Travelsmartplanet

Never thought about where you park your gondola when you are off work. Notice the other boats tucked along the buildings. Front doors are often on the canals.

Tags: boat, building, canal, CostSaver, Europe, gondola, Italy, park, parking, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, transportation, travel, travelblogger, Venetian, venezia, Venice, venice canal, water, work

Not all the canals in Venice are narrow. Some are broad highways. See if you can find the tip of a gondola in this one.

Tags: boat, canal, city, CostSaver, Europe, gondola, highway, Italy, landmark, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, touristy, Trafalgar, transportation, travel, travelblogger, Venetian, Venice, view, waterway

The Bridge of Sighs is named for the sighs of the prisoners who were interrogated and charged in the Doge’s Palace building and had to walk across the canal on this bridge to the New Prison. The white limestone decorated bridge is enclosed but has windows with stone bars; It passes over the Rio di Palazzo.

Tags: architecture, bridge, Bridge of Sighs, building, canal, CostSaver, decorated, Doge of Venice, Doge's Palace, Europe, History, Italy, landmark, limestone, New Prison, palace, prisoner, Rio di Palazzo, sights, sightseeng, stone, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venice, window

Inside Venice’s Saint Mark’s Basilica or more properly, the Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark. It’s free to go through to see the great example of Italo-Byzantine architecture and the ceiling mosaics, decorations, and intricate geometric marble patterns. Get here early as there is usually a big lineup but it moves quickly. No backpacks allowed, but there’s a free checking service around the corner and down an alley (just ask!).

Tags: architecture, backpack, Basilica, cathedral, ceiling, CostSaver, decoration, Europe, geometric, Italo-Byzantine, Italy, landmark, lineup, marble, mosaic, Patriarchal, pattern, Saint Mark, Saint Mark's Basilica, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venice

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The Doge’s Palace, Palazzo Ducale, was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Venetian Republic. The Venetian Gothic construction started around 1340 and was modified many times over the centuries due to fires and governmental needs.

Tags: architecture, art, authority, century, city, construction, CostSaver, Doge of Venice, Doge's Palace, Europe, exhibit, fire, former, Gothic, government, History, Italy, landmark, modified, Museum, palace, Palazzo, Palazzo Ducale, Republic, residence, sights, sightseeing, supreme, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venetian, Venetian Republic, Venice

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In Venice, the Ponte dei Sospiri or the Bridge of Sighs is an arched limestone bridge that connects the Doge’s Palace to the Prigioni Nuove, or the New Prisons. It got its name from the sighs of the prisoners walking across it.

Tags: arched, bridge, Bridge of Sighs, city, city tour, city view, connect, connection, CostSaver, Doge's Palace, Europe, Italy, landmark, limestone, New Prisons, palace, ponte, Ponte dei Sospiri, Prigioni Nuove, prison, prisoner, sigh, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venice

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On top, you have the victorious Vittorio Emanuele II (1849-1861) who was the first King of united Italy. On the 2 sides are statues of the winged Lion of Saint Mark with paws on books and a regal woman (and a silly woman).

Tags: book, city, CostSaver, Europe, Italy, King, landmark, lion, Lion of Saint Mark, monument, paws, regal, Saint Mark, sights, sightseeing, statue, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, united, united Italy, Venice, victorious, Vittorio Emanuele, winged, woman

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Approaching St. Mark’s Square, Venice, from the water.

Tags: architecture, attraction, boat, city, CostSaver, Europe, Italy, la Piazza, landmark, Piazza, Piazza San Marco, sights, sightseeing, square, St. Mark, St. Mark's Square, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venetian, Venice, view, water

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You never mind long bus rides – this one from Vienna to Venice – when this is the kind of mountain scenery you are passing.

Tags: Austria, Austrian Alps, bus, bus ride, bus tour, CostSaver, Europe, mountain, mountain scenery, mountain view, Nature, scenery, sights, sightseeing, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, Venice, Vienna, view

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Walking through the streets of old city in Salzburg, Austria still has the feel of an old city.

Tags: archway, Austria, city, city sights, CostSaver, Europe, meander, old city, Salzburg, sights, sightseeing, street, tour, tourist, Trafalgar, travel, travelblogger, walk