In 1841, British writer and art critic John Ruskin wrote, “Thank God I am here. It is the paradise of cities.” Glittering, beguiling, sophisticated, all this and achingly beautiful too. Venice, surely the most spell-binding city of all……

Skirting the Venetian suburb of Murano, as the magnificent panorama of Venice unfolds before you, you could be forgiven for thinking you had died and gone to heaven. It certainly inspired a dramatic chorus of  ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from everyone in our private water taxi on our arrival from Marco Polo airport. With its vast, gloomy marble palaces, black with the corroding damp of centuries, this city of the senses is totally unlike anywhere else in the world. Set apart by an enchanting storybook strangeness, its narrow streets devoid of traffic and relatively free of hustlers, no wonder it is called La Serenissima ― the most serene…

Venice, Venezia in Italian, which sprawls across an archipelago of 117 linked islets, is a place to swoon over. It is probably at its romantic best at dusk on a winter’s day, when the last pale velvet streaks of daylight are leaving the sky. When windows high above the canals start to sparkle with twinkling lights and the mists waft up from the inky canals to shroud the buildings, a spectral air enfolds this aptly named Pearl of the Adriatic.

The Rialto Bridge in the Grand Canal

There is of course much more to Venice than simply staring at gorgeousness which is why we go back to recharge our batteries as often as we can. This proud, beauty queen city cleverly possesses a multi personality. Although she carries off the mantle of ‘tourist resort’ excellently well, this self-possessed lady has no hint of the brashness that characterizes many tourist havens.

She does it gently, with aplomb. At the same time she is an indulgent pleasure seeker, a dreamland for artists, mecca for culture vultures and when hectic Carnevale comes along, that exciting, unique and dazzling time of merriment which takes place in the depths of winter, she pulls out all the stops to show how dancing, feasting, drinking and masking should be done. Thousands of people from all over the world converge on the city at this time, to dress in magnificent costumes and make Venezia become even more of a dream world.

Our hotel, the Rialto, enjoys a grandstand location on the bustling, splendid Grand Canal, the city’s main thoroughfare and one of the busiest parts of the city. From our windows, the glorious close-up view of the hotel’s namesake was indeed jaw dropping ― a tourist board brochure come alive. The Rialto Bridge built in 1588 and immortalized by Shakespeare in “The Merchant of Venice”, continues to defy the predictions of its day and stands steadfastly, even with the extra weight of its double arcades packed full of shops. The stirring Grand Canal has always been home to the city’s aristocrats, the Nobili Homini and here you can marvel at their magnificent marble palaces, more than one hundred of them, each framed by colored posts showing the livery of their owners.

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