Venice is a one off; from the moment you leave your car, get off the train or arrive by boat you are in a city like no other. No cars, and water in the place of roads. There are some wonderful and famous buildings such as the cathedral, the Doge’s Palace and the Rialto Bridge but the truth is there are old and fabulous buildings everywhere. The place is a maze of canals, tiny streets, alleys and hidden squares, just leave the map in your pocket and wander where your heart takes you, you won’t be disappointed.

Most people will tell you to go in the summer and that’s a good time to go, but the last time I went I travelled in January to visit the Carnival (the Carnival timings are based on Easter so it can be a bit later in the year). This is my diary.

Thursday

It’s wet damp and miserable, it’s January in England so nothing new there then. All we have to do to get off this grey and sceptred isle is to navigate that steel and glass monolith that is known as Gatwick airport.
It only takes an age to get our boarding tickets for the plane to Venice, I’m not known for my joy at queuing, why oh why has that very fat woman in front of me packed her ticket and passport at the very bottom of a handbag that is the size of a small country.
On a plane there are only two things to do, sleep and drink, and usually a glass of red wine leads to the other. So I’m slightly annoyed to be woken high over the Alps not to find the drinks trolley within ordering range. But looking out of the window I can see not a single cloud, just miles and miles of snow capped peaks. Could it be that we have left the bad weather behind?
Marco Polo airport is a bit unusual you turn left out of the terminal and walk for 7 minutes to get a boat into the city. Out of the airport we really have shaken off England the weather is all blue skies and sun, okay it’s cold but who cares?
Our hotel is by the station but our boat journey follows a line drawn out by a crumpled piece spaghetti winding and wriggling through the lagoon of Venice and into the city. We pass down the grand canal of the island of Murano before travelling in a great arc to arrive in front of St. Mark’s Square with its bell tower and the Doge’s Palace. We then complete our circle of the city fortunately it’s not a taxi!
Our hotel is the four star Bellini, a lovely old building a palace in a former life converted into a hotel. Dinner the first night is part of the package and is very disappointin mind you it takes real skill to cut meat so thin you can see the plate beneath it. It’s out for a drink and a late night pizza.

Friday

It’s sunny. It’s the day before the start of the Carnival so it’s off for a wander around St. Mark’s Square meandering over the Rialto to find a small restaurant for lunch of pasta and red wine.
Late afternoon and here are some revellers out in costume including some very nice French girls who are happy to let me take their photos. Just a taster for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday

Well first the bad news, not counting the apology for a breakfast at the Bellini, how difficult can it be to make a cup of coffee, the parade signalling the start of the Carnival is deferred until Sunday. But it is sunny. I stand by the side of the boat bus as it travels along the Grand Canal it is a bit chilly in the breeze but the views are just awesome and the low early morning sunlight lights up the buildings fronting the canal wonderfully.
There are lots more people in costume in and around St Mark’s Square, all the signs are this is a heavy duty day for the camera, and everyone is very happy to pose, I’m so Happy! We walk over a few hundred metres to the Santa Maria Formosa, immediately we are in a tourist free zone. It’s a wide open space with a lovely old church. There is a Venetian family with three young girls dressed as renaissance princesses.
It’s time for morning coffee sat outside at one of the cafes in St. Marks Square, well okay it is overpriced and the service is painfully slow but eh it is quite simply the best square in the world. Where else would you want to sit and watch the world go by?
It’s best not to eat lunch too close to St. Mark’s but you don’t need to go too far to avoid the tourist traps. We find a small bar where there is no menu but the pasta is excellent and the wine more than acceptable.
By mid morning Venice is buzzing and there are lots and lots of people in costume and masks to photograph. There are people with papier mache horses, couples and even whole families. And of the backdrops to photos are great the cathedral, the Doge’s Palace the canal with San Giorgio Maggiore in the distance tied up gondolas bobbing in the choppy waters.

Sunday

Another awesomely sunny day. On the vaporetto the water bus they are people in costume heading for St Marks there is a definite air of excitement and the whole area of central Venice is getting busier and busier. It’s even nearly full at the cafes in St Marks Square.
The vaporetti, the water buses are the standard way of getting around in Venice and the ones that go up and down the Grand Canal are tourist musts the views are just wonderful throughout the 40 minute trip from the railway station to St marks Square.
The official opening of the Carnival at midday consists of a man being lowered down from the top of the Campanile, the bell tower to the ground on top of a large letter A, there are other letters too making out the word Angelo. It seems health and safety is not a main concern here. I’m assuming the man is an Italian celebrity, or maybe it’s part of Italy’s Young Offender Scheme. In any event it did make it to the ground in one piece. But I think it’s fair to say that the Chinese were not worried that this was going to overshadow their Olympics.

At the end of this odd start the area of the St Mark’s Square was very very full with people and it was still over three hours to the start of the parade that was the big event of the day so there was a real issue of what to do. It was clear people were already grabbing spots to watch the parade. Walking over a bridge we found a restaurant with free outside tables. Time for a four hour lunch as this provided ringside seats to the Historical Parade leaving St Marks square to the Arsenal and then coming back around 4pm. People who know me know a 4 hour lunch particularly with a rather nice red wine is not one of life’s great challenges. So I’d recommend the restaurant next to the Danieli Hotel as the place to be for the parade.
It was a great parade lots and lots of people in medieval and renaissance costumes. Lots of buglers, drummers, flag throwers and soldiers in armour. Finally a number of very pretty young Italian girls carried on stretchers held aloft by gondoliers. I have to say I have no idea what happened when the parade got into St Marks Square its final destination as the crowds were far too big to go into the Square with any chance of a view. I guess you would need to be bagging a vantage spot by 11am to get a view.

Monday

Whilst the Carnival goes on for several more days Monday was a bit of a lull in events. We sauntered deep into a Venice unexplored by the vast majority of tourists to visit the Jewish Ghetto. It’s the first ghetto in the world and is very beautiful and peaceful. From there we ambled through alleys and streets to visit the Madonna dell’Orto church, there are innumerable old churches in Venice so this one tucked away from the tourist centre was totally empty. It’s just not that exceptional, it was built in the fifteenth century and is beautiful. It was the parish church of Tintoretto and has a number of his masterpieces. Well I mean to say it’s not exceptional in Venetian terms, in any other city it would be knee deep in tourists!
From there we wander back to the Grand Canal to pick up a vaporetto and head down to St Marks Square. There are still loads of people in costume and masks in and around the Square waiting to be photographed. Some are so organised that they even have business cards to hand you so you can e-mail them photos. And it seems only fair to send them photos bearing in mind how much time and money they must spend on their costumes. I have absolutely no idea how they get them to Venice if they fly here.

Tuesday

It’s time to go home back to reality.
Venice is a city Disney would have rejected as being just too mad an idea. The Carnival is just the icing on the cake. It is always a wrench to leave such a beautiful city, still there is always next time.

I travelled with Titan tours www.titantravel.co.uk I found them to be very good. One benefit is the pickup and return to your home. So whilst Titan may seem a little more expensive that some of its competitors you need to take into account the exorbitant costs of car parking at UK airports.