Italy · Veneto

Venice

Gondolas & canals · St Mark's & Rialto · Burano & Murano

The trip

A city that feels like a dream.

Venice was like stepping into a theme park — completely transporting, unlike anywhere else on earth, a whole city built on water with no cars, just boats and bridges and impossibly pretty canals. We went in December 2022, which was rainy and a bit cold, so honestly we'd suggest visiting in spring or summer instead — but even in winter, simply wandering the city was breathtaking. Gliding through the canals on a gondola, getting happily lost in the alleys, and hopping out to the lagoon islands of Burano and Murano — the colours were spectacular and the glassmaking unforgettable. Here's everything we loved.

Area one

Venice

Grand palazzi rising straight out of the water, a labyrinth of canals and stone bridges, and a pace that belongs to another century. Venice is pure romance — best enjoyed slowly, on foot and by boat.

Gondolas on the Grand Canal with a domed church behind in Venice

Andrew by a row of gondolas on the Venice waterfront

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The Grand Canal & a gondola ride

📍 Grand Canal, Venice

Cheesy? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely. A gondola ride is the quintessential Venice experience, and drifting through the quiet back canals and out onto the sweeping Grand Canal — past centuries-old palazzi and under stone bridges — is genuinely magical. If you'd rather stay dry, the public vaporetto water-buses run the whole Grand Canal for a few euros and give you much the same views.

Unmissable in VeniceGo at golden hour

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Andrew in St Mark's Square with the Campanile bell tower behind in Venice

Aerial view over St Mark's Square and the rooftops of Venice

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Piazza San Marco & the Doge's Palace

📍 Piazza San Marco, Venice

St Mark's Square is the grand living room of Venice — ringed by arcades and cafés, watched over by the golden Basilica di San Marco and the soaring brick Campanile (climb it, or the one across the water on San Giorgio, for the best views over the rooftops). Right beside it, the Doge's Palace and its Bridge of Sighs are a stunning look into the old Venetian Republic — a skip-the-line tour is well worth it to avoid the queues.

Basilica & CampanileBest rooftop views

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The Rialto Bridge

📍 Ponte di Rialto, Grand Canal

The Rialto is the oldest and grandest of the bridges spanning the Grand Canal — a graceful arch of white stone lined with little shops. Cross it, photograph it from the water, and explore the buzzing Rialto Market nearby in the morning. The whole area is one of the liveliest, most beautiful corners of the city.

Most famous bridgeMorning market

A quiet narrow canal with green water between old buildings in Venice

An old Venetian palazzo rising straight out of a canal

Andrew on the edge of the Grand Canal in Venice

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Getting lost in the canals — and the food

📍 All across Venice

Our favourite thing in Venice was simply getting lost — ditching the map and wandering the quiet back streets, stumbling on tiny canals, hidden squares and empty bridges away from the crowds. Pair it with the food: hop between bacari (wine bars) for cicchetti (Venetian tapas), fresh seafood pasta and a spritz. And since tiramisù was born here in the Veneto, a pasta-and-tiramisù cooking class is a delicious, hands-on way to end the day.

Hidden cornersCicchetti & spritz

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Area two

Burano & Murano

A short boat ride across the lagoon takes you to two islands that are a trip highlight in their own right — Burano, with its ridiculously photogenic rainbow houses, and Murano, the centuries-old home of Venetian glassmaking.

Melody beside a bright purple house with flower boxes on Burano

Melody on a street of colourful houses on Burano island

Andrew on a canal lined with brightly painted houses on Burano

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Burano's colourful houses

📍 Burano, Venetian Lagoon

Burano completely stole our hearts. This little fishing island is famous for its houses painted every colour of the rainbow — purple, teal, coral, mustard — reflecting in the canals and making every single corner a photo. It's also known for delicate handmade lace. It's about 40 minutes by vaporetto, and easily one of the most beautiful, joyful places we've ever wandered.

Rainbow housesMost photogenic spot

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A glowing orange glass swan being shaped at a Murano glassmaking workshop

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Murano & the art of glass

📍 Murano, Venetian Lagoon

Murano has been the centre of Venetian glassmaking for over 700 years, and watching a master glassblower spin molten glass into a delicate swan or vase in seconds is mesmerising. Visiting a workshop is a must — and if you want to get hands-on, you can even take a private lesson and blow your own piece of glass to take home. A perfect, only-in-Venice souvenir.

700 years of glassWatch a live demo

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