citydeluxe

Between the waters of river, lagoon & sea, Venice is one of the most impressive cities you will ever visit. An old, open-air museum. Unquestionably one of the most magical and romantic destinations in the world. Owing to her unique nature, Venice is the natural and prestigious destination for great events, meetings and conferences.

A city that has always been the meeting place of different cultures, easily reached wherever you are in the world. There is a romantic grandeur to the city, perhaps most notably explored by Thomas Mann in his great novel Death In Venice, that reflects that underneath the beauty and wonder lies the prosaic truth that Venice is gradually but inevitably sinking, and that one day, unless a miracle occurs, it will be as distant a memory as Atlantis. Therefore, a visit before then is highly recommended.

Venice is the capital of region Veneto; It has the nickname, "Queen of the Adriatic" and "City of Water". It is the seat for Education in Europe. The city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The Venetian Republic was a major sea power and a staging area for the Crusades, as well as a very important centre of commerce (especially the spice trade) and art in the Renaissance.

According to legend, Venice was founded March 25, 421 AD, by Roman refugees fleeing from the Goths. However, no historical records exist about the origins of Venice. The city was probably founded as a result of the influx of refugees into the marshes of the Po estuary following the invasion which ravaged north-eastern Italy starting from that of Quadi and Marcomanni in 166-168, who destroyed the main center in the area, the current Oderzo.

The Venice Art Biennal stands as one of the most important art events in the world. Venice is world - famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 118 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot.

The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses ("vaporetti") which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city‘s islands. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Venice is served by the newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport, or Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen.

The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast so that visitors now need to get a bus to the pier, from which a water taxi or Alilaguna waterbus can be used.

GO THERE FOR:

The history and the art: La Piazza San Marco is a wonderful contraption which remains today an incredible feat of mechanical precision and one of the most impressive sights of Venice. In the same square is the Basilica de San Marco which is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. The Palazzo Ducale in Venice is also very appealing for tourists with its two most visible facades looking towards the Venetian Lagoon and St Mark's Square, or rather the Piazzetta.

Special events: During the year there are several important events which attract lots of tourists to the city such as the Carnival in February, the Venice film festival which is the oldest film festival in the world and the Venice Art Biennale which is one of the most important events in the art calendars.

The food: Venetian cuisine, especially that in the city, is full of traditional dishes that are mostly made using all types of fish and vegetables, with only one limit: the season. Indeed it is hard to find dishes on the menus of the restaurants in Venice that have ingredients that are out of season.

DON'T MISS

Gondola tour: A trip in a "gondola" offers a particular and highly personal sight of the city.

Glassblowing: Murano's artisans do produce beautiful works of contemporary art from glass, although some of the designs are by foreign artists. Visit  the better galleries and showrooms on Murano, and you'll find works that are technically and aesthetically stunning. Also, don't miss the island's glass museums and leading churches.

The Gallerie dell'Academia house is one of Europe's finest art collections. Its display follows the progression of Venetian art from the 14th to 18th centuries. Notable works in the gallery include Paolo Veneziano's Coronation of Mary, Carpaccio's Crucifixion and Apotheosis and Giovanni Bellini's Madonna with Child.

The Guggenheim collection is housed in the former Palazzo of the wealthy American heiress and has become one of the most illustrious collections of Modern Art in Italy. It spans the artistic movements of Cubism, European Abstraction and Surrealism with notable works by Brancusi.

BASICS

GETTING AROUND If you are travelling from central London to Gatwick airport, we recommend that you travel via Gatwick Express (www.gatwickexpress.com), the fastest and most direct way to reach Gatwick. Trains leave every 15 minutes from Victoria, and take around 30 minutes to reach the airport, travelling non-stop.

From the Airport

Marco Polo Airport: 
It is possible to access to it by car, taxi, bus, helicopter and chauffer

Around Town Waterbus: The public boats called vaporetti and motoscafi run almost constantly, and are the most convenient ways of getting around town.
The gondolas of Venice are beautiful, but inevitably highly expensive and therefore more for a special occasion.

WHEN TO GO

July and August tend to be stiflingly hot, which can make the city unpleasant to be in; many businesses are closed in August as the heat is too much. The best times to visit are probably either from April to June, or September and October. However, it's generally possible to visit at any time.