Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1546600
34 | V O Y A G E R How had I lived in Italy for years without exploring it from the sea? Eight days from Venice to Rome aboard the Viking Mars® convinced me that sometimes the clearest way to know a country is to approach it from a different angle. Italy's Floating Palazzo: A Coastal Viking Odyssey Travellers usually zigzag Italy by train or car, lugging suitcases over cobbles, juggling hotel check-ins, wrestling with medieval parking, but a coastal voyage turns the journey into the destination. Opening the curtains each morning to wake in a new port is pure joy, while your familiar palazzo follows you, freeing you from packing and logistics and letting place after place reveal itself at a gentle pace. A truly magical way to start the day. Viking's ethos sets it apart from Mediterranean "themepark" ships. The Viking Mars carries 930 guests— intimate by cruise standards, and favours quiet refinement over gimmickry: no casinos, slides, or midnight buffets. Scandinavian design and Italian sophistication combine in light-filled public spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows framing the ever-changing seascape, and a restaurant program that treats food as culture, not mere fuel. The array of food and dining spaces on board is phenomenal and the friendly detailed service is second to none. VENICE: STARTING A WEEK ON THE WATER AT THE FLOATING CITY Sailing out of Venice at sunset is theatrical: San Marco emerged from the glittering grand canal as we glided past. We had been docked near the city centre which avoided the cruise-ship exile terminals and put us steps from the Rialto. Beyond St. Mark's and the Grand Canal, Venice's culinary soul lives in bacari (osteria) and markets. At Vino Vero I joined locals for cicchetti, bite sized morsels of sardines (sarde in saor) prawns, goat's cheese and more. Set on the Miscericorida canal, it's a great spot to take in the city with a glass of wine, with your toes almost in the canal. Beyond aperitivi and cicchetti, seek out the city's famed tiny sandwiches, tramezzini. Bar Toletta's spinach and ricotta are amongst the best. Whilst gondolas and water taxis offer a romantic way to explore, it's worth remembering wandering the city's tiny lanes, bridges and backstreets offer great insight into this unique city beyond the celebrated waterways. A visit to the Palazzo Conatrini del A r t i c l e o r i g i n a l l y p u b l i s h e d i n J u l y 2 0 2 6 i s s u e o f S e l e c t o r M a g a z i n e W o r d s b y A n n i e C o n l e y. Clockwise, from left: Venice, Italy; moored boats in the town of Giovinazzo; sardines on toast