All of the movies and photos and books you've read about Venice can't really prepare you for the

moment when you step from a water taxi straight into the Piazza San Marco. Golden mosaics and pink palazzos…a traffic-jam of gondolas…the somber quiet of princely museums and the lazy flap of an umbrella over your table at the edge of the Grand Canal. Classic Journeys will see to it that you get that Venice that you've always imagined…and then we'll take you further. To the cheerfully painted fishing village of Burano. Into the private studios of glass-blowers and lace-makers. Through the maze of back streets where flowerboxes outnumber the Tintorettos. We'll also transport you back in time to the lovely mainland the original Venetians left behind (though today it's hard to imagine why). Known as the Veneto, it's Italy at its most graceful. We'll tour the stately villas that line the Brenta River, wander the medieval village of Asolo, and stroll through hilly vineyards in the shadow of the Alps. Altogether, it's a memorable chance to step past the expected and discover the true richness of this fabulous region.