by Michelle Schonrock

Created on: March 15, 2007   Last Updated: July 11, 2009

Venice is a city soaked in culture and history, a place which is a must stop when traveling around Italy. Known as the city of canals and famous for its Carnival, Venice is truly breathtaking.

We started off the trip taking a short boat ride from San Giorgio into Venice itself. The boat ride to Venice took roughly around 20 mins, and for those of you who get sea sick be warned, it is a very bumpy ride!

We then took a stroll down the bank towards Piazzetta San Marco (St Marks square), which is lined by small souvenir stalls, artists, and other small vendors who give the banks of the canal character and charm. Walking into St Marks, you are immediately hit with the beautiful architecture which Italy is so famous for. To the right when walking into the Square, is Basillica San Marco (St Marks Church). Basilica San Marco is the home to the Pala d'Oro, one of the richest and most precious altar screens in the world.It is covered with more than 3000 precious stones and enamel icons and inlaid in gold. While at St Marks, i would highly recommend paying the small fee to climb right up to the top as there are truly awesome views of the square. When also at the top, you will get to see the replicas of the famous St Marco's Horses, which keep a constant watch over the Square. The horses are believed to have come from Costantinople, however in 1797, the original horses were looted by Napoleon Bonaparte after he sold the Venetian territories to Vienna. The horses were only returned to Venice in 1815 by the French government.

While walking through the square to our next destination, we stopped for a moment to do a very cliche touristy thing, which was to feed the pigeons which the square is also famous for. For the small fee of 1 euro, we brought feed from a lady who is said to have been selling feed for the majority of her life. It is also said that the feed which she sells contains a contraceptive to prevent the pigeons from overpopulating Venice, a great photo opportunity as the pigeons will fly onto your hand and are not shy of humans at all.

Our next stop was to the Musei Civici Veneziani made up of a number of buildings and houses collections of art pieces which hold great historical value. Here you will also find The Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), Ca' Rezzonico (Museum which contains 18th-Century Art), the lace and glass museums and other countless museums dedicated to the arts. Also in the Civici Veneziani is an impressive war museum with hundreds of armor,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>