Car Hire Venice - Mini guide to Venice

For the last two thousand years Venice has attracted visitors to its unique and romantic collection of canals, lazy gondolas and enticing balconies. Once one of the most powerful cities throughout the Mediterranean, today it is overrun by tourists.

Piazza San Marco is the city’s centrepiece, famously elegant and busy, it is the site of the campanile (good public views of Venice), the palatial Palazzo Ducale (Doges' Palace) and St Mark's Basilica - one of the most spectacular houses of worship in the world. The ‘lovers’ Bridge of Sighs links the Doge’s palace to the gloomy old prisons, and the bobbing gondolas are overlooked by the stunning Santa Maria della Salute, San Giorgio Maggiore and del Redentore churches.

The Grand canal is the main waterway, criss-crossed by several famous bridges, including the ancient wooden Accademia Bridge -which leads to a quieter Venice, the Galleria dell'Accademia and nearby Peggy Guggenheim Gallery.

The Rialto bridge is perhaps the most famous, and nearby is the Ca' d'Oro (Golden House).

No cars are allowed on the island, it’s best explored by foot (preferably without a map), and guarantees a delightful afternoon in which you’re sure to get lost and end up mysteriously going in circles. On a hot day the Gelati is a superb reward!