Visit Italy

Venice, Italy - local neighbourhoods without the tourists

Here's a video of Venice, Italy, purportedly showing it as the locals see it, without all the tourists. Indeed this clip does meander through local neighbourhoods, including Venice's famous canals, small streets and bridges. The Venetian architecture is really quite fantastic, and it's always a joy to hear my wife's stories of living in this part of Italy.

video tour of Venice, Italy

Nice, pleasurable video tour of Venice, Italy. From the public plazas, small bridges and canal boat tours, this covers off much of the city's main charm and romance. Very well done!

floods reach 5 feet high in Venice - photo gallery

photograph by Michele Crosera/Reuters

Here are some incredible photos from Venice, where the city had waters as deep as 5 feet (155 centimeters), which is the fourth deepest on records, and the highest in 22 years. What I find incredible, inspiring and a bit silly is just how cavalier residents are, going about their business and still eating outside restaurants and shopping with their rubber boots on! To see the full photo gallery from National Geographic, click here.

list of top 25 hotels in Italy

If you happen to be surviving the current global economic crisis, check out Forbes Traveler's recent list of top 25 hotels in Italy. Rome, Milan and Venice had good representation among the top accommodations. These are fabulous hotels, very luxurious and all 5-star; but they are not for the faint of heart when it comes to putting down your credit card!

To read the article, click here, or click here to jump directly to the slideshow.

video travel guide to Rome - Vatican, Trevi and Colisseum

Here's a short video guide to Rome, Italy; there's a little bit of history, but given how extensive Roman history is, the focus primarily is on the what to see on a trip to this historic city. The tour covers off the Vatican, the Colisseum and the famous Trevi Fountain. While this won't help you plan a detailed itinerary, it will certainly whet your appetite for your next holiday or vacation to Europe and Italy!