Piazza San Marco (St.Mark's Square).

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For most, the Piazza of San Marco is the heart of Venice. Most people are drawn there simply because of the buildings that are on the perimeters of the square. Around the outside of the square are pavement cafes and restaurants. It is 'THE' place to people watch and soak up the atmosphere but at a price of course! If you want to sit and have a coffee it alone will cost you in the region of £17-£20 or $23+ or around 20 Euro for the experience. Now I mention the experience because it is not just some kind of starbucks or costa this is soaking up the atmosphere with small string quartets on band stands playing popular music whilst you sit sipping your wonderful Italian coffee. Actually, if you want a decent meal in Venice. Do not eat in St Marks square, slip out of the square to some of the side streets away from this tourist attraction and find a little Trattoria or Osteria to eat some delicious Italian food. St Marks square also contains among other things the Basilica of St Mark which is a beautiful and stunning piece of architecture. It is attached to the Doges palace next door. If you think the outside is beautiful wait till you step inside the building. The descriptions will wait for another post. There is also St Marks Tower which gives a bird's eye view of Venice. Also opposite St Marks Basilica, there is a building with a massive glass screen clock. To the right of that is an unremarkable looking building a former church where the L’Orchestra dei Virtuosi di Venezia perform Le Quattro Stagioni. Vivaldi's four seasons. Most of the water bus routes call into St Marks hence it being so busy. People converge on this very popular area to view the gondola's moored at the edge of the promenade, over- looking the lagoon, the Doges palace, Basilica and all of St Marks. It is extremely busy and the queues are very long to get into these places. It is a good idea to pre-book your tickets. You could spend hours here gawping at these buildings and at the laughing, giggling tourists waiting patiently to go into these amazing buildings.