‘Is a Week Too Long in Venice?’

Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 04.10.08 | 12:33 PM ET

That’s the question posed recently by a Times of London reader, concerned that he may get “bored of the watery Italian city” before the week is up. “Perhaps we got carried away,” he writes, “as it now seems like a very long time.” Times travel expert Richard Green offers a perfectly reasonable answer, suggesting day-trippable destinations in the Veneto, but the response I kept waiting for—“Bored in Venice? Are you serious?”—never came. So here it is.

Dear Jack from Faversham: Bored? In Venice? Are you serious? First of all—and pardon the Dr. Phil moment here—I think boredom comes to those who seek it. There’s always more to learn and experience in any new place; a week isn’t long enough to completely exhaust any city in the world. Take a long walk. Sit in a park and people-watch. Try a new food. Visit an obscure museum. Talk to a bartender. Window shop.

It’s not that I have anything against day trips to the Veneto. It’s the set-up—the idea that the day trips might be a necessity, because Venice itself might be used up and discarded in less than a week—that bothers me. Not so long ago I spent a week in Venice, and I found plenty of activities to fill my time. I walked. I got lost. I stopped to eat and drink. I contemplated violating the city’s ban on public naps. I walked some more. The days flew by, and far from feeling like “a very long time,” my week in Venice wasn’t nearly long enough. I’ll be back—and Jack, I hope you will be, too.

Photo by soylentgreen23 via Flickr (Creative Commons)