I’m just back from an amazing week in Venice. I mean, the week itself was probably unremarkable, in the life of Venice, but the place is amazing. Quite unique, as far as I know. From the moment we landed at Venice airport, to the moment we landed back in Dublin, roads, cars, traffic, motorbikes, bicycles, scooters, mopeds, trucks, etc just ceased to exist. By foot, or by boat – those are the options for getting around Venice and it’s an incredibly beautiful city.

We were a little worried about the weather at this time of the year (April) and the chances of having to wade through flood-waters. We saw a few large puddles, and some raised walkways were deployed, but there was no call for the waterproof overshoes we packed. The weather was a little overcast, and rainy on one of the days, but we also had a few days of beautiful sunshine.

The pay-off for the weather uncertainty was, at this time of year, Venice is reasonably quiet – very quiet early in the morning, a little busy in the afternoons. And with a little forward-planning, and skip-the-line booking, entry to and exploration of all the major sights was quick and enjoyable.

We stayed just off St. Marks Square, which was a brilliantly central location. Venice is a labyrinth, so it’s handy to have the town square as a landmark to navigate back to when you get lost. It took us till our last day to get a little further out, to Cannaregio. Great, relaxed vibe in that neighbourhood – I’d definitely consider staying there next time. We stopped by Tintoretto’s gaff while we were there – the great thing about Venice is that it’s like time-travelling. The city really hasn’t changed that much since Tintoretto’s time.