Attraction
St Mark’s Basilica
Venice's cathedral on Piazza San Marco, a Byzantine-influenced church consecrated in 1094 with gold-ground mosaics, the Pala d'Oro altarpiece and the original bronze horses.
There are more things to do in Venice than its small size suggests, and the city repays visitors who slow down and explore beyond the obvious. Built on more than a hundred islands in a lagoon, it is divided into six sestieri: San Marco, with St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace; San Polo and Santa Croce, around the Rialto Market; Dorsoduro, home to the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Cannaregio, with the Jewish Ghetto and canal-side bars; and Castello, stretching east to the Arsenale. Beyond the centre, boats run to Murano, Burano, Torcello, Giudecca and the Lido.
Venetian food is built on the lagoon and the sea, from cicchetti and an ombra of wine in a bacaro to seafood risotto, sarde in saor and Michelin-starred tasting menus. Historic cafés line Piazza San Marco, and evenings bring opera at La Fenice, jazz in Dorsoduro and spritz along the fondamente of Cannaregio. Two days cover the main sights, while three or four days leave time for the lagoon islands and the quieter neighbourhoods where Venetians still live.
Attraction
Venice's cathedral on Piazza San Marco, a Byzantine-influenced church consecrated in 1094 with gold-ground mosaics, the Pala d'Oro altarpiece and the original bronze horses.
Attraction
The Gothic seat of the Venetian Republic's government, with the Great Council Chamber, Tintoretto's Paradise, the old prisons and the walk across the Bridge of Sighs.
Attraction
Venice's great collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries, with works by Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Carpaccio.
Attraction
Peggy Guggenheim's former Grand Canal home, now a museum of 20th-century art with works by Picasso, Pollock, Magritte, Dalí, Kandinsky and Brâncuși.
Attraction
The oldest crossing of the Grand Canal, a single-span stone arch completed in 1591 to a design by Antonio da Ponte, lined with shops on both…
Attraction
The 98.6-metre bell tower of St Mark's, rebuilt after its collapse in 1902, with a lift to the belfry and wide views over Venice and the…
Café
Venice's historic coffee house on Piazza San Marco, serving since 1720, with ornate rooms, tables on the square and a programme of live music.
Café
A historic café on Piazza San Marco, run by Giorgio Quadri from 1775 and now by the Alajmo family, serving coffee, tramezzini and pastries with live…
Café
A Cannaregio pastry shop and chocolatier near the station, open since 1906, known for Venetian biscuits, focaccia veneziana and a counter of fresh pastries.
Café
A gelateria on the Zattere waterfront, open since 1937, famous for its gianduiotto and for a terrace overlooking the Giudecca Canal.
Café
A Cannaregio coffee roastery founded in 1930 and now on Fondamenta dei Ormesini, roasting its own beans and serving espresso to locals.
Café
A small art nouveau pastry shop in San Polo, in business since 1742, selling Venetian biscuits, meringues, nougat and Carnival fritole.
Hotel
A grand hotel on the Riva degli Schiavoni, a few steps from the Doge's Palace, set in the Gothic Palazzo Dandolo and welcoming guests since 1822.
Hotel
A Grand Canal palace that became the residence of Doge Andrea Gritti in 1525, now a luxury hotel with a canal-side terrace, Bar Longhi and a…
Hotel
A luxury hotel in Palazzo Papadopoli on the Grand Canal in San Polo, with frescoed rooms, rare private gardens and the Arva restaurant.
Hotel
A small, family-run four-star hotel in a 16th-century palace beside the Rialto Bridge, with a terrace overlooking the Grand Canal.
Hotel
A four-star boutique hotel in Dorsoduro beside the Rio Novo canal, with a garden for breakfast and an evening lounge bar serving cicchetti.
Hotel
A family-run hotel near St Mark's Square, welcoming guests since 1965, with forty period-furnished rooms and a secret garden courtyard.
Bar
Giuseppe Cipriani's bar near the San Marco waterfront, opened in 1931, where the Bellini and carpaccio were created, and a declared Italian national landmark.
Bar
A rooftop cocktail bar on top of the Hilton Molino Stucky on Giudecca, with panoramic views across the Giudecca Canal to the domes and towers of…
Bar
A craft cocktail bar facing the Basilica dei Frari, known for inventive drinks made with fresh homemade bases and a focus on reducing waste.
Bar
Venice's dedicated jazz club by the Ponte dei Pugni in Dorsoduro, with live concerts from 21:00 to 23:00 on most nights and tickets sold online.
Bar
A lively Cannaregio bacaro on Fondamenta degli Ormesini, with a boat moored on the canal for seating, cicchetti, meat platters and late hours.
Bar
A historic wine bar near the Rialto Market, dating its origins to 1462 and said to have been frequented by Casanova, serving wine and francobolli sandwiches.
Restaurant
Two-Michelin-star restaurant in Palazzo Venart on the Grand Canal, where chef Donato Ascani cooks lagoon produce and grilled dishes for Enrico Bartolini's group.
Restaurant
The Alajmo family's Michelin-starred restaurant above Gran Caffè Quadri, reinterpreting Venetian classics in historic rooms overlooking Piazza San Marco.
Restaurant
A modern Michelin-starred restaurant in Castello with an open kitchen, tasting menus by chef Salvatore Sodano and a cellar of almost a thousand mostly Italian wines.
Restaurant
A long-established San Polo trattoria for traditional Venetian seafood, from sarde in saor and baccalà mantecato to fried moeche crabs in season.
Restaurant
A family-run Castello restaurant founded in 1987 in an early 20th-century osteria, serving traditional Venetian seafood with vegetables from its own Sant'Erasmo garden.
Restaurant
A Burano trattoria run by the Barbaro family for four generations, famous for its risotto di gò made with lagoon goby and for wood-grilled fish.
Thing to do
Venice's historic food market beside the Rialto Bridge, with a fish market under the Pescheria loggia and fruit and vegetable stalls in the surrounding squares.
Thing to do
Venice's opera house, opened in 1792 and twice rebuilt after fires, offering opera and concerts in the evening and self-guided visits of its gilded auditorium by…
Thing to do
The museum of Venetian glass on the island of Murano, open since 1861, tracing the history of glassmaking from ancient blown vessels to Murano murrine.
Thing to do
A fishing island in the northern lagoon, about 7 km from Venice, known for its brightly painted houses, its lace-making tradition and the leaning bell tower…
Thing to do
A late Gothic palace courtyard near Campo Manin with an external spiral staircase of arches, climbed for a rooftop view over San Marco.
Tour operator
A non-profit of expert women instructors teaching voga alla veneta, standing Venetian-style rowing, in traditional boats from Cannaregio, all year round.
Tour operator
A kayak tour company in Cannaregio, owned by Classic Boats Venice, running guided canal tours, full-day lagoon trips to Burano and private outings.
Tour operator
A Venice walking tour group running two free daily English-language walks, Hidden Venice and Venice through the centuries, with mandatory online booking.
Tour operator
A Venetian social enterprise offering private walks, rowing, night photography and artisan workshops with licensed locals, as an alternative to mass tourism.
Tour operator
An Italian tour company running small-group and private Venice tours, including St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries, lagoon islands and boat tours.
Two days cover St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto and the main museums, while three or four days allow time for Murano, Burano and the quieter neighbourhoods
San Marco is the most central for sightseeing, Dorsoduro and San Polo offer a more relaxed atmosphere close to the museums and the Rialto, and Cannaregio is good value and convenient for the station
From Marco Polo airport, Alilaguna water buses run to the historic centre, buses run to Piazzale Roma, and water taxis go direct to many hotels
Venice is one of the more expensive cities in Italy, especially around St Mark's Square, but cicchetti bars, markets and neighbourhood trattorie keep costs down; day-trippers may also need to pay an access fee on certain peak days, so check the city's official website
Venice is generally very safe, with low levels of violent crime; watch for pickpockets on crowded vaporetti and around the Rialto and St Mark's, and take care on wet steps and bridges