Venice, Italy 2026

I am in La Spezia, Italy as I type this. I have filled my camera roll with our two days here and am itching to share the pictures with you. BUT …

… I can’t do that without first unloading the pictures from my trip to Venice, Italy, earlier this year. For the last handful of years, every January, I take a week off to travel somewhere by myself. This year’s choice was Venice!

My last trip to Venice was in 2004 when Dev and I were backpacking through Europe; we spent one night and roughly two days exploring the city . I remember it being cold and rainy for most of that time. I also remember writing a lot of postcards while eating hot soup. We walked around all day taking in the city vibe, and then seeing the lights from the public water taxi on the canal at night. It was, for a lack of a better word, dreamy.

Venice is probably on every traveler’s bucket list. And rightfully so because even if over run with tourism, it is that beautiful. With its canals and bridges, it feels so unlike any other city. As is usual though, a trip to Venice is often a small part of a bigger trip. What Dev and I did is likely what most people do. Spending a couple of nights here and then moving on.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with that plan. Venice is thankfully quite compact and it is possible to get the gist of it all in that short of a time. But being the curious creature that I am, I wanted to linger and see what else I could observe about a city that has a very singular persona.

What I discovered in my week was how easy it is to become a regular at a coffee shop where the propritor remembers your order as soon as you walk in. How the most beloved gathering spots brimming with that lively chatter are unfussy, unfancy, and small.

How door bells and door knobs felt as singular as the people who live behind those doors. How there are so many bookstores. How you can easily tell if someone is a local or not by simply seeing whether they are using their memory or the phone to navigate the utterly dizzing streets.

The Peggy Guggenheim Museum!

There is really good vintage shopping to be had here. Cicchetti – nibbles made to accompany your wine (much like small tapas) are now my favorite Italian thing to eat.

How insane it is to see a city perform all its daily functions (mail delivery, farmers markets, ambulances, cops, etc.) without a single car in sight. How well the older ladies and gents dress. How gooooood the coffee and wine are.