People always call Venice a symbol of faded grandeur, a place of romance, mystery and beauty, a city surpassingly unique with its melancholy, nostalgia and so on. In my view, what makes Venice great is the sense of art and culture and the easy-going atmosphere. To enjoy this, you need to go to Venice at the right time.

Midwinter is the best season to visit Venice because it lacks the heavy tourist glut of the Venetian summer. I can only shudder at what it must be like in July and August; the invasion of tourists compounded by heat and humidity can only make Venice an unbearable city. In midwinter, without the obstruction of other tourists, you have time for a clear view of Venice as a city belonging to you. The beauty of the city can be more readily appreciated.
        
The boat is your only choice

Located at the northern point of the Adriatic Sea, Venice is connected to mainland Italy by a causeway. Arriving in Venice by train is spectacular. The building of the causeway in 1846 was a momentous event. It meant Venice was no longer an island. The train travels alongside a roadway which came much later, in 1931. The train arrives at St. Lucia, the terminal of Venice, from which point you should probably say goodbye to traditional vehicles and prepare to face a new world.

The main transportation in Venice is your own two feet. Basically, you can walk anywhere on the island. But be careful, Venice is a notoriously disorienting place, incredibly difficult to navigate even for people who live there and think they know it well. This is thanks to the narrow, winding streets together with the intricate course of the Grand Canal and the absence of any visible landmarks from a distance.

If it is your first time coming to Venice, the vaporetto is the best option. From the railway station you go down a series of wide steps straight on to the Grand Canal—the main highway of Venice. You can easily find the vaporetto station, also known as a Venetian bus station. With the total absence of vehicular traffic, everything is transported by water in Venice. Whether it be people, luggage, groceries, animals, furniture, coffins, polizia and carrabinieri patrol boats or even rubbish, the parade of life along the canals is endless. To get your first sense of Venice, you should take the No.1 vaporetto boat from the main station to the famous Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). Line 1 zigzags past 20 scenic stations on its way to its final destination on the Lido island where the Venice film festival is held each year. No.1 is popular with tourists because it offers a leisurely tour of the Grand Canal and a quick way to get from one side of the canal to the other. To avoid crowds of tourists, take No. 1 towards San Marco late in the evening.