Venice is one of them.

Technically, it’s in Italy. Spiritually, it feels like its own country. Built on more than 100 small, stilt-standing islands connected by over 400 bridges, Venice was a powerful maritime republic long before it joined Italy. That independence still lingers in the air, atmosphere, and definitely canals. 

The architecture is unmistakably Renaissance, yet everywhere you look are hints of Byzantine and Arabic influence–arched windows, intricate mosaics, and palaces that seem equally at home in Europe and the Middle East. It feels less like an Italian city and more like a beautiful mashup of continents.

The adventure begins before you even arrive.

Forget renting a car or calling an Uber. From Marco Polo Airport, take the Alilaguna boat taxi. Gliding across the Venetian Lagoon and Grand Canal as church towers and centuries-old buildings materialize on the horizon is one of the world’s great arrivals. It doesn’t feel like transportation as you snake your way through the entire city. In fact, it’s the most memorable airport transfer I’ve ever been on.

By the time I stepped onto San Marcos stone walkways, I instantly knew this place was special.

With only seven hours on layover, I booked a highlights walking tour through GetYourGuide.com. Within minutes, I quickly learned how walkable, delightful, and charming this timeless city is. An engineering miracle built on millions of underwater, wood pilings masquerading as a work of art.

The biggest surprise wasn’t what Venice has. It’s what it doesn’t. No cars. No motorcycles. No bicycles. No electric scooters weaving through pedestrians. To ensure the narrow streets are clear, not even sitting on the streets is allowed. 

Here everything moves either by boat or on foot. Groceries arrive by boat. Ambulances are boats. Delivery trucks are boats. Even hearses are boats. Without engines echoing through the “streets,” conversations overtake traffic noise, and the gentle splash of canal water becomes the city’s soundtrack–a rhythm unlike anywhere else.

Some of my favorite moments came while accidentally turning down nameless passageways that opened into tiny squares occupied by neighborhood cafés. One minute you’re crossing the famous Rialto Bridge with hundreds of other visitors. Minutes later you’re wandering a deserted alley where laundry hangs overhead, neighborhood cats patrol tiny courtyards, and locals chat across canals as if millions of annual tourists never existed.

Food follows the same philosophy. Skip the tourist menus with glossy photos and wander a few streets away for fresh pasta, seafood, risottos, and cicchetti — the Venetian answer to Spanish tapas. When visiting these hidden, quieter parts of the city with far fewer crowds, you won’t want to leave. 

Sadly I left too early. I came expecting to check Venice off a bucket list. Instead, I left wanting an entire week. A single day barely scratches the surface.

If you’re planning your first visit, timing matters. The crowds can be overwhelming, if not debilitating during peak summer months. But March and September offer a sweet spot of milder weather, fewer visitors, and more tranquility. Wear comfortable shoes because you’ll walk far more than you expect crossing bridge after bridge. Pack light since rolling luggage over stone steps gets old fast. And don’t over-schedule your day. Venice is best explored walking every nook and cranny to the last dead end.

I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some of the world’s most extraordinary cities. Rio de Janeiro, Kyoto, Cusco, Hong Kong, and Istanbul are all unforgettable. Venice belongs in that same distinctive conversation, if not topping it. A floating metropolis that still thrives more than 1,500 years later. If ever a place deserved the description, “Like nothing you’ve seen before,” Venice is it. 

I came for a day. I should have stayed four. Maybe even seven.

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and seasoned travel journalist to all seven continents. He lives in Provo, Utah with his wife, five children, and one ferocious chihuahua.