Visiting Venice for your Italy Vacation

If you go on a vacation in Italy it is almost necessary that you visit Venice. Everyone who has ever been to Italy has an almost classic picture of them in a “vaporetti” or a “gondola” with a canal for a backdrop. This famous Italian city found in the north is also sometimes known as the city of water, the city of bridges and the city of lights. Vaporetti are motorized buses used by Venetians for transportation around the city’s canals while the gondola is a Venetian boat that is now used mostly by tourists and sometimes for weddings or funerals. The city is made up of several small islands, 118 to be exact hence the need for water transportation and the many bridges.

There are 150 canals and 400 bridges. There are also several art galleries and all together these make for an exciting experience when you are on an Italy vacation.

You can get a Venice card which allows you free access for seven days into the museums and casinos. You will also get free waterbus or vaporetti services plus a free boat trip from the airport with this card. The airport in Venice is on the main land and is newly renovated. You can go to the train station from here to get to other parts of Venice. If you are driving on your Italy vacation you can also get to Venice by car but you will need to take a Ferry boat. The least expensive garage in Venice is the Tronchetta garage so you can park there and take a public boat or hire a private water taxi which can be expensive. You will be able to get one way vaporetti tickets, all day passes or if you are spending more time here for your Italy vacation you could also get a 72 hour pass.

If you are in Venice you must tour the city by a gondola. There are several tours available. For something really different during your Italy vacation in Venice and if you are really in the mood for it, perhaps you can even take what is called a serenade tour. The tour is accompanied by a singer (usually a baritone) and a guitarist or someone playing the accordion. Several of these tours leave from piers near hotels in Venice. Your trip will probably be a little under an hour and you may see landmarks such as the Church of Santa Maria Formosa and the Bridge of Sighs.

This bridge received it name because it is said that prisoners would get their last view of the City of Venice from here when on their way to confinement. If you are in Venice for your Italy vacation with a significant other make sure you take a gondola trip that will be going under this bridge under sunset. Legend says that lovers will be assured eternal love if they kiss under this bridge at sunset.

Venice is usually crowded with tourists in the summer months so if you can, visit during the off season. Or you can simply opt for a private gondola tour which may be more expensive but will be away from all the crowds.