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Venice – City of Bridges   by Great Hotels Of The World

Venice – City of Bridges

Venice is stunning – of that there’s no doubt. Martin Bewick visited the city to discover bridges, water buses and a truly beautiful destination.

What has not been written about the exceedingly romantic city of Venice? Well, one thing that often might be overlooked is that Venice would be a magnificently beautiful city even if it wasn’t built on the green-blue water of a lagoon. The quaint streets, the famous landmarks and Venice’s rich history and culture all make it a top-draw destination. Remember, this was a vibrant, world-renowned trading city even in Shakespeare’s time – so famous in fact that the bard could write his play The Merchant of Venice without even travelling there.

The fact is, however, that Venice is not only a beautiful city, it’s one of the most unmistakable and wondrous destinations in the world. Where else can you find its narrow canals framed by picturesque bridges and buildings; the gondolas manned by the singing, stripy-topped, straw-hatted gondolieri; the panoramic views across the lagoon and the vaporetti boats that ferry Venetians to and fro?

The historic city of Venice is actually made up of 121 small islands linked by a staggering 435 bridges.

Remember too that Venice floods: reading the newspaper on our flight over we were greeted with pictures of the city’s famous square, St Mark’s, under water the previous day, following heavy rain. With rising sea levels and Venice’s old buildings gradually sinking into the mud and silt on which they were built, flooding is occurring more regularly.

Thankfully, by the time we arrived, the water levels had dropped and a final downpour at the airport was the last we saw of the inclement weather. If that sounds reason enough not to visit Venice, think again, because once you are in the city you realise that it is surprisingly easy to navigate; it just works differently to any other city.

How to get around

Forget city streets clogged with lorries, taxis and all manner of fume-pumping road traffic. Instead, imagine a city where nearly everything happens on, or via, the water – where the bridges take you over canals, not roads. If you want to get around the islands, see the sights or take an evening tour up the beautiful Grand Canal, then Venice’s water buses are the answer. The vaporetti and slightly smaller motoscafi trundle up and down the city’s main arteries in a regular stream.

If you are planning your trip to Venice, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with a map of the city’s vaporetto routes first. They appear in most guidebooks to the city and are available to download from the internet.

One of the first decisions you will have to make on arrival at the city’s Marco Polo Airport is how to get to your hotel. Taxis and buses can take you from the airport to the city centre by road, but by far the most glamorous and fitting way to travel is by boat.

At the airport, a covered walkway leads from the front of the arrivals hall to your first sight of the Venice lagoon, where the Alilaguna company vaporetti will ferry you to your destination in around an hour, depending on the route you choose. We took the red route, which bobbed round the picturesque island of Murano, with its world-famous glass makers, and on to the Lido and its beaches, before finally heading back towards Venice’s historical centre and the tourist hotspot of St Mark’s Square – or Piazza San Marco, as the Venetians call it.

However, if you really want to (ahem) push the boat out, for â