Venice in a Day, Venice, Italy (B)

This was my first trip to Venice and frankly I had low expectations after I told many I was going in June. I got the “Oh it’s going to be so crowded and hot” comment over and over. Not fond of crowds, I was apprehensive. I spent 2.5 days in Venice with my friend Page, and I found myself pleasantly surprised by its rundown charm. I’m glad I visited the city before it sinks!

We ended our ten-day tour of Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy with Mountain Travel Sobek in Vicenza. Our guides drove us to Venice and then helped us board a water taxi to get to our final destination. I was very thankful for this help as it gave me a chance to observe and learn the lay of the land. We were even more fortunate to find our hotel, NH Collection Venezia Palazzo Barocci, located right next to the San Angelo water taxi platform which ended up being a godsend! No dragging bags through the alleyways of Venice required!

Our hotel was fantastic in multiple ways. It is centrally located between the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square. As I mentioned earlier, it is next to the San Angelo vaporetto stop. In addition, it is a straight shot on the airport Alilaguna shuttle…no transferring required. To top it off, this area on the Grand Canal was less crowded. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).