Does Venice smell

[living in vacationland]

Glad to hear, BOTH, that you like my pictures and that I helped push your DH into getting your 2012 booking done. I'll be looking for that commission check from Celebrity. I'm sure it's in the mail!!

 

 

LOL!! Well, enjoy the extra new found money. Save it for your next cruise. But in all seriousness, it was your daily review that tipped the scale to take the cruise we have booked (August 3, 2012, Solstice). We loved reading your posts and could see yourselves doing the same type of excursions you did. Very helpful. Thanks.

[new salt]

Superb photos, thank you. We are going back for our second cruise to Venice, last time we finished there (ex Azamara) and stayed a few days, this time it is a night stop and departure with, again, a stern cabin. I have to say that in all my travels Venice is the most magical of places; there are some close runners, but she is the winner. Didn't Mussolini want to fill in the canals:mad::mad::mad:?

[browneyes7]

Sometimes....depends on the tide levels. It would not stop me from going to Venice..I would say though unless you HAVE to go in August, I would not go to the Med in the summer. It is usually WAY to hot. You will find going to the Med in late spring or early fall that the airfare,crowds, and cruises are less. ;);)

 

We've been to Venice in November and loved it. It was so much easier to get around without battling crowds of tourists. I now prefer to go in the fall over spring because of that!:)

[tartanexile81]

Travel with kids

My husband visited Venice many years ago and thought it was very smelly then but he now thinks it is cleaner and odour free and we have been several times in August so wouldn't worry about it. It may wel be that the opinions you have read are from people who haven't visited recently.

 

It doesn't smell, but graffiti is a problem now. Makes me sick to see such a beautiful city scarred that way.

 

Graffiti in Venice? Truly have never notice anything too bad ... but have you ever been to any German city in the past 5 years. Graffiti seems to be on EVERY vertical surface. What an eyesore!

[Carolyn R]

I never noticed any unpleasant smell, maybe at low tide in the heat of the summer? The thing that I did notice was the silence.

[grotbags]

We were in Venice overnight as part of our Solstice cruise Aug 12/24 2011.

Venice was not smelly, visited before February,March and April also smell free.

Maybe just lucky or no sense of smell!

[deadzone1003]

The smell reputation stems from the fact Venice use to smell. People had use the canals as a sewage system of convience when I was there in 1973.

The canals were dirty, smelly, and the people were rude - all traits which did not endure me to ever go back to Venice, but I did because my wife wanted to visit Venice. Last year we visit Venice. Well, it was alot better, perfect no but nothing is. So, there can be an occasional smell because the city is so old and it is on water, but a big change for the better from what it was.

 

Sailing out of Venice is probably the best sail-away of any port in the world (better than Sydney, San Francisco, Vancouver, or New York) don't rob yourself of that opportunity because it may smell a little occasionally. ( It doesn't smell along the main tourist routes so stick to those routes and you will be o.k.)

[KCcruisin07]

I agree. The Sailaway from Venice is one of my favorites.

[lisiamc]

Note to Terry: We LOVE your photos and the beneficial information you provide in all of your posts. I only wish I could take pictures like you!

 

Your photos have enhanced these CC boards. Keep up the good work.:)

 

Yes Terry, your photos are magnificent. I'm so pleased that you kindly share them. My inner schoolteacher has noted a few taken in places where photos are prohibited <cough> David <cough> but those were wonderful too! :p

[eh2zed]

I agree. The Sailaway from Venice is one of my favorites.

The Venice sailaway is spectacular. We had the good fortune of doing a b2b from Venice so sailed in and out 2X. It rivals Stockholm and Menorca sailaways IMO.

[tom_uk]

We were there in May/June and I don't remember any smell then, and it was pretty hot on both days.

 

Terry: I like your pictures, especially the one of the Piazzetta on the way out. I also took one on our sailaway, but in that last hour it turned quite murky, and this is what it looked like:

 

 

However, I got this image of the Grand Canal from the Rialto bridge the day before:

 

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with that one.

[cruisemom42]

Yes Terry, your photos are magnificent. I'm so pleased that you kindly share them. My inner schoolteacher has noted a few taken in places where photos are prohibited <cough> David <cough> but those were wonderful too! :p

 

Yes, Terry's camera is apparently very temperamental and has a habit of going off by itself in some areas where photos are discouraged. I seem to recall a particular shot of the fabulous Topkapi dagger as well.....;)

[boogs]

The smell reputation stems from the fact Venice use to smell. People had use the canals as a sewage system of convience when I was there in 1973.

The canals were dirty, smelly, and the people were rude - all traits which did not endure me to ever go back to Venice, but I did because my wife wanted to visit Venice. Last year we visit Venice. Well, it was alot better, perfect no but nothing is. So, there can be an occasional smell because the city is so old and it is on water, but a big change for the better from what it was.)

 

The older parts of Venice still dump their sewage into the canals. To provide a system of pipes for sewage would be a monumental task, one that no property owner wants to pay for. One of the main concerns with the new 5.4 billion dollar flood barrier currently under construction, called "MOSES", is that the currents will be affected and the canals might not be flushed out as well after all the barriers are competed.

 

There recently was an interesting program on the Smithsonian Channel about this flood project called HydroTech: Venice http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/show.do?episode=134910 It's worth a look if it comes on again. They talk about the sewage problem.

[ScubaNPcruiser]

Thanks for the awesome pictures! Can't wait to see Venice myself. I also had heard about the smells so appreciate the question and CC responses, very helpful. I am now reassured that the odor is no different than many cities including my home town, which can smell pretty fishy at low tide. I am glad we will have two days to explore Venice.

[Cruisin'Liza]

Travel with kids

My husband visited Venice many years ago and thought it was very smelly then but he now thinks it is cleaner and odour free and we have been several times in August so wouldn't worry about it. It may wel be that the opinions you have read are from people who haven't visited recently.

 

 

 

Graffiti in Venice? Truly have never notice anything too bad ... but have you ever been to any German city in the past 5 years. Graffiti seems to be on EVERY vertical surface. What an eyesore!

 

Graffiti in Venice is one of the first things we noticed too - but mostly just around the Rialto Bridge area (it was awful there) and on some of the wood where construction was going on at Fondemente Nove. Didn't really notice it in the San Marco area.