" AMAZING VENEZIA " Venice by Frisbeeace

Venice Travel Guide: 8,137 reviews and 21,375 photos

Everywhere you look in Venice there is an incredible scene to watch or picture: a short bridge arching over a canal, a gondola gliding by, the colourful aging buildings. Its narrow streets are quiet and mysterious. Without any traffic noise you'll enjoy lots of different sounds.

Venezia is made up of more than 100 islands connected by bridges. Its main street -- the Grand Canal -- is crowded by rowboats, yachts, vaporettos and cargo vessels. First-time visitors find that getting around Venezia presents some unusual problems: the complexity of its layout, the bewildering unfamiliarity of waterborne transportation, the apparently illogical house numbering system and duplication of street names in its six districts (sestieri: San Marco, Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Polo) and the necessity of walking whether you enjoy it or not.

Venezia is one of the most-visited cities on the planet. You'll cross by tourists from every corner in the world but you'll probably find more interesting watching venetians chatting with friends in the piazzas and doing their daily jobs in such unusual maze of corridors and canals.

The dark side of Venezia is that it is sinking and no one can agree on what should be done about it. Also parts of downtown are dirty and run down and rather smelly in summer heat.

Venezia receives as many as 200,000 visitors a day, but the resident population has declined to less than 70,000. Many young people have moved to the mainland, where rents and prices in general are lower.

It's essential to have a good map showing all street names and water bus routes; buy one at any newsstand. Signs on many corners point you to the nearest major landmark - San Marco, Rialto, Accademia, etc. - but don't count on finding such signs once you're deep into residential neighborhoods.

Last visit to Venice: May 2003
Intro Updated Jul 23, 2003
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Reviews (11)

Palazzos on the Grand Canal Things to Do (7)

Take vaporetto #1 a couple of times back and forth to check all the palazzos and other picturesque buildings along the... more travel advice

Gondoliers - What else? Tourist Traps (1)

For those who are not either seducing a girl or celebrating an anniversary, stay away from gondolieris and save your... more travel advice

Basilica di San Marco Things to Do (7)

The wait to visit the Basilica di San Marco was only about 15 minutes. The basilica is wonderful and mixes the Byzantine... more travel advice

Murano Things to Do (7)

Most of the glass workshops were moved to the island of Murano in 1291, to reduce the risk of fire in the city itself. A... more travel advice

Transportation (2)
See All From Venice to the airport

Hotels (1)
Perfect location at affordable price

Comments (6)

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JetlagCity Oct 27, 2004 at 12:20 PM

Nice page - it really is amazing how often Piazza San Marco is flooded. It was interesting to experience high water one night, but hard to imagine living with it on a daily basis!
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chancay Aug 31, 2004 at 10:36 PM

Excelent page of Venice!! You were lucky with only 15 min queue for the Basilika ;-)...beautiful fotos as well!!
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Will.Reis Oct 21, 2003 at 11:59 AM

Good info. Thanks
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patrikske Jul 12, 2003 at 4:30 PM

Lovely Venice page !
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nicolettart Jun 8, 2003 at 9:28 PM

Your pictures are so beautiful...it brings back memories...can't wait to see more! P.S. Thanks for tech forum help!
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Jewels Jun 2, 2003 at 8:40 PM

Excellent information and wonderful pics! Well done