'Everyone must visit Venice at least once. It’s that special'

A groovy metallic lift took me to my room: one of 52 with their 100 windows in all overlooking the lagoon and each with differently coloured drapes. Mine, in aquamarine blue, cleverly blended with the water beyond. How romantic to wake up and open the shutters to the central hub of boats overlooking San Giorgio island. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Such a thoroughfare with such beauty. Relais & Châteaux aim “to create delicious journeys” and so it proved. I simply loved this hotel.

Adam on the water in Venice (Image: free)

To travel and site-see at leisure I recommend a Venezia Unica City Pass (www.veneziaunica.it/en/). Take a vaporetto by night up and down the Grand Canal and peer at the gilded ceilings and expansive rooms of the opulent palazzos. If you spot a green church door open pop in as often they are shut. Take the lift at San Giorgio Maggiore for a panoramic view of the lagoon as it’s quicker and cheaper than St. Mark’s campanile.

Right by the Rialto bridge is the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the former 12th century German warehouse-cum-market. It’s now a luxury shopping emporium with a fantastic view of the city from its 4th floor rooftop. Relatively new and central on its ground floor is Amo, Rialto (https://alajmo.it/en/pages/homepage-amo), a restaurant designed by Philippe Starck. Here shoppers busily eat by day and couples leisurely by night. In my romantic booth on my chic, striped banquette I enjoyed my white and green asparagus with seaweed sauce and mullet bottarga.

Four nights is a good length of stay. Don’t try and take in everything as it’s too visually arresting. I like to temper the crowded central sites with the outer parishes. So I avoid the hordes who sheepishly follow the yellow arrow from the station via the Rialto to St Mark’s Square. I walk the wide expanse of the quaysides and their exposure to the sea.

For a special treat, overlooking the lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore, try Vero at Ca’ di Dio (https://vretreats.com/en/ca-di-dio/restaurants-bar/). An abbreviation of ‘Venetian Roots’, it pays culinary respect to its courtyard garden and the local markets. It’s minimal and modern, discreet and low-lit. A chunky Murano glass door led me to a ceiling printed with goldfish, fruit and vegetables and replicated on the menus and aprons. It’s a gourmet delight comprising a range of taster menus and pared with wines. The cuisine is so refined and precise that my plate had four varieties of tomato.

I stayed next at Radisson Collection Hotel, Palazzo Nani Venice (www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-collection-venice-palazzo-nani). Near the station and beside the Ghetto in the Cannaregio district, it’s the former residence of the ancient Nani family. Two fabulously long rooms on the 2nd (‘salone nobile’) and 3rd floors preserve the original features of stuccos, frescoes and exposed beams. The foyer is contemporary and chic with sculpture, teal walls and soft velvet chairs.

Zoja, meaning joy, is the hotel restaurant yards from the Jewish ghetto known for its traditional Cicchetti Veneziani, the local tapas. My room had a typical Venetian original coffered ceiling and exposed beams. There was space galore and super-plush bedding. Downstairs a shiny real black gondola is the signature feature on the terrace in the garden. Here I had my breakfast in utter tranquillity away from the crowds. What a way to start the day.

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Discretely tucked away yards behind San Mark’s Basilica is the family restaurant Il Ridotto (www.ilridotto.com). It means a club or withdrawing room as it’s a tiny, delightful gourmet restaurant. With only 9 tables it needs booking. I loved my raw tiger prawn marinated with soya sauce and green apple vinegar pared with the local Manzoni Bianco. A place of serenity and poise with all the world busying outside.

All my senses were engaged as the lack of combustion, save for the bustling water traffic, allows for the city’s unique absence of noise. Church bells admittedly chime but charmingly and differently from their bell towers. No one shares more insights than Jan Morris in “The Stones of Venice” and no guidebook can better that of Mitchell Beazley.

Superbly positioned in the middle of Piazza San Marco I indulged in a Bellini (prosecco and peach juice) outside at Grancaffè Quadri. Here I watched the world go by before entering Quadrino bistro (https://alajmo.it/pages/homepage-quadrino). Glorifying in its 1665 origins, it has two elegant rooms with banquettes with framed ancient paintings. Its vegetables coming from the nearby island of San Erasmo. It’s full of romance and quality and where to savour top modern Italian fayre.

Many new concepts began in Venice. Our open-air swimming pools come from the Italian Lido, the famous Venetian beach. The original 11th century Arsenal was the heart of the naval industry. The original 1516 Ghetto was established on the site of a foundry (‘getto’). The word quarantine derives from the Venetian dialect ‘quaranta giorni’ (forty days).

I took a half-day private tour of the islands with Classic Boats Venice (www.classicboatsvenice.com). On board ‘Sweet Molly’, an historic mahogany motorboat, my well-informed guide knew exactly when to proffer lunch and his knowledge of the fiery factories of Murano, the lace from the joyous colourful houses of Burano), the exquisite walk around Torcello, the sweet aroma of the cypresses of San Francisco del Deserto. And all so enhanced by the utter silence. A perfect dream boat experience for wedding couples.

A canal scene (Image: free)

To celebrate my last night I ate at Bacaromi at Hilton Molino Stucky (www.hilton.com), a former flour mill at one end of the Giudecca.

On the 8th floor the Skyline Bar has fabulous views of the sunset along the Zattere and down the Giudecca Canal. Outside, at ground level, under white canopies, from Chef Ivan Fargnoli’s new menu, I enjoyed my croaker fillet, escarole sauce, broad bean and red radish. Such a romantic spot at the very edge of the city.

The Venetians are similar to the Cornish: rugged, seafaring, separatist and mercantile, putting up with tourists if only for their spending. There’s an unholy alliance between the tourists scrambling for the best vantage point out in front of the vaporetto while the locals sit indifferently inside. To get to Venice from the airport needn’t be complicated. Venezia Porta Est (www.veneziaportaest.com) offered me an excellent transfer service collecting me and dropping me off in Piazzale Roma, the terminal where cars finish and boats start. They could even have arranged a private watertaxi. However I arrive the skyline of bell towers always summon me. When I leave it’s on the back seat of a vaporetto looking back forlornly and wistfully. I must return. It's a must on my bucket list!

Factbox: Adam had support from Heathrow Express www.heathrowexpress.com and from Holiday Extras www.holidayextras.co.uk (0800 316 5678) who offer airport lounges at all major UK airports and many international destinations). He was covered by online travel insurance specialist, CoverForYou (www.coverforyou.com, 0207 183 0885)