You must experience Venice. Don't listen to anyone who tells you it isn't worth visiting, that it's a tourist trap, that it smells. No, you need to know exactly where to visit in Venice Italy in order to remember a life time experience over and over again.

Venice is romantic whether you go with a lover or a friend. It's one of those cities that is charming and small and begs to be explored. There are no streets, at least for cars. The only way to get around Venice is by foot or a boat of some sort. Doesn't that take you back in time and bring out the romantic in you? Don't settle for stories from your travel friends or pictures in a book, go and experience Venice for yourself.

But isn't it crowded?

Yes, Venice seems crowded... How could it not be? It's one of the most popular destinations in Europe (with good reason we think). The crowds are compressed into the narrow streets, and there will be many more tourists during the day and the summer. Try to visit Venice in the spring or fall... or even winter, and you'll find fewer crowds. The number of tourists may be smaller than for London or Paris, but those visitors are sharing what is really a small town.

Don't the canals stink?

I can't speak for the height of summer, but in the shoulder seasons, we've never found that the canals stink. We love strolling along them, taking the vaportti (the boats that serve as buses in Venice) or having a glass of wine at a canal side restaurant.

Isn't it a city full of just tourists?

Yes, it is... but look at it this way... it's been a city for and full of tourists for centuries! A century or two ago, a young gentleman's "Grand Tour" wasn't complete without time spent in Venice.

Isn't Venice sinking?

Yes again. St. Mark's Basilica is only two feet above sea level. That's the lowest part of town. It's the first to flood, and if you go in the winter, you might just see where they put boardwalks down for locals and tourists to get around. Even during the dry seasons, you will see the lagoon lapping up over the steps on the docks at St. Mark's at high tide. There are major efforts by Italy and the world to save Venice because it is such a special place for all of us.

So do we have you convinced that you should ignore all those nay sayers? That you'll fall in love with the city if you go and experience Venice? Think of the iconic things there are to see and do in Venice.... You really need to add them to your travel experiences.

Take a vaporetto on the Grand Canal. There is nothing like a journey down that frenetic "S" shaped waterway to make you know that you're traveling... and traveling someplace special.

Get off the vaporetto at St. Mark's Square and just absorb the sight of St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. Feel the grandeur of St. Mark's Square... and of course dodge the pigeons!

Walk the narrow streets to the Rialto Bridge. Yes, you might get lost... at least a little, but all streets really do lead to Rialto or St. Mark's, so getting lost is part of the fun.

Venice is the sort of city that should be savored. There are so many things to see and do, but you can also fall in love with Venice without touring madly. Just stroll around, sit and observe, enjoy La Serenissima for what she is... a grand small city that shouldn't be missed. Oh yes, you must experience Venice..... really.