After a 4 hour train trip from Rome, we arrived in Venice. The only train station I’m aware of with a canal running past its front. There to greet us was Alaria. She had organised a water taxi which took us and our bags through the canals of Venice, eventually reaching the Londra Palace. Our home for the next 4 days.

It’s a lovely hotel which has, in one guise or another, been receiving guests since 1857. It has both a bar and restaurant with terraces that look over the water.

If you are planning a trip to Venice then this could well be the relaxing retreat from the summer madness you are looking for.