Venice Hotels : Last Minute

Venezia, La Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, city of canals and palaces...or tawdry sewer alive with crowds and charlatans? For a thousand years the city was one of the most enduring mercantile sea powers on the face of the earth. Today it has been included by Unesco in the World Heritage List.

Venice in itself is the main attraction: losing yourself in the maze of canals and lanes is one of Venice's principal pleasures. The main sights are centred at and around Piazza San Marco: the Basilica, the Doge's Palace... Don't forget to cross the Canal Grande to have a look at the Accademia Gallery, which has a fine and varied collection of Venetian painting.

Venice is Europe's largest urban carfree area. Worldwide famous for its canals that serve the function of roads: every form of transport is on water or on foot. The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals and other ceremonies. Most Venetians now travel by motorised waterbuses ("vaporetti") which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city's islands. The city also has many private boats. Venice is served by the newly rebuilt Marco Polo International Airport. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast so that visitors now need to get a bus to the pier, from which a water taxi or Alilaguna waterbus can be used.

The kitchens of Venice have for centuries been filled with aromas of the sea. For first courses, try risotto alle seppioline (tinted black by the ink of cuttlefish, also called risotto nero or black risotto), bigoli (homemade pasta) or polenta, often served with gamberetti (small shrimp) or as an accompaniment to fegato alla veneziana (calves' liver with onions Venetian style). Some of the fish and seafood dishes include branzino (a kind of sea bass), rombo (turbot or brill), moeche (small soft-shelled crab) or granseola (crab), and sarde in saor (sardines in a sauce of onion, vinegar, pine nuts, and raisins).

The Venice Film Festival (Italian Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932, the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale, a major biennial exhibition and festival for contemporary art.

• Venice Film Festival

The Carnival of Venice, the most internationally known festival celebrated in Italy, takes place every year around two weeks before Ash Wednesday ending on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. This congregation of masked people began in the 15th century, but the tradition can be traced back to the beginning of the 14th Century. During the period of Carnival it seems that every excess was permitted and the fact that everyone wore masks seemed to abolish all social division. Today's Carnival contains concerts, theater, ballet, masquerade balls, historical processions, and fashion shows. The spirit of Carnival is everywhere during this period. From early morning to late evening there are groups of elaborately costumed characters that slowly walk and pose for photographers.

• Carnival of Venice