Honestly, nothing could have prepared me for seeing Venice in person. The engineering accomplishment of all the stone buildings propped up by petrified logs in a lagoon is just mind boggling. The city is larger than expected and just an endless maze of canals and alleys, it did live up to it’s reputation of being such a unique place. I loved it!
We stayed a little north of Venice in Mogliano Veneto, the train is regular, but does end a little early around midnight. The first night we had a mad scramble through the alleys and bridges to make it back for the last train.
There was a heavy young tourist element in April and too much smoking/vaping in the really popular areas so I don’t think I’d want to be here peak times as it might feel very packed and it can be hard to move around when groups are blocking alleys and bridges.
