Cheap holidays and city breaks to Venice

The Divine Republic, a city unlike any other on the planet

A Venice city break offers a lot more than just a city.This is La Serenissima, the Divine Republic, a city unlike any other on the planet. This collection of 116 islands connected by 409 bridges is one of the most famous urban landscapes in the world. Well worn images of palazzi lined canals and masked gondoliers make Venice seems familiar even to those who have not been there, but nothing prepares visitors for the first glorious sight of this city.

Emerging from Santa Lucia railway station or even better, arriving by boat from the airport, the city unravels in a waterborne spectacular of stunning architecture and chocolate box domes. Here, even the fire engines and ambulances are boats, in a world that is far removed from 21st-century Europe. The clogged roads that greet arrivals to most other European cities are replaced by a network of canals and lagoons that stretch off tantalisingly in all directions, just waiting to be explored.

Away from the tourist centre there are another 34 islands to explore. The pick of these include Murano, with its world famous glass blowers and glass products, Burano, with its lace making and quaint fishermen’s houses and Torcello, which is an island draped in history that stretches back to the very beginnings of human settlement in the Venetian lagoon. A visit to the truly glorious city of Venice will surely not be the last, as the sights, sounds and romance of this city are second to none.