We had been warned however, that the heat of summer is not the best time to visit Venice either, as the canals tend to, umm, smell rather strongly.
As we made reservations late, we stayed on the �mainland� and took advantage of our hotel�s shuttle bus to the island. It worked very well, but now that we�ve learned how the waterbus system works, we would try to stay on the island next time. It is easy to park in the parking deck at the entrance to the island and take a vaporetto (waterbus) to a point close to your hotel. There are SO many people doing it, it�s easy to just follow the crowd to the right place!
There were LOTS of people visiting also, since it was a holiday weekend. Friday was much less crowded than Saturday, so we were lucky that we had spent Friday wandering around the main area of Venice, visiting the main sites. We�d recommend visiting the Jewish quarter and getting a tour of the synagogues � the history lesson is very interesting. Also, the Scuola Grande de San Rocco which is covered with works by Tinteretto is incredible � VERY worth the trip to the San Polo quartier. We enjoyed just wandering the tiny streets, window shopping, and observing the busy water traffic. We also enjoyed having coffee on St. Mark�s square ( for a �small� fee!) and listened to 4 man orchestras play. Saturday was incredibly crowded and so we took the vaporetto out to the island of Murano which is famous for glass-blowing.
We very much enjoyed our trip, and would recommend it to anyone � couples or familys! It�s a different way of life and it�s very interesting to talk to persons who grew up on Venice. For more information on driving routes, hotels, restaurants, etc. you can contact Es (from the travel log) or Robin.
Bon Voyage!