For our fourth year anniversary last year, we wanted to do something special. About a week before, the thought occured to me that we could go away for the weekend, to a romantic city abroad. And what city is more romantic than Venice?

We left Thursday night. After work, I drove home to pick up Boyfriend, who had packed our bags. Then we drove on to the airport and a few hours later, we were in the most romantic city I have ever seen.

We arrived quite late, walking through the rain in an abandoned Venice, the streetlights reflected in the hundreds of canals we passed. It was amazing. We got to our hotel around midnight, luckily our timing wasn’t a problem. We stayed at the Hotel Torino which was right in the city centre, next to a store that sold the most beautiful masks.

Our room was amazing. It was big and quite luxurious, if you ask me. The bed was amazing and there was a super comfy chair in which I think I also fell asleep… Anyway, I would really recommend this hotel, it’s one of the best ones I stayed in and its location was excellent.

The next morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and then we set out to explore the city. We only had a day and a half, but we didn’t want to rush anything, so we just walked and explored.

Venice is one of the most popular cities in Europe and it can be quite crowded. Which is too bad, because it really is such a lovely city and it’s no fun exploring with hundreds of tourists around you at the same time. Luckily, we choose a quiet season to visit the city. We went in the beginning of May, which is the perfect time to go, if you ask me! It’s not too hot and the high season hasn’t started yet, which means there aren’t that many people.

Venice is such a romantic city. I would even argue that it’s more romantic than Paris. It is clean and the air is so crisp. There are no cars and no bicycles, all transport is on foot or by boat.

The city has the most magnificent buildings. A few of the highlights, which you should definitely visit when you’re going to Venice, are the Piazza di San Marco, with the San Marco Basilica, the bell tower and the Doge Palace. You should also visit the Grand Canal and the Bridge of Sighs.

Venice is built on an island which means there are numerous  little bridges to cross the canals. If you’re done sightseeing, just wander around, crossing these bridges, looking out at the waters and the gondola’s that traverse them.

After exploring the city, it was time for lunch. We decided to try something the locals would have for lunch, namely cicchetti, Italian tapas. I can’t remember the place we had lunch but it was near the San Marco square. We got a variety of little dishes, most with fish, some with meat and some vegetarian. It was absolutely delicious!

After lunch we walked around a bit more, enjoying the weather. The sun had come out and this made the city even more charming, if possible. I really fell in love with Venice, on this little trip and I can’t wait to go back one day!