Venice is an iconic and memorable place to visit, but it takes some planning, research and thought.

With most of the main islands that make up Venice, there are no cars; boats of various types are used to get about. So if you are traveling from the airport for example, you need to consider this.

Venice is quite compact and very popular, so it will get very busy during peak times of the year and peak times of the day.

Venice can get very hot during spring, summer and autumn, a hat or a parasol is essential

Some restaurants in Venice charge extra per seat at the table and if there is music, so if cost is important to you, skim the menu, particularly the fine print at the bottom of the menu.

Saying all of that Venice is a wonderful place to visit, with so many beautiful and iconic historic buildings. A gondola ride is a must as it a boat trip around the lagoon.

It is so interesting realizing that the police, fire, ambulance, deliveries and so much more are managed over the water in boats of all shapes and sizes.

When we visited Venice, it was an excursion from Lake Garda, which meant we only had the afternoon in Venice. It was a long day, but as you will see in the videos below, we achieved a lot during the afternoon. But if I were to visit Venice again in the future, I would do it differently. I would stay on maybe the island of Lido and just visit the compact, busy tourist areas early in the morning and late afternoon, early evening. To allow me to fully enjoy Venice while minimizing the crowds.

But it has to be done and I highly recommend if you’ve not been there yet, get a trip organized!!