![](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-view-from-the-Rialto-Bridge-Venice-Italy.jpg)
16 Very good excuses to visit Venice, Italy
Amongst the canals & gondolas
![The view over the Grand Canal towards St. Mark's Square with St Mark's Campanile dominating the view](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/An-iconice-view-across-the-Grand-Canal-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
An iconice view across the Grand Canal, Venice
With its seeming never ending web of waterways, weaving in and around Venice’s 118 islands, then being crisscrossed by its 400 bridges.
When you first arrive in Venice, it’s so easy to get lost, because all you want to do is go and discover what is hidden around the next corner or alleyway, but surely that is all part of the fun.
Quick Links
Narrowing down our list was quite tricky as there is so much to see & do in this historical city, we could have easily spent a few more days uncovering further what was hidden below the surface.
In 1987 Venice and its Lagoon was inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List and it’s easy to see why. So why not don your comfy shoes and go and explore.
I’m sure you’ll have your own shortlist of favourites, but these were ours.
A helpful guide
If you're lured by beautiful architecture and meandering waterways I urge you to visit Venice. I found this DK Top 10 Pocket Travel Guide invaluable, they're extremely informative, easy to follow and the pictures and maps tempt you into a voyage of discovery.
We used a previous version of this book to plan our wanderings around Venice, now you can grab the revised copy.
![The marble arches of the Antony Palace Hotel, and the Campanile di San Marco in Piazza San Marco, Venice, set against a deep blue sky.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Campanile-di-San-Marco-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Campanile di San Marco
![Gondolas, with the interior covered with blue protective layers moored up on the edge of St. Mark's Square square, with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in the background.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Parked-gondolas-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Parked gondolas
You feel like you have been transported onto a movie set, it one of those moments when you say to yourself “am I really here”.
![A view from the Rialto Bridge along the busy Grand Canal of Venice, with colourful buildings lining either side](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-view-from-the-Rialto-Bridge-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
The view from the Rialto Bridge along the Grand Canal
As Venice is not accessible by car, the canal is used by locals to go about their day to day business; it’s a great place to watch the world go by. The elegant buildings & villas that line the canal are stunning, also search out the Pescaria (fish market) just along from the Rialto Bridge.
![The Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal of Venice at dusk as the lighting starts to come on.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-Rialto-Bridge-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Although admiring it from the banks of the canal is probably the best way to appreciate it, you should definitely have a wander up to the central portico and discover the little shops & boutiques that line the arches.
![A shot of Santa Maria della Salute at dusk under an orange sky taken from a boat on the lagoon](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Santa-Maria-della-Salute-at-dusk-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Santa Maria della Salute at dusk
It’s easy to see why this iconic view inspired artists like Canaletto.
![Have a couple enjoying a gondola ride in the early evening is the colours change to golden hues on one of the small canals in Venice.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Evening-on-the-Rio-del-Frari-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
You can discover so much by getting lost
![The white stone 'Bridge of Sighs', over a canal, connecting the Doge’ Palace with the New Prison.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-Bridge-of-Sighs-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
If you have the time you really must visit the wonderful islands of Murano & Burano, honestly you won’t be disappointed, in fact, add an extra day to your break.
The connecting islands of Murano are famous for its glass making, like me you may be able to sneak back a pair of earrings.
![A view along the canal - Rio dei vetrai towards the brick Torre dell'Orologio, clocktower in Murano](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Wandering-towards-the-clocktower-Murano-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
![A view along a canal in Burano in which each home is brightly coloured, and small motorboats fill the waterway.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/So-brightly-coloured-Burano-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Our Tip
![A view from inside a gondola as it travels down the Grand Canal in Venice](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-view-from-a-Gondola-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
![The Campo Santo Stefano an expansive, lively square.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Campo-Santo-Stefano-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Campo Santo Stefano
Venice wouldn’t be the same without its plentiful Piazza’s, some of them stylish and grand & others just hidden away around a quiet corner.
This is a very interesting area of Venice and not quite as busy as some other spots around the city. It was designated the Jewish quarter from the 16th to 19th centuries and is still the centre of the Venetian Jewish community today.
Did you know?
![Looking up to the entrance to the classical style building of Saint Maria of Gesuati in white stone, with a dark wooden door against a deep blue saturated sky](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-entrance-to-Saint-Maria-of-Gesuati-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
I know this really goes without saying, but the mixture of the imposing elegance and the rustic nature of some of the buildings is wonderful.
![A pair of gondolas and the fruit & vegetable barge by the Ponte dei Pugni or Bridge of fists in Venice](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Gondoliers-in-front-of-the-Bridge-of-Fists-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
![A view of the cemetery island of Venice from the quayside at Fondamente Nove](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Cimitero-di-San-Michele-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
You can catch the waterbus to it on your way to Murano.
![The Gondolas boatyard on the canal edge. Here you can see several boats being worked on in a traditional setting.](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/The-Gondolas-boatyard-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
![A beautiful wooden veneered water taxi in front of the Venetian palace of Ca' d'Oro](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ca-dOro-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
The stylish wooden taxi cruised across the lagoon and through the canals, Gary’s face was a picture, he felt like James Bond.
![Two glasses of Aperol Spritz with a bottle of Prosecco, a bottle of Aperol, a soda syphon and a bowl of crisps in our garden](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Aperol-Spritz-in-our-garden-R3.jpg)
Our Accommodation
Our accommodation while we were in Venice, was at the wonderful Al Ponte Antico Hotel. It was our bit of luxury for the break, we had a room that overlooked the Grand Canal & it even had its own pontoon.
What made the hotel extra special was the balcony that overlooked the Rialto Bridge, from here you could enjoy your breakfast in the morning and an ice-cold glass of Prosecco in the evening.
![The view across the Grand Canal to Camp Erberia, at dusk under an orange sky](https://www.ourworldforyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Looking-across-the-Grand-Canal-Venice-Italy-R3.jpg)
Looking across the Grand Canal from the bar
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