Fun Venice attractions include: Doge’s Palace (one of the most famous buildings in Venice, representing Venetian Gothic architecture at its best), St. Mark’s Square & Bell Tower, St. Mark’s Basilica (the most famous church in Venice), Frari Church (one of the greatest churches in Venice), and the Rialto Bridge (Venice’s most famous bridge and the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal).
Bridge of Sighs – “Eternal Love”
Legend has it that if you kiss on a gondola at sunset under the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), you will be assured “eternal love.” We kissed on a gondola at sunset under the bridge on our honeymoon and have been happily married for over 25 years. 🙂
The Bridge of Sighs crosses the Rio di Palazzo, a small canal off the Grand Canal in Venice. In the 19th century, Lord Byron gave the bridge its name because it connects the interrogation rooms of the old Doge’s palace to the prison. The view of Venice out of the windows was the last thing the convicts saw before being locked up; hence the “sigh.” Other less-famous Bridge of Sighs are located in Britain (there are three of them), plus one in New York, one in Peru and one in Frankfurt, Germany.