When thinking of Venice I think of the velvet-padded gondolas. It is an obvious and cliché choice of experiencing Venice. The ride through the winding Grand Canal is elegant, slow, with unusual silence permitted by the absence of cars and beautiful views of pastel old buildings with entrances on the canal's side. Same (or even better) is if you're staying in an apartment with a balcony above the canal with singing gondoliers paddling below you every few minutes. Oh, la dolce vita.