planning trip to Italy in the summer. many friends we have have commented on the odour, yet I have not come across reports on this board that comment on it does everyone expect it and so do not bother to comment on it, or is this not true? Certainly, I have no intention of chnging my plans, smelly or not I have to see it.

It's never been smelly to me.

Were your friends swimming in the canalslooking for ancient treasure? Or maybe they were just super sensitive types that just had to find fault with someplace, no matter how wonderful it really was?

Hi Dock

Venice is not smelly.

Let's see now if I've got it all correct. We are to avoid the following because of the reasons listed:
*Venice smells.
*Rome is full of grafitti and pickpockets.
*Paris is rife with dog poop and smells of urine.
*London's tube system is dangerous.
What have I forgotten?

The first time we arrived in Venice, I didn't notice any horrible smell even though it was in the middle of the summer. But when we checked into our hotel room there was a really foul "sewer" smell in the bathroom. I mentioned this downstairs and they immediately sent someone up to the room who poured a liquid down the shower and sink drains then ran water for quite a while. The smell never came back again in our three days there. They said there is a common back up of "sewer gas". I've talked with other people who mentioned they endured the foul smell in their bathrooms and never knew it could be taken care of so easily.

The only time I noticed a sewer smell was during a gondola ride at a few spots. This was during the month of May. As for the streets, none.

I was there in the heat of July and never noticed any bad smells.

We were there in September and the only smells were the good one of cooking.:-B

Early July and no smell. As someone mentioned once on this board, perhaps the people who lived "in Land" and have never smelled the ocean have a problem with the smell. Having said that, I still didn't think there was any "smell" and it was hot!

I was there in August and didn't notice any smells.

Hi

My wife and I went to Venice in June 2003. We had also heard people saying that it can be smelly in Venice in the summer. But even if it was very warm when we were there (35 degrees Celsius) we didn't find it to smell bad. They only places that had some sort of odour were canals that were totally sealed of for maintenance.

I have posted a trip report with lots of pictures on my personal homepage <font color=blue>www.gardkarlsen.com</font> by the way. Maybe you can find some useful information there

Have a great trip.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Rick Steves even mentions that Venice smells like low tide, however we were there in August and it isn't true!

Thanks for the response. I am sure we will love it.

Every time I cross the Georgia -Florida border , I can smell something swampy. But it doesn't stop me from getting along home!

Every place has a 'smell&quot;. London exhaust fumes are a lot worse to me than anything I've ever smelt in Venice..actually I've never noticed much of anything , even with my &quot;beagle nose&quot;.and I still love London, even with exhaust fumes.

We visit Venice several times/year as it is only 2 1/2 hours away by car. Sometimes it is a bit odoriferous ;-) and sometimes, not.

Regardless, it is never overwhelming and the city is fabulous!

Cheers,
Jan

Lots of people have told me that Venice smells, but they're usually people who've never been there. I've been there several times and never noticed anything more than an occasional slight whiff in a backwater. I think it's sad if people judge the beautiful, fascinating city in this way.

My wife and I were there in October and found it one of the most wonderful and fascinating cities we have ever visited! I had been told by the same people who had not been there that it smelled! We didn't notice any smell other than that coming out of the excellent restaurants!