Venice

Canals

Where there are streets in other cities, Venice features canals, which makes it a unique place.

Transportation

Anything, buses, city services such as garbage collection or even ambulances, has to use canals and the surrounding waters. Sure, people can also walk along the canals and cross them over countless bridges.

Main Street One big waterway cuts through town, the Canale Grande.	Main Street explained The Canale Grande, the big canal, is used for fast transportation, for passenger line boats that operate like a city bus.

Canale Grande The broad canal in all its beauty. Private landings have been more important than sidewalks in many places.	Crossing It takes bigger bridges to span over the Canale Grande, the most famous among them is Rialto bridge.

Rialto Bridge

A line boat passes under the bridge, while a crowd of tourists is watching from above.

Doge's Palace The north-side of the courtyard, and at the same time the backside of the San Marco basilica.	Rio dei Greci The tower belongs to the church San Giorgio dei Greci. Built in 1592, and since then standing on the soft ground, which may serve as an excuse for its tilting tendency.

Doge's Palace The interior of the palace has its style.	Bridge of Sighs A bridge built in 1614 links the palace with a prison. No need to explain the name of the bridge.

Decay

Many buildings in Venice are in need of repair, but this is also part of the city's charm. Age and repeated flooding created an original look.

Lion From a facade in Fondamento Mendicanti.	Statue Bartolomeo Colleoni (ca. 1400-1475), an Italian general, now on Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.

Bell-tower The tower of San Marco basilica stands alone, and luckily so. Again and again hit by lightning over the centuries with subsequent fires, it finally collapsed in 1902 and was rebuilt in 1911.	Basilica The front entrance of the church San Marco, seen from the base of the bell-tower.

From the bell-tower

Left is San Giorgio Maggiore with the church of the same name. On the right a part of the island Giudecca.

From Campanile

From the belltower

The view goes south-east, towards the sea.

From Campanile

Boats Wooden moorings on the northeastern side of the city.	Alps Also from the bell-tower, the view to the north illustrates the proximity of Venice to the Alps, with the airport Marco Polo also in sight.

Cemetery The square island San Michele hosts Venice's cemetery. The trees and water indicate a strong wind.	Lighthouse On the island of Murano northeast of Venice, accessible by ferryboats. The island is famous for its glass factories.

Arsenal The entrance to the Arsenal, which built the ships used to spread Venetian power across the Mediterranean.	Clock-tower This torre dell'orologio stands on the island of Murano.

Tourism

Both a blessing and a nuisance, depending on perspective. The cruise ships are of impressive size, and their passengers join those who came by bus, plane, and crowd the main attractions.