A couple of days ago, I was in Venice. I loved it from the beginning because we had to take a boat to get to our hotel, a Hyatt Centric, which was on the island of Murano. Murano was a charming little town made up of a handful of islands and almost every shop was selling glass. I think the best part was that there were very few people on the island anywhere. And, it was just a short boat ride away from Venice.
Having the "bus" be a boat was absolutely fantastic. I love boats so Venice was amazing right away. For the most part, the streets were almost empty which made the city almost silent except for the sound of lapping water and the swallows. Needless to say, it was relaxing. Wandering through the twisting alleyways I felt as though nothing in the city had changed in hundreds of years. Not to mention the ancient churches that sprung up around every corner. These churches offered some spectacular looks into the hybrid style of decoration that is common to Venice because of the vast influence of other cultures on the city. I also was able to see some of the most wonderful works by Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese which was spectacular. It was my art history class brought to life.
The view across the water from Murano and looking towards Venice.
Logistically, Venice was very easy to manage. It is not a hard place to navigate or arrange boat rides from the airport to the hotel or from one island to another. The water bus comes often and is relatively simple in route and design. When we arrived at the airport, it was not difficult to find where to get our shuttle to the hotel and it was a very beautiful airport. I think air travel is vastly improved if the airport itself is well kept and easy to navigate. The Venice Marco Polo Airport checked all of my boxes for an excellent airport - which is hard to do. The Hyatt had its own shuttle to and from the airport, but there are alternatives to this if your hotel doesn't offer a shuttle. There is a bus that travels to Murano, Lido, and a variety of locations in Venice itself. And, there is always the option of taking a taxi across the water to the city.
Honestly, I was expecting Venice to be more expensive than it turned out to be just by virtue of how many people visit annually. But I was pleasantly surprised by how inexpensive it was when compared to other cities in Italy - especially Rome. If you take the bus and eat at reasonably priced restaurants it is definitely a city that can be seen on a budget. This makes the city even more attractive for the everyday traveller.
As fantastic as Venice was, I don't think I could have spent any more than a week there just because there isn't enough to do. I am one of those people who needs to go and do something every day so Venice is definitely not a place I could spend a lot of time in - but I would definitely go back.
