JandaO

Seeing Venice is one of the most neaningful, magical, and beautiful experiences of my life. I treasure each memory. A life without Venice in it would be so sad.

RufusTFirefly

Venice is a unique world treasure.

Cinque Terre is a pretty coastline amongst dozens if not hundreds of pretty coastlines along the northern Med and Adriatic.

To me it's no contest.

RufusTFirefly

By the way, anyone I've ever met who stated that Venice is overrated has turned out to be almost totally ignorant of Venice--generally thinking that Venice consisted solely of the train station, the Grand Canal, the Rialto Bridge, and P. San Marco.

I can't say that everyone who has ever said this is ignorant, only all the ones I've met.

cosmokirhoot

Skip Venice, it's a bit wet (those darn canals) and you can never find a taxi when you need one. And you make more room for us.

111op

Never been to Cinque Terre, but I can't imagine skipping Venice. Still, your mileage may vary. Despite the various Renaissance art tresaures in Florence, I'd still put Venice over Florence, and that's the one I'd skip if you're set on Cinque Terre. Don't forget that some of Tintoretto's masterful paintings are in Venice. True, you don't get David (or the Boticellis and Giottos form the Uffizi) or Brunelleschi's Dome but Venice is unique.

suzski

I was fortunate enough to spend 1 glorious day in Venice. I was with a group of about 50 that drove down from Koper, Slovenia for the day and I only wish that I had more time. To me (a fairly well-travelled person), this is one of the most glorious and unique cities in the world. Yes, it is a tourist attraction....it has been for centuries. All those generations of tourists must have seen something in it to keep coming back. There is just nothing like the sun setting on the city to bring out the romantic in all but the jaded. If you can go, definately do. If not, then definately make plans to get there next time. Enjoy your trip!

carriefrankel

Hey Tina, I had the same exact question..thanks for posting this. I, too, am planning to skip Venice on my two week vacation in June. I have been there briefly but my husband hasn't. However, there are so many mixed responses regarding Venice that I decided to hit the AC instead on this trip at least...maybe we can head to Venice for a long weekend together another time. We are from the DC area, too! Good luck and would love to hear how your trip goes!

travel04

Hi,

I probably am not going to help your decision any but here's my 2.5cents:

Was in Venice last year - never in my dreams could I have imagined a city like that - so what if it's a touristy place, rome, paris, florence are all touristy too, it's just that you have to discover the non touristy spots in each city. - Venice is too charming to miss - walk the narrow alleys, take the gondola ride, feel the ambience and immerse yourself in it even for a day. The biggest regret I have is not having been there for more than a day last year.

CT was a wonderful experience - we hiked three towns and had dinner overlooking the ocean at Vernazza(watching the sunset) - BUT for my first trip I would not have minded MISSING CT and seeing Venice.

Having said that, I will definitely be making a Venice weekend or Venice + some other place down the road as there are plenty of cheap packages available and it's a city that thrives on tourism so packages will always be there.....if it doesn't fit in your schedule don't break your head - you can always visit it after having kids for your anniversary for a 3-4 night stay and just absorb Venice. CT is harder to do by itself than Venice would be.

escodan

Each time we return to Italy, the ONLY place we revisit EVERYTIME is Venice. In our estimation, it is the most romantic, magical place on earth. We would eliminate any of the other locations to include Venice. Just our humble opinion.

Patrick

Here's my take (although I love all the places you mention). You can see wonderful churches and museums almost anywhere in Europe. You'll find beautiful buildings in most cities. You can do hiking nearly anywhere you choose. But there is only one Venice in the world. There is nothing else even remotely like it.

Beatle

tlc- Patrick sums it up!- Unique + timeless = Venice. Don't miss it!

suze

I've only been to Italy twice, both times Venice. It is such an amazing place. I guess the only time I'd say to skip it, is if you really don't have the time to do it justice (a day trip). My visits were 4-5 days, with no planned activites and it was magical (and in August no less).

susiel

I wouldn't say it's a huge mistake but out of the 2 weeks I spent in Italy, the 2 days at the end spent in Venice were my absolute favorite! I wasnt excited about Venice for the very same reasons, dirty, crowded, overrated. I was much more excited to see Florence, Rome, Sienna...
I thought Venice was gorgeous! Very clean, and in the evenings it didnt seem as crowded and you can walk anywhere and not get too lost! If you are an art lover then every church has a treasure! So much to see....I am definately planning to go again and take my husband next time!

baldrick

tlc,
you often hear people talk about cities " ... in comparison with ..., this city is more so and so".
for venice, there is no comparison because it is totally different. it plays in a league of its own.
on the other hand, it is true you cannot regret something you didn't see. why don't you try to get hold of a documentary film on venice to see what it is like?

Kay2

I can't speak specifically to Venice, but we had to make similar decisions on trip about 5 years ago.

When we go to other countries, we don't just want to sightsee in the cities even though we love learning about different cultures and history--my husband would go crazy with even a week of just museums and looking at architecture. We want to see the natural beauty and get away from crowds of tourists as well. So, we always mix in an outdoor experience of some type.

On our trip to northern Italy we did the entire Cinque Terre hike as well as the hikes around Wengen in Switzerland (flying in and out of different airports). It was the perfect offset for Pisa, Florence, and Siena (though we loved Florence and Siena).

We left off Rome because it was too far from the rest and we couldn't get a flight in/out of there. Husband was not at all interested in Venice on his first trip.

Now, we are finally going back this May/June for a meeting in Milan and I am going through the same process you are. This time we'll pick up Rome and Venice, but we will also plan an outdoors hike, either a hilltown walk or I am looking at the Alpe di Siusi area that has been mentioned on this board if I think the snow would be gone and some hotels open.

clevelandbrown

You should analyze this in view of your interests. You said you like art, food, culture, history, and hiking. You are also only going for two weeks, and I would suggest that four destinations in two weeks, unless there is little travel involved, is a bit of a hassle. I know CT is wildly popular, but in view of your time constraints, I would suggest you abandon it for this trip and do some hiking around Florence, where you can also sate your appetite for art, history, and culture.

I like Paris, but I would want to spend more time there than you will have, so my suggestion would be to abandon Paris and CT, and go to Rome, Florence, and Venice. This way your transportation time is minimized, and you can see more in depth. I think the most efficient plan would be to fly into Rome, train to Florence (and you might even have time for CT), train to Venice, and fly home from Venice. That would be a fulfilling trip, even for three weeks. Venice has so much culture, art, and history, that it should definitely be in your plans.

AJPeabody

I thought from the title that this was a joke post, but you are actually really seriously thinking of missing Venice???!!!
Consider what the world thinks: Many places have been described as the Venice of the North, Venice of the South, Venice of the East or Venice of the West:

North: Stockholm, Birmingham, Bruges, St Petersburg, Amsterdam, Giethoorn, Ottawa, Manchester, Hamburg.
South: Zakynthos, Tarpon Springs, Florida, Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi, Sete in France
East: Bangkok, Udaipur in Madhya Pradesh, Alleppey in Kerala
West: Nantes, Galway, San Antonio
China: Suzhou
Hong Kong: Tai O village
Middle East: Basra (Iraq)

How many "Cinque Terres of the ____" are there? Yup, I thought so.

See Venice.

Doh

Well, one thing I've found about travel is the greater the expectations, the more likely the experience is to disappoint, and I think some of these posts are a little hyperbolic. After all, you can live a perfectly happy fulfilled life never having seen Venice (or even consciously choosing to bypass it while in Italy). Moreover, the choice isn't being made forever, it's just one trip, and it sounds like tlc has a lot of time in front of her. I'd also keep in mind that Venice is one place that's very nice to go off-season because it's much easier to get the atmosphere (and see the sights) without all the tourists (I'm not sure how crowded it is in May).

AndrewDavid

Dear tlc,
You come across the lagoon on a 21st century train, you pass through the 20th century stazione Santa Lucia and through the doors is the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Your jaw will drop, your knees will quake. It is one of the most amazing slights of hand that Europe has to offer. The quality of light, lilac changing into mauve is sublime as it meets the water. The lack of auto traffic, the complete architectural ensemble w/ palazzi rsisng out of canals and the lagoon are absolutely unique. Just walk away from the tourist precincts and silence descends. Its a great city for walking ; you can't make a wrong turn. Riding around on the vaporetti, either on the canals or across the lagoon to the islands is magic. The art in the Accademia is fabulous, the mosaics in San Marco lush, the architecture of Palladio is the inspiration for public buildings and Mac' mansions throughout the world. I love every single italian city, town and village I've visited over many trips, but Venice, la serenissima, is unique.
Andrew David

PamSF

Agree wholeheartedly with Andrew David. If you want to spy on Venice rent "Summertime" with Katherine Hepburn. She is in Venice..it looks much the same.