Milan’s Canals Rival Venice’s Famous Waterways

by Catherine Bodry on

My experience in Milan was speedy and dirty; I had a several-hour layover in the city that I spent wandering around outside the train station. I literally had pesto between my toes, a pigeon that ate some bad Chinese pooped all over me, I witnessed one of the drunk men lounging on the overgrown grass outside the station break a bottle over another drunk guy’s head, and I paid 3 Euro ($6) for a can of juice. Needless to say, I felt I had little incentive to return, when there are so many other wonderful places in Italy, until I read this article about Milan’s magnificent canals.

I might have extended my layover if I’d known that Milan has a series of canals that stretches three times longer than Venice’s famous waterways. Emanuele Errico, chairman of Lombardy canals, maintains that “this density of canals joining a great city to the surrounding countryside is an example that is almost unique in the world.”

Regional leaders are hoping to refurbish the centuries-old system that made landlocked Milan a top Mediterranean port. Around 70 percent of the canals, which were once overseen by Leonardo Da Vinci, need to be rebuilt. Whether or not they are, I’ve now got a reason to visit Milan.

Thanks to Astilly on Flickr for the photo of a canal in Milan’s Navigli District.

Where Are The Most Expensive Hotels? Moscow Tops The List, For One …

by Martha Edwards on

Airfare might be getting more affordable, but even if you get to a destination, you might not be able to get a place to stay, especially if you find yourself in Moscow, Venice, New York, Amsterdam or London. In Moscow, for instance, four-star accommodations average 332 euros a night.

But all hope’s not lost — you just might have to change your vacation plans a bit. Cape Town, South Africa; Guangzhou, China and Orlando, Florida are among the most affordable places to stay. In addition, Cairo, Frankfurt, Budapest and Berlin have the best-priced four-star accomodations. So, if you’re looking into a European vacation, travelling Eastern Europe is your best bet — Poland and Hungary in particular. Sure, there’s no Big Ben, but you’ll beat the horrific crowds too.

For more handy travel stats, check out this article.

Be Respectful or Face a Fine in Venice

by Martha Edwards on

A while back, I wrote about vendors in Venice jacking up the price of goods for rude tourists. Now it appears as if the people of Venice are taking it a step further and implementing fines for tourists who don’t respect the rules of the city. And these fines can range from 25 to 500 euros — ouch! The city is being patrolled by t-shirted stewards who will alert police if the rules are broken. So far, 100 tourists have been fined.

Punishable crimes include laying out food, walking about bare-chested or treating the Grand Canal like a beach, and implementing fines is the city’s effort to uphold its image as a mecca of fine art and sophistication. Still, I don’t see what’s wrong with having an innocent picnic every now and then …

Venice Is Overrated

by Iva Skoch on

While everyone should see Venice at least once, I don’t understand why people find it romantic. I mean, the place is packed with tourists! You can’t be left alone for two seconds before you are either a) in someone’s picture, or b) being asked to take a picture of someone.

The population of Venice has been cut in half in the last 40 years and if the trend continues, there will be no residents of Venice left by 2030. The local color is dissapearing to make space for more tourist buses. I came to the conclusion that Venice must be romantic for the same people who like to proclaim their love for each other in public (i.e., marriage proposals at baseball games.)

I started thinking about Venice when reading the MSN’s 10 Romantic Escapes tips with number 10 featuring, you guessed it, Venice. Bora-Bora, Paris and Dubrovnik, other contenders, I can live with. The sub headline “Our favorite romantic escapes are guaranteed to rekindle a long-standing love, or kick a new one up a notch, all year long”, however, sounds too good to be true. If the relationship lacks romance, even Bora-Bora can be Boring-Boring.