Venezia - worth a visit?
There's something cinematic about the morning in Venice. The cool canal lights mingle with the reflections in the windows, and the city wakes up slowly, unhurriedly. There's no noise of cars, just footsteps and water. Maybe that's why Venice is not visited - it's lived.
Those who come for 24 hours don't really get to see it. The city doesn't reveal itself until you get lost in the alleyways two or three times. After you let go of the map and the program, when you learn that direction is a fluid notion here, like the water that surrounds everything.
Rhythm of water
At first glance, it all looks like scenery. But if you stop to look, you discover a city that breathes to the rhythm of the tide. Old people pulling shutters, young people crossing bridges with espresso in hand, lost tourists gazing upwards. In Venice, time flows differently - slow, round, without edges.
A city break here is not about seeing everything. It means accepting that the beauty is in the details: an old door, a leaning balcony, a boat passing just as the light hits the water.
How much peace and quiet costs
Contrary to appearances, Venice isn't just for the budget-conscious. If you avoid peak periods and choose accommodation in Mestre or the nearby islands, you can discover an authentic Venice without the crowds and exorbitant prices. A coffee in Dorsoduro costs as much as one in the center of Bucharest, and a vaporetto ride is cheaper than a taxi.
A destination that's not easily understood
Venice is a paradox: a tourist city that tires of tourists but lives through them. A place where every sunset looks like a postcard, but challenges you to see beyond its perfect beauty.
A weekend here doesn't show you everything, but it gives you enough to want to come back. And maybe that's the magic of Venice: it always leaves you with the feeling that there's still more to discover.
