Honeymoon in Venice

The moonlit gondola rides, the winding streets, and the sumptuous Italian food. It's no wonder so many lovers head to Venice for their honeymoon.

If your fiance courted you with the pasta and seafood dishes, you might be destined to glide along the Grand Canal, to smile over flutes of prosecco in one of the Piazza San Marco's open-air cafes and to savor each other's company wandering the city's watery maze.

Venice is actually hundreds of tiny islands hidden beneath palaces and churches and neighborhood shops, with hundreds of canals and footbridges connecting them. No roads, no cars. Along the Grand Canal you can catch the vaporetto, the maritime equivalent of the city bus, but otherwise you walk everywhere you go.

Meals always started with a bottle of vino di casa - the house wine. At an American restaurant, that would get you some cheap swill and an instant headache. But at a small family trattoria, the light, fruity wine chosen by the proprietor - sometimes with a label on the bottle, sometimes not - was a pleasant discovery.

Then you can order something from every course on the menu. Portions are small, nobody rushes you, and this gives you many opportunities to sample the bounty of Venice's fruitti di mari - fruits of the sea.

One spectacular restaurant is Terraza Danieli. You will sit atop one of the most elite and historic hotels in the world - one where Lord Byron and other born romantics stayed. You'll laugh and revel while attended by several professionally invisible waiters. The head waiter will scrutinize your order and compliment you on your choices (but gently make an adjustment because you've ordered too much).

The antipasto, the pasta, even the vegetables will be decadent. At one point in the meal, an immense platter of whole fishes will be brought to the table and filleted in front of you. Your wine glass will never go empty. Your napkin won't touch the floor without being replaced with a clean one. And when you leave, considerably poorer but richer for the experience, the staff will line up and thank you for the time you've spent with them.

IF YOU GO:

Lodging: Many tourists stay in the San Marco area to be close to the main attractions. But you can get a better hotel for less money in one of the other districts. La Residenza costs about $ 140 a night. The Hotel Rialto, along the Grand Canal, costs about $ 230 a night, off-season. Rooms are awash in velvet, gilt and marble.

Dining: Breakfast is generally included in the price of your hotel. A lunch of sandwiches and a shot of espresso at any "bar" in the city will run you only a few dollars. Smaller restaurants in the neighborhoods are your best bets at night.

What to do: Art and architecture lovers will swoon across Venice. For a couple of dollars, you can see an exhibit of Picasso paintings and sculpture. In the evening, take in a Vivaldi concert at La Pieta, the church where the famous composer was choirmaster.