Ciao and welcome to my post on is Venice worth visiting.
Venice is a city on the radar of many. A once-in-a-lifetime destination to visit to ride gondolas, cross its romantic bridges and marvel at its sunsets over the Grand Canal and the Venetian lagoon.
It’s no secret that Venice has a unique charm that keeps attracting visitors from all over the world every single year.
Venice Worth Visiting?
In this post I’ll give you 7 extra reasons to visit Venice so if you wasn’t already convinced by all that the city has to offer you will be after reading this.
First, i’ll answer a few common questions people ask before visiting Venice:
Where is Venice?
Venice is the capital city of the Veneto region, located in northeast Italy, in the heart of the Venetian lagoon. Read about cities in Veneto to learn more.
Venice is built on 118 islands, connected one to the other by bridges.
There are more than 400 of them all around the city! When arriving by train, car or bus, you’ll cross the Liberty Bridge connecting the mainland to Venice.
The s-shape Grand Canal is Venice’s biggest canal dividing the city into two.
Venice has an international airport called Venice Marco Polo, based only a few kilometres away from the city centre, and one of the biggest railway stations of Italy, connecting most Italian cities to the city of water.
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How far is Venice italy from rome?
Venice is 526 kilometres away from Rome, the capital city of Italy. This means it can take more or less 5 hours to get from one city to other by car.
Many decide to add both Venice and Rome to their Italian itinerary so it’s good to know they’re well-connected. From Venezia Santa Lucia railway station, there are daily trains arriving to Roma Termini, the main station.
You can choose between Trenitalia and their Frecciarossa trains, or Italo. Both companies have high-speed trains and you can get each way in 4 hours.
You can also rent a car and drive down the Italian peninsula and do an Italian roadtrip with all the pit-stops you want along the way.
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7 Reasons to Visit Venice
If you’re still unsure if Venice is worth visiting, check out these 7 amazing reasons that can help you to understand why you should definitely go.
Venice is worth visiting over other Italian cities for its unique charm.
There’s no other city in the country (and the rest of the world for that matter) that is completly built on the water, in the middle of a lagoon.
With all its small islands, connected by bridges, Venice’s origin goes back to the Middles Ages.
Today, what we can learn about its past is possible through the architectural and artistic sights of the city and its world-famous museums.
1. Canals and bridges
One of the first reasons why Venice is worth visiting is that it’s a city of art, completely built on the water.
There are some cities in Europe that claimed to be the ‘Venice’ of the north for example, as a way to to attract more tourists to them.
Some examples of ‘Venice of the North’ are Sant Petersburg in Russia or Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
It’s true that they all have a special relationship with water, and even their urban landscape is characterized by canals and bridges, but the truth is that Venice is one and only!
There’s no other place in the world where the canals are the main streets and the gondolas and water buses are the cars.
In Venice is possible to move around on foot too, thanks to all its 400 bridges connecting the different islands where Venice is built on!
Don’t miss a chance to visit the city from both perspectives. Take the time to ride a gondola or any other boat type to have the chance to admire the sumptuous Gothic palaces facing the canals.
At the same time, stroll around the city streets on foot to discover the most hidden corners.
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2. Charming streets
The historical city centre of Venice has been acclaimed to be one of the most beautiful in the world, ranking first in many lists.
The charm that reigns in the streets and canals of the historical centre is truly indescribable. Among the most famous attractions in Venice there is:
St. Mark’s Square, a fascinating large piazza facing north of the iconic St. Mark’s Basilica. Just a few meters away, you can get inside the Doge’s Palace, defined as on the most remarkable examples of Gothic architecture.
For the perfect bird eye view of Venice and the lagoon, climb the bell tower called ‘Campanile’, a symbol of the city together with the Rialto Bridge, only 10 minutes walk away from here.
In Venice, you can breathe art and history at every corner. Let’s not forget about some museums and art galleries like the Gallerie dell’Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, must-see art hubs worth visiting.
3. History
Venice is a real step back in time. Apart from the contemporary look of a few shopping streets, the city seems still stuck during its Serenissima Republic days (697-1795 a.D.).
You can spot all around its streets, old palaces where once lived the Venetian noble families, houses built on more levels and small shops or laboratories where craftsmen used working.
The shops are often passed from generation to generation and the secret of the crafts with them.
The city of water was known to attract merchants from all over the known world, to sell their products, that became part of the existent Venetian culture, for example the glass or rice from the Far East.
Once people were moving around with the gondolas, nowadays it’s still possible to experience that!
The few Venetian residents left that live in the historical city centre, are still used to head to the ‘campi’ (public squares) when the weekly market takes place and buy local fresh produces.
4. Venetian cuisine
The Venetian cuisine is another reason why I believe Venice is worth visiting.
Eat and drink in the name of a millenary culinary tradition is an experience you can only experience here.
There is no other place in the world that serves authentic Venetian dishes like they do in Venice.
Some main street food dishes in Venice you’ll want try:
- ‘Baccalà mantecato‘ (creamy cod) with ‘cicchetti‘ (small pieces of fresh bread)
- Risotto with seafood or the classic ‘risi e bisi‘ (rice and peas)
- ‘Spaghetti alla busara‘ and ‘fegato alla veneziana‘ (Venetian style liver cooked with onions).
Many visitors to Venice are supireed by it’s culinary delights. See my post on some of the must try food in Venice to get more ideas on what to eat.
The Venetian lifestyle says: ‘andare a bacari’ which means ‘go to the bacari’.
These are family owned small bars where you can just stop by to eat ‘cicchetti’ and have a glass of wine.
Why not join this Food and Wine Tour (with Cicchetti Tasting) to learn everything about Venetian food culture accompanied by a local guide?
5. Cultural Events
In Venice there’s always something going on! With international events such as the Venice Film Festival, the Biennale and the famous Carnival between February and March, you can’t get bored in this city.
Even though, winter is less busy, from spring time till autumn there’s an interesting selection of celebrations to attend.
If you are a contemporary art lover, you have certainly heard about the Biennale, one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions.
Don’t miss the chance to be in Venice during the Carnival week to celebrate in the streets and learn about the traditional Venetian masks.
If visiting Venice during the summer, I highly recommend travelling around the Redentore celebrations (second week of July) and the Historical Regatta that takes place the first Sunday of September.
6. Venetian lagoon
Part of the magic of Venice is strictly connected to all the small and splendid islands dotting the Venetian lagoon.
The closest is the San Giorgio Maggiore island and the largest is Giudecca. Many Jewish people lived on this island (as well in the Jewish Ghetto in the Cannaregio district) and that’s why it was named this way.
Visit the Lido of Venice to enjoy the laid-back side of the city and spend a day at the beach too. If we keep exploring the lagoon, we get to the island of Murano, famous for its world-renowned coloured glass.
There’s also Torcello, the first inhabited island of the lagoon, as well as Burano, known for its lace and the fishing village’s colourful houses.
Certainly, those who pass by Venice cannot help but take a tour to these wonderful islands. During your visit be sure to check out this Murano, Burano and Torcello islands tour and explore them during a full day trip.
7. Visit Venice all year round
Another reason why Venice is worth visiting is that it can be explored any time of the year.
Even if, during the winter months, there’s a higher chance of high tide and temperatures are low, travelling to Venice can still work well.
During this time you can avoid many tourists, long queues in front of the attractions and more in general, visit in a slower and relaxed mode the city.
From spring to summer, temperatures are getting higher with pleasant 15 to 21 degrees on a nice day during spring and 21 to 32 degrees over the summer period.
During these months there are special events taking place all over the city and you can arrange day trips around the Venetian lagoon and to other cities in the Veneto region.
I highly suggest you read my post which covers the day trips from Venice, to find inspiration and learn about the places you can visit from here.
Venice Worth Visiting?
Now you should have a better idea of why Venice is worth visiting.
These are just 7 reasons that should make you want to book your next trip to Venice, but there are many others.
Check out my blog post about the best things to do in Venice if you want to know what are the best attractions worth visiting.
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