Spotlight on Venice

If you haven’t visited Venice before, the tales of overcrowding can be a little off-putting. But the city is popular for a reason (the way its Renaissance and Gothic architecture seems to balance on water, for starters), so choose to visit it at a quieter time of year (October to May) and you’ll see it in its full glory.
While of course visitors must see St Mark’s Square (climbing the Campanile bell tower to view the city’s red roofs), St Mark’s Basilica and the Rialto Bridge, one of the real highlights of Venice is simply ambling from Venetian tapas bar to tapas bar, grazing on crostini, sarde and plenty of spritz.
But what many visitors to Venice don’t realise is how easy it is to reach the floating city by train. Hop on a Eurostar train from London to Paris, then change for a train through to Turin. Spend the night in this unexpected gem of a city before continuing onwards to Venice the next day.
If that sounds appealing, why not consider extending your trip to take in Rome by train too? From Turin, it’s just under five hours to the centre of Rome, where again, this city comes into its own in the quieter, cooler months of winter. Take in the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel and centuries of rich history before taking the train on to Venice, just under four hours away.