Hi CM1162, and thanks for your post. Anecdotally, I can tell you my son studied in Venice and then became a 'tour guide' out of Florence, Italy, for an entire year. Many of his excursions took him (and his group), to Venice. I do recall him telling us the canals put out quite a distasteful scent/aroma. This is something that is not made note of in the tour books. However, each time I spoke with him about us going with him (to Venice), on a future trip, he responded it wouldn't be worth it for him or us.
Now, I ask you to remember, this is an anecdotal experience, and you really may want to look into this yourself and then, make your own decision going forward.
What do you think?
Leon (site moderator)