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Venice isn’t only delightful because of its cozy trattorias and unique seafood dishes. This incredible city – different from any other town in the world- features an incredible variety of churches, grandiose palaces and dramatic landscapes that will make you snap pictures with the same enthusiasm of a Japanese tourist.



What makes Venice so different and unique? This city is built on a myriad of small islands located in the Northeast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Founded around 2000 years ago by refugees from other cities (mostly people from Padua tired of being attacked by Barbarian populations), Venice has been a strategic trade center for centuries, bringing together Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, and assimilating bits of culture, cuisine and architecture from both worlds.

Besides the famous landmarks such as St. Mark’s Basilica, the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal, there is a lot to be explored and discovered in Venice. Behind every corner, after every bridge, you’ll bump into a small church worth visiting, and on many houses you’ll see plaques remembering how important figures like composer Vivaldi or musician Mozart have spent some of their time in there while visiting the city.



There are two great ways of getting to know Venice: the first one is to ditch the map, steer clear of the guided tours (which most of the times resemble cows getting hoarded) and get lost in the city’s maze-like streets and canals. The second one, recommended to the least adventurous, is to hop on the number 1 ferry line that takes you from the Santa Lucia train station all the way down the Grand Canal –Venice’s main artery- to St. Mark’s square and the Lido. Since there are no cars in Venice and water taxis are ungodly expensive, the ferry is your best bet for public transportation: a single ride costs 6 Euros (a bit pricey, I agree) so I decided to invest 25 Euros for a 2 day pass that gave me unlimited access to any of the ferry lines. While cruising down the Grand Canal, you can admire gorgeous palaces from the 1400s, such as the Ca’D’Oro, the 1600s, such as Ca’ Rezzonico, and impressive churches such as La Salute. Most of the windows and columns in these buildings are built in a distinct Moorish style, more similar to the style seen in Constantinople that the one we are used to in Western European towns.



The number 1 ferry will also cruise under the famous Rialto Bridge. Built in 1591 in white marble, the bridge not only looks fantastic at sunset, it also is a vivacious marketplace where Venetian merchants sell local artifacts such as glass beads, earrings, and silk scarves.



A visit to Venice wouldn’t be complete without a stroll in St. Mark’s Square, described by Napoleon upon his arrival to Venice “the most beautiful drawing room in the world”. The Basilica, a vision of West meets East architecture, is open to the public, although there is a short line to get inside. Definitely worth the 3 Euros is a visit to the upstairs of the church, an amazing terrace called “Loggia dei Cavalli” where you can see the square from above and take great pictures of both the Bell Tower and the Tower of the Clock. In the Loggia are also exhibited four horses cast in bronze dating back to ancient Greece, looted from Constantinople during the 4th Crusade and moved to Venice in the 1200s. Also very impressive is the “Pala D’Oro”, the church’s altar made of solid gold and thousands of precious gems collected around the world.



Not as famous as St’ Mark’s and the Rialto Bridge, but definitely worth a visit is the Naval Museum at the Arsenale, a collection of boats and ships kept in perfect shape for your viewing pleasure. One of the cheapest attractions in Venice (the ticket is only 1.50 Euros!) the Naval Museum is great for history buffs as well since it features, among others, the Electra, a ship designed by Guglielmo Marconi to be the first floating telegraph station in the world.



A visit to Venice’s great art museums, the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, is also a must. Unfortunately, my explorations were cut short on the second day by a phenomenon typical to Venice: the dreaded ‘Acqua Alta’, or ‘High Water’. A violent thunderstorm and a fierce wind made the water in the lagoon rise so high that most of the streets in the city were flooded, and to get around one had to walk on elevated wooden walk-boards. I left Venice, as I usually do, wanting to see more and more of it. Next time I’ll visit the art galleries first, Ca’ Rezzonico and the Ducal Palace, and hopefully the high water won’t cut my stay short.