View all the magnificent costumes in real time as they make their way up and down the Grand Canal. Enthral your friends with eye-witness descriptions of the most unusual costumes and masks with our daily archive of weird and wonderful costumes.

If that's not enough, you can pass yourself off as a local in Saint Marco's Square by checking out these photos from past carnival celebrations (beware, all is not always what it looks).

For a guaranteed success you could even pretend to be the incarnation of one of Henry James' characters - girls are suckers for romantic descriptions, especially where antique gondolas are involved.

Find out what Venetians have dressed up as since the times of Goldoni and Puccini.

Venice is synonymous with water, high tides and floods. Show off your knowledge of the watery lagoon by taking a tour of the sinking city - you'll have to download a plug-in before you go here .

Are your friends still sceptical? Dispel all doubts by talk to the gondoliers . . . in pure Venetian dialect.

You can lose yourself for hours in the winding alleys and back lanes of Venice. Drink up some of the atmosphere with this portal that has been specially designed with the visitor in mind.

So, who cares if you can't make it to Venice or Viareggio? You can celebrate Carnival in the comfort of your own home . . . but don't complain if the party gets out of hand!