Venice Travel Guide
Travel guide to Venice, Italy with comprehensive information about events, shopping, and major Venice sporting events to help you enjoy your visit more.
Venice Overview
Venice is like no other place on Earth. A beautiful, and at the same time, tragic city of islands that is slowly sinking into the sea. Venice is described as the most romantic city in the world by some, yet as an open sewer by others, but is simply a stunning city that contains some of the most truly incredible architecture on the planet, and a place that remains essentially as a relic of the past, where few new buildings, punctuate the old.
Venice is the home of some of the greatest works of art you could hope to see, the iconic gondola, and St Marks Square, the place that Napoleon called "Europe's finest drawing room". The city is a place to revel in; a place where the reflections of light cast by the lagoon gives the city a unique, and almost otherworldly feel.
While Venice is certainly not the cheapest place on earth, you can still get cheap flights and package holidays to the city, so whether you are looking for a romantic weekend with a loved one, or cultural visit to appreciate the art treasures of the city Venice is ideal, and offers better value than you might think.
Ideally visited as a short break destination, or as a stop off on a more comprehensive Italian tour, a trip to Venice is an unforgettable and desperately rewarding experience.
Top Venice Attractions
Venice is a city filled with attractions paid for during the city's era as a major international power. The many Venetian art galleries are filled with masterpieces, and practically everywhere you look there is a building of great interest.
Of the top attractions in Venice, every visitor should take a gondola ride along one of the canals, visit the beautiful Doges Palace, cross the Rialto Bridge, and of course enjoy a coffee at one of the pavement cafes in St Marks Square.
If you can drag yourself away from the city for half a day, head for the Lido where you can enjoy all the usual beach sports and even play a round of golf.
Shopping in Venice
These days, Venice is just about as far removed from the real world as is possible, and because of the stratospheric prices of homes in the city, is on the verge of becoming a theme park with no genuine inhabitants. As such, the shops in Venice do not sell anything of practical value, and instead are filled with the kind of glass trinkets and traditional Venetian Masks that only tourists want to buy. There are a few (very expensive) boutiques to browse through if you absolutely must buy some Italian fashion items, but on the whole, you're better off saving your money for another gondola ride.
Venice Sporting Events
Venice has its own football team - Venezia who play at the Pierluigi Penza Stadium on the mainland to the east of the city. Venezia are one of Italy's smaller teams but still enjoy a loyal following in the city. You can generally get a ticket for one of their home games - except on weekends where they're playing against one of the big boys like AC Milan or Lazio.
As far as participating in sport goes, there is a popular golf course on the lido, and all the usual beach activities available a short distance from Venice and accessible on the Vaporetto.
