5 Best Places Archives - Friends Traveller

January 5, 2023

5 Reasons to visit Venice

updated January 2023
Destinations, Venice, Italy

City of Canals

Venice is known for its canals, and beauty of the city built around the system of canals, on about 100 islands in Adriatic Sea of north-east Italy. Canals are used like roads in Venice. There are water bus stops around the Grand canal, which is the main central canal passes through the city.

Gondola rides

A romantic city? yes surely, and what makes it unique is its Gondolas. A long beautiful boat with flat bottom, rowed by gondolier, who sometimes sing a song for you on your ride. The cost of Gondola rides are about 80 euros for about 30 mins ride and about 50% additional for next 30 mins. Night rides are little expensive about 120 euros.
There are traghetto gondolas to cross the canal in about 2 mins and a much cheaper for the experience only if you do not wish to spend that much.

Architecture

Venice is a wonderful city and its buildings and structures makes it standing out in this direction. Venetian Gothic style of architecture is unique Italian style. There are some marvelous structures in the city, St Marks Basilica and Square, Rialto Bridge, Palazzo Ducale are some examples. every street with old historic houses gives a total experience of the Architecture in Venice.

History

It is a historical city. but it gained its status as a major trading center in Europe. Its history can be traced to sixth century. It was influenced by Byzantine empire and meanwhile had trading routes with Islamic world as well, it was also an end of silk route in Europe. Venice grew with its Mediterranean influence and even after the Plague but eventually collapsed with the rise of Ottoman Empire and European conflict, and later on joined the Italian Republic. Walking of the narrow streets and around big and small parts of canals can give vibes of the history.

Murano-Burano islands

North of the City are the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is popular for its glass working. Museum of glass attracts many tourists here and place is packed with travellers in summer months. Burano is another island which is little more north of Murano and is also a popular for its colorful houses and lace work. It is also one of the most attractive hot spots.

July 17, 2019

5 Best Places to Visit in Italy

Apart from cities, these 5 best places in Italy to visit. plan well and don’t miss them. let’s find out.

1. Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre are the five little towns of the Italian Riviera. These are ‘Monterosso al Mare’, ‘Vernazza’, ‘Corniglia’, ‘Manarola’, ‘Riomaggiore’. All five towns are developed on steep hills and high cliffs of the seashore overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. That is between ‘La Spezia’ and ‘Genoa’.

The whole area is the part of the Cinque Terre National park, so you must pay a small fee to use the trails to walk around from park and villages. Cinque Terre is the smallest also most densely populated national park in Italy.

Trains are the best way to reach here. It is well connected by major cities. All five towns have railway stations. But major trains stop at only Monterosso and La Spezia.

*Evening in Vernazza, Cinque Terre. photo by Daniil*

2. Pompeii and Vesuvius

The ruins of Pompeii is a historical site of the ancient city. Pompeii lies under the shadows of Mt. Vesuvius. They call it Vesuvio, which was responsible for destroying the city of Pompeii and also Herculaneum (Ercolano) with a major eruption in 79AD.

There are ruins of local streets and shops. There are houses with gardens, a gymnasium, an arena, as well as an amphitheater. It shows some happy and some sad part of this ancient Roman city.

Pompeii is around an hour away from Napoli. Therefore it’s reachable by bus and local narrow-gauge trains, which are known as Circumvesuviana. The area has a delightful landscape and history everywhere around the Gulf of Naples, It surely is one of the best places in Italy.

3. Alps and Lakes

Italian Alps stretch from the French Borders In the northwest to the Austrian border in the northeast. It has some of the best ski trails and resorts. The Alps also has some of the most wonderful landscapes and the Dolomites are one of the examples.

‘Lago di Como’, ‘Lago Maggiore’, ‘Lago d’Iseo’, ‘Lago di Garda’ are surely some of the famous spots in Italy. Lake Como is particularly the most popular destination. There are beautiful towns of Como, Lecco, Varenna and Bellagio, even more. Lago di Garda has a famous amusement park known as ‘Gardaland’ and a popular spot called ‘Sirmione’. These places are well connected by trains and buses from most cities.

4. Sicily

Sicilia or Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Its wonderful landscape has mountains, hills also beaches. ‘Mount Etna’ is an active volcano near Catania. It is one of the highest volcanoes in Europe. It is a most important landmark on Sicilian terrain. ‘Scala dei Turchi’ are the white cliffs. it is another attraction in southern Sicily.

Sicily has many heritage sites. This includes some ancient, medieval and baroque from its past. From Greek temples of the ‘Valley of temples’ near Agrigento to the medieval and modern city of Palermo. It is culturally and traditionally rich region as well. It is also famous for its sweets and gelato (ice cream) in Italy. Its without a doubt one of the best places in Italy.

*Scala dei Turchi, Photo by* *Federica Giusti*

5. Tuscany

Tuscany is one of the most wonderful regions in the world. It has lush green mountains and gardens. There are olive groves and vineyards. Tuscany produce some of the best wines. It also gives best Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano). There are few villa’s and a small castle. It will make you dream about Tuscany. Florence, Pisa, and Siena are major towns in the region. They are the highlights of Italian Renaissance and Roman history as well.