Why The Best Bits Of Italy Can Be Found In Venice

There are many wonderful destinations to enjoy a weekend break in Europe. If you are flying in from afar, you may worry that a weekend doesn’t give you enough time to see much. That can be true if you are keen to see a lot of history and culture from the place you are visiting. Fortunately, there are several places in Europe that really do have the best of everything in one small area. While you may miss out some of the local nuances of a country, it is possible to really get a flavor of what a country is about with a weekend city visit.

Perhaps you would like to get to know all about Germany and its turbulent history. Berlin is certainly the city to take in if that’s what you are after. To sample why the world raves about French food, you could take in a trip to Paris and visit the iconic Eiffel Tower too. To understand the history, culture and passions of the Italians, Venice really is a city that cannot be beaten. This is a place that sits in the water, and you will not find another place like it. Yet Venice holds dear everything that has made Italy so wonderful over hundreds of years.

Venetian painting is world renowned, and Venice has a wonderful tribute to the arts and artists in the form of  the Gallerie dell'Accademia. This art museum could take you a whole day to fully appreciate, but you can take a tour at your own pace, and leave plenty of time for many of Venice’s other beautiful places. It is housed in some wonderful old religious buildings so you can truly appreciate the architecture as well as the Renaissance artworks. You can visit a website like Venere.com to find suitable accommodation for your stay.

In the summer months, you can enjoy an open-air movie at the Arena di Campo San Polo. This is a very popular activity so you may need to book a little earlier ahead of a showing. For something more interactive you could attend the Carnevale in the Piazza San Marco. In the run up to Shrove Tuesday, this magnificent and enormous masked ball is great fun to get involved with, and has many deep roots in ancient Italian theater. This is the event to visit Venice for and shouldn’t be missed if you are in the area during this ten-day extravaganza. See hundreds of street performers and the most elaborate of costumes all out in the street.

Source of this image is Flickr

In late summer, you can enjoy the buzz of the Venice Film Festival. Some big Italian stars attend every year, but you can also be sure of a few Hollywood icons skulking around too. The Lido esplanade is the place to be seen, but bring a few cans of hairspray as it is right on the sea and can be windy! If you can get in on a Press Pass, you may even get access to parts other visitors cannot reach. Whatever you do visit Venice for, this city brings everything that is great about Italy to your feet.