Give Venice a break — this nearby Italian town has the canals and fairy-tale charm without the crowds

• Comacchio offers Venice-like canals and charm without the crowds or overtourism issues.

• The town features tranquil lagoons, pink flamingos, and eel cuisine.

Roughly 20 million tourists visit Venice, Italy, each year, shuffling shoulder to shoulder over tired bridges, crowding alleyways lined with souvenir shops, and snapping selfies from gondolas in congested canals.

For over a decade, overtourism in Venice has made life harder for residents.

Enter Comacchio — an Italian city less than two hours away with a similar landscape and vibe that most tourists have yet to discover.

Like Venice, Comacchio is made up of islands, where you’ll find canals rather than streets and historic, colorful buildings lining the waterways. But unlike Venice, this floating city is a hidden gem.

“It’s a very relaxed, frozen-in-time atmosphere,” Bologna-based blogger Andrea Chierici told Business Insider. “It’s a place that is calm with no crowds, no noise, and no big groups with the umbrellas.”

Historic lagoons home to pink flamingos

The proximity to Po Delta Park — which includes the Comacchio Lagoons, one of Italy’s largest wetland complexes, according to Po Delta Tourism — is one of many reasons to visit Comacchio. The park is part of a protected biosphere reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage site. A representative of the locally owned tour company, Comacchio Experience, said it’s a must-see for visitors.

“You can imagine the lagoon like a big lake, so you cannot see the horizon on the other side of this lagoon, but it’s not totally water,” the representative told Business Insider. “Inside the water, we have a lot of banks and houses of ancient fishermen.”

You’ll find many waterbird species in Po Delta Park, including the pink flamingo. Both experts recommend taking a walk, bike ride, or boat tour of the lagoons.

The representative of Comacchio Experience also recommends relaxing at the area’s wild beaches, which haven’t been taken over by tourists.

“This is a very different experience because in Italy, we have a lot of beaches, but there are umbrellas everywhere and loud music,” he told Business Insider. “But here, you can find a quiet and very free place.”

Eels are a seasonal delicacy

“If you like food, the main reason to go to Comacchio is the eel,” Chierici said.

The eel is a historic delicacy in Comacchio, celebrated with annual festivals.

“The original food of Comacchio, the eel, is a prehistoric fish that comes here naturally, and we’ve fished for 1,000 years,” the Comacchio Experience rep said. “This fish is so important because it was the only economy here until the last 70 years.”

The eel is a seasonal food that’s fresh in the fall but is preserved to eat all year long. Chierici said that the town has a fishing system that allows all of the smaller eels to go free.

“We keep the life cycle of the eel alive, which is very important because they make a long trip to come to Comacchio,” he told Business Insider. “They come from the Sargasso Sea to the unique landscape of the Po Delta Valley, especially near Comacchio, to reproduce.”

Chierici said that restaurants around town serve eel in various ways — from grilled entrées to sandwiches and risottos.

Nearby places

Comacchio is conveniently located about an hour away from many other historical cities, like Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara, making it a great base for a longer trip to Northern Italy, the Comacchio Experience representative said.

Within a half-hour drive, Chierici also suggests visiting Pomposa and Tresigallo for entrancing architecture.

6 things to do in Comacchio

1. Take a sunset boat tour. Both experts say the best way to explore Comacchio is by boat. According to the Comacchio Experience representative, sunset is the best time to go.

2. Go bird watching at Po Delta Park. Chierici suggests taking a bird-watching tour to find pink flamingos in the lagoon.

3. Tour the eel factory. Chierici suggests touring the Manifattura dei Marinati to see how eel is marinated and preserved.

4. Try eel in all its forms. Eel is prepared various ways in Comacchio. Try it at one of Chierici’s favorite restaurants: Vasco e Giulia, La Barcaccia, and Al Cantinon.

5. Attend the fall food festival. Both experts suggest visiting in the fall to attend the annual Sagra dell’Anguilla, a food festival celebrating the eel.

6. Visit nearby cities and towns. Both sources say it’s worth visiting nearby places like Tresigallo, Pomposa, Ravenna, Bologna, and Ferrara.

And if you must go to Venice, it’s just an hour and a half away.

Read the original article on Business Insider