Italians have a phrase "la dolce far niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing). I tend to associate it with being in the country, the beach or smaller towns/villages. It's not doing nothing and being bored but doing nothing and luxuriating in it. And it doesn't mean doing nothing as in a vacuum but rather doing for the joy of it. Venice is one of the few "big" cities where la dolce far niente comes naturally. Not at the hectic tourist points that tourist both flock to then complain about but rather in the back streets where you can be the only person on the street and it looks as if you've been transported back 400 years. Where you can just wander about and appreciate the beauty and tranquility of Venice and the micro of the moment is everything.