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Travel Bug: Venice
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September 27, 2000: 8:04 a.m. ET
Oh, go, amico, and ride through the waters of Italy's 'Serene Republic'
By Staff Writer Rob Lenihan
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - When barbarians raged through northern Italy in the fifth century, people fled to the islands of the Adriatic Lagoon to create a place that would one day be called the "Serene Republic."
Today, Venice, the city that grew from this search for refuge, still serves as a sanctuary for travelers from all over the world, offering stunning architecture, beautiful museums and a state of mind that lingers long after visitors have moved on. 
Time has little meaning here, where the streets give way to canals and the car is replaced by the waterbus, motoscafo and gondola. This is a place where a city map from 1500 can still be used as a guide in the 21st Century
"It's unlike any other place in the world," said Karen Marshall, director of the New York office of Save Venice, an organization dedicated to restoring and saving the city's threatened masterpieces. "I don't know if people can imagine it unless they go. It's remarkable."
Like most things of beauty, Venice is fragile, threatened by pollution, rising waters and too many people. Each year 10 million-to-13 million people visit this fragile place that is only three times the size of New York's Central Park. And while many complain about the expenses, the visitors keep on coming.
"It's a city that just has to be discovered," said Marco Natoli, an Italian native and a graduate student at Brown University.
Canals of history
Although tourists come to Venice year round, experts say it is best to go there either early in the season, say May or June, or late in the game, in September or October. July and August, they say, are just too hot and too crowded.
First-time visitors may be overwhelmed by their first visit to the City of Islands. You can find a great deal of information about Venice on the Internet, including the City of Venice official Web site.
This is a city with beautiful things to see, but some of the major sights include:
· Piazza di San Marco, dubbed "the Drawing Room of the World," it has served as the center of Venetian social life for almost a millennium. Here you'll find the Basilica of St. Mark, the Ducal Palace, and plenty of people.
· The Grand Canal, the main artery of the city. Travel along this body of water and see such masterpieces as Palazzo Grassi, the Ca' Foscari, and the Palazzo Vendramin Calergi.
· The Rialto Bridge, built between 1588 and 1591, spans the Grand Canal. A visit to the bridge, which is filled with small shops, is a must.
· The Bridge of Sighs over the Rio di Palazzo, built in the 17th Century to link the prisons of the Doge -- the republic's chief magistrate --with the inquisitors' rooms in the palace. Legend has it the name comes from the sighs made by condemned prisoners on their way to execution.
On the money side, one U.S. dollar converts to about 2,194 lira and you should keep your wallet handy. Restaurants in Venice can be pricey and Natoli warns many of them just aren't that good. Fortunately there are many students in Venice who, like students everywhere, like to eat on the cheap. Natoli suggested asking them where to find the good restaurants.
Travel Bug is a new column that runs every Wednesday on CNNfn's Life Page.
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Here today, gondola tomorrow
When looking for a hotel room, Mario Mignone director at the Center for Italian Studies at Stony Brook University, said visitors should try to stay in Venice, instead of finding a place outside of the city.
"You may save some money -- $10 or $15 a night," he said. "But you spend that in transportation and in the time you waste traveling. Take a three-star hotel. They're clean and the price is reasonable."
 Mignone also advises against buying anything when touring a glass factory. The items are usually 20 percent overpriced and the tour guide will probably get a cut of the action. Do your shopping later and compare prices.
And then there are the gondolas.
Call them touristy, call them expensive -- even more so at night when the price goes up --but you'll still find it hard to leave Venice without taking a ride in one these famed watercraft.
Italian tourist officials said it's difficult to judge just how much a gondola ride costs, since the price will vary depending upon the length of the trip and other factors, but one spokesman said a typical 50-minute ride can cost about 130,000 lira, or $59. Again, this figure can vary and Mignone said there won't be much room for negotiating.
"The gondoliers are tough," he said. "In Naples, you can engage in a dialog over the price of something. In Venice, that's the price and they tell you if you don't like it, don't take it."
Make sure you agree upon both the cost and the length of the ride before you set sail. Marshall of Save Venice encouraged travelers to get off the Grand Canal and do some exploring in the back canals.
"Once you get behind the buildings, you see the city from a totally different point of view," she said.
Andiamo!
Italy has been an even more popular travel destination in 2000, since it is the Catholic Church's Jubilee year, a tradition by founded in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII that is marked by religious celebrations.
Venice's celebrated Carnival, the city's wild party before the start of Lent, kicks off on Feb. 16, 2001. This year's event is dedicated to travel and travelers. 
In April, the Italian Government Tourist Board announced the start of non-stop Delta Air Lines (DAL: Research, Estimates) service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Marco Polo Airport in Venice, the first such service between the two cities.
Atlas Cruises and Tours lists several tours that includes Venice. The 8-day Italian Holiday tour, for example, schedules a canal cruise by private launch and a tour of a glass blowing factory. The tour costs about $1,599 with airfare.
Several companies offer tours of Italy that include stops in Venice. Perillo Tours, for example has several tours that stop in the city, including the 14-day Italy North Classic, which includes stops in Milan, Rome, Florence and other cities. The tour costs $3,299 with airfare included in selected cities.
The Italian airline Alitalia offers a five-day vacation package to Venice leaving from New York or Boston for $1,039 including airfare. The package includes five nights accommodations, continental breakfast and a half-day sightseeing tour. A similar package leaving from San Francisco or Los Angeles costs $1,169.
For the more athletically minded, Club Toscana has bike tours that include Venice. The Florence to Venice six-day biking tour stops at either luxury villas or bed and breakfast inns and the tour costs $2,298 or $1,998 respectively, airfare not included.
Maybe you want to a rent an apartment in Venice and explore the city on your own. Euroflats offers rental apartments in several European cities, including Venice, ranging from about $595 to $1,570 a week. Pets are not allowed and telephone service is extra. Check the company's Web site for restrictions and availability. 
-- Click here to send e-mail to Rob Lenihan
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