Visitors to ‘La Serenissima’ never fail to be enthralled by its endless artistic and architectural delights, but one of the greatest pleasures is to lose yourself amid the labyrinth of narrow, winding alleyways, canals and bridges.
Explore the city of art
The heart of the city is Piazza San Marco, a good place to find your bearings. Its stand-out attractions are the gold-covered Byzantine Basilica, the lavish Palazzo Ducale, the 99m-tall Campanile, the Torre dell’Orologio and the splendid Museo Civico Correr.
Just about everywhere you turn in Venice you’ll find a treasured work of art. In the Gothic Santi Giovanni e Paolo are magnificent works by Bellini and Veronese, while the Gesuiti, a white, ornamental Baroque church, features epic paintings by Titian and Tintoretto.
The Madonna dell’Orto church, on the edge of town, is filled with the art of the young Tintoretto, whose tomb lies within, while Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, a huge Franciscan Gothic church, holds some of Venice’s most treasured art works, including Titian’s Assumption.
See the sights of Veneto
Hiring a car at Marco Polo Airport makes it easy to seek out the many extravagant riches of the Veneto region. Closest to Venice is Padua, with its historic university and Giotto’s frescoes in the Cappella degli Scrovegni.
A little further west, Vicenza is one of Italy’s richest architectural cities, boasting many of Palladio’s finest palazzi, including his masterpiece, La Rotonda, standing proudly in the surrounding countryside.
To the north, overlooked by the towering Dolomites, Treviso is a medieval, fortified and moated city with a slower pace of life, making it a great place to have lunch.
Tour the Italian Lakes
Venice Airport is also ideally positioned for exploring the stunning Italian Lakes. The largest, Lake Garda has something for everyone – historic hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, plus water sports, beaches and theme parks.
Close by is the Roman-built city of Verona. The setting for Romeo and Juliet, it is one of the region’s most romantic cities, with elegant squares and a perfectly preserved 2,000-year-old Roman Arena, which hosts the city’s world-renowned outdoor opera season.
The other towns of the Po Valley – Brescia, Cremona and Mantua – are all well worth seeing. Brescia boasts elegant palazzi and lovely piazzas that rarely get crowded with tourists.
Not far away are the crystal clear waters of Lake Iseo, one of the least visited of the Italian lakes and most outstandingly beautiful, surrounded by lush green mountains. Drive round it on a road carved into the side of the mountains.
Cremona boasts some fine medieval architecture, especially around the Piazza del Comune, but this laid-back town is renowned as the centre of violin-making. You can learn all about the fascinating history, and hear the world-famous Stradivarius, in the Museo del Violino.
A beautiful drive east takes you to the picture-perfect town of Mantua, home to the astonishing Palazzo Ducale, the largest residence in Italy after the Vatican. This amazing labyrinth includes a castle, basilica, courtyards, sumptuous galleries, gardens and more than 500 rooms with precious tapestries and masterpieces by Raphael.
Car rental from Venice Airport allows you to make the most of your visit to this spellbinding city by exploring the glories of the wider Veneto region.
