is too much to see...and yet you don't have to see much in order to get the feel of the place. And besides, you'll get lost regardless.

Pad extra time into your intinerary. Not only because it's easy to get lost, but also because of the sheer amount of bodies clogging the narrow lanes. Between the Rialto bridge and San Marco piazza are the worst of the crowds, exuding a heat and noise I've never been exposed to before.

However, all you need to do is nip into a side street for the heat, noise and crowds to vanish like a magician's trick. But don't expect to escape mundanities like fly posting, pop music and pay phones plus those tearful clown masks. I was also surprised at the amount of ongoing renovation work. I'd thought most of it would be done by now. I've seen Don't Look No, you know.

My recommendation is to stay at least one night so you can see it after most of the crowds have gone.

Fondest Memory: A long vaporetto ride to Torcello, with Venice's oldest cathedral and a museum of antiquities, followed by a stroll around Burano with its crazy quilt of colourful houses and leaning church tower.

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