Venice, Italy has been one of my top places to visit for years. There’s simply no other place like it in the world, and particularly with the city experiencing devastating flooding in 2019 and the ongoing effects of climate change, I realized it wasn’t the kind of trip to put off forever.
We had the opportunity to visit Rome and Florence during our honeymoon in 2009, but it’s taken 14 years for us to get back to Italy. Thanks to a pandemic-instilled wanderlust and binge-watching Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy series on CNN, the desire to revisit the country was at an all-time high the last couple of years.
In Summer 2022, we decided to book our dream Venice trip for the following July, arriving on the 4th of all days, and staying for five nights. With a just under a year to plan, we consulted friends who’d visited before, scoured blogs and travel websites, and saved Instagram posts and reels with all of the must-dos.
I created a trusty Google Doc to plot out our days, which thankfully wouldn’t be as painstakingly packed as our previous trips to places like Paris and Hawaii. The benefit of a shorter trip in a smaller city — we knew we still wouldn’t be able to see everything, but overall it felt manageable, the perfect balance of locking in some meals and tours while leaving time to just get lost.
Now that the trip has come and gone, I’m still in my Aperol Spritz haze. Venice was everything I hoped and yet exceeded all expectations at the same time. From the kindness and pride of the Venetian people to the gems that can be found around every corner, Venice has my heart forever.
Here is a recap of our favorite sights, bites, and highlights during our trip to Venice.
Continue reading “Traveling to Beautiful Venice: Our Favorite Sights, Bites, and Highlights”