I had plans of visiting museums and churches in Venice. But immediately upon arrival, those plans went to the wayside. Instead, I spent four days just walking. If there was an interesting looking side street, I went down it (spoiler alert – all of the side streets look interesting). If there was a tunnel, or an opening to the canals, I spared 5 minutes to check it out.
From research, it seems that Venice is polarizing. Either people love it or hate it. Venice as a day trip does not seem fun. But staying a few days and getting to experience the area at dawn and after dark was a magical experience.
The lack of cars and bikes was a refreshing change from Milan and Florence. Only young children are allowed to use small kick scooters. It was quiet (no car horns or engine noises) and less stressful to walk around (only other pedestrians to navigate). After all, there’s no way a car could get around Venice with the narrow streets and bridges around every corner. Riding a bike would be the biggest pain in the ass, having to get on and off your bike every few feet for the bridges. Even though Venice has unique reasons why they don’t allow vehicles, it made me value urban design that prioritizes pedestrians and gives bikes safe areas to ride.
This is going to be a long post with very little text. Enjoy!
P.S. If you want to see Venice at night, make sure to get to the end!
