Venice is the most unique city I have ever visited in my life so far. My recent visit to this city has left me amazed and the time I spent there with my family is very memorable. We visited Venice just for two days and explored every nook and corner of the city on foot. We stayed at The Westin Europa and Regina which was an absolute delight with magnificent views of the Grand Canal.
As soon as we landed into Venice we rented a water taxi to our hotel. The water taxis are expensive in comparison to the water bus, however we had a lot of luggage and ended up taking the taxi. There is no way to get to Venice by car since there are no cars or roads in Venice, isn’t that amazing. Venice is full of narrow streets and walking ways just like a maze. There are canals and boats all over the city instead of roads and cars. Our boat ride to the hotel was very exciting, it was a speed boat with a covered seating area and right there our trip started with a bang.
After reaching the hotel and relaxing for a bit, we made our way to the Piazza San Marco which was just a five minute walk from our hotel. The square was full of tourists surrounded symmetrically on all four sides with magnificent architectures on each side. The sight of the tourists feeding the pigeons with the backdrop of the beautiful St Mark’s Basilica is still vivid in my memory. We sat by the Basilica and enjoyed eating delicious Pizza topped with red pepper and cheese from one of the many Italian restaurants at the square. After enjoying lunch by the square we started exploring the little shops along the narrow streets making our way to the Rialto Bridge which was full of touristy shops along both sides. It is also called the Rialto market and it is the bridge that connects the two sides of Venice that is separated by the Grand Canal. I really liked browsing through the Murano glass work and leather bag shops which were very prominent throughout the city.
After reaching the other side, we relaxed for a bit by the canal taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful view of restaurants by canal lit with lamps and decorated with flowers on both sides. I loved walking by them and took the opportunity to capture them as well. We spent the rest of the evening at our hotel enjoying beautiful view of the Santa Maria Church reflecting over the calm well lit water of the grand canal.
Our second day in Venice started with the delicious breakfast at the hotel deck which overlooked the Grand Canal. The fresh smoothies, juices and fruits was an awesome kick start to our day and we were ready to explore the rest of the city. We started our day with a charming gondola ride along the beautiful canals and bridges. Although it was a bit overpriced, we enjoyed riding under the bridges, passing by little restaurants by the canals and appreciated the elegant view from the water. We learned a little bit about the history of Venice and the lagoon that was created after diverting the water from the Adriatic Sea. We were then dropped on the opposite side from our hotel at the Santa Maria Church.
After strolling by the stairs of the church, we crossed the narrow bridges to walk towards the market and made our way to the Academy Bridge. The bridge showcases brilliant views of the city with Grand Canal in the back drop and is such a perfect spot for photography. We then returned to our hotel to pick our luggage to get to the train station. In the mean time we had hot cup of tea with some snacks at the hotel bar at the deck facing the canal view. It was a perfect end to our absolutely splendid trip.
Venice has undoubtedly been one of the best destinations that I have ever visited and it is definitely worth an experience. It is truly a romantic city with unique setting. Which is your favorite city so far? Do share. I would love to hear!
July 7, 2016 at 3:39 pm
Venice is such a beautiful city! Would love to visit one day. 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 5:04 pm
Thank you very much for visiting my blog Richard 🙂 I hope your wish comes true. You will definitely love it 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Very well written and lovely pictures. Awakened memories of my last visit. Cheers 😎
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July 7, 2016 at 5:05 pm
Thanks very much for reading Dilip 🙂 I am so glad it brought you back memories of your visit. Cheers 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 6:17 pm
I’m yet to visit Venice. I would love to visit it during boat race. Great pictures Niki. was this a short trip?
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July 7, 2016 at 6:24 pm
Thanks for visiting my blog Arv. We did see a couple of boats racing and the people in the boat had uniform color clothes on. I am sure the race during the festival would be fun but it would be crowded too 🙂 We were in Europe for about 12 days out of which Venice was just for 2 days. You should definitely go to Venice whenever you go to Europe. Thanks for your compliments too 🙂
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July 8, 2016 at 5:19 pm
Sure Niki, I will visit Venice along with other places in Italy. Actually, there are too many things to see in Europe and time seems to be constraint. you always postpone thinking you’re going to plan when you have little more time. But it never happens. Probably picking one country at a time would be my preferred way of exploring Europe. looking for more such beautiful posts. 🙂
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July 8, 2016 at 8:32 pm
Good to know that is your way Arv, that is my way too. We mostly traveled different places in Italy this time 🙂 I hope you find some time soon and explore all that you desire :):)
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July 11, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Thanks Niki! I’m sure your good words will surely work it’s magic! 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 6:51 pm
Always exciting reading about Europe, especially beautiful places like Venice. I just wish to be there some day.
Btw, i like the concept of not having cars/buses on roads, it avoid too much of pollution and thus preserves the natural beauty!
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July 7, 2016 at 6:55 pm
Thank you Alok for visiting 🙂 Exactly what I feel too, it was very strange feeling to come back to the world of cars and buses after 2 days 🙂 May your wish come true soon, you will really enjoy Venice.
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July 7, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Btw, how come you spent just 2 days there?
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July 7, 2016 at 7:05 pm
We were in Italy for about 10 days in total, We visited Sorrento, Rome and Florence as well. Surprisingly, Venice is a little town and we did almost all of it in two days. Although we missed the nearby Murano and Burano islands, may be I will do that in my next visit.
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July 7, 2016 at 7:19 pm
Wow, good for you 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 7:22 pm
Thank you Alok 🙂 It was a great family trip. Back to work and regular life now, that is good too 🙂
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July 7, 2016 at 7:47 pm
Enjoyed reading your blog which brought back memories. Love Venice and painted her various aspects so many times. Never tire
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July 7, 2016 at 8:15 pm
Thank you very much for visiting my blog David 🙂 I can imagine what a delight Venice for artists like you. I am glad my write up brought you back your fond memories.
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July 8, 2016 at 6:03 am
Lovely smile and the weather.
However, I could not tell which bridge was which over there.
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July 8, 2016 at 3:25 pm
Thank you very much for your compliments. Yeah I would also ask people and google for the names of the bridges 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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July 8, 2016 at 11:39 am
Venice is truly like no place else in the world.
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July 8, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Absolutely agree Ken 🙂 Thank you very much for stopping by!
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July 8, 2016 at 9:17 pm
Awesome! ❤
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July 8, 2016 at 9:19 pm
Thank you Roberta for visiting 🙂 Going to follow you back to read your awesome everyday stories 🙂
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July 8, 2016 at 10:54 pm
You are welcome sweet! Looking forward to read more from you 🙂
Cheers!
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July 9, 2016 at 4:00 am
Please describe, in detail, the pizza crust in Venice. Thin or thick? Soft or flaky? Bland or made with spices? 🙂
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July 11, 2016 at 2:33 pm
The crust was thin, soft and bland to be precise. We added red pepper to make it spicy though. So nice to see your curiosity. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂
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July 9, 2016 at 5:58 am
God Bless you my dear friend, May your family and friends, be always be in His care. Amen
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July 11, 2016 at 2:33 pm
Thanks so much for your kind words. Good wishes to you too 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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July 11, 2016 at 4:39 pm
Amen! Your welcome friend.
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July 10, 2016 at 4:09 am
Wow..what a lovely place…fantastic shots
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July 11, 2016 at 2:48 pm
Thank you Sreejith 🙂 I am glad you like it 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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July 12, 2016 at 1:03 pm
Venice is one of my favourite holiday destinations!.
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July 12, 2016 at 3:58 pm
Thank you Mona 🙂 I absolutely loved it too. Thank you very much for stopping by!
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