Venice

Well, Venice has such a larger than life reputation, so it was always going to be hard for it to stand up to it. Venice is best seen from the canals. Floating down the Grand Canal on a vaporetto (which can get awful crowded and not quite so enjoyable) is so much nicer than walking around. The buildings are nice from the water, but when you are trying to navigate your way through tiny alleys and bridges, it gets quite frustrating. It is very easy to lose track of where you are going as you backtrack and try head in the direction you want to go.

Knowing what I do now, I could have happily checked out Venice in half a day. San Marco's Piazza is very much worth checking out. The Basilica is very cool and different enough from other churches I had seen to make it worth seeing.

The number 1 is a good vaporetta to see the Grand Canal from. Just try and get a good viewing spot, perhaps up the front where the seats are. Note that some of the other vaporettas will take you outside the Grand Canal and perhaps to one of the other islands, so make sure you know where the vaporetta is going.

Arriving at night time and trying to find your accomodation can make things a little more challenging.