One thing I knew I could not leave Italy without doing was visiting the famed Venice in the Northeastern part of the country. Known worldwide for its canals, gondolas, and seafaring ways, Venice truly is a gem that should not be missed. It is small enough to be accomplished in one day, however, after my experience, I recommend at least an overnight in order to fully enjoy the city and explore a bit after doing all of the traditional tourist activities.
I decided to go to the city just for the day. So, I hopped on one of the earliest trains out of Florence on a Saturday morning and headed up there. The high speed train takes a little over two hours to arrive at Venice’s main station. From the station I decided to take a vaporetto, or a water taxi, up the Grand Canal to San Marco Square, where many of the iconic sites are located. I highly recommend paying the seven euros for the ferry ride. It is significantly cheaper than a gondola ride, and unless you are set on riding in a gondola, it accomplishes the same thing. The ride to San Marco takes about half an hour.
Upon my arrival at San Marco, the skies decided to open up and the rain started pouring down. I decided that, in order to escape the rain, I would wait in the long line to get into the Doge’s Palace. The line only ended up taking about thirty minutes and for thirteen euros using my student card, I was able to enjoy shelter from the rain and admire the ornately decorated palace. The palace was home to the doge of Venice in the middle ages and acted as both a home, place of government, and place of worship. The most impressive room in the palace is the Great Hall. Once the largest free standing room in Europe, it boasts impressive gold-gilded ceilings and portrait homages to the former doge’s and Venice represented through the allegory of a woman.
I also highly recommend waiting in line to get into the iconic Saint Mark’s Cathedral. The exterior is not as imposing as other cathedral’s of similar importance, but the interior is breathtaking. The walls and ceilings are covered in gold plated mosaic tiling that is blinding, even in the gloominess of a rainy day. One thing do wish I had the opportunity to do was climb the campanile and get a magnificent view of the entire city. However, the pouring rain made waiting in line miserable and I decided the move on pretty quickly.
By this time, it was time for me to start meandering back to the train station. I decided I had the time to get a little lost and just cut through some of the small passageways. Once you get out of the main tourist areas, it is so quiet and peaceful. Finding a small bridge over the canals and standing there to admire the uniqueness of the place is definitely unparalleled. After passing over the famed Rialto Bridge, I headed back on a later train to Florence, a little water-logged, but happy with my experience.
I urge everyone to consider a trip to Venice as it is a place that is so unique and full of history. It is fun to just get lost and explore the city. I also urge people to be aware of the state of the city. Years of increased tourism and rising water levels threaten the city and already buildings are suffering. Consider this when you go and be gracious for the work being done by organizations like UNESCO to maintain places like this for future generations to enjoy just as much.
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