By far the most famous destination in the Veneto region is Venice, but there's much more to the Veneto than its surreal and tiny canal city. In fact, as you might expect, Venice is the exception in the region rather than the rule.
Veneto is in the northeastern part of Italy, bordering the Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, and Trentino Alto-Adige regions, as well as Austria to the north. At the northernmost parts of Veneto, the landscape is quite mountainous. These mountains are the Dolomites, a part of the Alps, and from there the terrain slips downward to the expansive plains of the Po Valley and the Adriatic Sea.
Four of Italy's UNESCO sites are in Veneto, including the entirety of Venice and the historic center of Verona. Italy's contribution to celebratory toasts—sparkling Prosecco—is just one of the excellent wines produced in Veneto. Summer visitors head for the shores of Lake Garda, and in winter, skiers flock to the Dolomites.
Trenitalia's fastest high-speed trains don't yet serve any cities in Veneto, but Italo runs its high-speed trains to both Venice and Padua. Most cities are connected by regional trains, although in the rural areas and closer to the mountains it's harder to get around solely by train.
Photo credit: Rick Ligthelm