The Walking City

Walking is the best way of getting around in Venice. If you want to explore Venice at its best, then walking is your best bet. This I discovered after dropping off the airport shuttle bus at the Piazzalle Roma bus stop.
Having planned the flight and the booked a hostel accommodation online, my travel companion, Avie and I set out to locate our hostel in order to drop our bag and start sightseeing as planned.
Walking in Circles
It took us a while locating our hostel as Venice is not like your normal city where there are street names and the rest. It is a walking city (this part I discovered 45 minutes into our exploration) with over 400 connecting canal bridges called Ponti.

Shopping and Fashion
The Rialto Bridge and the Piazza San Marco have the largest convergence of shops in Venice. There is a line of shops on both sides of every street in these areas. Although the narrow walkways between buildings can make walking tricky, especially in the tourist season, this hardly deters the throng that ply the route daily.
For sale on both sides of the Rialto Bridge are the famous‘Venetian’ masks in different designs, colours and sizes. There are also carvings of the gondola with the beautifully painted glasses from Murano, an island in the Venetian Lagoon. The Murano glass comes made in different shapes and sizes and also as pieces of jewellery.
The Grand Canal View
A breath taking view of the Grand Canal awaits you from the Rialto Bridge, with display of arrays of gondolas that were parked in the open sea. The gondolas are outfitted with different materials, but most of them come in red velvet design while the most expensive ones have embroidered seats.
The San Marco Square
San Marco Square is a wonderful sight to behold. It is home to the Saint Marks Cathedral (the Basilica), the La Fenice Theatre, the Doge’s Palace, also known as Palazzo Ducale, the Clock Tower (Torre dell’Orologio), the Bell Tower of St. Mark’s (Campanile di San Marco, the Correr Museum , the Archaelogical Museum of Roman Antiques, and the column bearing a winged creature, representing the Lion of Saint Mark, facing the open canal. From here, you have a view of the canal in its open majesty
For one going to Venice next time, here are I will make sure that I check into a hostel, Airbnb, or hotel not too far from the tourist destinations, easily accessible by water taxi, get a map of the Island, take a comfortable flip-flop or sandal and have an active google map enabled phone.