Leave the best moment till last - Venice, Italy

Usually the least pleasurable part of travel is airport transport, particularly to meet a plane that is leaving with the dawn chorus. The exception to this particular rule is if you are flying on a plane that is scheduled to leave Venice's Marco Polo airport between about 06.00 and 07.00 in the morning. If this is the case, it is worth every single extra Euro to ask your hotel to arrange a water taxi to the airport.

As you wait by your building's water entrance in the dawn mist, you hear the boat glide up, a whispered conversation in Italian as your luggage is thrown aboard and then a hand comes out of nowhere to help you over the slippery steps.It is very, very Casanova.

Leaving the city canals, the boat bounces through the windy lagoon at restriction busting speeds. Turn back to face Venice and you will see the sun start to rise turning the spires, bridges and rooftops of the fading city blood orange.

Further details:

• A number of flights leave in the bewitching hour from Venice Marco Polo. Depending on your final destination, two reasonably useful ones might be British Airways flight 2585 to London Gatwick leaving at 06.20 www.ba.com or Alitalia flight 1460 to Rome leaving at 06.36 www.alitalia.com
• In a hyper-expensive city, the Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo is a good option. It is in a traditional Venetian building with a very romantic courtyard overlooking a side canal and has the all important water entrance. The rooms are decorated in an 18th century style with Murano glass touches www.alpontemocenigo.com