Nicola first visited Venice with friends in February 2012. Thirteen years later, she returned with Podge to celebrate his birthday in February 2025. The companions and occasions were different, but Venice remained every bit as extraordinary: canals instead of roads, palaces rising from the water and famous views appearing around almost every corner.
Six views that explain why we returned: winter light, famous bridges, narrow canals and grand buildings reflected in the lagoon.
Returning somewhere special after more than a decade lets you see both the city and your own travels differently.
Nicola explored the classic sights and canals with friends in February 2012. It was a lively friends' trip, with plenty of wandering and the excitement of seeing a city that looks unlike anywhere else. Venice also became the starting point for a memorable day trip to Verona.
Nicola returned in February 2025, this time with Podge to celebrate his birthday. Thirteen years had passed, but the thrill of stepping out beside the lagoon and seeing Venice rise from the water had not worn off.
The second trip had a completely different rhythm. There was the pleasure of recognising places Nicola had seen before, but also the fun of watching Podge experience them for the first time. A birthday city break gave us the perfect excuse to slow down, enjoy the views and let the city itself be the main event.
Venice can look almost too familiar in photographs, but being there is different. You hear water instead of traffic, deliveries arrive by boat and even the most ordinary journey involves bridges, narrow lanes and another beautiful canal.
Some cities reward avoiding the obvious. In Venice, the obvious sights are famous because they really are magnificent—although getting lost between them is half the pleasure.
Venice's grand public space, surrounded by arcades and some of the city's most important buildings.
A dazzling mixture of domes, mosaics and centuries of Venetian power and history.
The ornate former seat of Venice's government, with grand rooms, courtyards and prison passages.
The most famous crossing of the Grand Canal and one of the classic Venice views.
Travel it by vaporetto, water taxi or gondola to see Venice's palaces from their intended front doors.
Leave the busiest route and follow smaller canals, quiet squares and bridges just to see where they lead.
In most cities, a boat trip is an optional extra. In Venice, the water is the transport system, the main street and one of the greatest attractions all at once.
The public water bus is the practical way to move around, but it also delivers one of the best-value sightseeing journeys in the city. A trip along the Grand Canal reveals façades designed to impress visitors arriving by water.
They are expensive and unapologetically touristy—but they are also uniquely Venetian. Even if you decide not to take one, watching gondoliers guide their boats through impossibly tight turns is part of the atmosphere.
Every route involves steps, bridges and detours. The Bridge of Sighs and Rialto are the famous ones, but dozens of tiny neighbourhood crossings may end up in your favourite photographs.
February gave the lagoon a softer, moodier character. Sunsets reflected across the water and the city looked especially atmospheric as daylight disappeared.
Venice does not always make getting from A to B easy—but it makes the journey far more interesting.
Venice can be expensive, particularly beside St Mark's Square, so a little wandering pays off at mealtimes too. Step back from the busiest routes and look for smaller bacari—traditional Venetian bars serving drinks and cicchetti, the city's answer to little snacks or tapas.
For Podge's birthday trip, the setting did much of the work. Even an ordinary drink feels like an occasion when you have spent the day crossing canals and the evening light is falling over the lagoon. Our advice is to choose one meal or drink to make special, then balance it with simpler stops away from the most famous squares.
Small bites let you sample several Venetian flavours without committing to another enormous restaurant meal.
A drink at a famous square may include the location in the price. Sometimes the splurge is worth it; just make it a conscious one.
Italy understands coeliac disease well, but always confirm cross-contamination procedures rather than assuming every gluten-free option is safe.
Venice is much nicer when the celebration is not buried beneath a frantic list of timed attractions.
The 2012 visit was not confined to Venice. Nicola and her friends also travelled to Verona for the day, wandered its historic streets, visited Juliet's House and wrote Juliet a letter. It became one of the most personal memories from that Italian trip.
Read our Verona day-trip story →The basilica, palace and Rialto Bridge deserve their fame, but Venice's real magic often arrives unexpectedly: laundry above a narrow canal, footsteps echoing through a quiet lane or a tiny bridge with nobody else on it.
Both trips included the usual major sights, but simply wandering the streets—and occasionally having no idea where you were—was part of the experience.
Click any stop to zoom in. The distances look small, but bridges, crowds and tempting side streets mean journeys often take longer than expected.
Six classic stops
Experience Venice and its surroundings through Drive From Home.
Watch the journey →Open the interactive Venice experience and choose where to go next.
Explore Venice →Browse attraction tickets, walking tours, gondola experiences and day trips through GetYourGuide.
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Yes. It is cool and can be damp, but winter light and fewer visitors can make the city extremely atmospheric. Check the year's Carnival dates because they change annually.
Two to three full days suit a first visit, giving you time for the major sights and unhurried wandering.
The historic centre is made for walking, although the maze of canals means routes are rarely straight. Vaporetti are useful for longer journeys and for seeing the Grand Canal from the water.
It is an iconic Venice experience, but it can be expensive. A vaporetto journey along the Grand Canal still gives wonderful water-level views for much less.
Advance booking is sensible, particularly during weekends, Carnival and the warmer months.