VENICE, ITALY
Grand Canal
Basilica di San Marco
Palazzo Ducale
Venice Gourmet Crawl
Sights
Shopping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Information
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Venice, Italy
Imagine the audacity of deciding to build a city of marble palaces on a lagoon. Instead of surrendering to acque alte (high tides), Venetians flooded the world with vivid painting, baroque music, modern opera, spice-route cuisine, boho-chic fashions and a Grand Canal’s worth of spritz: the signature prosecco and Aperol cocktail. At the end of Venice’s signature waterway, the Palazzo Ducale and Basilica di San Marco add double exclamation points. Today, cutting-edge art mixes with this timeless beauty and a stroll down any backstreet yields one surprise after another. In a world of cookie-cutter culture, Venice’s originality still stands out.
Two Days in Venice
Spend your first day in Venice cruising the Grand Canal, hopping on and off vaporetti as the mood takes you.
On the second day rise early to get to Basilica di San Marco and Palazzo Ducale, then revive your spirits (but not your wallet!) at Caffè Florian. Glimpse gorgeous La Fenice, and make sure you don’t leave Venice without indulging in an evening gondola trip.
Four Days in Venice
Explore Ca’ Rezzonico, then choose between the Gallerie dell’Accademia or the Peggy Guggenheim before finishing at the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. On day four begin at the Rialto Market, then wander to Gothic I Frari. Once you’re done admiring, slip into Grancaffè Quadri to to watch the sunset over the piazza.
After Venice hop on the train to Rome or get high in the Swiss Alps.
Arriving in Venice
Marco Polo airport Located on the mainland 12km from Venice. Alilaguna operates a ferry service (€15) to Venice from the airport ferry dock. Water taxis cost from €110. Buses (€8, every 15 minutes) connect with Piazzale Roma.
Stazione Santa Lucia Venice’s train station. Vaporetti (small passenger boats) depart from Ferrovia (Station) docks.
Stazione Venezia Mestre The mainland train station; transfer here to Stazione Santa Lucia.
Where to Stay
With many Venetians opening their homes to visitors, here you can become a local overnight. Venice was once known for charmingly decrepit hotels where English poets quietly expired, but a bevy of design-literate boutique hotels are glamming up historic palaces. In peak seasons quality hotels fill up fast. In summer, many people decamp to the Lido where prices are more reasonable.
TOP EXPERIENCE
Grand Canal
Never was a thoroughfare so aptly named as the Grand Canal. Snaking through the heart of the city, Venice’s signature waterway is flanked by a magnificent array of Gothic, Moorish, Renaissance and Rococo palaces.
Great For…
yDon’t Miss
The Ponte di Rialto and iconic Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.
8Need to Know
Take vaporetti 1 or 2 from the Ferrovia; it takes 35 to 40 minutes to Piazza San Marco.
5Take a Break
Jump off at Rialto and search out Cantina Do Spade for a cosy drink.
oTop Tip
Avoid the crowds and tour the canal in the early evening or at night.
For most people, a trip down the Canal starts near the train station and Ponte di Calatrava. Officially known as Ponte della Costituzione (Constitution Bridge), this contemporary bridge, designed by avant-garde Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava (2008), is one of the few modern structures in central Venice.
To the Rialto
Leaving the bridge in your wake, one of the first landmarks, on your left, is the arcaded Gothic facade of the Ca’ d’Oro (
%041 522 23 49; www.cadoro.org; Calle di Ca’ d’Oro 3932; adult/reduced €8.50/2; 
h8.15am-2pm Mon, to 7.15pm Tue-Sun, 2nd fl 10am-6pm Tue-Sun; 
fCa’ d’Oro), a 15th-century palazzo, now an art museum.
Ponte di Rialto & Around
A short way on, the Ponte di Rialto (map Google map; fRialto) is the oldest of the four bridges that cross the canal. Built in the late 16th century to a monumental design by Antonio da Ponte, it links the sestrieri of San Marco and San Polo, and is a popular vantage point for photographers. Nearby, local shoppers crowd the Rialto Market and Pescaria fish market.
Palazzo Grassi
The clean, geometric form of Palazzo Grassi (map Google map; %041 200 10 57; www.palazzograssi.it; Campo San Samuele 3231; adult/reduced incl Punta della Dogana €18/15; h10am-7pm Wed-Mon mid-Mar–Nov; fSan Samuele) comes into view on the first bend after the Rialto. This noble 18th-century palace now provides the neoclassical setting for show-stopping contemporary art. Over the water, spy out the sumptuous Ca’ Rezzonico.
Ponte dell’Accademia & Around
A couple of ferry stops further down and you arrive at the wooden Ponte dell’Accademia, a bridge whose simple design seems strangely out of place amid Venice’s fairy-tale architecture. Nearby, the Gallerie dell’Accademia is Venice’s premier art gallery and the Peggy Guggenheim impresses with its collection of celebrated modern paintings.
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
The imperious dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute has been overlooking the canal’s entrance since the 17th century. Impressive both outside and in, the basilica harbours a number of important works by local painter Titian. Beyond the basilica, the Punta della Dogana (map Google map; %041 200 10 57; www.palazzograssi.it; Fondamenta Salute 2; adult/reduced €15/10, incl Palazzo Grassi €18/15; h10am-7pm Wed-Mon Apr-Nov; fSalute) is a former customs warehouse now staging contemporary art exhibitions.
St Mark’s & Palazzo Ducale
At the mouth of the canal, you can disembark for Piazza San Marco. Dominating the waterside here is Palazzo Ducale, the historic residence of the Venetian Doges.
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Basilica di San Marco
With its profusion of spires and domes, lavish marble-work and 8500 sq metres of luminous mosaics, the Basilica di San Marco, Venice’s signature basilica, is an unforgettable sight.
Great For…
yDon’t Miss
Loggia dei Cavalli, where reproductions of the four bronze horses gallop off the balcony over Piazza San Marco.
8Need to Know
map Google map; St Mark’s Basilica; %041 270 83 11; www.basilicasanmarco.it; Piazza San Marco; h9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, 2-5pm Sun summer, to 4.30pm Sun winter; fSan Marco 
F
5Take a Break
Treat yourself to a bellini at world-famous Harry’s Bar (map Google map; %041 528 57 77; www.cipriani.com; Calle Vallaresso 1323; h10.30am-11pm; fSan Marco).
oTop Tip
There’s no charge to enter the church and wander around the roped-off central circuit: dress modestly, with knees and shoulders covered, and leave large bags at nearby Ateneo San Basso Left Luggage Office.
The basilica was founded in the 9th century to house the corpse of St Mark after wily Venetian merchants smuggled it out of Egypt in a barrel of pork fat. When the original burnt down in 932, Venice rebuilt the basilica in its own cosmopolitan image, with Byzantine domes, a Greek cross layout and walls clad in marbles from Syria, Egypt and Palestine.
Exterior & Portals
The front of St Mark’s ripples and crests like a wave, its five niched portals capped with shimmering mosaics and frothy stonework arches. The oldest mosaic on the facade (1270) is in the lunette above the far-left portal, depicting St Mark’s stolen body arriving at the basilica. The theme is echoed in three of the other lunettes, including one showing turbaned officials recoiling from the hamper of pork fat containing the sainted corpse.
Mosaics
It’s natural to blink upon your first glimpse of the basilica’s glittering ceiling mosaics, many made with 24-carat gold leaf. Just inside the vestibule are the basilica’s oldest mosaics: Apostles with the Madonna, standing sentry by the main door for more than 950 years. Inside the church proper, three golden domes vie for your attention. The Pentecost Cupola shows the Holy Spirit, represented by a dove, shooting tongues of flame onto the heads of the surrounding saints. In the central 13th-century Ascension Cupola, angels swirl around the figure of Christ hovering among the stars.
Pala d’Oro
Tucked behind the main altar (€2), this stupendous golden screen is studded with 2000 emeralds, amethysts, sapphires, rubies, pearls and other gemstones. But the most priceless treasures here are biblical figures in vibrant cloisonné, begun in Constantinople in AD 976 and elaborated by Venetian goldsmiths in 1209.
Tesoro & Museum
Holy bones and booty from the Crusades fill the Tesoro (Treasury; €3); while ducal treasures on show in the museum (%041 2730 8311; www.basilicasanmarco.it; Basilica di San Marco; adult/reduced €5/2.50; h9.45am-4.45pm; fSan Marco) would put a king’s ransom to shame. A highlight is the Quadriga of St Mark’s, a group of four bronze horses originally plundered from Constantinople and later carted off to Paris by Napoleon before being returned to the basilica and installed in the 1st-floor gallery.
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Palazzo Ducale
Gothic Palazzo Ducale was the doge’s official residence and the seat of the Venetian Republic’s government (and location of its prisons) for over seven centuries.
Great For…
yDon’t Miss
The face of a grimacing man with his mouth agape at the top of the Scala d’Oro; this was a post box for secret accusations.
8Need to Know
map Google map; Ducal Palace; %041 271 59 11; www.palazzoducale.visitmuve.it; Piazzetta San Marco 1; adult/reduced incl Museo Correr €20/13, with Museum Pass free; h8.30am-7pm summer, to 5.30pm winter; fSan Zaccaria
5Take a Break
Continue the rarefied vibe within the jewellery-box interior of Caffè Florian.
oTop Tip
Book tickets online, in advance to avoid queues. And turn up before 9am to avoid huge groups.
Although the ducal palace probably moved to this site in the 10th century, the current complex only started to take shape in around 1340. In 1424, the wing facing Piazzetta San Marco was added and the palace assumed its final form, give or take a few major fires and refurbishments.
1st Floor
The doge’s suite of private 1st-floor rooms is now used to house temporary art exhibitions, which are ticketed separately (around €10 extra). The doge lived like a caged lion in his gilded suite in the palace, which he could not leave without permission. The most intriguing room is the Sala dello Scudo (Shield Room), covered with world maps that reveal the extent of Venetian power (and the limits of its cartographers).
2nd Floor
Ascend Sansovino’s 24-carat gilt stucco work Scala d’Oro (Golden Staircase) and emerge into 2nd-floor rooms covered with gorgeous propaganda. In the Palladio-designed Sala delle Quattro Porte (Hall of the Four Doors), ambassadors awaited ducal audiences under a lavish display of Venice’s virtues by Giovanni Cambi, Titian and Tiepolo.
Few were granted an audience in the Palladio-designed Collegio (Council Room), where Veronese’s 1575–78 Virtues of the Republic ceiling shows Venice as a bewitching blonde waving her sceptre like a wand over Justice and Peace. Father-son team Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto attempt similar flattery, showing Venice keeping company with Apollo, Mars and Mercury in their Triumph of Venice ceiling for the Sala del Senato (Senate Hall).
Government cover-ups were never so appealing as in the Sala Consiglio dei Dieci (Trial Chambers of the Council of Ten), where Venice’s star chamber plotted under Veronese’s Juno Bestowing Her Gifts on Venice. Arcing over the Sala della Bussola (Compass Room) is his St Mark in Glory ceiling.
Sala del Maggior Consiglio
The cavernous 1419 Sala del Maggior Consiglio (Grand Council Hall) provides the setting for Domenico Tintoretto’s swirling Paradise, a work 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 Apotheosis of Venice ceiling, where gods marvel at Venice’s coronation by angels, with foreign dignitaries and Venetian blondes rubbernecking on the balcony below.
San Marco & San Polo
1Sights
7Shopping
5Eating
6Drinking & Nightlife
3Entertainment
1Sights
Gallerie dell’AccademiaGallery
(map Google map; %041 522 22 47; www.gallerieaccademia.it; Campo de la Carità 1050; adult/reduced €12/2; h8.15am-2pm Mon, to 7.15pm Tue-Sun; fAccademia)
Venice’s historic gallery traces the development of Venetian art from the 14th to 19th centuries, with works by all of the city’s artistic superstars. The complex housing the collection maintained its serene composure for centuries until Napoleon installed his haul of art trophies here in 1807 – looted from various religious institutions around town.
Peggy Guggenheim CollectionMuseum
(map Google map; %041 240 54 11; www.guggenheim-venice.it; Calle San Cristoforo 701; adult/reduced €15/9; h10am-6pm Wed-Mon; fAccademia)
After losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim became one of the great collectors of the 20th century. Her palatial canalside home, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, showcases her stockpile of surrealist, futurist and abstract expressionist art, with works by up to 200 artists, including her ex-husband Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock (among her many rumoured lovers), Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.
Ca’ RezzonicoMuseum
(map Google map; Museum of 18th-Century Venice; %041 241 01 00; www.visitmuve.it; Fondamenta Rezzonico 3136; adult/reduced €10/7.50, or with Museum Pass; h10am-5pm Wed-Mon; fCa’ Rezzonico)
Baroque dreams come true at this Baldassare Longhena–designed Grand Canal palazzo, where a marble staircase leads to a vast gilded ballroom and sumptuous salons filled with period furniture, paintings, porcelain and mesmerising ceiling frescoes.
Basilica di Santa Maria della SaluteBasilica
(map Google map; Our Lady of Health Basilica; www.basilicasalutevenezia.it; Campo de la Salute 1; sacristy adult/reduced €4/2; h9.30am-noon & 3-5.30pm; fSalute) F
Guarding the entrance to the Grand Canal, this 17th-century domed church was commissioned by Venice’s plague survivors as thanks for their salvation. Titian eluded the plague until age 94, leaving 12 key paintings in the basilica’s art-slung sacristy.
CampanileTower
(map Google map; www.basilicasanmarco.it; Piazza San Marco; adult/reduced €8/4; h8.30am-9pm summer, 9.30am-5.30pm winter, last entry 45min before closing; fSan Marco)
Basilica di San Marco’s 99m-tall bell tower has been rebuilt twice since its initial construction in AD 888. Galileo Galilei tested his telescope here in 1609 but modern-day visitors head to the top for 360-degree lagoon views.
Rialto MarketMarket
(map Google map; Rialto Mercato; %041 296 06 58; Campo de la Pescaria; h7am-2pm; fRialto Mercato)
Venice’s main market has been whetting appetites for seven centuries, with fruit and vegetable stands abutting the rather more pungent Pescaria (map Google map; Fish Market; Campo de la Pescaria; h7am-2pm Tue-Sun; fRialto Mercato). To see it at its best, arrive in the morning along with the trolley-pushing shoppers and you’ll be rewarded with pyramids of colourful seasonal produce like Sant’Erasmo castraure (baby artichokes), radicchio trevisano (bitter red chicory) and thick, succulent white asparagus. If you’re in the market for picnic provisions, vendors may offer you samples.
I FrariBasilica
(map Google map; Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari; %041 272 86 18; www.basilicadeifrari.it; Campo dei Frari 3072, San Polo; adult/reduced €3/1.50, with Chorus Pass free; h9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun; fSan Tomà)
A soaring Gothic church, the Friary’s assets include marquetry choir stalls, Canova’s pyramid mausoleum, Bellini’s achingly sweet Madonna with Child triptych in the sacristy, and Longhena’s creepy Doge Pesaro funereal monument. Upstaging them all, however, is Titian’s 1518 Assunta (Assumption) altarpiece, in which a radiant red-cloaked Madonna reaches heavenward, steps onto a cloud and escapes this mortal coil. Titian himself – lost to the plague in 1576 at the age 94 – has his memorial here.
Gondola Rides
Cheesy or the ultimate romance? You decide. Daytime rates for gondola rides cost up to €80 for 40 minutes (with a maximum of six passengers); from 7pm to 8am rides cost around €100 for 35 minutes. These rates don’t include songs – which must be negotiated separately – or tips.
7Shopping
Chiarastella CattanaHomewares
(map Google map; %041 522 43 69; www.chiarastellacattana.com; Salizada San Samuele 3216; h11am-1pm & 3-7pm Mon-Sat; fSan Samuele)
Transform any home with these locally woven, strikingly original Venetian linens. Whimsical cushions feature chubby purple rhinoceroses and grumpy scarlet elephants straight out of Pietro Longhi paintings, and hand-tasselled jacquard hand towels will dry your guests in style.
Vittorio CostantiniGlass
(map Google map; %041 522 22 65; www.vittoriocostantini.com; Calle del Fumo 5311; h9.30am-1pm & 2.15-5.30pm Mon-Fri; fFondamente Nove)
Kids and adults alike are thrilled at the magical, miniature insects, butterflies, shells and birds that Vittorio Costantini fashions out of glass using a lampwork technique.
5Eating
Cantine del Vino già SchiaviVenetian€
(map Google map; %041 523 00 34; www.cantinaschiavi.com; Fondamenta Priuli 992; cicheti €1.50; h8.30am-8.30pm Mon-Sat; fZattere)
It may look like a wine shop and function as a bar, but this legendary canalside spot also serves the best cicheti (Venetian tapas) on this side of the Grand Canal. Choose from the impressive counter selection or ask for a filled-to-order roll.
Osteria TrefantiVenetian€€
(map Google map; %041 520 17 89; www.osteriatrefanti.it; Fondamenta del Rio Marin o dei Garzoti 888; meals €40-45; hnoon-2.30pm & 7-10.30pm Tue-Sun; 
W; fRiva de Biasio)
La Serenissima’s spice trade lives on at simple, elegant Trefanti, where gnocchi might get an intriguing kick from cinnamon, and turbot is flavoured with almond and coconut. Seafood is the focus; try the ‘doge’s fettucine’. Book ahead.
CoVinoVenetian€€
(%041 241 27 05; www.covinovenezia.com; Calle del Pestrin 3829; fixed-price menu lunch €27-36, dinner €40; h12.45-2.30pm & 7pm-midnight Thu-Mon; W; fArsenale)
Tiny CoVino has only 14 seats but demonstrates bags of ambition with its inventive, seasonal menu inspired by the Venetian terroir.
Bistrot de VeniseVenetian€€€
(map Google map; %041 523 66 51; www.bistrotdevenise.com; Calle dei Fabbri 4685; meals €47-78; hnoon-3pm & 5pm-1am; 
v; fRialto)
Indulge in some culinary time travel in the red-and-gilt dining room at this fine-dining bistro reviving the recipes of Renaissance chef Bartolomeo Scappi.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Caffè FlorianCafe
(map Google map; %041 520 56 41; www.caffeflorian.com; Piazza San Marco 57; h9am-11pm; fSan Marco)
The oldest still-operating cafe in Europe and one of the first to welcome women, Florian maintains rituals (if not prices) established in 1720: besuited waiters serve cappuccino on silver trays; lovers get cosy on plush banquettes; and the orchestra strikes up as the sunset illuminates San Marco’s mosaics. Piazza seating during concerts costs €6 extra, but dreamy-eyed romantics will hardly notice.
Grancaffè QuadriCafe
(map Google map; %041 522 21 05; www.alajmo.it; Piazza San Marco 121; h9am-midnight; fSan Marco)
Powdered wigs seem appropriate inside this baroque bar-cafe that’s been serving happy hours since 1638. During Carnevale, costumed Quadri revellers party like it’s 1699. Grab a seat on the piazza to watch the best show in town: the sunset setting the basilica’s golden mosaics ablaze.
Cantina Do SpadeWine Bar
(map Google map; %041 521 05 83; www.cantinadospade.com; Sotoportego de le Do Spade 860; h10am-3pm & 6-10pm Wed-Mon, 6-10pm Tue; W; fRialto Mercato)
Famously mentioned in Casanova’s memoirs, cosy ‘Two Spades’ was founded in 1488 and continues to keep Venice in good spirits with its bargain Tri-Veneto and Istrian wines and young, laid-back management. Come early for market-fresh fritture (fried battered seafood) and grilled squid, or linger longer with satisfying, sit-down dishes like bigoli in salsa (pasta in anchovy and onion sauce).
3Entertainment
Teatro La FeniceOpera
(map Google map; %041 78 66 54; www.teatrolafenice.it; Campo San Fantin 1977; tickets €25-250; fGiglio)
One of Italy’s top opera houses, La Fenice stages a rich roster of opera, ballet and classical music. The main opera season runs from January to July and September to October. The cheapest seats (€25) are in the boxes at the top: the view is extremely restricted, but you will get to hear the music, watch the orchestra, soak up the atmosphere and people-watch.
8INFORMATION
Vènezia Unica (%041 24 24; www.veneziaunica.it) runs all tourist information services and offices in Venice. It provides information on sights, itineraries, day trips, transport, special events, shows and temporary exhibitions. Discount passes can be prebooked on its website.
8GETTING THERE & AWAY
AIR
Most flights to Venice fly in to Marco Polo Airport (%flight information 041 260 92 60; www.veniceairport.it; Via Galileo Gallilei 30/1, Tessera), 12km outside Venice, east of Mestre. Ryanair and some other budget airlines also use Treviso Airport (%0422 31 51 11; www.trevisoairport.it; Via Noalese 63), about 4km southwest of Treviso and a 26km, one-hour drive from Venice.
BOAT
Venice has regular ferry connections with Greece, Croatia and Slovenia.
CAR
To get to Venice by car or motorcycle, take the often-congested Trieste–Turin A4, which passes through Mestre. From Mestre, take the ‘Venezia’ exit. Once over Ponte della Libertà from Mestre, cars must be left at a car park in Piazzale Roma or on the Isola del Tronchetto, an artificial island located at the westernmost tip of Santa Croce. Be warned: you’ll pay a hefty price in parking fees, and traffic backs up at weekends.
TRAIN
Direct intercity services operate out of Venice to most major Italian cities, as well as points in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia. The main station is Stazione Venezia Santa Lucia.
8GETTING AROUND
Traghetto Locals use this daytime public gondola service (€2) to cross the Grand Canal between bridges.
Vaporetto (small passenger ferry) Venice’s main public transport. Single rides cost €7.50; for frequent use, get a timed pass for unlimited travel within a set period (1-/2-/3-/7-day passes cost €20/30/40/60). Tickets and passes are available dockside from ACTV ticket booths and ticket vending machines, or from tobacconists.
Water taxi Sleek teak boats offer taxi services for €15 plus €2 per minute, plus €5 for pre- booked services and extra for night-time, luggage and large groups.