It sounds like Venice is a terrific city. But when I look at pictures of Venice I feel very uneasy...the idea of not being able to just walk across the steet (because it's water - not a street at all) makes me very uncomfortable. Has anyone had that feeling while they were actually there?

Are you traveling with your cousin and a butler? We know all about you!

Isn't Bambi's therapy working?

You could try watching 'Don't look now' before you go

Good idea papagena - then she'll be so scared of knife wielding midgets she won't notice the water!

Jim

How are Faith and Orlando the Hipster?

Are you enjoying Roma? How is the Swiss Guard?

We know more than you think.......

I am absolutely confused by all of these replies. What am I missing?

missypie, there was a poster a month or so ago who spun an elaborate yarn about her strange cousin who was phobic about falling into Venice canals. Look for the posts of faithonholiday .

missypie - if it was a genuine question; not all streets in Venice contain canals, most are simply pedestrianised, and when there are canals there tends to be a broad walkway alongside. So, no, most people do not feel uneasy.

You may have a misconception of how space feels in Venice. Large open squares and lots of bridges are found amid the narrow pedestrian-only streets. You can walk for hours. Most people don't feel the claustraphobia they imagine. It's quite a wonderful place that you will probably be glad to experience.

To me it was the complete opposite of feeling "panicky". The lack of automobiles gave one such a feeling of freedom. And there are many areas where there is no view of water--if that is what concerns you--just wonderful pedestrian streets.

Poor Missypie. I know you're a legitimate long-time poster here, and no relation to the infamous Bambi. So here's another legitimate answer.

Many years ago (about 30!), on my first visit to Venice I actually did get a bit freaked out -- not really panicky, but a bit disoriented. I was young, a new traveller, and didn't know any Italian (this was back in the days before English was as common). It was March, rainy and chilly, and I didn't have a decent map. I spent more time than I would have liked lost in the maze of tiny streets, ending up in foggy dead ends.

However, I've been back several times since, armed with a good map, and have always had a wonderful time. GO for it.

Troll or not, this post reminds me of the misconception I had before I first visited Venice. I had the impression that everyone basically had to get around by boat, having no idea that there are so many walkways throughout the city. That might not be all that uncommon of a misconception for people who have never been there.

visit venice and enjoy one of the top destinations in the world.we will visit again.

I am making my second trip to Venice in October. I loved it the first time and I am extremely clostrophobic (sp?) but the spaces are much more open for the most part than you imagine and lots of bridges, so it doesn't really take much to "cross the street".

Many mysterious replies -- a poor simple Canadian such as myself is unnerved and baffled.

No, I have never been bothered by the water and inability to cross the street. Some canals are grungy but the enclosed watery spaces are, to many I imagine, a return to the womb. Then you break out into open space and sky and the blue, blue lagoon stretching ahead of you.

RE unsalubrious canals -- I think Katherine Hepburn acquired a long-standing infection when she was obliged to dive headfirst into one for some mid-50s film (costarring Rossano Brazzi). A prize of a free box of Chiclets to the person who identifies the film.

Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brassi starred in Summertime ~

Missypie, I sympathize with you. On our first night in Venice, we got lost returning from dinner to our hotel. It was night and, though Venice's walkways and alleys are amazingly well lit, we found ourselves in narrow, deserted alleys (this was around 9 p.m.) that were quite unsettling. Frustrating, too--at one point, we came out on the Grand Canal, just a stone's throw from a vaporetto stop, but no easy way to get there! So we had to go back into the maze.

That said, we did make it back safely, and our experience left us with the impression that Venice is remarkably safe at night. Just be sure to carry a detailed map, and allow twice as long as you think you need to get to where you want to go!

I watched Summertime tonight. The beginning of the movie features a householder throwing garbage from a high window into the canal. Supposedly that doesn't happen anymore, so the canals should be a lot cleaner. I did learn from this movie that it's a bad idea to walk backwards in Venice, a lesson I will surely keep in mind.

Missypie, you will enjoy Venice...it's amazing. You CAN across the "street"...you just have to cross at the little bridges. The "street" will seem more like a pedestrian walkway, by the way. The Grand Canal is the widest "street". The others are smaller and cuter.

You won't get any more lost in Venice than you will in Rome. Actually it's easier in Venice, because if you walk far enough, you always end up at the Grand Canal. Once you're on the Grand Canal, you hop on the vaporetto (public taxi boat), which you can ride for free because you have wisely bought yourself a vaporetto pass which allows you unlimited numbers of rides. Now, once you are on the vaporetto you aren't lost any more because you just ride it until it gets to a familiar stop, and you get off there, and you're not lost any more.

In fact, I suggest you ride the vaporetto all around your first day in Venice to get acquainted with the stops it makes.

Get a hotel near the Grand Canal. Your hotel doesn't need to be on the Grand Canal, just near it.