We visited Venice at the right time. About 14 days later, the city hit several flood waves, and as a result, it was one of the largest floods in their history. We had wonderful weather throughout our visit and there was absolutely no indication that this would happen in the coming days. Thanks to the beautiful weather, great food and accommodation, but also because there were not so many tourists (as always mentioned in connection with the visit of Venice), the experience of visiting Venice was amazing.

Venice (Italian Venezia) is the capital of the northern Italian region of Veneto. Its historic core lies on islands in the shallow Venetian lagoon, separated from the Adriatic Sea by a narrow dam called Lido; however, the newer parts of the city have already been built on the mainland of Mestre. Once Venice was a maritime and commercial superpower and a center of glassmaking, yet today it is of great historical, cultural, social and administrative importance. There is a large port (on the west side) and an airport (on the mainland). Since 1987, Venice and the surrounding lagoon have been one of the most visited Italian destinations by UNESCO. The city lives mainly from tourism. About 25 million tourists from all over the world visit them every year, making Venice one of the most visited cities in the world.

Venice is probably best known for its hundreds of canals, where there is lively traffic. There are over 400 stone bridges in the city and about 15,000 houses have to stand on oak stilts driven into the seabed. The thoroughfare is the Grand Canal, a 4 km long and about 70 m wide canal that passes right through the center of the city. It connects the main train station and harbor with the historic St. Mark's Square and the city center. The oldest and most famous bridge is Rialto Bridge, which as one of four connects both parts of the city divided by a canal. In the city, transport is provided by motor boats that travel through canals; also classical, world famous gondolas are available for tourists.

Historic Venice is full of cultural and artistic monuments. From the oldest buildings, such as St. Mark's Basilica or the Doge's Palace from the 12th to the 15th century, through the Gothic churches of Santa Maria dei Frari and Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Renaissance buildings – Biblioteca Marciana and San Giorgio Maggiore from the same period – to Baroque Church of Santa Maria della Salute. There are indeed many – through churches and palaces, museums and galleries.

Venice is a truly beautiful city, and not only because they are "sinking" (only 1-2 millimeters per year), I would not delay visiting them and enjoying them while it is still possible.


We also briefly visited Lake Garda (Italian Lago di Garda or Lago Benaco). The lake is also one of the great and frequently visited places in Italy, and we will certainly come back in the future in order to get to know this part of Italy much better.

Several photos