Venice is practically our neighbour when we are at Union Lido. At the same time, the contrast could hardly be greater. Here, beach and campsite life. There, that particular beauty which draws millions of visitors from all over the world. Being neighbours makes Venice a city we return to again and again. Between waterways and timeless icons, quiet lanes, modern art and the islands of the lagoon, it reveals a different mood on every visit.
From Punta Sabbioni to Venice — for us, the city begins with a crossing of the lagoon.The first outlines across the Bacino San Marco: Venice does not appear beside a road, but rises from the water.A scene from the past: large cruise ships passed through the Bacino San Marco and the Giudecca Canal until 2021. Since then, this route has been closed to them.On the way from the boat landing to St Mark's Square: gondolas and San Giorgio Maggiore.Domes, towers and rooftops of San Marco.San Marco from the water — a grand stage, a place of arrival and a timeless icon.On the Piazzetta, power, display and Venetian history are concentrated within a few metres.St Mark's Square — not something you can simply tick off, even after many visits.A spritz with company — at the right time of day and in the right place, Venice can simply feel light.The Piazzetta San Marco opens towards the lagoon between the Doge's Palace and the Biblioteca Marciana.A flower stall on the way from San Marco to the Ponte dell'Accademia — one of the small splashes of colour beyond the great sights.At Rialto, the Grand Canal is a transport route, workplace, shop window and stage all at once.The Rialto Bridge — crowded, photographed endlessly, beautiful.A spritz by the water. Away from the most prominent squares, you can still find surprisingly relaxed places for one.The Grand Canal by the Ponte dell'Accademia — Venice happens on the water.Gondolas at their moorings — a landmark for some, a workplace for others.One of the copies of the bronze horses of San Marco in front of the Campanile.The horses of San Marco also recall how closely Venice's splendour is tied to trade, power and looted art.At St Mark's Basilica, the eye can hardly settle — figures, arches, mosaics and reused architectural fragments overlap to form a visual world of their own.San Todaro, Saint Theodore, on his column at the Piazzetta — with the dragon at his feet.Venice from the Campanile of San Marco — a dense fabric in which water and lanes often reveal themselves only at second glance. Large cruise ships at the Marittima in the background. Until 2021, they reached it through the Bacino San Marco and the Giudecca Canal.The red escalator at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi combined historic fabric with a spectacular transformation. The department store has been closed since the end of April 2025.The courtyard of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Since 2025, this space too has no longer been open to the public.The view from the rooftop terrace of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi was one of our favourite insider tips. With the building's closure in April 2025, this view too belongs to the past, at least for now.Santa Maria della Salute marks the entrance to the Grand Canal — a fixed point that appears anew each time from the water.Books, prints and finds in a lane — Venice is also made of the things that make you pause without planning to.Just a few minutes from the main routes, Venice can become quiet.Devotion and political messages share the same wall.A figure of Jesus on a house wall — one of the many small details in the maze of lanes.A place with a view on the Grand Canal.Artificial flowers against old masonry.The dinghy is as natural a part of the streetscape here as a bicycle elsewhere.The boundaries between luxury fashion, craft and souvenirs are sometimes fluid.‘My Body My Rules’ by Carole Feuerman — encounters with modern art in Venice are certainly not confined to the Biennale.A lion mask in a shop window — Venice's heraldic animal appears in countless variations between history, art and decoration.‘Justice’ by Carole Feuerman near the Giardini — another encounter with contemporary art in public space.Augusto Murer's ‘Monumento alla Partigiana Veneta’ lies near the Giardini vaporetto landing on a plinth in the water designed by Carlo Scarpa.‘Building Bridges’ by Lorenzo Quinn at the Arsenale — six pairs of enormous hands stand for human values and mutual understanding.‘Wild Kong Oil’ by Richard Orlinski in a small park not far from the Giardini — one of those changing discoveries on the way back towards San Marco.‘May You Live in Interesting Times’ — the title of the 2019 Art Biennale lingered in the cityscape beyond the exhibition spaces too.Niccolò Tommaseo on Campo Santo Stefano — a writer and politician amid the everyday bustle of the square.The Arsenale from the water — for centuries the industrial and military powerhouse of the maritime republic, today also a venue for the Biennale.The entrance to the Arsenale — Venetian sea power in stone, guarded by lions from different eras and places.At the glass furnace on Murano, heat, breath and a few swift movements become craft — and sometimes art.Murano is more than its glass furnaces — an island town in its own right, with canals, workshops and a quieter everyday life.On Burano, colour becomes an address — tradition has it that the vivid façades helped fishermen find their way.Burano — a colourful fan of façades.Canal, boats and colourful houses — Burano seems a counterpoint to stone-coloured Venice, yet belongs to the same lagoon.At the Squero di San Trovaso, gondolas are still built and repaired.A gondola on the Grand Canal — for a moment, even this great waterway seems almost empty.The view from the Rialto Bridge — palazzi and boat traffic make it clear that the Grand Canal is the city's main street.Back at the Bacino San Marco — the same skyline, another time of day, another Venice.Gondolas in front of San Giorgio Maggiore — in the evening, the postcard view slowly becomes a quieter scene.Late light on the Grand Canal — the façades lose their hard edges; the bustle on the canal remains.Santa Maria della Salute in the evening light.A restaurant by a canal — when the day visitors leave, new little stages emerge between water and house walls.Venice at night — fewer voices, dark water and light lingering on the façades.A yacht at night — even after dark, Venice remains a stage for very different worlds.San Giorgio Maggiore at dusk — one of the last fixed points before the crossing back over the lagoon.Leaving across the lagoon. For us, Venice also means leaving it behind from the water, again and again — and coming back.
