Honeymoon in Venice

Italy is a popular destination for honeymooners, and with good reason:

The climate is warm much of the year; street life runs toward the quaint, especially in the impoverished South; Italian food and drink contribute more to a romantic atmosphere than do burgers and fries or corned beef and cabbage; and the Italian attitude toward love puts more emphasis on the physical than the spiritual, despite--or perhaps in defiance of--the sexually repressive traditions of the Catholic church.

Venice attracts its share of the Italian honeymoon trade, if only because it is (and always has been) one of Italy's most popular tourist destinations. I can think of several practical reasons for spending a wedding trip in Venice:

• A starry-eyed couple can walk hand in hand across a piazza or campo without getting run down by a Fiat;
• The city is compact, making it easy for newlyweds to return to their hotel beds between sightseeing excursions;
• Nightlife is virtually non-existent, forcing brides and grooms to rely on each other for entertainment;
• The atmosphere of the city is so removed from the modern-day world (at least outside the peak tourist season) that it becomes an exquisitely romantic backdrop for that delightful if predictable mini-drama known as a honeymoon.

So what's a honeymooning couple to do in Venice, besides the obvious? Here are a few suggestions:

Go for a gondola ride. Sure, it's a cliché. But who but a honeymooning couple is willing to surrender public inhibitions, snuggle against the plush cushions of an oversized rowboat, and exchange sentimental kisses while tourists on nearby canal banks and bridges record the proceedings on videotape or film?

Cruise the Grand Canal on a vaporetto. Wait until after dark, then catch the No. 1 local water bus at the railway station. Sit near the bow, and--if the weather is cool--huddle together for warmth as the vaporetto snakes its way past scores of grand and beautiful palazzi on its way to St. Mark's Square.

Visit the San Michele Cemetery. A graveyard may not seem romantic, but look at it this way: its inhabitants are dead, and you're not. Being reminded of that simple fact can make your life together that much sweeter.

Take a boat to the outlying islands. Torcello, Burano, or the small garden islands of San Francesco del Deserto and San Lazzaro degli Armeni offer a refreshing change from the urban glories of Venice--and when you return to your room in the city, you'll feel that you're going home.

Book a hotel barge. Go Barging's La Dolce Vita is a luxury hotel barge with three staterooms and a standard itinerary that includes the Venetian Lagoon, its major islands, and the Brenta Canal. If you want privacy and your trust fund is big enough, you can charter the entire vessel for your personal use.

Otherwise, the best advice for a honeymoon in Venice is simply to take things slowly, giving yourself time to enjoy each other's company instead of exhausting yourselves while sightseeing.

Related material at Venice for Visitors

A Venice Wedding
Before you tie the knot in Italy, let an expert help you cut the red tape.

Where to Sleep in Venice
Use my advice and links to choose your honeymoon hotel in Venice.

Practical Tips - A catalog of articles on planning your trip, arriving in Venice, the best tourist maps, local transportation, and dining in the Veneto.

Gallivanting by gondola - Rent a boat and tour the moats. (Singing is extra.)

To Die in Venice - An excursion to San Michele, Venice's beautiful island cemetery, where you can remind yourselves that it's better to be wed than dead.

Venice books and movies - Your trip to Venice is likely to be a good deal less stressful, but just as romantic, as Katharine Hepburn's was in Summertime.

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