Romantic Venice couples with adventure

Venice is world-renowned for its history, its beauty, its architecture and most of all its aura of romance, and we want to ensure that you experience the perfect trip with your partner. In this guide we will excite you with unique canal walks and views, tease you with an intimate evening at the opera, and get the taste buds tingling with some local culinary specials. Go on… take the plunge.

Wander the less-explored canals

Although seeing the main thoroughfares of Venice around San Marco is key to your visit, I’d recommend that you make time to stroll around the less trodden paths of the city. The narrow back streets, like those found in the Castello neighborhood, are known as ‘callis’ and will provide you with a much quieter experience away from the crowds. Forget taking a map, lose yourselves amongst the tiny canals and admire the surrounding architecture of the houses as you crisscross many of the distinct bridges until finding a cafe or square to rest your legs and watch the locals go by.

Top up on Venetian culture

Teatro La Fenice is the most popular and famous of Venice’s opera houses and never disappoints with its offering of high-quality musicals, symphonies and ballets performances. Let me, however, present you with an alternative to this at the Musica a Palazzo, where you’ll find yourselves in a much more intimate setting. It is located slightly off the beaten track, but still close to the Canal Grande on Campo San Fantin, and puts on shows that can range from a small original quartet to the classics of La Traviata, The Barber of Seville and Rigoletto. There’s an enchanting allure to being so close to these tremendously talented performers.

Savor the local gastronomy

Dining will naturally form part of every day of your stay in Venice and like many tourist hotspots it is often away from the crowds where you will find the better experiences. As a couple, why not join the locals of the city and eat at one of the "bacari", the typical no-frills bars where you can eat traditional appetizers, enjoy a glass of wine and take in the atmosphere. Seafood plays a major role in the dishes here and whether it be grilled cuttlefish, sautéed shrimps or steamed octopus, you can be sure it’s fresh…and delicious.

Another treat in Venice is to partake in one of its long-established traditions. Find a seat in a bar on Piazza San Marco and order a couple of Bellinis to toast your breathtaking vacation. This Venetian cocktail was invented in the 1930s in Harry’s Bar and combines sparkling Prosecco wine with a peach purée. Of course, you can order the same drink in most cocktail venues around the world, but sitting together in the main Venetian square, while listening to the melodic notes from a nearby piano, is an experience you’ll both remember for a long, long time.

Time your special visit

No matter when you choose to come to Venice there is always an abundance of things to see and do – especially considering that the city itself feels like a floating museum. There are, however, some events that only take place at certain times of the year with the weather in northern Italy changing across the seasons. Here’s a selection:

• January 6th – watch all the action from just meters away at the historic Regata delle Befane, where five veteran rowers dress up in costume and race from San Tomà to the Rialto Bridge in a traditional Ventian ‘mascareta’ boat, with the use of just a single oar.
  
• February/March – join in the fun of the Carnival and feel like a star in a scene from a period movie, ensuring you have the iconic Venetian mask (truly a work of art!) to mingle with the anonymous crowd.
  
• July – watch the spectacular fireworks display over Piazza San Marco and make it extra special by doing so from the unique viewpoint aboard a private boat on the Laguna.
  
• August/September – rub shoulders with actors and directors at The Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world and still regarded as one of the big three.
  
• December 31st – enjoy a kiss to remember in the middle of Piazza San Marco on New Year's Eve.

Take in a bridge and a view

Sometimes the perfect location is all you need to create a long-lasting memory and two in particular stand out from all that Venice provides. First up is the Ponte di Rialto, during the day a hubbub of activity as tourists and locals cross the 120 steps of the bridge between the districts of San Marco and San Polo, and at night one of the most romantic spots to gaze over the Canal Grande and fully appreciate the moment. Another way to ponder the joys of your trip is to travel up to the top of the Torre dell’Orologio in Piazza San Marco. This tower is arguably the best place to observe Venetian life from up high during the day, knowing that the legendary clock beside you has been keeping the city ticking along for more than 500 years. As the sun sets, however, I believe the most romantic location to be the Punta della Dogana from which you can admire the entire basin of San Marco lit up. Wonderful.

Observe the master glaziers

With so much to see and do throughout Venice, one experience that can sometimes be missed is a trip to observe the master glaziers at work. On the nearby island of Murano, well known for its furnaces, you can watch how they blow the glass to create the most intricate of shapes, designs and characters. These make wonderfully original souvenirs and gifts – complete with the famous Murano glass stamp – to take home, although I’d recommend that you avoid selecting the truly delicate works of art for obvious packing challenges.

For couples looking for romance, interest and adventure, there are few cities in the world that can offer as unique an experience as Italy’s Queen of the Seas. An unforgettable trip awaits.