Average Temperatures:
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
3.5 |
5 |
8.5 |
13.5 |
17.5 |
21 |
23 |
22.5 |
20 |
15 |
9.5 |
5.5 |
Venice is a city built on an artificial island in the middle of a lagoon, with palaces, churches and ordinary houses which have not changed since the 16th century. The Venetian Lagoon is about 30 miles long and about 6 miles wide. It is separated from the Adriatic Sea by a long thin island called the Lido. In the middle of the lagoon lies the city of Venice, which is not so much a city on an island as a city on the water. Venice has one wide canal, the Grand Canal, which snakes its way through the city. There are also many smaller canals. Motorised 'bus' services operate along the Grand Canal, in boats known as vaporetti, as well around the lagoon. The Gondolas, these days, are run mainly as a tourist attraction. Most visitors will arrive in Venice by air. Frequent buses go between Marco Polo Airport and the main Venice bus station at Piazzale Roma, and also to the railway station on the mainland at Mestre. Or you can take a ferry or water taxi. The city has many famous landmarks: St Mark's Square is the centre of the city, the Basilica of St Mark, the Doges' Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge and more than 200 palaces.