Venice, Italy

Saturday was my first visit to Venice, Italy.  There were just two kickers to the trip.  The first was that it was a group bus tour that left from Ljubljana at 6 AM so we had to leave Murska Sobota by 4 AM.  Way too early for a Saturday morning.  The second thing is that the tour was conducted in Slovenian so I only understood maybe 20% of what was said.  I just tried to follow along and read my English guide book.

Venice is in northeast Italy and is one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world.  The city sits on 118 small islands, formed by 177 canals, and is connected by 409 bridges.  Inside of the city, you either walk or go by boat.  This is the largest urban car-free area in Europe.  Venice is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city is best known for Carnival and gondolas but there is a bit more to it.

Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) is the city's main square.  It is home to Saint Mark's Basilica which was consecrated in 832 AD.

The Campanile is the basilica's bell tower.  It is ~99 meters (323 feet) tall.  The current tower was rebuilt in 1912.

The Doge's Palace is a Venetian Gothic palace that became a museum in 1923.

The Clock Tower was completed in 1499.

The Grand Canal cuts through the center of the city.  It's basically like "Main Street".  The Rialto Bridge is over 400 years old and is the oldest of the four main bridges over the canal.

 
Travel Tip:  Lots of people want to take the traditional gondola ride in order to get the full Venice experience.  But it is really expensive.  A 50-minute ride can run you €60 - €100 ($78 - $100) and the prices go up a lot after 8 PM.  However, for just €0,50 (65¢) you can take a 2-minute water taxi to the other side of the canal.  You save an hour and a whole lot of Euros.