Venice & Croatia by River & Sea

Arriving in Venice for the first time, or the tenth, never loses its power. The shared transfer from the airport brings you across the causeway and suddenly the city is everywhere: canals instead of roads, palazzos rising directly from the water, the sounds of bells and oars replacing traffic. S.S. La Venezia is moored in the heart of the historic city rather than at a distant cruise terminal, which means your floating hotel is itself part of Venice. Settle in, take an evening passeggiata along the waterfront and let the city set the tone for the seven days ahead.

A full day to immerse yourself in Venice with Uniworld’s local guides leading the way through the calli and campi that most visitors never find. The Rialto Bridge and the Doge’s Palace are essential, but the Dorsoduro sestiere with its Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Campo Santa Margherita’s neighbourhood life represent the Venice that residents actually inhabit. The evening in June means long light on the canals until 9pm and the city at its most atmospheric.

Explore the art-filled city of Padua, home to one of Europe’s oldest universities and Giotto’s Scrovegni Chapel, completed in 1305 and containing a fresco cycle considered one of the most important works in Western art history. The figures move and express emotion in a way that no painter had achieved before, and the chapel is booked by timed entry so Uniworld’s advance access is genuinely valuable. The University of Padua, founded in 1222 as the second oldest in Italy, still operates in the medieval city centre. The afternoon cruise to Mazzorbo, the quiet agricultural island connected to Burano by a wooden footbridge, is a complete contrast to the city morning.

Spend the morning on Burano, famous for its rainbow-coloured fishermen’s houses and centuries-old lacemaking tradition. The houses were originally painted to help fishermen identify their homes through the lagoon mist, and the tradition has been maintained with such commitment that residents must apply to the local authority to change the colour of their facade. The lacemaking tradition that made Burano famous across Europe dates to the 16th century and the Museo del Merletto documents the craft with extraordinary detail. Cruise south to Chioggia, a working fishing town where the boat-lined canals carry the catch rather than tourists and the atmosphere is entirely local, genuinely different from the tourist-dense north of the lagoon.

Chioggia rewards a full day’s exploration in a way that day-trip visits cannot. The Granaries of the Republic, the Palazzo Granaio and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with its Tiepolo altarpiece give the town a cultural depth that its “little Venice” nickname undersells. Explore the bustling fish market, the porticoed streets and the beautiful baroque cathedral in a town where authentic Italian life continues at its own pace, entirely without tourist crowds.

Bid farewell to Chioggia as you cruise back through the lagoon to Venice. The return approach across the water, with the Venetian skyline revealing itself gradually, the campanile of San Marco, the domes of the Salute and the spires of the Frari appearing one by one, is one of the finest ways to see the city. The private after-hours visit to St Mark’s Basilica this evening, when the crowds have gone and the gold mosaics are lit by the church’s own lamps, is one of the great experiences Uniworld offers on this voyage. Spend your final river cruise evening in the incomparable atmosphere of a city that belongs to itself after dark.

Another day to explore Venice at your own pace. The Accademia galleries, the Arsenale’s permanent exhibition on Venice’s naval history, the Fondazione Pinault at the Punta della Dogana for contemporary art, or simply sitting at a campo table with a Spritz watching Venetian life pass by. A free day in Venice is never wasted. S.S. La Venezia departs tomorrow for the final time, so this is the evening to book the restaurant that has been on the list all week.

Disembarking S.S. La Venezia this morning and boarding Azamara Onward at Fusina is one of the most seamless transitions in any back-to-back cruise combination available. Fusina is the mainland port just across the lagoon from Venice and the private transfer between the two ships is included. Azamara Onward departs at 6pm, which gives time for a final Venetian lunch before the Adriatic adventure begins. As the ship clears the lagoon entrance and the open Adriatic opens ahead, the scale of the journey changes completely.

Opatija is one of the Adriatic’s most elegant surprises, a resort town on the Istrian Riviera whose grand hotels, casino architecture and seafront promenade were built for the Habsburg elite and have survived almost entirely intact. Once a favourite retreat of Austro-Hungarian aristocracy, its grand villas, seaside promenade and lush gardens still exude old-world charm. The long Lungomare coastal path connecting Opatija with the neighbouring towns of Lovran and Volosko is one of the finest seaside walks in the northern Adriatic.

Zadar is one of Dalmatia’s most captivating cities, its compact peninsula of Roman streets, medieval churches and Venetian-era fortifications jutting into the Adriatic with a confidence that the more celebrated Dubrovnik sometimes overshadows. The Sea Organ on the waterfront is a one-of-a-kind instrument played by the waves, its underwater pipes producing continuous harmonics as the sea moves through them. The Sun Salutation installation beside it, a circular solar panel array that charges during the day and produces a light show at night, gives the waterfront a contemporary energy that sits comfortably alongside the 2,000-year-old Roman Forum a few streets inland. Alfred Hitchcock called the Zadar sunset the most beautiful in the world. The Church of St Donatus, a pre-Romanesque circular church built on top of the ancient forum’s column stumps in the 9th century, is the most distinctive building in the city.

Split is Croatia’s second city and one of the most extraordinary living historic sites in Europe, its entire old town built inside and around the walls of a 4th-century Roman emperor’s retirement palace. The heart of Split is Diocletian’s Palace, a remarkably intact complex whose walls enclose 220 buildings housing around 3,000 residents, restaurants, bars, a cathedral built inside a Roman mausoleum and a baptistry inside a Roman temple. The city buzzes with cafes, galleries and life that has nothing to do with preserving the past and everything to do with inhabiting it. The upper town Varos neighbourhood above the palace walls gives the best aerial view of the complex below and the Peristyle, the palace’s central courtyard, is one of the finest public spaces in Croatia.

Korcula is a walled medieval island town on the Dalmatian coast that most visitors discover by accident and immediately add to their list of finest places in Europe, its fish-bone street plan, Gothic and Baroque architecture and position on the Peljesac Channel making it one of the most perfectly formed small towns on the Adriatic. Said by some to be the birthplace of Marco Polo, the town’s medieval streets, local wineries and crystal-clear waters reward a full day’s exploration. The Moreska sword dance, a traditional performance unique to Korcula that has been performed on the island for over 400 years, runs on Thursday and Monday evenings during summer and is worth attending if the timing aligns with Azamara Onward’s schedule.

Dubrovnik is the finest walled city in the Adriatic and the walk along the 2-kilometre city wall circuit, with the terracotta rooftops of the old town below and the open sea above, is one of the great urban walks in Europe. Walk the magnificent city walls, explore the marble-paved Stradun or take the cable car up to Mount Srd for panoramic views over the old town and the islands beyond. June is peak season in Dubrovnik and the old town fills with visitors by mid-morning. The advantage of an Azamara overnight is that the early morning and late evening, when the city belongs to its 1,500 residents rather than the day-trip crowds, are both available. The Lokrum Island ferry from the old port, 10 minutes across the water, provides a green and peaceful contrast to the stone city.

Kotor is one of the Mediterranean’s most dramatic port arrivals, the Bay of Kotor narrowing to a final passage before the medieval walled city appears at the foot of the mountain. The walled medieval old town sits at the foot of steep mountains at the head of a stunning bay, its Venetian-era fortifications climbing the cliff face directly above the town to the fortress of San Giovanni 260 metres above the water. The climb to the fortress, 1,350 steps taking approximately 90 minutes, delivers the finest view of the Bay of Kotor available from land. The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, built in 1166 and one of the finest Romanesque churches on the eastern Adriatic coast, anchors the old town’s central square.

A sea day crossing the southern Adriatic and entering Greek waters as Azamara Onward heads toward Crete. The transition from the Dalmatian Coast’s limestone and cypress landscape to the drier, bleached quality of the Greek islands is visible in the light as much as the land. The Adriatic has given way to the Ionian Sea and the spirit of the journey shifts with it. Azamara Onward’s spa, the Den lounge and the poolside Patio deck are all at their best on a sea day in water this calm and warm. Chania, one of the finest cities in Greece, arrives tomorrow.

Chania is the most beautiful city in Crete and one of the finest in Greece, its Venetian harbour and lighthouse, Turkish minarets and Ottoman fountains layered over a Minoan foundation that stretches back 4,000 years. The old town’s labyrinthine lanes, the colourful lighthouse at the harbour entrance and the covered food market in the former Venetian loggia, with stalls selling graviera cheese, thyme honey and olive oil from the surrounding groves, are all within easy walking distance of the port. The Samaria Gorge, Europe’s longest canyon accessible by a 16-kilometre walk through the White Mountains, begins 45 kilometres from the city for those wanting a full day’s active excursion.

Arriving into Piraeus at 5am, the ancient port of Athens in continuous operation for 2,500 years, the city is still quiet as the private transfer takes you to your included 4-star hotel. Athens in late June is hot by mid-morning and the Acropolis is best visited as early as possible. The Parthenon, the Erechtheion with its Caryatid porch and the Temple of Athena Nike are all accessible before the main tourist crowds arrive. The Acropolis Museum directly below the hill is the finest purpose-built archaeological museum in Greece and provides the essential context for what stands above it.

Two nights in Athens to soak up one of the world’s great cities at your own pace before your journey home. The National Archaeological Museum on Patission Street holds the finest collection of ancient Greek art in the world, including the Antikythera Mechanism, the oldest known analogue computing device dating to around 100 BC. The Plaka neighbourhood below the Acropolis, the Monastiraki flea market and the neoclassical quarter of Kolonaki represent three completely different versions of the same ancient city. The rooftop restaurants of the Monastiraki district, with direct views of the Acropolis illuminated at night, provide the evening’s essential experience.

Your Venice and Croatia by River and Sea journey concludes this morning in Athens after 18 nights and two of Europe’s most extraordinary coastlines. From the lagoon islands of Venice to the walled cities of the Dalmatian Coast, the Bay of Kotor, the Venetian harbour of Chania and the Acropolis above Athens, this back-to-back combination has covered the finest stretch of the Mediterranean in a single connected journey. Transfer to Athens International Airport for your flights home, or ask your Cruiseabout specialist about extending your Athens stay.