The Veneto      

VENICE
   HISTORY
   ORIENTATION
   INFORMATION
   SIGHTS
   ACTIVITIES
   WALKING TOUR
   VENICE FOR CHILDREN
   TOURS
   FESTIVALS & EVENTS
   SLEEPING
   EATING
   DRINKING
   ENTERTAINMENT
   SHOPPING
   GETTING THERE & AWAY
   GETTING AROUND
AROUND THE VENETO
   BRENTA RIVIERA
   PADUA
   VICENZA
   VERONA
   VERONA’S WINE COUNTRY
   DOLOMITES


From the look of it, you’d think Venice spent all its time primping. The Grand Canal’s Gothic palaces generously allow visitors to bask in their reflected glory and San Marco’s glittering mosaics entice the sunset to linger in Piazza San Marco. Gorgeous though it is, make no mistake: this city is a cultural powerhouse. At the height of its maritime trading empire, Venice’s dominion stretched from Constantinople to Croatia, and inland to Lombardy. From Brenta river villas to fortified hill towns across the Veneto, you’ll spot Venice’s emblem, the winged lion of St Mark, resting on an open book.

Yet despite its fame and influence, the Veneto isn’t quite an open book. With so many masterpieces, the Veneto’s splendours are constantly being revealed from under the veil of restoration: Palladios in Vicenza, Giottos in Padua, Mantegnas in Verona. Some private villas and palaces are now open to the public, offering tantalising glimpses of heaven in Tiepolo ceilings and Veronese frescoes around Vicenza and Venice.

No matter how well you know Italian food and wine, the Veneto offers unexpected delights. Several of Italy’s most prized wines are available only at small wineries in the Valpolicella and Soave regions, and there’s only one way to settle age-old debates over who does local seafood, wild duck, bigoli (wheat pasta) and risi e bisi (risotto with peas) best: eat your way across the Venetian countryside. Once you do, you’ll be back – it may not always be visible, but the Veneto has a way of leaving its mark on you.

HIGHLIGHTS

AREA : 18,378 SQ KM

POPULATION : 4.83 MILION

REGIONAL ITINERARY

Villas & Vino    Three days / Brenta Riviera / Venice

Drift along the Brenta Riviera on an easy bike ride or in a burchiello (flat-bottomed boat), stopping by the grand Veneto villas along the riverbanks like a Venetian socialite c 1600. Don’t miss Palladio’s ‘La Malcontenta’ (Villa Foscari;), the Tiepolo frescoes of Villa Pisani Nazionale and the Shoemakers’ Museum at 18th-century Villa Foscarini Rossi.

Boat trips end in Padua, where you can spend the night in a hotel overlooking the shrine of St Anthony (Sant’Antonio;), patron saint of miracle cures and lost and found objects. But don’t miss the small wonders next door in honour of St George: the frescoed Oratorio di San Giorgio and the Titian-filled Scoletta del Santo. With advance booking, you can see Padua’s crowning glory: Giotto’s frescoed Cappella degli Scrovegni, or head for the historic centre to linger at a cafe in Padua’s arcaded twin piazzas or tour its ground-breaking university, including Galileo’s lecture hall and the six-tiered anatomy theatre.

Hop the 15 to 30 minute train to Vicenza and spend the afternoon watching sunlight ripple across the soaring facades of Palladio’s palazzi and illuminate the storybook Villa Valmarana ‘ai Nani’, covered floor to ceiling with frescoes by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo. Enjoy happy hour in the long shadow of Palladio at 12th-century wine bar Antica Casa della Malvasia and spend the night in the designer-chic palace Relais Santa Corona.

Next day head to Verona, where mornings mean Mantegnas at Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore, afternoons call for window-shopping on Via Mazzini and coffee breaks in the Piazza delle Erbe, and summer evenings bring opera to the ancient Roman Arena. Romeo and Juliet was set on Verona’s romantic balconied backstreets and you shouldn’t leave town without trying the local love potion Amarone at a bar. Bunk in for the night at nearby Anfitheatro if you’re here for opera or head back to Venice (opposite) by train.

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VENICE

pop 61,500 (city), 268,700 (total including mainland)

Imagine the audacity of people deciding to build a city of marble palaces on a lagoon. Instead of surrendering to acqua alta (high water), like reasonable folk might do, Venetians flooded the world with vivid painting in Venetian reds, baroque music and modern opera, spice-route-crossroads cuisine, bohemian-chic fashions and a Grand Canal’s worth of spritz, the signature Prosecco-Aperol cocktail.

Finally, with the world’s most artistic masterpieces per square kilometre, you’d think Venetians would finally rest on their laurels for the next millennium or so. Yet in narrow calli (lanes) off the thoroughfares to San Marco, you’ll glimpse artisans hammering out shoes that look like fanciful birds, cooks whipping up four-star dishes on single-burner hotplates and musicians lugging 18th-century cellos to riveting baroque concerts with punk-rock bravado. Along the Grand Canal, cutting-edge architects and billionaire benefactors are transforming dreamy palazzi into eye-opening showcases for contemporary art. Your timing couldn’t be better: the people who made walking on water look easy are already well into their next act.

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HISTORY

A malarial swamp seems like a strange place to found an empire, unless you consider the circumstances: from the 5th to 8th century AD, Huns, Goths and sundry barbarians repeatedly sacked Roman towns along Veneto’s Adriatic coast. Crafty settlers rose above their swampy circumstances, establishing terra semi-firma with wood pylons driven into some 100ft of silt. The lagoon islands formed a loose federation, with each community electing representatives to a central Byzantine authority in Ravenna. When the Byzantine grip slipped, Venice seized the moment: in AD 726 the people of Venice elected their first doge (duke), whose successors would lead the city for more than 1000 years.

Next Venice shored up its business interests. The city accepted a Frankish commission of 84,000 silver marks to join the Crusades, even as it continued trading with Muslim leaders from Syria to Spain. When the balance wasn’t forthcoming from the Franks, Venice claimed Constantinople ‘for Christendom’ – but sent ships loaded with booty home, instead of onward to Jerusalem. After Venice was decimated by plague, Genoa tried to take over the city in 1380. But Venice prevailed, controlling the Adriatic and a backyard that stretched from Dalmatia to Bergamo.

Like its signature landmark, the Basilica di San Marco, the Venetian empire was dazzlingly cosmopolitan. Armenians, Turks, Greeks and Germans were neighbours along the Grand Canal, and Jewish communities and other groups persecuted elsewhere in Europe found refuge and work here. By the mid-15th century, Venice was swathed in golden mo­saics, imported silks and clouds of incense to cover the belching, sulphuric smells that were the downsides of a lagoon empire.

But events beyond Venice’s control took their toll. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Venetian territory of Morea (in Greece) in 1499 gave the Turks control over Adriatic Sea access. The Genovese gained the upper hand with Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492, calling dibs on New World trade routes. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama rounded Africa’s Cape of Good Hope in 1498, opening up new trade routes that bypassed the Mediterranean – and Venetian taxes and duties.

As it lost its dominion over the seas, Venice changed tack and began conquering Europe by charm. Venetian art was incredibly daring, bringing sensuous colour and sly social commentary even to religious subjects. The city became a playground for Europe’s upper crust; nunneries in Venice held soirées rivalling those in ridotti (casinos) and Carnevale lasted three months. Venetian nobles’ il­legitimate daughters were trained as musicians in ospedaletti (orphanages) by the likes of Vivaldi, and Venetian courtesans were widely admired tastemakers. By the end of the 16th century, Venice was known across Europe for its irresistibly catchy music and 12,000 registered prostitutes.

But when Napoleon arrived in 1797, Venice had been reduced by plague and circumstances to less than 100,000 people, and Venetian reputations as fierce partiers did nothing to prevent the French and Austrians from handing the city back and forth as a war trophy. By 1817, one-quarter of Venice’s population was destitute. When Venice rallied to resist the Austrians in 1848–9, a blockade left it wracked by cholera and short on food. The indignity would fester until Venice joined the independent kingdom of Italy in 1866.

The glamorous empire gradually took on a workaday aspect, with factories springing up on Giudecca and a roadway from the mainland built by Mussolini. Italian partisans joined Allied troops to wrest Veneto from Fascist control, but the tragedy of war and the shock of mass deportation of Venice’s historic Jewish population in 1943–44 shook Venice to its very moorings and many Venetians left for Milan and other postwar economic centres.

On 4 November 1966, disaster struck: record floods poured into 16,000 Venetian homes, stranding residents in the wreckage of 1400 years of civilisation. But once again, Venice’s cosmopolitan nature was a saving grace: assistance from admirers poured in – from Mexico to Australia, millionaires to pensioners – and Unesco coordinated some 27 private organisations to redress the ravages of the flood.

Today, with 60,000 official residents easily outnumbered by day-trippers, Venetians may seem scarce in their own city. Yet despite dire predictions, Venice has not yet become a Carnevale-masked parody of itself or a lost Atlantis. The city remains relevant and realistic, continuing to produce new music, art and crafts even as it seeks sustainable solutions to rising water levels. Venice remains anchored not merely by ancient pylons, but by the people who put them there: the Venetians.

VENICE IN…

Two Days

Adopt a Venetian pace and do the walking tour in two days instead of one, leaving more time for dining, chatting and stumbling upon hidden wonders. Stop sightseeing the first day after Punta della Dogana, spend the afternoon lolling on the sunny Zattere, then hop the vaporetto (small passenger ferry) to Giudecca for a romantic dinner with waterfront views of San Marco at I Figli delle Stelle. On day two, start at San Sebastiano, enjoy a leisurely coffee in Campo Santa Margarita, and leave yourself time after all those Titian and Tintoretto masterpieces to explore artisans’ studios in Santa Croce, before happy hour. End the night with a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal, and watch the lights turn to frenzied Tintoretto brushstrokes on the water.

Four Days

Veer off the tourist trail and devote a third day to divine Cannaregio and Castello. Tour the ghetto synagogues, then wander the fondamente (canalbanks) to Tintoretto’s home church of Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto, Renaissance gem Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli, many-splendored Zanipolo, and serene San Francesco della Vigna. Stop for lunch at an authentic Cannaregio osteria (bistro; Click here), and pause at Palazzo Querini Stampalia, for an ombra (glass of wine) in the Carlo Scarpa—designed garden before your Interpreti Veneziani concert. Island-hop your fourth day away, with blown-glass shopping in Murano, lunch in Burano and mosaics and bucolic splendour in Torcello.

One Week

Now you’ll get to be a regular at your favourite cafes and osterie, recognise the local specialities at the Rialto Market and find yourself striking up conversations in Venice’s sociable campi (squares). Sign up for a course, plan your days around a theme – Tiepolo ceilings, Lido beaches, cicheti (bar snacks), opera – or close your map and follow your instincts through Venice’s labyrinthine calli (lanes). Escape for a day to the Veneto countryside, villa-hopping or wine-tasting like a Venetian on vacation.

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ORIENTATION

Impossible though it seems, Venice is built on 117 small islands connected by 400 bridges over 150 canals. Across the expanse of shallow waters of the Laguna Veneta to the north are Murano, Burano and Torcello. To the east, the 10km Lido di Venezia serves as a breakwater for Venice, and to the south Palladio’s white marble edifices gleam from San Giorgio Maggiore and Giudecca.

Since 1171, Venice has been divided into six sestieri (districts): Cannaregio, Castello, San Marco, San Polo, Dorsoduro and Santa Croce. Although you can take a train or bus into Venice and a car ferry to the Lido, the only ways to navigate Venice are on foot or by boat (Click here). Directions to Piazza San Marco, the Rialto and Accademia are signposted on yellow signs – but the best adventures begin by ignoring those signs and wandering Venice’s backstreets.

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INFORMATION

Bookshops

Emergency

Internet Access

Laundry

Medical Services

Information on rotating late-night pharmacies is posted in pharmacy windows and listed in the free magazine Un Ospite di Venezia, available at the tourist office (see below).

Money

Several bank branches with ATMs cluster around the Rialto and Piazza San Marco; several exchanges are located by the train station and San Marco.

Post

Tourist Information

Pick up La Rivista di Venezia, a free monthly bilingual magazine with a handy Shows & Events listings insert.

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SIGHTS

Grand Canal

Public transport has never seemed so glamorous as the vaporetto No 1 route down the shimmering 3.5km stretch of the Grand Canal from the Piazzale Roma (Map) to San Marco. On the 45-minute commute, you’ll pass some 50 palazzi, six churches, four bridges, two open-air markets and other landmarks recognisable from scene-stealing cameos in four James Bond films.

The Grand Canal starts with controversy: the Ponte di Calatrava (Map), a luminous glass-and-steel bridge designed by modern Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. The Calatrava Bridge is the first to be built over the Grand Canal in 75 years, and its starkly streamlined fish-fin shape is the most visually pleasing aspect of the otherwise inelegant Piazzale Roma transit depot. But with a cost estimated at triple the original €4 million estimate, ongoing work to correct a 4cm tolerance and questions about wheelchair accessibility, some Venetians are grudging in their admiration.

Past the train station is the less controversial (and less lovely) 1934 Ponte dei Scalzi (Map). Just after the Riva di Biasio stop to the right is the Fondaco dei Turchi, the former Turkish trading centre, with a splendid double colonnade in polychrome marble topped by 13th-century Byzantine capitols and framed by watchtowers.

On the left past the Rio di San Marcuola is Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi (Map), the stately Renaissance palace that now houses the city’s casino (Click here). To the right after San Stae stop, the palazzo with a deep double arcade atop a faceted marble base is the 1623 Ca’ Pesaro, which houses the Galleria d’Arte Moderna and Museo d’Arte Orientale. On your left is Ca’ d’Oro (Golden House;), a 1430 Venetian Gothic marvel with filigreed rooftop crenellation that looks like a tiara.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR EURO

These passes can save you money on admissions to major Venice sights:

Next on the left is a particular point of Venetian pride: the Pescaria (fish market; Map; 7am-2pm), built in 1907 on the site where fishmongers have been slinging lagoon crab for 600 years. At the neighbouring Rialto Market (Map; 7am-3.30pm), Venetian vendors brag shamelessly about their castraure (baby artichokes), radicchio di Treviso (feathery red rocket), asparagi di Bassano (Bassano white asparagus) and other local, seasonal delights.

Tourists hang off the side of the Ponte di Rialto (Map) like gargoyles to get the best photo of the 1592 engineering marvel reflected in the waters below. Antonio da Ponte beat out Palladio for the Rialto commission, and though construction costs spiralled to 250,000 Venetian ducats – some 19 million euros in today’s terms – this elegant marble arc has a glow rivalling gold around sunset.

The next two bends in the Grand Canal could cause architectural whiplash. On your left are two Renaissance beauties: the Palazzo Grimani, designed by Sanmicheli, followed by Mauro Cordussi’s Palazzo Corner-Spinelli. When the canal swings left, look to your right at late-Gothic Ca’ Foscari, the seat of Foscari University, famed for (naturally) its architecture program. On the left around the next bend, you’ll spot avant-garde sculpture installations on the dock of 18th-century Palazzo Grassi, which French magnate François Pinault transformed into a cutting-edge art museum. Opposite, Baldassare Longhena’s Ca’ Rezzonico is a baroque jewel box filled with gems of 18th-century art and Tiepolo ceilings.

The wooden Ponte dell’Accademia was built in 1930 as a temporary replacement for a 19th-century metal bridge, but with a high arch like a cat’s back, it’s a beloved landmark. Past the Accademia on the right, stone lions flank the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, where American heiress Peggy Guggenheim collected ideas, lovers and art with gusto, establishing the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Two buildings down, the multicoloured marble facade of the 1487 Palazzo Dario is shadowed by an urban legend that anyone who lives here is destined for a terrible death – which local gossips say dissuaded Woody Allen from buying the place.

On your right, you can’t miss Baldassare Longhena’s Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute, with its dramatic dome and octagonal layout. The last landmark on the right is the Punta della Dogana, a historic customs warehouse that architect Tadao Ando reinvented as a public showcase for François Pinault’s contemporary art collection.

The grand finale is ahead on your left: the pink Gothic Palazzo Ducale and its adjoining Bridge of Sighs. Venice’s historic preservation rules have prevented chain stores from taking over the waterfront, but the city has recently allowed corporate sponsors to drape palaces undergoing restoration with publicity banners. Given the wide-ranging outcry from residents and the British Committee for the Preservation of Venice, by the time you read this, the Bridge of Sighs may have emerged from under wraparound Lancia car ads and the Palazzo Ducale should be retired from its brief, inglorious career shilling Swatches.

Piazza San Marco

Not usually known for his powers of understatement, Napoleon was lowballing when he proclaimed Piazza San Marco (Map) the ‘finest drawing room in Europe’. Your entrance to Piazza San Marco is heralded by live orchestras at 18th-century cafes under Napoleonic porticos flanking the square – but no amount of pomp, circumstance and decadent hot chocolate can prepare you for the otherworldly spectacle of the Basilica di San Marco (St Mark’s Basilica; Map; 041 522 56 97; www.basilicasanmarco.it; Piazza San Marco; basilica entry free, access to Pala d’Oro/Loggia dei Cavalli & Galleria/Tesoro €2/4/3; 9.45am-5pm Mon-Sat, 2-4pm Sun & holidays).

Luminous angels trumpet the way into San Marco in glittering mosaics above vast portals. Inside, the soaring stone structure still sets standards for razzle-dazzle, from the intricate geometry of 12th-century polychrome marble floors to 11th-to-15th-century mosaic domes glittering with millions of gilt-glass tesserae (tiles).

This showstopper took a brains trust of Mediterranean artisans almost 800 years and grand larceny to complete. Legend has it that Venetian merchants smuggled the corpse of St Mark out of Egypt in AD 828; the arrival of St Mark’s body in Venice is depicted in mosaics dating from 1270 on the left of the facade. Riots and fires thrice destroyed exterior mosaics and weakened the basilica’s underlying structure, so Jacopo Sansovino and other church architects grafted on supports and every precious marble available by purchase or pillage. Occasionally higher purpose got clouded over in construction dust: St Mark’s bones were misplaced twice. Church authorities in Rome took a dim view of Venice’s tendency to glorify itself and God in the same breath, but Venice finished San Marco in its own East-meets-West style: Eastern onion-bulb domes, a Greek cross layout, Gothic arches and Egyptian marble walls.

CHEAP THRILLS ON THE GRAND CANAL: TRAGHETTI

A traghetto is the gondola service locals use to cross the Grand Canal where there is no nearby bridge. It costs just €1, but be prepared for a balancing act: all passengers are expected to stand for the duration of the gondola ride across the canal. Traghetti typically operate from 9am to 6pm, although some routes finish by noon; for major traghetto crossings, consult maps on Click here and Click here.

The roped-off circuit of the church is free and takes about 15 minutes. In niches flanking the main door as you enter the narthex (vestibule) are the glittering Apostles with the Madonna, who looks stunning for her age: at more than 950 years old, these are the oldest mosaics in the basilica. Another medieval masterpiece is the Dome of Genesis, which depicts the separation of sky and water and angels with surprisingly abstract, conceptual motifs that anticipate modern art by 650 years. The golden central dome is the 13th-century Cupola of the Ascension, where you’ll note angels swirling overhead and dreamy-eyed St Mark on the pendentive (dome support).

Alabaster chalices, icons and other Crusades booty in the Tesoro (Treasury; admission €3; 9.45am-5pm Mon-Sat Apr-Oct, to 4pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar, 2-4pm Sun & holidays) can’t quite compare to the bejewelled Pala d’Oro altarpiece (admission €2; 9.45am-5pm Mon-Sat Apr-Oct). Tucked behind the high altar that towers above St Mark’s sarcophagus, this hidden treasure contains almost 2000 emeralds, amethysts, sapphires, rubies, pearls and other gemstones. More impressive still are the miniscule saints’ portraits and lively biblical scenes in vibrant cloisonné, begun in Constantinople in AD 976 and elaborated by Venetian goldsmiths in 1209.

San Marco was officially the doge’s chapel until 1807, and the doge’s far-reaching influence is highlighted by gilt bronze horses upstairs in the Galleria (Museo di San Marco; admission €4; 9.45am-5pm Mon-Sat, 2-4pm Sun & holidays). Through the Galleria you can access the Loggia dei Cavalli, where reproductions of the bronze horses gallop off the balcony over Piazza San Marco.

Note that you’ll need to be dressed modestly (ie knees and shoulders covered) to enter the basilica, and large bags must be left around the corner off Piazzetta San dei Leoni at Ateneo di San Basso, where you’ll find free one-hour baggage storage (Map; 9.30am-5.30pm).

The basilica’s 99m-tall Campanile (Bell Tower; Map; 041 522 52 05; www.basilicasanmarco.it; admission €8; 9am-9pm Jul-Sep, to 7pm Apr-Jun & Oct, 9.30am-3.45pm Nov-Mar) has been rebuilt twice since its initial construction in AD 888. Critics have called the tower ungainly, but when it suddenly collapsed in 1902, Venetians rebuilt the tower exactly as it was, brick by brick. Due to ongoing stabilisation efforts, the Campanile may not be accessible on your visit.

Next door to the basilica, the splendour and intrigue of the Venetian Republic are captured in the Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace; Map; 041 271 59 11; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Piazzetta di San Marco 52; adult/child incl Museo Correr & 1 civic museum of choice €13/8; 9am-7pm Apr-Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar). Don’t be fooled by its Gothic ele­gance: this building was all business, from medieval carved stone capitals depicting key Venetian guilds along the arcade to Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon’s 15th-century Porta della Carta (Paper Door), the bulletin board for government decrees facing the piazza. The building was damaged by fire in 1577, but Antonio da Ponte (who designed the Ponte di Rialto) restored it.

Entering through the colonnaded courtyard, you’ll spot Sansovino’s statues of Mars and Neptune flanking the Scala dei Giganti (Giants’ Staircase), which Antonio Rizzo built as a suitably grand entrance for Venice’s dignitaries and is currently undergoing restor­ation. Climb the Scala dei Censori (Stairs of the Censors) and Sansovino’s lavish gilt stucco­work Scala d’Oro (Golden Staircase), and emerge into 3rd-floor rooms covered with gorgeous propaganda.

In Sala delle Quattro Porte (Hall of the Four Doors), ambassadors awaited ducal audiences under a Palladio-designed ceiling frescoed by Tintoretto, showing Justice presenting sword and scales to Venice’s Doge Girolamo Priuli. Other convincing shows of Venetian superiority include Titian’s 1576 Doge Antonio Grimani Kneeling before Faith and Tiepolo’s 1740s Venice Receiving Gifts of the Sea from Neptune, where Venice is a gorgeous blonde casually leaning on a lion. Special delegations waited in the Anticollegio (College Antechamber), where Tintoretto drew not-so-subtle parallels between Roman gods and Venetian government: Vulcan and Cyclops Forging Weapons for Venice, Mercury and the Three Graces rewarding Venice’s industriousness with beauty, and Minerva Dismissing Mars in a Venetian triumph of savvy over brute force. Also in the room is a vivid reminder of diplomatic behaviour to avoid: Veronese’s Rape of Europe.

STATE SECRETS REVEALED: ITINERARI SEGRETI

The Ducal Palace’s darkest secrets can be found through a passageway disguised as a filing cabinet in the Sala del Consiglio dei Dieci (Chamber of the Council of 10), festooned with happy cherubim and Veronese’s optimistic Triumph of Virtue over Vice. Fascinating 1½-hour Itinerari Segreti (Secret Tours; 041 520 90 70; adult/student/child under 6yr €16/7/free; tours in English 9.55am, 10.45am & 11.35am, Italian 9.30am & 11.10am, French 10.20am, noon & 12.25pm) guide visitors into the cramped, unadorned Council of 10 headquarters, upstairs to a trial chamber lined with top-secret files, and into a windowless room with a single rope, used in perversely imaginative ways to extract information. To Venice’s credit, the room was largely disused by the 17th century – but the same cannot be said for the studded cells of the Piombi, Venice’s notorious attic prison. In 1756, Casanova was condemned to five years’ confinement here on charges of corrupting nuns and a more serious suspicion of spreading Freemasonry – but after a few months, he slipped past the guards.

Few were granted audience in the Palladio-designed Collegio (Council Room), with Veronese’s quintessentially rosy view of Venice in his 1578–82 Virtues of the Republic ceiling panels. Tintoretto attempted similar flattery in The Triumph of Venice on the ceiling of the adjoining Senato (Senate Hall), but his dark palette hints at the shadowy side of Venetian politics. The Trial Chambers of the Council of 10 featuring Veronese’s ceiling panel of Juno Bestowing her Gifts on Venice is positively glowing, while in the dark, carved-wood corner is the slot where accusations of treason were slipped to Venice’s dreaded secret service.

On the 2nd floor, the cavernous 1419 Sala del Maggior Consiglio (Grand Council Hall) features the doge’s throne with a 22m by 7m backdrop of Paradise by Tintoretto’s son Domenico that’s more politically correct than pretty: heaven is crammed with 500 prominent Venetians, including several Tintoretto patrons. Veronese’s political posturing is more elegant in his oval ceiling panel The Apotheosis of Venice, where gods marvel at Venice’s coronation by angels, with foreign dignitaries and Venetian blondes rubbernecking from the balcony below. In the wall frieze depicting the first 76 doges of Venice, note the black space: Doge Marin Falier would have appeared there had he not lost his head for treason in 1355.

Only the Itinerari Segreti access the Council of 10 headquarters and Piombi attic prison (see the boxed text, opposite), but visitors can take a detour on the doges’ dark side from the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. Stop by the chamber featuring ominous scenes by the master of apocalyptic visions, Hieronymus Bosch, then follow the path of condemned prisoners across the covered Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs; Map) to Venice’s 16th-century Priggione Nove (New Prisons), its dank cells covered with graffitied protestations of innocence. Exiting through the arcade, you’ll spot two freestanding columns by the waterfront bearing statues of the Lion of St Mark and St Theodore that serve no apparent purpose: these were once used in public executions.

Napoleon was determined to bring a lighter note to Piazza San Marco, razing the church of San Geminiano on the west end of the piazza to make room for a ballroom. To extend his royal palace, Napoleon incorporated the Procuratie Nuove (Map), the building along the south end of the piazza planned by Jacopo Sansovino and completed by Vincenzo Scamozzi and Baldassare Longhena – but the job wasn’t finished until the 19th century, just in time for the Habsburgs to move in.

The Museo Correr (Map; 041 240 52 11; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Piazza San Marco 52; adult/child incl Palazzo Ducale & 1 civic museum of choice €13/8; 10am-7pm Apr-Oct, 9am-5pm Nov-Mar) has since taken over the royal digs with all its trophies, including ancient maps, Greco-Roman statuary and splendid medieval paintings. Stride through these salons towards the Palazzo Ducale and at the end you’ll reach Jacopo Sansovino’s spectacular 16th-century Libreria Nazionale Marciana, with representations of wisdom by Veronese and Titian. Temporary shows in the Neoclassical Ballroom on such themes as futurism and Italian architecture are hit-and-miss, but Antonio Canova’s 1777 statues of star-crossed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice are permanent scene-stealers. Museum entry grants access to the Correr’s Caffé dell’Art, which offers €5 DOC Veneto merlot in an anteroom frescoed with splendid grotesques, with an emperor’s view of Basilica di San Marco.

The north side of the piazza is the Procuratie Vecchie (Map), the former resi­dence of the caretakers of St Mark and the basilica, designed by Mauro Codussi. The standout feature here is the recently renovated 1497 Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower; 041 520 90 70; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Piazza San Marco; adult/VENICEcard-holders €12/7; child 6yr & up only; visit by prebooked tour only, in English 10am, 11am & 1pm Mon-Wed, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm daily, in Italian noon & 4pm daily, in French 1pm, 2pm & 3pm Mon-Wed). Legend has it that the inventors of the gold-leafed timepiece tracking lunar phases and astrological shifts were assassinated, so that no other city could boast a similar engineering marvel. Tours head up the tower’s steep, claustrophobia-triggering spiral staircase to the terrace, where the Two Moors statues strike the hour on a bell. Three kings and an angel emerge on Epiphany and the Feast of the Ascension.

Around San Marco

While day-trippers settle for photographic binges in Piazza San Marco, overnight visitors sing Venice’s praises to the skies after a performance at Teatro La Fenice (Map; 041 528 37 80, reservations 041 24 24; www.teatrolafenice.it; Campo San Fantin 1965; tours adult/student & senior €7/5; vary). Venice ushered in the age of opera in the 17th century, hiring as San Marco choirmaster Claudio Monteverdi, the father of modern opera, and opening La Fenice (‘The Phoenix’) opera house to much fanfare in 1792. Rossini and Bellini had staged operas at the house, which was the talk of Europe when the building went up in flames in 1836.

Venice without opera was unthinkable and within a year, the opera house was rebuilt in grand form. Verdi premiered Rigoletto and La Traviata at La Fenice, and international greats Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Britten composed for the house. But La Fenice was again reduced to ashes in 1996; two electricians found guilty of the arson were apparently behind on their repair work. A painstaking €90 million replica of the 19th-century opera house reopened in late 2003, and though architectural reviews were mixed – some critics had lobbied for a more avant-garde design – the reprise performance of La Traviata was a sensation. The house remains packed in opera season; book ahead online for performances and tours. Click here.

For avant-garde architecture, don’t miss Palazzo Grassi (Map; 041 523 16 80; www.palazzograssi.it; Campo San Samuele 3231; adult/student €15/6; 10am-7pm), a baroque palace that since 2005 has been home to the world-class contemporary art collection of French billionaire François Pinault. Giorgio Masari’s 1749 neoclassical palace became a glorious anachronism in the hands of minimalist architect Tadao Ando, whose movable panels and strategic pools of light allow viewers to focus on modern art without eclipsing frescoed ceilings and marble arcades. Expect sublime curation and shameless namedropping: Pinault parks sculpture by art stars like Jeff Koons on a dock out front, and in 2009 celebrated his marriage with Salma Hayek at the Grassi among A-list guests Bono, Charlize Theron, Ed Norton and Javier Bardem.

San Marco isn’t the only church of note in the neighbourhood. Gothic Chiesa di Santo Stefano (Map; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun) has a bell tower that leans disconcertingly, and a vast wood-ribbed carena di nave (ship’s keel) ceiling that looks like an upturned Noah’s Ark. Enter the cloisters museum (admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket) to see Canova’s 1808 funerary stelae featuring gorgeous women dabbing their eyes with their cloaks, Tullio Lombardo’s wide-eyed 1505 saint whom Titian is said to have referenced for his Madonna at I Frari, and three brooding Tintoretto canvases: Last Supper, with a ghostly dog begging for bread; the gathering gloom of Agony in the Garden; and the abstract, mostly black Washing of the Feet.

Another church offering awe through the ages is Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio (Map; Campo di Santa Maria del Giglio; admission €3 or Chorus ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun), with a 10th-century Byzantine layout, a baroque facade featuring maps of European cities c 1678 and three intriguing masterpieces. Hiding behind the altar is Veronese’s Madonna with Child, with Tintoretto’s four evangelists flanking the organ and a small painting of Mary with St John and a charmingly chubby baby Jesus in the Molin Chapel by Northern Renaissance master Peter Paul Rubens.

Romantics swarm the Piazza San Marco at sunset, but if you can’t wait for a snog until then, head to Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo (Map; 041 532 29 20; Calle Contarini del Bovolo 4299; entry to open courtyard free; 10am-6pm). This 15th-century palazzo is a hidden jewel of Renaissance architecture with an external spiral bovolo (snail-shell) staircase that’s closed for restor­ation and a shady courtyard that offers privacy and stirring views of the staircase.

Fashionistas get happily lost in the Marzarie (Map), a maze of boutique-lined byways connecting Piazza San Marco to the Rialto. For a high-fashion detour, visit Museo Fortuny (Map; 041 520 90 70; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Campo San Beneto 3958; adult/VENICEcard-holder €8/5; 10am-6pm Wed-Mon), the not-so-humble home studio of outrageous art nouveau Spanish-Venetian designer Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo. Salons swagged with Fortuny’s printed textiles host rotating exhibits by modern artisans, who are inevit­ably upstaged by Fortuny’s 1910 sketches of bohemian goddess frocks that could rule red carpets today.

Dorsoduro

Minds blown by San Marco require a bracing espresso, restorative gelato and possibly a Hail Mary before taking on the Gallerie dell’Accademia (Map; 041 522 22 47, bookings 041 520 03 45; www.gallerieaccademia.org; Campo della Carità 1050; adult/EU citizen 18-25yr/child under 12yr & EU citizen under 18yr or over 65yr €6.50/3.25/free, video/audio guide €6/4; 8.15am-2pm Mon, to 7.15pm Tue-Sun; last entry 45min before closing). Behind the serene walls of the former Santa Maria della Carità convent expanded by Palladio, these galleries contain more murderous intrigue, forbidden romance, shameless politicking and near-riots than the most outrageous Venetian parties.

To guide you through the ocular onslaught, visits are loosely organised by style, theme and painter from the 14th to 18th centuries, beginning with Paolo Veneziano’s c 1350 Coronation of Mary, which shows Jesus bestowing the crown on his mother with a gentle pat on the head as an angelic orchestra performs overhead. For sheer, shimmering gore, there’s no topping Carpaccio’s Crucifixion and Glorification of the Ten Thousand Martyrs of Mount Ararat in room 2 – Harry’s Bar was quite correct in naming its bloody raw-beef dish after this painter.

Andrea Mantegna’s 1466 haughtily handsome St George and Giovanni Bellini’s sweet-faced Madonna and Child haloed by neon-red cherubs highlight Venice’s twin artistic tendencies: high drama and glowing colour. Rooms 6 to 10 include such Renaissance masterpieces as Tintoretto’s Creation of the Animals, a fantastical bestiary that suggests that God put forth his best efforts inventing Venetian seafood (no arguments here), and one of Titian’s last efforts possibly finished posthumously by Palma il Giovane: a 1576 Pietà where form is secondary to emotion, with smears of paint Titian applied with bare hands.

Accademia’s scene-stealer dominates room 10: Paolo Veronese’s controversial Feast in the House of Levi, originally called Last Supper until church Inquisition leaders condemned Veronese for showing drunkards, dwarfs, dogs and Reformation-minded Germans cavorting amid the apostles. Veronese refused to change a thing about his painting besides the title, and Venice stood by this act of artistic defiance against Rome. Follow the exchanges, gestures and eye contact among the characters here, and you’ll concede that not one Moorish trader, stumbling servant, gambler or bright-eyed lapdog could have been painted over without losing an essential piece of the Venetian puzzle.

At this point you’re only halfway through Venice’s contributions to art history – but don’t skip rooms 16 to 18, which feature Canaletto’s sweeping views of Venice and Giorgione’s 1508 The Storm, a highly charged scenario involving a nursing mother, a passing soldier and a bolt of summer lightning. Adjoining portrait galleries can scarcely contain larger-than-life Venetian characters, including Giorgione’s decidedly un-Botoxed Old Woman, Lorenzo Lotto’s 1525 soul-searching Portrait of a Young Scholar, Rosalba Carriera’s brutally honest self-portrait c 1730, and Giambattista Piazzetta’s saucy socialite in his 1740 Fortune-Teller. Room 20 reprises Gentile Bellini and Vittore Carpaccio, with multicultural crowds of Venetian merchants embedded in Venetian versions of Miracles of the True Cross, before the grand finale: Titian’s 1534–9 Presentation of the Virgin, with the young Madonna dutifully trudging up an intimidating staircase as onlookers point to her example.

For a refreshingly modern take on Venice, head to Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Map; 041 240 54 11; www.guggenheim-venice.it; Palazzo Venier dei Leoni 701; adult/senior over 65yr/student with ID to 26yr/child under 10yr €10/8/5/free; 10am-6pm Wed-Mon). After tragically losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim befriended Dadaists, dodged Nazis and amassed avant-garde works by 200 modern artists at her palatial home on the Grand Canal. Peggy’s Palazzo Venier dei Leoni became a modernist shrine, chronicling surrealism, Italian futurism and abstract expressionism, with a subtext of Peggy’s romantic pursuits – the collection includes key works by Peggy’s ex-husband Max Ernst as well as Jackson Pollock, among Peggy’s many rumoured lovers. Peggy collected according to her own convictions rather than for prestige or style, so her collection includes inspired folk art and lesser-known local artists alongside Kandinsky, Picasso, Brancusi, Mondrian and Dali. Wander around works by Moore, Giacometti and Ernst in the sculpture garden, where the city of Venice granted Peggy honorary dispensation to be buried alongside her pet dogs in 1979.

Dominating the entrance to the Grand Canal is Venice’s monumental sigh of relief: Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute (Map; 041 522 55 58; www.marcianum.it/salute, in Italian; Campo della Salute 1b; sacristy admission €1.50; 9am-noon & 3-5.30pm), built by survivors of Venice’s 1630 plague atop at least 100,000 pylons as thanks for salvation. Baldassare Longhena’s unusual octagonal church is an inspired design that architectural scholars have compared to Greco-Roman temples and Jewish Kabbala diagrams, and is the site of Venetians’ annual pilgrimage to pray for health (Click here). Inside, you’ll spot Tintoretto’s surprisingly upbeat The Wedding Feast of Cana en route to the sacristy, which features no less than 12 Titians, including a vivid self-portrait in the guise of St Matthew and his earliest known work, the precocious vermillion Saint Mark on the Throne from 1510.

At the tip of Dorsoduro, Venice’s old customs house has just undergone a three-year reinvention by architect Tadao Ando as Venice’s splashiest contemporary art space: the Punta della Dogana ( 199 13 91 39; www.palazzograssi.it; admission adult/12-18yr, senior or disabled/under 11yr €15/10/free, or with ticket to Peggy Guggenheim within 3 days of visit/combined ticket with Palazzo Grassi €12/20; 10am-7pm Wed-Mon). Fortuna, the weather vane atop Punta Dogana, swung Venice’s way when bureaucratic hassles in Paris convinced billionaire art collector François Pinault to transfer his world-class collection to the Palazzo Grassi and create a gallery extension at the Punta della Dogana. The inaugural show traced the creative process of Takashi Murakami, Jeff Koons, Cindy Sherman and other contemporary artists, from rough drafts to end products, installed in converted warehouses flooded with light through polished-concrete channels and water gates – astute homages to Carlo Scarpa’s designs for Palazzo Querini Stampalia.

The sunny side of Dorsoduro is the Zattere (Map), a promenade that runs along the Canale della Giudecca from Punta della Dogana to the old Stazione Marittima (ferry terminal). Stop for ice cream and a gasp at Gesuati (Map; 041 523 06 25; Fondamenta delle Zattere 918; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat), a high-baroque church designed by Giorgio Massari and crowned with Tiepolo’s 1737–39 ceiling frescoes of St Dominic amid sunny skies so convincing you’ll wonder whether you’re wearing enough sunscreen. On the right side of the nave, Venetian virtuoso of luminosity Sebastiano Ricci’s 1730–33 Saints Peter and Thomas with Pope Pius V provides a contrast to Tintoretto’s 1565 Crucifixion, with deep reds and greens amid the gathering gloom.

At the end of the Zattere is a hidden jewel of Venetian art: San Sebastiano (Map; 041 528 24 87; Campo San Sebastiano 1687; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat), with floor-to-ceilingmasterpieces by Paolo Veronese completed over three decades. Veronese’s horses rear over the frames of the coffered ceiling; the organ doors are covered with vivid Veronese masterworks; and in Veronese’s Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian near the altar, the bound saint defiantly stares down his tormentors amid a Venetian crowd of socialites, turbaned traders and Veronese’s signature frisky spaniel.

Two baroque beauties wait in the wings off Campo Santa Margarita, Dorsoduro’s happy-hour hot spot. Baldassare Longhena’s Ca’ Rezzonico (Museum of the 18th Century; Map; 041 241 01 00; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Fondamenta Rezzonico 3136; adult/student & child €6.50/4.50; 10am-6pm Wed-Mon Apr-Oct, to 5pm Wed-Mon Nov-Mar) palace showcases 18th-century arts in lavish music salons, sumptuous boudoirs, even a pharmacy with medicinal scorpions. The Throne Room ceiling highlights Tiepolo’s sensuous beauty and shameless flattery, showing gorgeous Merit ascending to the Temple of Glory clutching the Golden Book of Venetian nobles’ names – including Tiepolo’s patrons, the Rezzonico family. Other collection highlights include the Pietro Longhi Salon of socialite satires, Rosalba Carriera’s wry society portraits and Emma Ciardi’s moody canal views; check the schedule downstairs for Venice Chamber Music Orchestra concerts in the ballroom. Last entry is an hour before closing.

Tiepolo and Longhena unleashed star power on the Scuola Grande dei Carmini (Map; 041 528 94 20; Campo Santa Margherita 2617; adult/senior & student €5/4; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, to 4pm Sun Apr-Oct, to 4pm Nov-Mar), a shelter run by Carmelite nuns. Longhena designed the stairway to heaven, glimpsed in Tiepolo’s nine-panel ceiling of a resplendent Virgin in Glory upstairs; ask downstairs about occasional performances by the Venice Opera (www.venice-opera.com) staged here.

San Polo & Santa Croce

Art historians are torn between two Venetian loves: Titian’s colour and Tintoretto’s drama. You can see why in San Polo, which features legendary masterpieces by Venice’s Renaissance titans on the same block. I Frari (Map; Campo dei Frari, San Polo 3004; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun) is a soaring, sombre Italian-brick Gothic church featuring puzzlework marquetry choir stalls, Canova’s vast pyramid mausoleum in the nave and Bellini’s achingly sweet Madonna with Child triptych in the sacristy – yet visitors are drawn to the small altarpiece like moths to an eternal flame. This is Titian’s 1518 Madonna of the Ascension, capturing the moment the radiant Madonna reaches heavenward, finds her footing on a cloud and escapes this mortal coil in a swirl of Titian red cloak. Both inside and outside the painting, onlookers below gasp and point out the ascending Madonna to one another. Titian was lost to the plague at 90 in 1576, but legend has it that in light of his immortal contribution to I Frari, strict rules of quarantine were bent to allow his burial here.

Just around the corner, you’ll swear the paint is still fresh on the 50 action-packed Tintorettos painted from 1575 to 1587 for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (Map; 041 523 48 64; www.scuolagrandisanrocco.it; Campo San Rocco, San Polo 3052; adult/18-26yr/under 18yr €7/5/free; 9am-5.30pm from Easter-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Easter). Everyone wanted the commission to paint this building dedicated to the patron saint of the plague-stricken, so Tintoretto cheated a little: instead of producing sketches like his rival Veronese, he painted a splendid ceiling panel and dedicated it to the saint, knowing such a gift couldn’t be refused or matched by other artists. Tintoretto covered the ceilings upstairs in the Sala Grande Superiore with Old Testament scenes that read like a modern graphic novel – you can almost hear the swoop! overhead as an angel dives down to feed an ailing Elijah. Unlike Venetian colourists, Tintoretto concentrated on dynamic lines for his New Testament wall scenes: against the shadowy backdrop of the Black Death, Tintoretto highlights his subjects in lightning streaks of hope. Downstairs, the assembly hall illuminates the story of the Virgin Mary, starting on the left wall with the Annunciation and ending with the Ascension opposite – dark and cataclysmic, compared to Titian’s glowing version at I Frari.

Along the well-beaten path between I Frari and the Rialto is a brick 9th-century Byzantine church many travellers speed past without noticing. In Chiesa di San Polo (Campo San Polo 2118; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat) Tintoretto’s Last Supper captures apostles alarmed at Jesus’ announcement that one of them will betray him, and Giandominico Tiepolo (son of baroque ceiling maestro Giambattista) shows Jesus tormented by jeering onlookers in his disturbing Stations of the Cross. Outside is a cheerier view of humanity in vast Campo San Polo, where kids play tag, lovers smooch on benches and outdoor theatre and movies are held in summer.

West of Campo San Polo is Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, where Venetian grandparents enjoy happy hour unfazed as children careen towards canals on tricycles (Venetian kids learn to swim early). In the centre of the action is 13th-century Romanesque Chiesa di San Giacomo dell’Orio (Map; Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, Santa Croce 1457; admission €2.50; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun), with a couple of artistic odd­ities: a wooden crucifix by Veronese and a rare work by Lorenzo Lotto, Madonna with Child and Saints.

Through the warren of alleyways lined with artisans’ workshops north of Campo San Polo lies Renaissance Ca’ Pesaro (Map; 041 72 11 27; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Fondamenta de Ca’ Pesaro, Santa Croce 2076; adult/senior, student & child €5.50/3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), an eccentric museum featuring modern art and Asian antiques in a Longhena-designed 1710 palazzo. The Galleria d’Arte Moderna begins with the flag-waving early days of the Biennale, showcasing Venetian landscapes, Venetian painters (notably Giacomo Favretto) and Venetian socialites embodying mythological virtues. But savvy Biennale collectors soon diversified, snapping up pivotal works such as Gustav Klimt’s 1909 Judith II (Salome) and Marc Chagall’s Rabbi of Vitebsk (1914–22). The De Lisi Bequest in 1961 added Kandinskys and Morandis to the modernist mix of de Chiricos, Mirós, Kandinskys and Moores. Upstairs, step back in time through the phalanx of samurai warriors at the quirky Museo d’Arte Orientale, an 1887–89 souvenir-shopping spree across Asia that Prince Enricodi Borbone preserved for posterity. The prince reached Japan when Edo art was discounted in favour of modern Meiji, and Edo-era swords, netsukes and a lacquerware palanquin are standouts in this collection of 30,000 objets d’art.

Costume dramas unfold in nearby Palazzo Mocenigo ( 041 72 17 98; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Salizada di San Stae 1992; admission €2.50-4; 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct, to 4pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), a swanky Grand Canal palace with displays of original baroque costumes: necklines plunge in the Red Living Room, lethal corsets come undone in the Contessa’s Bedroom and deep red procur­ators’ robes hide deep pockets and expanding waistlines in the Dining Room.

For foodies, the star attractions of San Polo are the Rialto Market and Pescaria –but tempting bars and boutiques line the way to the Ponte di Rialto (Map) along the Grand Canal.

Comedians, writers and theatre buffs pay their respects at 15th-century Casa di Goldoni (Map; 041 275 93 25; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Calle dei Nomboli, San Polo 2794; adult/senior, student & child €2.50/1.50; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat Apr-Oct, to 4pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar), where Venice’s greatest playwright and master of delicious social satire, Carlo Goldoni, was born in 1707. Highlights are 18th-century marionettes and chronicles of Goldoni’s madcap career shifts from doctor’s apprentice to lawyer to comedian – but don’t miss chamber-music concerts held here (see the website for the schedule).

Cannaregio

To see what a pedestrian rush hour looks like, join the crowds speed-walking along the thoroughfare connecting Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Marco via the Ponte di Calatrava around 9.30am or 6.30pm – but to see how Venice lives out of the fast lane, duck into the narrow back lanes off this boulevard. Behind the shopfront scenes in Cannaregio are sunny fondamente (canal banks), authentic osterie (bistros) and the unofficial heart of Venice’s maritime empire: the Ghetto (Map). This area in Venice was once a getto (foundry), but its role as the designated Jewish quarter from the 16th to 18th centuries gave the word a whole new meaning.

In accordance with the Venetian Republic’s 1516 decree, Jewish artisans and lenders stocked and funded Venice’s commercial enterprises by day, while at night and on Christian holidays they were restricted to the gated island of the Ghetto Novo. When Jewish merchants fled the Spanish Inquisition for Venice in 1541, there was no place to go but up: around the Campo del Ghetto Nuovo (Map), additional storeys atop existing buildings housed new arrivals, synagogues and publishers. After Napoleon lifted restrictions in 1797, Ghetto residents gained standing as Venetian citizens. However Mussolini’s 1938 race laws were throwbacks to the 16th century, and in 1943 most of the 1670 Jews in Venice were rounded up and sent to concentration camps; only 37 returned. Today Venice’s Jewish community numbers around 400, including a few families living in the Ghetto.

A starting point to explore this pivotal community in Venetian arts, architecture, commerce and history is the Museo Ebraico (Map; 041 71 53 59; www.museoebraico.it; Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2902b; adult/student €3/2, tours incl admission €8.50/7; 10am-7pm Sun-Fri except Jewish holidays Jun-Sep, to 6pm Sun-Fri Oct-May). English-language tours leave every half-hour starting at 10.30am, and take you inside three of the seven tiny synagogues in the Ghetto, including the Schola Canton (Map), Schola Italiana (Map) and either the Schola Levantina (Map) during the summer or the Schola Spagnola (Map) in winter.

Across the iron bridge from the Campo del Ghetto Nuovo is the Fondamenta degli Ormesini, sleepy by day and lively at night with authentic osterie. A short stroll away is one of Venice’s best-kept secrets: the 14th-century Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto (Map; Campo della Madonna dell’Orto 3520; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun), the elegantly spare 1365 brick Gothic cathedral that was Tintoretto’s parish church. The Renaissance master is buried here in the corner chapel and saved some of his best work for the apse: Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, with throngs of starstruck angels and mortals vying for a glimpse of Mary, and his 1546 Last Judgment, where lost souls attempt to hold back a teal tidal wave while an angel rescues one last person from the ultimate acqua alta.

Another hidden gem is the multicoloured marble Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Miracoli (Map; Campo dei Miracoli 6074; admission €2.50; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun), built by the neighbourhood to house Niccolò di Pietro’s Madonna icon when it miraculously started weeping c 1480. Pietro Lombardo’s early Renaissance design was ahead of its time, dropping trendy Gothic grandiosity for relatable, human-scale architecture. Completing this monument to Venetian community and ingenuity, Pier Maria Pennacchi filled 50 wooden ceiling panels with portraits of saints and prophets dressed as Venetians.

Along the Grand Canal, you can’t miss the stunning 15th-century Ca’ d’Oro (Golden House, House of Gold; Map; 041 522 23 49; www.cadoro.org, in Italian; Calle di Ca’ d’Oro 3932; adult/EU student under 26yr/EU citizen under 18yr or over 65 €5/2.50/free; 8.15am-2pm Mon, to 7.15pm Tue-Sun), its lacy Gothic facade resplendent even without original gold-leaf details that gave the palace its name. Ca’ d’Oro was donated to Venice to house the Galleria Franchetti (Map), Baron Franchetti’s art collection, plus a jackpot of bronzes, tapestries and paintings plundered from Veneto churches by Napoleon and reclaimed by Venice. Collection highlights include Andrea Mantegna’s teeth-bearing, arrow-riddled Saint Sebastian altarpiece; Pietro Lombardo’s tender Madonna and Child in glistening Carrara marble; pieces of Titian frescoes saved from the outside of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (home to the main post office; Click here); and a faded but still-sensuous nude fresco fragment by Giorgione.

LOCAL VOICE: ROSANNA CORRó

Cannaregio calm I find design inspiration right at my doorstep [in Cannaregio]: ancient walls with peeling plaster, the reflection of light on the water, Madonna dell’Orto (above). The ratio is about five Venetians for every three tourists, and it’s peaceful and sunny along the fondamente (canal banks).

Travel papers The tradition of carta marmorizzata (paper marbling) was brought to Venice from Japan via Turkey and Florence, and it evolved every step of the way. I started out as a book restorer and I had access to private collections of ancient books with incredible marbled end papers. When I studied these ancient methods, I saw new possibilities too, things I could bring to the tradition as a Brazilian and Venetian with a modern sensibility.

Capturing Venice’s mood No two sheets turn out the same, because each depends on the temperature of the water, the humidity of the air, the mood of that day. If I can capture that moment on paper, I’m happy.

Rosanna Corró is the avant-garde Venetian paper artisan at Cartè

Castello

You’ll know you’ve crossed from Cannaregio into Castello when you spot Bartolomeo Colleoni galloping out to meet you. The bronze equestrian statue commemorates one of Venice’s more loyal mercenary mainland commanders, and marks the entrance to the supersize Gothic Zanipolo (Chiesa dei SS Giovanni e Paolo; Map; 041 523 59 13; Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo; admission €2.50; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun), built by the Dominicans from 1333 to 1430 to rival the Franciscans’ I Frari. I Frari may nudge past Zanipolo with soaring grace, but Zanipolo makes up the difference with the sheer scale and variety of its masterpieces. In the Cappella del Rosario, off the north arm of the transept, Paolo Veronese’s ceiling depicts the rosy Virgin ascending a staggering staircase to be crowned by cherubs, while angels flip with the joy of it all. The chapel dome on the southwest end of the nave boasts Giambattista Lorenzetti’s Jesus the Navigator, where Jesus scans the skies like a Venetian sea captain. Nearby is Guido Reni’s baroque painting San Giuseppe, showing Joseph exchanging tender, adoring looks with baby Jesus. Zanipolo contains 25 doges’ tombs by such notable sculptors as Nicolo Pisano and Tullio Lombardo, and the vast 15th-century Murano stained-glass window is currently undergoing restoration to illuminate designs by Bartolomeo Vivarini and Girolamo Mocetto.

Zanipolo’s austere brick facade is almost overwhelmed by the neighbouring lavish Renaissance polychrome marble facade by Pietro Lombardo that once fronted the Scuola Grande di San Marco (Map), confraternity of Venice’s patron saint, and is now the grand entry to Venice’s hospital. Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo is a prime spot for a coffee or to kick off a giro d’ombra, a roving happy hour.

One Prosecco here leads to another in nearby Campo Santa Maria Formosa, almost dir­ectly south of here via narrow lanes. Savvy locals take their drinks with a twist of high modernism in the Carlo Scarpa—designed garden or Mario Botta—designed cafe of 16th-century Palazzo Querini Stampalia (Map). Enter through the Botta-designed bookshop to get a free pass to the cafe, or buy a ticket to wander through the upstairs Museo della Fondazione Querini Stampalia ( 041 271 14 11; www.querinistampalia.it, in Italian; Campiello Querini Stampalia 5252; adult/student & senior €8/6; 10am-8pm Tue-Thu, to 10pm Fri & Sat, to 7pm Sun). Contemporary-art installations add an element of the unexpected to silk-draped salons preserved in period splendour since 1868, and concerts and lectures held in the baroque music room on Fridays and Saturdays draw Venetian hipsters and old-timers alike.

East of Campo SS Giovanni e Paolo you’ll spot the bell tower of the Chiesa di San Francesco della Vigna (Map; 041 520 61 02; Campo San Francesco della Vigna 2787; 8am-12.30pm & 3-7pm). Designed and built by Jacopo Sansovino with a facade by Palladio, this enchanting Franciscan church is one of Venice’s most underrated attractions. Madonna positively glows in Bellini’s 1507 Madonna and Saints in the Capella Santa off the cloisters; swimming angels and strutting birds steal the scene in Antonio da Negroponte’s c 1460–70 Virgin Enthroned; and Pietro Lombardo’s lifelike lions seem ready to pounce right out of the 15th-century marble reliefs in the Capella Giustiniani left of the altar.

The Arsenale (Map) was founded in 1104 and soon became the greatest medieval shipyard in Europe, home to 300 shipping companies employing up to 16,000 people, and capable of turning out a new galley in a day. Venice’s navy remained unbeatable for centur­ies, but now arty types invade the shipyards during Venice’s art and architecture Biennales. Giardini Pubblici (Map) is the main site of the art Biennale, with curators and curiosity-seekers swarming national showcases ranging from Carlo Scarpa’s daring 1954 raw-concrete-and-glass Venezuelan Pavilion to Peter Cox’s awkward 1988 Australian Pavilion, frequently mistaken for a construction trailer. In even years between art Biennales, you can wander the gardens and admire the facades of the Secessionist-era Austro-Hungarian Pavilion, glittering with mosaics; the timber-beamed, retro-’70s ski lodge Canadian Pavilion; and the postmodern Korean Pavilion, in an ingeniously converted electrical plant.

Museo Storico Navale (Map; 041 520 02 76; Riva San Biagio 2148; admission €3; 8.45am-1.30pm Mon-Fri, to 1pm Sat) is a four-storey, 42-room monument to Venice’s maritime history, featuring full-scale boats including the ducal barge, Peggy Guggenheim’s not-so-minimalist gondola, ocean liners and WWII battleships. Museum admission includes the Padiglione delle Navi (Ships Pavilion; Map) on Fondamenta della Madonna, near the Arsenale entrance.

When 15th-century Venetian Paris Hiltons showed more interest in sailors than saints, they might have been sent for a stint at the convent adjoining Chiesa di San Zaccaria (Map; 041 522 12 57; Campo San Zaccaria 4693; 10am-noon & 4-6pm Mon-Sat, 4-6pm Sun). Here Venice’s wayward daughters passed their time in prayer, with breaks for concerts and scandalous masked balls. The wealth showered on this church is evident: note the gilt polyptych in the Golden Chapel downstairs and the Gothic facade by Antonio Gambello with Codussi’s Renaissance embellishments. The treasury of art includes Bellini’s melancholy Virgin Enthroned with Jesus, an Angel Musician and Saints, Tiepolo’s version of the flight into Egypt in a Venetian boat, and Antonio Vivarini’s 1443 painting of St Sabina, keeping her cool as angels buzz around her head like lagoon mosquitoes.

Venice’s religious tolerance and cosmopolitan nature shows in Castello, where Turkish merchants, Armenian clerics and diverse Balkan and Slavic residents mingled and were considered essential contributors to Venetian commerce and society. The 15th-century Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni (Map; 041 522 88 28; Calle dei Furlani 3259a; admission €3; 2.45-6pm Mon; 9am-1pm & 2.45-6pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm Sun) is dedicated to patron saints George, Tryphone and Jerome of Dalmatia, and its Slavic confraternity so influential that Vittore Carpaccio painted the lives of the saints on the ground floor.

Giudecca

Originally known as the spina longa (long fishbone) because of its shape, Giudecca has survived many trials without losing its spirit. Venice’s Jewish community lived here prior to the creation of the Ghetto, but Giudecca isn’t related to the word ‘Jewish’ (hebrei in Italian). Giudecca is likely derived from Zudega, from giudicato, or ‘the judged,’ the name given to rebellious Venetian nobles banished to Giudecca.

The banishments backfired: Giudecca became fashionable, and Venetians built weekend garden villas on the island. Many were abandoned during times of plague and war, and were eventually displaced by 19th-century industry. But Giudecca never lost its fashion sense: at Fortuny Tessuti Artistici (Map; 041 522 40 78; www.fortuny.com; Fondamenta San Biagio 805; 9am-1pm & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 9-11am & 2-6pm Sat & Sun), Marcel Proust waxed poetic over silken cottons printed with boho-chic art nouveau patterns. Visitors can browse 260 textile designs in the gated showroom, but fabrication methods have been jealously guarded in the garden studio for a century.

Today Giudecca is entering its third act, with brick factories converted into artists’ lofts, galleries taking over the Fondamenta San Biagio, and the convent-orphanage designed by Palladio around his classical white-marble Zitelle church is now the high-end Bauer Palladio spa hotel Click here. Giudecca’s restaurants are among Venice’s most reasonable, and vaporetti 41, 42, 82 and N (night) make Giudecca an easy stop between San Marco and Dorsoduro.

Even from afar, you can’t miss Palladio’s 1577 Il Redentore (Chiesa del SS Redentore; Map; Campo del SS Redentore 194; admission €3 or Chorus Pass ticket; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun), a triumph of white marble along the Grand Canal cele­brating the city’s deliverance from the Black Death. Inside over the portal, Paolo Piazza’s strikingly modern 1619 Gratitude of Venice for Liberation from the Plague shows the city held aloft by angels in sobering shades of grey. Survival is never taken for granted by Venetians, who walk across the Giudecca Canal on a shaky pontoon bridge from the Zattere to give thanks during the Festa del Redentore (Feast of the Redeemer;).

San Giorgio Maggiore

Solar eclipses are only marginally more dazzling than Palladio’s white Istrian marble marvel, the 1565–80 Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore (Map; 041 522 78 27; Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore; 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-6.30pm Mon-Sat May-Sep, 9.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-4.30pm Oct-Apr). Sunglasses are advisable upon approach of vaporetto 82 to the gleaming classical facade, with massive columns supporting a triangular tympanum that owes more to ancient Roman temples than the bombastic baroque trendy in Palladio’s day. Inside, ceilings billow over a generous nave, with high windows distributing filtered sunshine and easy grace. The black, white and red inlaid stone floor draws the eye towards the altar, flanked by two Tintoretto masterworks: Collecting the Manna and Last Supper. Take the lift (€3) to the top of the 60m-high bell tower for a stirring panorama that takes in Giudecca, San Marco and the lagoon beyond.

Behind the church alongside the marina, a defunct naval academy has been converted into a shipshape gallery for the Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Map; 041 271 02 80; www.cini.it; Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore; adult/senior & student/student 7-12yr/child under 7yr €12/10/8/free; 10am-6.30pm Mon-Sat). After escaping the Dachau internment camp with his son Giorgio, Vittorio Cini returned to Venice on a mission to save San Giorgio Maggiore, which was a ramshackle mess in 1949. Cini’s foundation bought and restored the island into a cultural centre, and the gallery hosts noteworthy shows ranging from Peter Greenaway video art inspired by Veronese paintings to avant-garde Japanese typography.

The Lido

When Karl Lagerfeld was looking for an appropriate location for Chanel’s 2009 resort couture collection, the choice was obvious: the Lido. Only 15 minutes by vaporetti 1, 51, 52, 61, 62, 82 and N from San Marco, this island has brought glamour to beaches since the late 19th century, when Venice’s upper crust escaped hot, crowded Venetian summers for the Lido’s breezy Liberty villas. Thomas Mann’s melancholy novel Death in Venice was set in turn-of-the-century Lido, and you’ll spot wrought-iron balconies and seaside resorts that date from those elegantly decadent days.

Lido beaches (deposit/chair/umbrella & chair/hut €5/6/11/17; most beaches 9.30am-7pm May-Sep) remain a major draw, especially on the Adriatic side, where cleaner water makes for maximum sun-umbrella density on sunny days. The tanning crowd thins out and rates drop a couple of euros after 2pm, but to avoid amenities fees and throngs of weekenders, rent a bicycle by the vaporetto stop at Lido on Bike ( 041 526 80 19; www.lidoonbike.it; Gran Viale 21b; single/double/family bikes per hr €3/7/14, tandem €6-18, per day single/tandem €9/8; 9am-7pm, weather permitting) and head south to Alberoni and other pristine, windswept beaches. Mind the traffic – after a few days in Venice, cars brought here via ferry from Tronchetto may come as a shock.

The biggest event on the Lido social calendar arrives each September, when starlets and socialites attempt to blind paparazzi with Italian couture at the Venice International Film Festival (Click here). Events are held at the 1930s Palazzo del Cinema, which looks like a Fascist airport and when stripped of its red carpet, C+S Associates’ 2003 ‘Wave’ entrance begs for a skateboard.

San Michele

En route to Murano from the Fondamente Nuove, vaporetti 41 and 42 stop at Venice’s city cemetery, established on Isola di San Michele under Napoleon. Until then, Venetians had been buried in parish plots across town – not the most salubrious solution, as Napoleon’s inspectors realised. Today goths, incorrigible romantics and music lovers pause here to pay respects to Ezra Pound, Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky. Architecture buffs stop by to see the Renaissance Chiesa di San Michele in Isola (Map) begun by Codussi in 1469, and cemetery extensions in the works by David Chipperfield Architects, based on the firm’s completed Courtyard of the Four Evangelists: a rather gloomy bunker, with a concrete colonnade and basalt-clad walls engraved with the Gospels.

Murano

Venetians have been working in crystal and glass since the 10th century, but due to the fire hazards of glass-blowing, the industry was moved to the island of Murano (off Map) in the 13th century. Woe betide the glass-blower with wanderlust: trade secrets were so jealously guarded that any glass-worker who left the city was guilty of treason and subject to assassination. Today they ply their trade at workshops along Murano’s Fondamenta dei Vetrai marked by ‘Fornace’ (Furnace) signs, secure in the knowledge that their wares set a standard that can’t be replicated elsewhere. To ensure glass you buy in Venice is handmade in Murano and not factory-fabricated elsewhere, look for the heart-shaped seal guarantee.

Since 1861, Murano has displayed its glass-making prowess at the Museum of Glass (Museo del Vetro; 041 73 95 86; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Fondamenta Giustinian 8; adult/EU senior & student 6-14yr/with Civic Museum Pass or VENICEcard & child under 6yr €5.50/3/free; 10am-6pm Thu-Tue Apr-Oct, to 4pm Thu-Tue Nov-Mar). Downstairs, 3rd-century iridescent Roman glass is featured alongside Maria Grazia Rosin’s 1992 postmodern detergent jug in impeccably blown glass. Upstairs, technical explanations detail the process for mosaics and Venetian trade beads, while displays range from 17th-century winged goblets to Carlo Scarpa’s 1930 octopus.

Murano’s glass-making is also showcased in the 12th-century Virgin Mary apse mosaic at Chiesa dei SS Maria e Donato ( 041 73 90 56; Campo San Donato; 9am-noon & 3.30-7pm Mon-Sat, 3.30-7pm Sun). The church was rededicated to San Donato after his bones were brought here from Cephalonia, along with four bones from a dragon he supposedly killed behind the altar. Save the church visit until after the museum and shops close around 5pm to 6pm, before hopping vaporetto 41 or 42 back to Venice – Murano is deserted at night.

Burano

After you binge on Venice’s Gothic ornament, Burano (off Map) brings you back to your senses with a shock of colour. The 40-minute LN ferry ride from the Fondamente Nuove is packed with photographers who bound into Burano’s backstreets, snapping away at green stockings hung to dry between pink and orange houses. Either some secret colour-theory ordinance requires locals to choose skivvies to complement their home decor schemes, or Burano is naturally the most artistically inclined fishing village in the Mediterranean basin.

Burano is traditionally famed for its lace, but at this writing the Museo del Merletto (Lace Museum; 041 73 00 34; www.museiciviciveneziani.it; Piazza Galuppi 187) remained closed for restor­ation, and much of the stock for sale in Buranelli boutiques was imported – be sure to ask for a guarantee of authenticity.

Torcello

On the pastoral island of Torcello (off Map), a three-minute T line ferry-hop from Burano, sheep outnumber the 20 or so human residents. But this bucolic backwater was once a Byzantine metropolis of 20,000 and has the stunning mosaics to prove it inside Santa Maria Assunta ( 041 296 06 30; Piazza Torcello; cathedral/bell tower €4/2, incl both & museum across piazza €6; 10.30am-6pm Mar-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb), founded in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 11th. The Madonna rises like the sun in an eastern apse shimmering with gold mosaics, while on the western wall, a mosaic Last Judgment shows the Adriatic as a sea nymph ushering souls lost at sea towards St Peter, who’s jangling the keys to Paradise like God’s own bouncer. Climb the bell tower for a long view over the lagoon and animals that no longer have to fear Ernest Hemingway’s hunting parties. Last entry to the church/bell tower is half an hour before closing.

Time permitting before the last T ferry departure, head across the piazza to take a peek at bronzes and stone relics from Torcello’s Byzantine heyday at the quirky Torcello museum.

VENEXIANáRSE (BECOME VENETIAN)

High praise is reserved for those who weren’t born Venetian, yet make a brave (or at least entertaining) attempt to blend in. Pick up a few Venetian tricks of your own and while you’re at it, buy a round of drinks. Look at that: you’re an honorary Venetian.

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ACTIVITIES

A gondola ride offers a view of Venice that is anything but pedestrian, with glimpses through water gates into palazzi courtyards. Official daytime rates are €80 for 40 minutes or €100 from 7pm to 8am, not including songs (negotiated separately) or tips. Additional time is charged in 20-minute increments (day/night €40/50). You may negotiate a price break in overcast weather or around midday, when other travellers get hot and hungry. Agree on a price, time limit and singing in advance to avoid surcharges.

Gondole cluster at stazi (stops) along the Grand Canal, at the train station ( 041 71 85 43), the Rialto ( 041 522 49 04) and near major monuments (eg I Frari, Ponte Sospiri and Accademia), but you can also book a pickup at a canal near you ( 041 528 50 75).

WALK FACTS

Start Museo Correr

Finish I Rusteghi (Rialto)

Distance 7km

Duration over six hours, excluding lunch, drinks and artistic inspiration

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WALKING TOUR

Yours truly, Venetian bea vita (good life) begins with cappuccino overlooking the Piazza San Marco in the company of griffons at the frescoed cafe of the Museo Correr (1; Click here). Duck into Napoleon’s ballroom to pay respects to Canova’s star-crossed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice, then cross the square to join the crowds in a collective gasp under the gold domes of the Basilica di San Marco (2; Click here). Brave the boutiques lining your 15-minute walk west from the piazza to the Ponte dell’Accademia (3; Click here), clearly marked by yellow signs and designer shopping bags. Across the bridge is the Gallerie dell’Accademia (4; Click here) where you must choose a point of focus – Titian reds, self-portraits, Veronese spaniels – or lose entire days. Emerge from the past and drift into the future amid contemporary art stars at the new Punta della Dogana (5; Click here). Wander up the Zattere (6; Click here) for gelato at Da Nico (7; Click here), then binge on Veronese at San Sebastiano (8; Click here). Follow Calle Lunga San Barnaba to a leisurely lunch of Venetian seafood classics at Ristorante Oniga (9; Click here), then pass artists, fishmongers and arguing philosophy students as you cross Campo Santa Margarita (10; Click here) towards Crosera San Pantalon, where signs point the way to Scuola Grande di San Rocco (11; Click here). If you weren’t awake before, Tintoretto’s stormy scenes upstairs should do the trick – and just down the block, Titian jolts the senses with his red-hot Madonna altarpiece at I Frari (12; Click here). After all that heart-racing artistic action, it’s time for a drink: follow the signs for the Rialto for Prosecco and artichoke-prosciutto crostini along the Grand Canal at Al Mercà (13; Click here), and cross the Rialto (14; Click here) as the sun sets for boar salami and big reds at I Rusteghi (15; Click here). Sanacapána! (Cheers!)

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VENICE FOR CHILDREN

Adults think Venice is meant for them; kids know better. This is where every fairy tale comes to life, with attic prisons inside pink palaces Click here, dragon bones hidden in church walls Click here, glass-blowers breathing life into pocket-sized sea monsters Click here, and fish balancing on their tails as though spellbound Click here: top that, JK Rowling.

To wear out hyperactive parents, ruthless kids make them climb the Torre dell’Orologio or the Chiesa di San Giorgio Maggiore bell tower. Kids might occasionally indulge their adults with a gelato, a push on the swings at the Giardini Pubblici, or a nap on a Lido beach. But if parents are very good, they might be allowed a Prosecco in the Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio or Campo San Polo, and the chance to learn how tag is played in Venice.

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TOURS

APT tourist offices (Click here) offer guided tours ranging from the classic gondola circuit (€39 per person) to a ‘spicy tour’ with tales of Casanova dalliances and society scandal in the Rialto’s former red-light district (€20 per person).

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FESTIVALS & EVENTS

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SLEEPING

Waking up in a palazzo to the sound of a gondolier calling ‘Oooeeeeee!’ around a canal bend is an unforgettable experience and more affordable than you might think. Many Venetians are opening historic homes as B&Bs, and APT tourist board (www.turismovenezia.it) lists 230 B&Bs, 275 affittacamere (rooms for rent) and 280 apartments to rent in Venice proper; more can be found at www.guestinitaly.com, www.veniceapartment.com and Craigslist Venice (http://venice.it.craigslist.it);Click here. But don’t get your hopes up for eggs and bacon. Venetian laws have strict rules for dining establishments that prohibit B&Bs serving much beyond packaged croissants.

The best rates are in Venice’s low season, typically November, early December, January and the period between Carnevale and Easter, but you might swing deals in the heat of July-August. For 400 more options, see www.lonelyplanet.com. For still more choices, try www.veniceby.com or the Venice Hoteliers Association website, www.veneziasi.it.

Camping

Marina di Venezia ( 041 530 25 11; www.marinadivenezia.it; Via Montello 6, Punta Sabbioni; camping 2 people, car & tent €31.50, 6-person bungalow €56-149; late Apr-Sep; ) On the Litorale del Cavallino, this marina complex includes a private beach, shops, cinema, minigolf, playground, pools, scuba instruction and air-conditioned bungalows – all a vaporetto ride from Fondamente Nuove (Cannaregio).

Campeggio Fusina ( 041 547 00 55; www.camping-fusina.com; Via Moranzani 79, Località Fusina; per person/tent/car €8-9.50/8.50/5; ) A camping village with bonus amenities: laundry, minimarts, bicycle hire, free bed linens and hot showers, a sparsely attended gym and a booming beer garden. Take the Linea Fusina vaporetto into Venice (Zattere stop).

San Marco

Hotel Locanda Fiorita (Map; 041 523 47 54; www.camorosini.com; Campiello Nuovo 3457a; incl breakfast s/d €50-160/50-170, without bathroom €40-90/50-140; ) Take breakfast outdoors on this lovely hidden campo, and you’d never guess bustling Campo Santo Stefano is around the corner. Rooms are traditional, with timber ceilings and damask bedspreads; ask for spacious No 1 overlooking the campo or No 10 with a private terrace.

Locanda Antico Fiore (Map; 041 522 79 41; www.anticofiore.com; Corte Lucatello 3486; d €70-140; ) Local colour is the draw in this cosy B&B in a quiet courtyard, from the arty mother-daughter owners to the eight Venetian-styled guestrooms spread out over the top two floors. Ask for the top-floor green canal-view room or the sweet yellow room tucked under eaves.

Hotel Ai Do Mori (Map; 041 528 92 93; www.hotelaidomori.com; Calle Larga San Marco 658; d €75-150, d without bathroom €50-105) Artists’ garrets in an enviable location at bargain rates. Book well ahead to score an upper-floor room with wood-beamed ceilings, parquet floors and views over the basilica. Rooms with a view cost the same, so ask for No 11 with a private terrace overlooking Piazza San Marco.

Locanda Art Deco (Map; 041 277 05 58; www.locandaartdeco.com; Calle delle Botteghe 2966; d incl breakfast €80-180; ) Rakishly handsome, cream-coloured guestrooms with comfy beds in custom wrought-iron bedsteads, and parquet floors. Take your breakfast in the loft under the rafters, ask helpful hotel staff to arrange in-room massages and private gondola tours, and toss back a spritz in adjoining Campo Santo Stefano like a flapper escaping Prohibition.

Hotel Flora (Map; 041 522 53 44; www.hotelflora.it; Calle Bergamaschi 2283a; d €130-340; ) Down a lane from glitzy Calle Larga XXII Marzo, this garden retreat quietly outclasses brash top-end neighbours. Guestrooms feature antique carved beds piled with soft mattresses and fluffy duvets, but prime options include the opulent gilded No 3 and No 32, which opens onto the garden.

Novecento (Map; 041 241 37 65; www.novecento.biz; Calle del Dose 2683/84; d €140-260; ) World travellers put down roots in nine bohemian-chic rooms with Turkish kilim pillows, Fortuny wall coverings and 19th-century scallop-shell carved bedsteads. Guests linger over breakfast in the garden under an Indian sun parasol, take hotel-arranged cookery courses and mingle around the honesty bar.

Dorsoduro

Pensione Seguso (Map; 041 528 68 58; www.pensioneseguso.it; Fondamenta Zattere ai Gesuati 779; incl breakfast s/d €50-160/70-190, without bathroom €40-122/65-180) An authentic pensione in a 1500 mansion worthy of a Donna Leon mystery novel, with antique hat racks, spooky mirrors, lead-glass windows, even staff dressed in traditional maids’ outfits with white aprons. Almost all 34 rooms have canal views and 24 have ensuite bathrooms; there’s a restaurant just for guests and the staff will pack you a picnic upon request.

Hotel Galleria (Map; 041 523 24 89; www.hotelgalleria.it; Campo della Carità 878a; incl breakfast d from €60-195, s/d without bathroom €40-85/50-135) Bargain-hunter’s Holy Grail: a family-run hotel in a 17th-century mansion smack on the Grand Canal, steps from Ponte dell’Accademia, with updated bathrooms. Nos 7 and 9 are small doubles overlooking the Grand Canal, No 8 has Liberty furnishings with Grand Canal views and No 10 sleeps five, with an original frescoed ceiling and two Grand Canal—facing windows.

Palazzo Zenobio (Map; 041 522 87 70; www.collegioarmeno.com; Palazzo Zenobio; s/d/tr/q €65/100/120/140, without bathroom €30/56/80/100) A gilded 1690 palace that formerly housed a school for Venice’s Armenian community recently opened its doors to scholars and guests for a nominal fee. Accommodation is spare but the palace’s trompe l’oeil frescoed ceilings are splendid and its overgrown formal garden among Venice’s largest and loveliest.

La Calcina (Map; 041 520 64 66; www.lacalcina.com; Fondamenta Zattere ai Gesuati 780; s/d €90-120/110-250; ) An idyllic seaside getaway, with a roof terrace, ground-floor restaurant and several antiques-filled guestrooms facing the Giudecca Canal and Palladio-designed Redentore church. To channel your inner writer, request No 2, where John Ruskin stayed while he wrote The Stones of Venice in 1876.

Charming House DD.724 (Map; 041 277 02 62; www.thecharminghouse.com; Ramo de Mula 724; incl breakfast d €220-500; ) Hole up in your own art-filled, modernist-chic Venetian bolthole, with lavish breakfast buffets in the libraryand a movie-viewing room. Guestrooms are designer-sleek yet cosy; splash out for the superior double with a bathtub and balcony overlooking Peggy Guggenheim’s garden.

San Polo & Santa Croce

Pensione Guerrato (Map; 041 528 59 27; www.pensioneguerrato.it; Ruga due Mori, San Polo 240a; incl breakfast d €45-160, without bathroom €40-95; ) In a landmark that once served as a hostel for knights heading off on the Third Crusade, updated guestrooms haven’t lost their sense of history – ask for one with frescoes or glimpses of the Grand Canal.

Albergo Casa Peron (Map; 041 71 00 21; www.casaperon.com; Salizada San Pantalon 84; incl breakfast s/d €50-100/60-100, without bathroom €30-50/50-85) In true Venetian style, rooms are hidden in a maze of staircases and corridors, paintings cover the walls salon-style, and for an eccentric touch, resident parrot Pierino greets guests in the lobby. Rooms are basic but personable; No 5 features a terrace overlooking I Frari.

Hotel Alex (Map; 041 523 13 41; www.hotelalexinvenice.com; Rio Terà, San Polo 2606; d €60-112, tr €80-150, q €100-190, without bathroom s €35-54, d €40-84, tr €60-114, q €80-144, all incl breakfast) Along a secret local shortcut between I Frari and Campo San Polo, this hotel offers spare, sunny rooms with lacquered furnishings and updated bathrooms on three floors; some upper rooms have a balcony or terrace overlooking two canals.

Ca’ Angeli (Map; 041 523 24 80; www.caangeli.it; Calle del Traghetto de la Madonnetta, San Polo 1343; d €80-250; ) Brothers Giorgio and Matteo inherited this Grand Canal mansion and converted it into a hotel and antique showplace, with original Murano glass chandeliers, namesake angels dating from the 16th century and a restored Louis XIV sofa in the canalside reading room. Spacious room 1 has Grand Canal views and a whirlpool bath; No 5 has a superb terrace. Breakfasts are made with organic products and served in the dining room on antique plates.

Oltre il Giardino (Map; 041 275 00 15; www.oltreilgiardino-venezia.com; Fondamenta Contarini, San Polo 2542; d €150-420; ) Live the designer dream in guestrooms brimming with historic charm and modern comforts: marquetry composers desks and flatscreen TVs, candelabra and colourful minifridges, 19th-century poker chairs and babysitting services. Light fills all six high-ceilinged bedrooms, and though Turquoise is sprawling and Green occupies a private corner of the walled garden, Grey has a sexy wrought-iron bedframe under a cathedral ceiling.

Cannaregio

Alloggi Gerotto Calderan (Map; 041 71 55 62; www.casagerottocalderan.com; Campo San Geremia 283; dm/s/d/tr/q €25/50/90/105/120; ) Cheap and chipper, handily located over a bookshop near the train station in lively Campo San Geremia. Rooms are compact with clean bathrooms, in-room internet access and twee coverlets; some rooms have traditional Venetian rosebud-painted headboards and bowlegged bedstands.

Residenza Ca’ Riccio (Map; 041 528 23 34; www.cariccio.com; Rio Terà dei Birri 5394a; incl breakfast s €70-90, d €95-130; ) Down the street from Casanova’s house in a convenient yet hidden location is the Riccio family’s lovingly restored 14th-century residence. Seven rooms on the two top floors look out onto a courtyard, and feature simple wrought-iron beds, wood-beamed ceilings, terracotta tiled floors and whitewashed walls.

Locanda Leon Bianco (Map; 041 523 35 72; www.leonbianco.it; Corte Leon Bianco 5629; d from €100) Turner used to paint at this canalside hotel, and you can see what he saw in the place: sloping terrazzo alla Veneziana (Venetian marble) floors, heavy wooden doors and hulking antique furniture. Three rooms overlook the Grand Canal and No 4 is a corner room with wraparound postcard views, but bring your earplugs for canalside rooms: the Rialto Market opposite starts at 4am.

Domus Orsoni (Map; 041 275 95 38; www.domusorsoni.it; Corte Vedei 1045; incl breakfast s €80-150, d €100-250; ) Five stylish rooms sprawl out over this low Venetian house in a tranquil back lane. Breakfast is served in the garden by the Orsoni mosaic works, located here since 1885 – hence the mosaic fantasias glittering across guestroom bathrooms, walls and headboards.

Ca’ Pozzo (Map; 041 524 05 04; www.capozzovenice.com; Sotoportego Ca’ Pozzo 1279; s/d €155/300; ) Biennale-bound travellers find a home away from home-design catalogues in this design shrine near the historic Ghetto. Several guestrooms come with balconies, two are built to accommodate disabled guests, and spacious No 208 could house a Damien Hirst entourage.

Palazzo Abadessa (Map; 041 241 37 84; www.abadessa.com; Calle Priuli 4011; d €145-325; ) Evenings seem enchanted in this opulent 1540 Venetian palazzo, with owner Maria Luisa fluffing pillows, plying guests with cake between meals and fulfilling wishes like a fairy godmother. Sumptuous guestrooms feature plush beds, handmade silk-damask walls and 18th-century antique vanities; go for baroque and ask for one with original ceiling frescoes, and enjoy cocktails in the garden until you’re whisked off to the opera in the hotel’s boat.

Castello

Foresteria Valdese (Map; 041 528 67 97; www.diaconiavaldese.org/venezia; Palazzo Cavagnis, Castello 5170; incl breakfast dm €22, d from €78) Holy hostel: this rambling palace retreat owned by the Waldensian church has 1st-floor guestrooms with 18th-century frescoes by Bevilacqua, and one floor up guestrooms have canal views. Dorm beds are available only for families or groups; book well ahead.

Locanda Silva (Map; 041 522 76 43; www.locandasilva.it; Fondamenta del Rimedio 4423; incl breakfast s €45-80, d €60-130) Along a quiet canal five minutes’ walk from Piazza San Marco, this family-run hotel has 23 cheerful, gleamingly clean guestrooms with plain blond-wood furniture. Ask for sunny canalside rooms, and lounge on the giddy rooftop terrace peeking at San Marco’s campanile.

La Residenza (Map; 041 528 53 15; www.venicelaresidenza.com; Campo Bandiera e Moro 3608; s/d €50-100/80-180; ) Sleep like the dead in the comfort of this grand 15th-century mansion, presiding over a campo that was once the site of public executions. Generously sized rooms are furnished in standard Venetian style, with lacquered wardrobes and beds with striped bedspreads. The upstairs reception is a chandelier-lit salon garlanded with 18th-century stucco, with a grand piano guests occasionally play at happy hour.

Giudecca

Ostello Venezia (Map; 041 523 82 11; www.ostellionline.org; Fondamenta della Croce 86; dm incl breakfast €21-26; check-in 1.30-11.30pm, check-out 9.30am) Serene canal views make hostel bunks seem miles away from the mad crowds and inflated prices of San Marco, yet it’s just a vaporetto hop away. Sheets, blanket and a pillow are provided in the bunk price, but you’ll need to arrive promptly after 1.30pm opening time to claim that perfect bunk by the window; reserve ahead for one of two viewless private rooms.

Residenzia Junghans (Map; 041 521 08 01; www.residenzajunghans.com/home.htm; Terzo Ramo della Palada 394; s/d €40/70) Save cash and wax nostalgic about school in this bargain modern dorm residence with instant camaraderie, Ikea desks and school-marmish rules: payment in advance, quiet after 11pm and locked gates at 1.30am. Ask for deals by the week.

Bauer Palladio & Spa (Map; 041 520 70 22; www.palladiohotelspa.com; Fondamenta della Croce 33; d €210-490) Splash out in a serene, Palladio-designed former cloister with San Marco views, private solar-powered boat service and a superb spa. These premises once housed nuns and orphans, but now offer heavenly comfort in 37 rosy, serenely demure guestrooms, many with garden terraces or Giudecca Canal views. Head downstairs for local, organic breakfast buffets and ecofriendly spa treatments like the milk, honey and rose bath (€90) with complimentary sauna, Jacuzzi and marble steam-room access.

CICHETI: VENICE’S BEST MEAL DEALS

Even in unpretentious Venetian osterie (bistros), most dishes cost a couple of euros more than they might elsewhere in Italy – not a bad markup, considering all that fresh seafood and produce brought in by boat. But cicheti, or Venetian tapas, are some of the best foodie finds in the country, served at lunch and around 6pm to 8pm with wine by the glass. Cicheti range from basic bar snacks (spicy meatballs, fresh tomato and basil bruschette) to wildly inventive small plates: think white Bassano asparagus and plump lagoon shrimp wrapped with pancetta at All’Arco (below), or crostini with soft local salami and truffle pecorino at I Rusteghi (below). Prices start at €1 for tasty meatballs to €3 to €6 for gourmet fantasias with fancy ingredients, typically devoured standing up or perched atop stools at the bar. For cicheti with ultrafresh ingredients at manageable prices, seek out osterie along side lanes and canals in Cannaregio, Castello, San Polo and San Marco.

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EATING

Restaurants & Osterie

SAN MARCO

Enoteca al Volto (Map; 041 522 89 45; Calle Cavalli 4081; cicheti €2-3; 11am-2pm & 5-9pm Tue-Sat) Join the bar crowd working its way through the vast selection of wine and cicheti, or come early for a table in the snug wood-beamed backroom for seaworthy bowls of pasta with clams or thick steaks with a sailor-size glass of Amarone.

I Rusteghi (Map; 041 523 22 05; Corte del Tentor 5513; mini-panini €2-5; 10.30am-3pm & 6-9pm Mon-Sat) Outstanding wine selections and cicheti featuring exceptional meats – boar salami, pancetta and velvety cured lardo di Colonnata that will win you over to lard. Ask fourth-generation sommelier-owner Giovanni to choose your wine, and he’ll give you a long look to suss out your character before presenting a sensual Tocai or heady Refosco you won’t find elsewhere.

Cavatappi (Map; 041 296 02 52; Campo della Guerra 525/526; cicheti €2-4, meals €8-15; 11.15am-4pm Tue-Sat & 7-10pm Fri & Sat) A sleek charmer strong on seasonal cicheti and artisanal cheeses, wines by the glass, and that rarest of San Marco finds: a tasty sit-down meal under €10. Get the pasta or risotto of the day and sheep’s cheese drizzled with honey for dessert.

Vini da Arturo (Map; 041 528 69 74; Calle dei Assassini 3656; meals €85; 7-11pm Mon-Sat) Everyone in this corridor-sized restaurant comes for the same reason: the steak, studded with green peppercorn, soused in brandy and mustard, or rare on the bone. A butter knife and credit card are all you need to make short work of an exceptional cut.

DORSODURO

Impronta Café (Map; 041 275 03 86; Calle Crosera 3815; meals €8-15; 11am-11pm Mon-Sat) Join Venice’s value-minded jet set for Prosecco, espresso and bargain polenta-salami combos.Architectural diagrams of cooking pots and a Buddha presiding over the bar add sly humour to the hipster scene.

Enoteca ai Artisti (Map; 041 523 89 44; www.enotecaartisti.com; Fondamenta de la Toletta 1169a; meals €10-20; noon-4pm & 6.30-10pm Mon-Sat) Heartwarming pastas, seasonal bruschette (toast with toppings) and inspired cheeses are paired with wines by the glass by your oenophile hosts. The glass shopfront makes great people-watching, but space is limited, so book ahead for groups larger than two.

Ristorante Oniga (Map; 041 522 44 10; www.oniga.it; Campo San Barnaba 2852; meals €30-35; noon-3pm & 7-10pm Wed-Mon) Purists come for chef Annika’s exemplary Venetian seafood platters, while gourmet adventurers order quirky seasonal inventions like ravioli with ricotta, broccoli and poppyseeds.

Ristorante La Bitta (Map; 041 523 05 31; Calle Lunga San Barnaba 2753a; meals €35-40; 7-10pm Mon-Sat) The daily menu is presented on a miniature artist’s easel, and the rustic fare looks like a still life and tastes like a dream: gnocchiis graced with pumpkin and herbs, and guinea fowl wades in mascarpone sauce. La Bitta doesn’t offer wine by the glass, but it’ll cut you a deal on a half-bottle.

SAN POLO & SANTA CROCE

All’Arco (Map; 041 520 56 66; Calle dell’Arco, San Polo 436; cicheti €1.50-4; 7am-5pm Mon-Sat) Maestro Francesco and his son Matteo invent Venice’s best cicheti daily with Rialto Market finds, and if you ask nicely and wait patiently, they’ll whip up something special for you on the spot – baby artichoke topped with bottarga (dried caviar paste), or tuna tartare with mint, strawberries and a balsamic reduction. Even with copious Prosecco, hardly any meal here tops €20 or falls short of four stars.

Pronto Pesce Pronto (Map; 041 822 02 98; Rialto Pescheria, San Polo 319; cicheti €3-8; 11am-7.30pm Mon-Sat) Next to Venice’s fish market is this designer deli, specialising in artfully composed crudi (aka ‘Venetian sushi’) and well-dressed seafood salads. Grab a stool and a glass of Prosecco with your tangy folpetti (baby octopus) salad and plump prawn crudi, or enjoy it dockside on the Grand Canal.

Osteria La Zucca (Map; 041 524 15 70; www.lazucca.it; Calle del Tentor, Santa Croce 1762; small plates €5-10; 12.30-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm Mon-Sat) Vegetablecentric seasonal small plates bring spice-trade influences to local produce: zucchini with ginger zing, curried carrots with yoghurt, and rice pudding with San Erasmo strawberries. Roast lamb is respectable here too, but the veggies have star quality.

Ae Oche (Map; 041 524 11 61; www.aeoche.com; Calle del Tintor 1552a; pizzas €7-13; noon-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm Mon-Fri, noon-2.30pm & 7-11.30pm Sat & Sun) Architecture students and budget-minded foodies converge here for wood-fired pizzas and ale at excellent prices. Extreme eaters order the lip-buzzing mangiafuoco (‘fire-eater’) with hot salami, Calabrese peppers and Tabasco, while Palladio scholars stick with the classic white estiva, topped with rocket, seasoned Grana Padano cheese and cherry tomatoes.

Osteria Ae Cravate (Map; 041 528 79 12; Salizada San Pantalon, Santa Croce 36; meals €15-30; 9.30am-4pm & 6-11pm Tue-Sun) A mosquito-motif tie loosened by a ravenous British entomologist is Bruno’s favourite of the many cravate (neckties) hanging from the ceiling, all donated by diners in thanks for fresh pasta. Try the rustic handmade ravioli, and leave room for house-baked desserts.

Trattoria da Ignazio (Map; 041 523 48 52; Calle Saoneri 2749, San Polo 36; meals €30-50; noon-3pm & 7-11pm Mon-Sat) Dapper waiters serve simply prepared grilled lagoon fish and pasta made in-house (‘of course’) with a proud flourish, on tables bedecked with yellow linens and orchids. On sunny days and warm nights the neighbourhood converges beneath the garden grape arbour.

Vecio Fritolin (Map; 041 522 28 81; www.veciofritolin.it; Calle della Regina, Santa Croce 2262; meals €40-60; noon-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm Tue-Sun) Order the langouste and zucchini spaghetti that packs in Italian slow foodies, or choose today’s special with confidence – all produce here is handpicked daily at the Rialto markets and desserts are made in-house. Budget gourmets: stop by for €10 fish-fry takeaway.

CANNAREGIO

Al Ponte (Map; 041 528 61 57; Calle Larga Gallina 6378; cicheti €1.50-4; 11am-3pm & 7-11pm Wed-Sun) Early arrival, Venetian relatives and a magic spell might get you a table at this red-doored pub ‘al ponte’ (on the bridge). Otherwise, join the crowd standing at the bar for decadently marbled salami panini, baby octopus salad and other local, seasonal treats.

La Cantina (Map; 041 522 82 58; Campo San Felice 3689; cicheti €2-6; 11am-9.30pm Tue-Sat) Talk about slow food: even the cicheti here are made to order, so grab a stool and house-brewed Morgana beer while you await fresh, seasonal bruschette and hearty bean soups.

Da Alberto (Map; 041 523 81 53; Calle Larga Gallina 5401; meals €15-25; noon-3pm & 6-11pm Mon-Sat) All the makings of a true Venetian osteria –hidden location, casks of wine, chandeliers that look like medieval torture devices – plus fair prices, seasonal cicheti, crispy Venetian seafood fry, and a silky panna cotta with strawberries.

Alla Vedova (Map; 041 528 53 24; Calle del Pistor 3912; cicheti €1-3.50, meals €15-40; noon-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm Mon-Wed, 7-10.30pm Fri-Sun) Culinary convictions run deep at this venerable Venetian osteria: you won’t find spritz or coffee on the menu, or pay more than €1 for Venetian meatballs at the bar. Call ahead to claim a wooden table that has weathered a thousand elbows in postpasta stupors.

Anice Stellato (Map; 041 72 07 44; Fondamenta della Sensa 3272; meals €25-40; 11am-3pm & 7-11pm Wed-Sun) If finding this obscure corner of Cannaregio seems like an adventure, wait until dinner arrives: pistachio-encrusted lamb fillet, wild sea bass with aromatic herbs, and perfectly fried moecche (soft-shelled crab) gobbled whole. Tin lamps and recycled-paper placemats on communal tables keep the focus on local food and local company – all memorable.

CASTELLO

Enoteca Mascareta (Map; 041 523 07 44; Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa 5138; meals €30-45; 7pm-2am Fri-Tue) Hang out by the outdoor bar for cicheti and a glass of organic wine for under €10, or head inside for appetiser platters of meats and cheeses that could pass for a meal.

Corte Sconta (Map; 041 522 70 24; Calle del Pestrin 3886; meals €35-55; 11.30am-3.30pm & 6-10.30pm Tue-Sat) Seek out this vine-covered corte sconta (hidden courtyard) for imaginative housemade pasta and ultrafresh, visually striking seafood: crustaceans arranged on a platter like paint on an artist’s palette, black squid-ink pasta topped with bright orange squash and tender scallops, and roast eel looping like the river Brenta on the plate.

GIUDECCA

Ai Tre Scaini (Map; 041 522 47 90; Calle Michelangelo 53c; meals €15-25; noon-3pm Fri-Wed, 7-10pm Tue, Wed, Sat & Sun) Belly laughs hurt after generous plates of pasta and seafood here, but that doesn’t stop the neighbourhood from lingering over lunch in the garden, or date-night dinners with wine flowing straight from the barrel.

I Figli delle Stelle (Map; 041 523 00 04; www.ifiglidellestelle.it; Zitelle 70; meals €15-35; noon-3.30pm & 7pm-midnight Tue-Sat, noon-2.30pm Sun) Declarations of love at Venice’s most romantic restaurant are slightly suspect: are you sure that’s not Chef Luigi’s velvety, heartwarming pasta and soup talking? A creamy fava-bean soup with chicory and fresh tomatoes coats the tongue in a naughty way, and the mixed grill for two with langoustine, sole and fresh sardines is a commitment – though given the cuisine and waterfront views of San Marco, this is a surprisingly cheap date.

LIDO

Trattoria La Favorita ( 041 526 16 26; via Francesco Duodo 33; meals €20-35; noon-3.30pm & 7.30-11pm Wed-Sun, 6-10pm Tue, closed Jan—mid-Feb) Spider crab gnochetti, fish risotto and crudi at noncelebrity prices make La Favorita earn its name. Book ahead for the wisteria-filled garden, where songbirds refuse to be outsung by the ring tones of movie moguls here for the Venice International Film Festival.

BURANO

Al Gatto Nero ( 041 73 01 20; www.gattonero.com; via Giudecca 88; noon-3.30pm & 7.30-10pm Tue-Sun) Once you’ve tried the homemade tagliolini with spider crab, whole grilled fish and perfect housebaked Burano biscuits, the ferry ride to Burano seems a minor inconvenience –a swim back here from Venice would be worth it for that decadent langoustine risotto. Call ahead of the steady stream of visiting dignitaries and star chefs, and plead for canalside seating.

Cafes

In prime tourist zones, the price of coffee at a table seems more like rent, so take your coffee standing on side streets or splash out and relax on a campo, or in the fabulous cafes of the Museo Correr, Palazzo Querini Stampalia or the Piazza San Marco. A €6 music surcharge is often added to the bill in Piazza San Marco – might as well get your money’s worth and do the tango.

Caffè Florian (Map; 041 520 56 41; www.caffeflorian.com; Piazza San Marco 56/59; drinks €8-12; 10am-midnight Thu-Tue Apr-Oct, to 11pm Thu-Tue Nov-Mar) Florian adheres to rituals established in 1720: lovers canoodle over breakfast in plush banquettes indoors, uniformed waiters serve gooey hot chocolate on silver trays, and the orchestra strikes up a dance number as fading sunlight illuminates San Marco’s portal mosaics.

Paradiso (Map; 335 622 30 79; Giardini della Biennale 1260, Castello; 9am-7pm) Curators woo shy artists on mod couches and star architects hold court under sun umbrellas, fuelled by a steady stream of coffee and cocktails for less than you’d expect in this prime waterfront location – this is the only cafe within reach of anyone in stilettos at the Biennale.

Pasticceria Rizzardini (Map; 041 522 38 35; Campiello dei Meloni 1415, San Polo; 7.30am-8pm Wed-Mon) ‘From 1742’ reads the modest shopfront sign, and inside you’ll find the secrets to the survival of this standing-room-only cafe-bakery: killer krapfen (doughnuts), wagging lingue di suocere (mother-in-law’s tongues) and suggestively sprinkled pallone di Casanova (Casanova’s balls). Act fast if you want that last slice of tiramisu.

Gelaterie

Alaska (Map; 041 71 52 11; Calle Larga dei Bari, Santa Croce 1159; gelato €1-1.60; 9am-1pm & 3-8pm) Day-trippers in San Marco may settle for vanilla ice milk, but Venetians head to Alaska for outlandish organic gelato: one glorious scoop of Venetian roasted pistachio, or two of vaguely minty carciofi (artichoke) with tangy lemon.

Gelateria San Stae (Map; 041 71 06 89; Salizada San Stae, Santa Croce 1910; gelato €1-2; 11am-9pm Tue-Sun) Simple flavours are anything but at San Stae, where signature ingredients cover Venetian trade routes from Piedmont hazelnut to Madagascar vanilla.

Da Nico (Map; 041 522 52 93; Zattere, Dorsoduro 922; gelato €2.50-8; 7am-10pm Fri-Wed) Gelato to go is half-price at the bar, but sunny days are meant for lazing away dockside with Da Nico’s gianduiotto, a slab of hazelnut gelato submerged under panna (whipped cream), or panna in ghiaccio, frozen whipped cream sandwiched between cookies.

Quick Eats

Avoid the sad congealed pizza slices around Piazza San Marco and the Rialto, and grab cicheti at osterie, panini at cafes and bars, and hot pizza slices until late in Campo Santa Margherita.

Snack Bar Ai Nomboli (Map; 041 523 09 95; Rio Terá dei Nomboli, San Polo 271c; panini €2-3; 8am-8pm Mon-Sat) Two scrumptious panini here make a filling lunch, and three is a feast deserving of Bardolino by the glass. Proper crusty rolls are filled with local cheeses, respectable salami, roast beef, roast vegetables and sprightly greens, plus condiments ranging from spicy mustard to wild-nettle sauce.

Pizza al Volo (Map; 041 522 54 30; Campo Santa Margherita 2944; pizza slice €2-4; noon-1am) Peckish night owls run out of options fast in Venice once restaurants start to close at 10pm – but slices here are cheap and tasty, with a thin yet sturdy crust that won’t collapse on your bar-hopping outfit.

Caffé Mandola (Map; 041 523 76 24; Calle della Mandola, San Marco 3630; panini €3-7; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat) Carbo-load before the opera or between museums with fresh focaccia loaded with tangy tuna and capers or lean bresaola, arugula and seasoned Grana Padano cheese. Stools are generally available except when you need them most, at lunch and happy hour.

Self-Catering

The Rialto Market (Map) offers superb local produce next to the legendary Pescaria (Map), Venice’s 600-year-old fish market. In backstreets nearby there are bakeries, small groceries and two notable gourmet shops: Aliani (Map; 041 522 49 13; Ruga Vecchia di San Giovanni, San Polo 654), with cheeses, cured meats and gourmet specialities from balsamic vine­gar aged 40 years to bottarga; and Drogheria Mascari (Map; 041 522 97 62; Ruga degli Spezieri 381; 8am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Mon-Tue & Thu-Sat, 8am-1pm Wed), a dazzling emporium lined with copper-topped jars, spices and truffles galore, as well as an entire backroom of speciality Italian wines.

For basic grocery needs, Billa Supermarket (Map; Strada Nova, Cannaregio 3660; 8.30am-8pm Mon-Sat, 9am-8pm Sun) fits the bill, but the deli selection is better at Coop ( 041 296 06 21; 9am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Mon-Sat) Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio 1492 (Map); Piazzale Roma (Map).

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DRINKING

Boozing hot spots are around the Rialto Market area, Campo Santa Margherita in Dorsoduro, Campo Zanipolo and Campo Maria Formosa in Castello, and Fondamenta degli Ormesini in Cannaregio. Happy hour begins at 6pm with an ombra (small glass of wine) or spritz, the Venetian cocktail of Prosecco and bittersweet Aperol. For a successful giro di ombra (roving happy hour), sample fine Veneto wines for as little as €1.50 and cicheti at the bar while they’re fresh.

Aurora (Map; 041 528 64 05; www.aurora.st; Piazza San Marco 48-50; noon-2am Wed-Sun, cocktails from 6.15pm) Historic cafe by day, chilled lounge with local DJs and art openings by night. Local musicians and €2 cocktails bring life to San Marco on Sunday nights, and sporadic Thursday art events draw shy artists out of their garrets.

Harry’s Bar (Map; 041 528 57 77; www.cipriano.com; Calle Vallaresso, San Marco 1323; noon-11pm) Aspiring auteurs throng the bar frequented by Ernest Hemingway, Charlie Chaplin, Truman Capote, Orson Welles and others, enjoying a signature €18 Bellini (fresh peach juice and Prosecco) with a side of reflected glory. Despite the basic bistro decor, this is one of Italy’s most expensive restaurants – stick to the bar to save financing for your breakthrough film.

Cantinone ‘Gia Schiavi’ (Map; 041 523 00 34; Fondamenta Nani 992; 8.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat) Good lungs and steady hands are instrumental to make your order heard over Cantinone’s happy hour and transport cicheti and ombre or pallottoline (small bottles of beer) outside to the canal without spilling on the boisterous throngs of students, gondola builders and Accademia art historians.

Il Caffè Rosso (Map; 041 528 79 98; Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 2963; 7am-1am Mon-Sat) Sunny piazza seating is the place to recover from last night’s revelry and today’s newspaper headlines, until the cycle begins again at 6pm with spritz cocktails and standing-room-only student crowds.

Muro Vino e Cucina (Map; 041 523 74 95; Campo Bella Vienna, San Polo 222; 4pm-2am Mon-Sat) A snazzy aluminium bar with see-and-be-seen picture windows, without velvet ropes. Wines by the glass start at just €2 and cocktails from €5, and low tables out in the campo are more happening than any VIP lounge.

Al Mercà (Map; 393 992 47 81; Campo Bella Vienna, San Polo 213; 9-3pm & 4-9pm Mon-Sat) Discerning drinkers throng this upbeat bar for top-notch Prosecco and DOC wines by the glass at €2 to €3.50, and cicheti start at just €1 for meatballs and mini-panini. Arrive by 6.30pm for the best selection and easy bar access, or mingle with crowds of stragglers stretching to Grand Canal docks.

Al Timon (Map; 346 320 99 78; Fondamenta degli Ormesini, Cannaregio 2754; noon-3pm & 6pm-2am Tue-Sun) Pull up your director’s chair along the canal and watch the motley parade of drinkers and dreamers headed here for a massive range of crostini (open-face sandwiches) and quality hooch until the wee hours.

Cantina do Mori (Map; 041 522 54 01; Soto­portego dei do Mori, San Polo 429; 8.30am-8pm Mon-Sat) A 15th-century watering hole, with gleaming, gargantuan copper pots and incongruously dinky, dainty sandwiches called francobolli (postage stamps). Come early for the best selection of cicheti (€3 to €4) and local gossip (free).

Osteria agli Ormesini (Map; 041 71 58 34; Fondamenta degli Ormesini, Cannaregio 2710; 6.30pm-2am Mon-Sat) While the rest of the city is awash in wine, beer is the drink of choice here, with 120 mostly foreign brews. The scene spills into the street over happy-hour panini – but try to keep it down, or the neighbours get testy.

Bacaro (Map; 041 296 06 87; Salizada San Moisé, San Marco 1345; 9am-2am) Good looks and smarts too: backed by the Benetton family, this bar is a shimmering mosaic oval that reflects well on you and the clever company you’ll be keeping, once the literary crowd migrates here after Mondadori book-signings upstairs.

Torino@Night (Map; 041 522 39 14; Campo San Luca, San Marco 4592; 8pm-1am Tue-Sat) Eclectic, loud and funky as it wants to be, Torino livens up staid San Marco with €2 to €4 drinks and the odd live band, spontaneous singalong, or marathon DJ session of vintage reggae on vinyl.

Taverna L’Olandese Volante (Map; 041 528 93 49; San Lio, San Marco 5658; 10am-2pm & 5pm-12.30am Mon-Sat, 10am-2pm Sun) Go home happily hoarse after another chaotic night at the Flying Dutchman, where study-abroad students mingle easily and laugh loudly with local eccentrics over cheap beer.

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ENTERTAINMENT

In Venice, you can purchase tickets for major events at helloVenezia ticket outlets ( 041 24 24; www.hellovenezia.com), located near key vaporetto stops Click here. For blockbuster events like the Biennale or La Fenice operas, you’ll need to book ahead online at the appropriate website or www.vivaticket.it – though you might luck into last-minute discounts at Weekend a Venezia (http://en.venezia.waf.it).

To find out what’s on the calendar in Venice during your visit, drop by the APT tourism office Click here to pick up this month’s printed Eventi brochure, or click on the Calendar button at www.comune.venezia. Other sites with worthwhile entertainment listings:

Casinos

No opera can match the drama that’s been unfolding at Venice’s Casinò di Venezia (Map; 041 529 71 11; www.casinovenezia.it; Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi, Cannaregio 2040; admission €5; 3pm-2.30am Sun-Thu, 3pm-3am Fri & Sat) since the 16th century: Richard Wagner survived the 20-year effort of composing his stormy Ring cycle only to expire at the casino in 1883. To take on the high-stakes tables here, jackets are required and strong constitutions advisable.

Cinemas

Summer Arena (Campo San Polo; Jul-Aug) July and August see open-air concerts, films and theatre performances in Campo San Polo, but watch this space year-round for anything from kiddie carousels, political rallies and impromptu silent rave sessions to DJ-designed MP3 playlists.

Multisala Astra ( 041 526 57 36; Via Corfu 12, Lido 30126; adult/senior/student €7/6/5; shows 5.30-10pm) When you start feeling the burn on the beach, catch a show in this air-conditioned, recently remodelled cinema. Subtitled art-house films share the marquee with blockbusters dubbed into Italian.

Theatre, Opera & Classical Music

Teatro La Fenice (Map; 041 78 66 11; www.teatrolafenice.it; Campo San Fantin, San Marco 1965; tickets €20-1000) Tours are possible with advance booking ( 041 24 24), but the best way to see La Fenice is with the loggione, opera buffs who pass judgment on productions from on high in the top-tier cheap seats. In the opera off-season, look for symphonies and chamber-music concerts.

Interpreti Veneziani ( 041 277 05 61; www.interpretiveneziani.com; Chiesa San Vidal, San Marco 2862; adult/student & senior €24/19; doors open 8.30pm) Everything you knew of Vivaldi, from elevators and mobile ring tones is proved fantastically wrong by Interpreti Veneziani, who play Vivaldi on 18th-century instruments as a soundtrack for living in this city of intrigue – you’ll never listen to The Four Seasons again without hearing summer storms gathering over the lagoon, or the echoing footsteps over footbridges in a winter’s-night intrigue.

Teatro Goldoni (Map; 041 240 20 14; www.teatrostabileveneto.it; Calle Teatro Goldoni, San Marco 4650b; tickets €7-30; box office in season 10am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat, 10am-1pm Thu) Named after the city’s greatest playwright, this theatre’s dramatic range runs from Goldoni comedy to Shakespearean drama (mostly in Italian), plus ballet and concerts.

Musica a Palazzo (Map; 340 971 72 72; www.musicapalazzo.com; Palazzo Barbarigo-Minotto, Fondamenta Barbarigo o Duodo, San Marco 2504; tickets €45; doors open 8pm) In salons overlooking the Grand Canal with splendid Tiepolo ceilings, the soprano’s high notes might make you fear for your wineglass. The drama unfolds over 1½ hours of selected arias from Verdi to Rossini, with 70 guests trailing singers in modern dress as they pour their hearts out in song, progressing from receiving-room overtures to heart­breaking finales in the bedroom.

Live Music Clubs

Venice Jazz Club (Map; 041 523 20 56; www.venicejazzclub.com; Ponte dei Pugni, Dorsoduro 3102; tickets incl drink €20; doors open 7pm) Jazz is alive and swinging in Dorsoduro, where the resident Venice Jazz Club Quartet improvises funky tributes to Miles Davis and Charles Mingus and grooves on Italian jazz standards. Drinks are steep, so starving artists booze beforehand and arrive at 8pm for free cold-cut platters.

Aurora Beach Club (Map; 041 526 80 13; www.aurora.st; Piazzale Bucintoro Lungomare D’Annunzio, Lido 20x; 9am-2am May-Sep) Days flow into nights at this beach venue with four-poster sunbeds, a free library, sports and chill-out zones for daytime use, plus live music sets, cocktail bars, open-air cinema and DJ sets to keep you dancing until you face-plant in the sand.

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SHOPPING

Retail therapy approaches delirium in Venice. A single visit to Murano can mysteriously max out carry-on limits with fragile glassware, and a visit to the Rialto Market and neighbouring gourmet shops like Drogheria Mascari induces foodies to stash bottles of wine and jars of mountain honey in their checked baggage. But Venice’s ultimate shopping triumphs are unique finds at surprisingly reasonable prices, handcrafted by artisans in tiny backstreet studios (see opposite).

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GETTING THERE & AWAY

Air

Most flights arrive and depart from Marco Polo airport (VCE; off Map; 041 260 92 60; www.veniceairport.it), 12km outside Venice, east of Mestre. Ryanair’s budget flights to/from London Stansted, Dublin, Shannon and Paris currently use San Giuseppe airport (TSF; 0422 31 51 11; www.trevisoairport.it), about 5km southwest of Treviso and a 30km, one-hour drive from Venice. Low-cost airlines are a benefit to travellers, but a burden on the environment and Venice’s air quality; to travel with a cleaner conscience, consider a carbon-offset program (Click here).

Airport bus services link both airports with Venice’s Piazzale Roma and Mestre, and the Alilaguna fast ferry runs from Marco Polo airport. ATVO’s Eurobus connects to Treviso’s San Giuseppe airport. For more details, Click here.

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TOP FIVE AVANT-GARDE ARTISANS IN VENICE

Boat

Minoan Lines (www.minoan.gr) and Anek (www.anekitalia.com) run regular ferries to Venice from Greece, while Venezia Lines (www.venezialines.com) runs high-speed boats to and from Croatia and Slovenia in summer – but consider big-ship transport carefully. Long-haul ferries and cruise ships have an outsize environmental impact on tiny Venice and its fragile lagoon aquaculture, exposing Venice’s ancient foundations to degradation from high-speed motoschiaffi (wakes) and leakage of wastewater from the bilge, ballast and flushing of onboard toilets. Take the lower-impact train instead, and Venice will be most grateful.

Bus

Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV; 041 24 24; www.actv.it) buses leave from the bus station (Map) on Piazzale Roma for Mestre and surrounding areas.

ATVO (Azienda Trasporti Veneto Orientale; 041 520 55 30) operates buses to destinations all over the eastern Veneto. Tickets and information are available at the ticket office on Piazzale Roma.

Car & Motorcycle

The congested Trieste—Turin A4 passes through Mestre. From Mestre, take the Venezia exit. From the south, take the A13 from Bologna, which connects with the A4 at Padua.

Once over the Ponte della Libertà bridge from Mestre, cars must be left at the car park at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto; expect to pay €20 or more for every 24 hours. Parking stations in Mestre are cheaper. Car ferry 17 transports vehicles from Tronchetto to the Lido.

The car-rental companies listed here all have offices on Piazzale Roma and at Marco Polo airport. Several companies operate in or near Mestre train station too.

Train

Prompt, affordable, scenic and environmentally savvy, trains are the preferred transport option to and from Venice. Trains run frequently to Venice’s Stazione Santa Lucia (signed as Ferrovia within Venice) from locations throughout Italy and major European cities; vaporetti (city ferries) stop right outside the station. Train tickets can be purchased at self-serve ticketing machines in the station, online at www.trenitalia.it, or in the UK at Rail Europe ( 0844 8484064; www.raileurope.co.uk).

Venice is linked by train to Padua (€2.90 to €15.70, 30 to 50 minutes, three to four each hour) and Verona (€6.15 to €25.20, 1¼ to 2½ hours, two each hour). Regular trains run further afield to Milan (€14.50 to €38.50, 2½ to 3¼ hours), Bologna (€8.90 to €35.20, 1¾ to 2¾ hours), Florence (€21.50 to €54.50, 2¾ to 3¾ hours) and many other major points in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.

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GETTING AROUND

To/From the Airport

The Alilaguna ( 041 240 17 01; www.alilaguna.com) Orange Line ferry costs €13 from the airport ferry dock (an eight-minute walk from the terminal) to major stops at the Fondamente Nuove, near Piazza San Marco and at Zattere, making several stops along the 70-to-80-minute ride. The faster, direct Gold Line to/from San Zaccaria (near San Marco) takes 35 minutes, costs €25 and runs seven times daily on the half-hour.

ATVO ( 041 38 36 72; www.atvo.it) buses run to the airport from Piazzale Roma (€3, 20 minutes) about every half-hour. The trip to/from Piazzale Roma takes 65 minutes and costs €5.

Vaporetto

The city’s main mode of public transport is vaporetto. Tickets can be purchased from the helloVenezia ticket booths (www.hellovenezia.com) at most landing stations. You can also buy tickets when boarding; you may be charged double with luggage.

Instead of spending €6.50 for a one-way ticket, consider buying a VENICEcard or a timed pass for unlimited travel within a set time period, which begins when you validate your ticket in the yellow machine located at a ferry dock. Passes for tickets for 12/24/36/48/72 hours are €16/18/23/28/33, and seven days cost €50.

VAPORETTO ROUTES

Here are key vaporetto lines and major stops, subject to seasonal change:

Vaporetto stops can be confusing, so check the signs at the landing dock to make sure you’re at the right stop for the vaporetto line and direction you want. At major stops like Ferrovia, there are often two separate docks for the same vaporetto line, headed in oppos­ite directions. Some lines make only limited stops, so check boat signage.

Water Taxis

The standard water taxi ( 041 522 23 03, 041 240 67 11) between Marco Polo airport and Venice runs €60 to €90 for up to four people; ask your B&B or hotel concierge to pair you with fellow travellers to share the ride. Official rates start at €8.90 plus €1.80 per minute, €6 extra if they’re called to your hotel and more for night trips, luggage and large groups. Prices can be metered or negotiated in advance.

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