Tours:
Venice has been seducing visitors for centuries with its watery setting and fairytale appearance. This city of contrasts is where East meets West, land meets sea and fantasy meets history. Entirely built on water by men who dared to defy the sea, Venice is so unique it deserves at least a day on even the busiest of itineraries.
Venice sits at the heart of a lagoon laced together with 400 bridges, 2000 alleys and 170 canals. The best way to see Venice is one district at a time and while it may at first look like a maze, the web of streets is much easier to navigate than one might suspect. As a car free city, you must walk everywhere in Venice and where you cannot walk, you go by water, often traveling by Vaporetti (water buses) or traghetti (traditional gondola ferries). Once you have grasped a few key streets such as the Rialto (Venice’s old commercial heart) and Piazza San Marco (the city most famous square), the distances are relatively short.
Although Venice is one of the world's most enchanting cities, you pay a price for all that beauty - both literally and figuratively. Few leave the city without complaining about the outrageous prices, which can be double those anywhere else in Italy. The best time to tour Venice is usually spring and fall. Summers in Venice are hot and humid and it is almost always crowded with tourists.
The heart of Venice - and the hub of tourism - is the vast Piazza San Marco, complete with pigeons, café bands and exotic shops under the arcades. Visitors flock in the thousands to see the blend of Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance architecture for which Venice is renowned. Splendid palaces (palazzo) and numerous churches are brimming with Renaissance art and when you have had your fill, stop in one of the city’s osterie (restaurants) to sample Tiramisu. This rich dessert of mascarpone cheese, marsala, sponge and chocolate is a great reminder to tourists that chocolate was invented in Venice.
Whatever your tastes, Venice is a wonderful city with a fairytale atmosphere that has something for everyone to explore.
- Venice - La Serenissima - Pulsing to the Steady Pace of Water
- The Quiet Glide of Gondoliers
- Piazza San Marco
- Tiny Streets Branching into Narrower Alleys
- Wall after Splendid Wall of Giotto's Frescoes
- Vaporetti Versus Taxis
- Ponti of the Grand Canal (Scalzi, Rialto, Accademia)
- Grand Canal Ponte dei Sospiri
- The Bridge of Sighs Palace to the Doges prison
- ‘Café Florian’ and ‘Café Quadri’
- Marvellous Basilica di San Marco
- Palazzo Ducale, the Doges’ Palace
- The islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello
- Murano Glass Museum
- Burano is famous for its production of laces
- The Lido, the Venetian beach loved by the rich
Let us customize your vacation in Italy!
Ciao Tours prides itself on exceeding your expectations of a dream vacation in Italy. To help us organize your tour, please complete our Information Request Form.
For more information on our tours of Italy
Please call our Toll Free number at 1-877-444-CIAO (2426) or email us at info@ciaotours.com
Copyright 2008 | Ciao Tours