Rick Steves Italy 2018

Soak all day in this puddle of elegant decay. Venice is Europe’s best-preserved big city. This car-free urban wonderland of a hundred islands—laced together by 400 bridges and 2,000 alleys—survives on the artificial respirator of tourism.

Born in a lagoon 1,500 years ago as a refuge from barbarians, Venice is overloaded with tourists and is slowly sinking (not because of the tourists). In the Middle Ages, the Venetians became Europe’s clever middlemen for East-West trade and created a great trading empire. By smuggling in the bones of St. Mark (San Marco) in A.D. 828, Venice gained religious importance as well. With the discovery of America and new trading routes to the Orient, Venetian power ebbed. But as Venice fell, her appetite for decadence grew. Through the 17th and 18th centuries, Venice partied on the wealth accumulated through earlier centuries as a trading power.

Today, Venice is home to fewer than 55,000 people in its old city, down from about twice that number just three decades ago. While there are about 270,000 people in greater Venice (counting the mainland, not counting tourists), the old town has a small-town feel, and locals seem to know everyone.

Venice is expensive for residents as well as tourists because everything must be shipped in and hand-trucked to its final destination. I find that the best way to enjoy Venice is to succumb to its charms, accept that prices are higher than on the mainland, and blow through a little money. It’s a unique place that’s worth paying a premium to fully experience.

Escape the Rialto-San Marco tourist zone and savor the town early and late, without the hordes of vacationers day-tripping in from cruise ships and nearby beach resorts. A 10-minute walk from the madness puts you in an idyllic Venice that few tourists see.

PLANNING YOUR TIME

Venice is worth at least a day on even the speediest tour. Sleep in the old center to experience Venice at its best: early and late. For a one-day visit, cruise the Grand Canal, do the major sights on St. Mark’s Square (the square itself, Doge’s Palace, and St. Mark’s Basilica), enjoy the action at the Rialto Bridge and Rialto Market, see the Frari Church for art, and wander the back streets of the Dorsoduro district to the Accademia Bridge and back to St. Mark’s Square. Enjoy an evening gondola ride and then a drink with the orchestras on St. Mark’s Square. Venice’s greatest sight is the city itself. While doable in a day, Venice is worth two. It’s a medieval cookie jar, and nobody’s looking. Make time to simply wander.

Orientation to Venice

The island city of Venice is shaped like a fish. Its major thoroughfares are canals. The Grand Canal winds through the middle of the fish, starting at the mouth where all the people and food enter, passing under the Rialto Bridge, and ending at St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco). Park your 21st-century perspective at the mouth and let Venice swallow you whole.

VENICE: A VERBAL MAP

Venice is a carless kaleidoscope of people, bridges, and (mostly) odorless canals. It’s made up of more than a hundred small islands—but for simplicity, I refer to the whole shebang as “the island.”

Venice has six districts (sestieri, shown on map on next page): San Marco (from St. Mark’s Square to the Accademia Bridge), Castello (the area east of St. Mark’s Square), Dorsoduro (the “belly” of the fish, on the far side the Accademia Bridge), Cannaregio (between the train station and the Rialto Bridge), San Polo (west of the Rialto Bridge), and Santa Croce (the “eye” of the fish, across the canal from the train station).

The easiest way to navigate is by landmarks. Many street corners have a sign pointing you to (per) the nearest major landmark, such as San Marco, Accademia, Rialto, and Ferrovia (train station). Obedient visitors stick to the main thoroughfares as directed by these signs...and miss the charm of back-street Venice.

Beyond the city’s core lie several other islands, including San Giorgio (with great views of Venice), Giudecca (more views), San Michele (old cemetery), Murano (famous for glass), Burano (lacemaking), Torcello (old church), and swthe skinny Lido (with Venice’s beach).

TOURIST INFORMATION

With this chapter, a free city map from your hotel, and the events schedule on the TI’s website, there’s little need to make an in-person visit to a Venice TI. That’s fortunate, because though the city’s TIs try to help, they’re understaffed and have few free printed materials to hand out. To check or confirm something, try phoning the TI information line at 041-2424 or visit www.veneziaunica.it or www.turismovenezia.it; these websites can be more helpful than the actual TI office. Other useful websites are www.museiciviciveneziani.it (city-run museums in Venice), www.unospitedivenezia.it/en (sights and events), www.venicexplorer.net (detailed maps), www.veniceforvisitors.com (general travel advice), and www.venicelink.com (travel agent selling public and private transportation tickets).

If you must visit a TI, you’ll find four convenient branches: St. Mark’s Square (in the far-left corner with your back to the basilica, daily 9:00-19:00); airport (daily 9:00-20:00); bus station (inside the huge white Autorimessa Comunale parking garage, daily 7:30-19:30); and train station (across from track 2, daily 7:00-21:00).

Be wary of the travel agencies or special information services that masquerade as TIs but serve fancy hotels and tour companies. They’re in the business of selling things you don’t need.

Maps: Of all places, Venice demands a good map. Hotels give away freebies (similar in quality to the small color one at the back of this book). TIs and vaporetto ticket booths sell decent €3 maps—but you can find a wider range at bookshops, newsstands, and postcard stands. The cheap maps are pretty bad, but if you spend €5, you’ll get a map that shows all the tiny alleys. Investing in a good map can be the best €5 you’ll spend in Venice. But know you’ll still spend some time “exploring” (read: lost).

Also consider a mapping app for your smartphone, which uses GPS to pinpoint your location—extremely useful if you get lost in twisty back streets. To avoid data-roaming charges, look for an offline map that can be downloaded in its entirety before your trip (City Maps 2Go and Google Maps cover Venice well).

ARRIVAL IN VENICE

A two-mile-long causeway (with highway and train lines) connects Venice to the mainland. Mestre, the sprawling mainland section of Venice, has fewer crowds, cheaper hotels, and plenty of inexpensive parking lots, but zero charm. Don’t stop in Mestre unless you’re changing trains, parking your car, or sleeping there.

By Train

All trains to “Venice” stop at Venezia Mestre (on the mainland). Most continue on to Santa Lucia Station (a.k.a. Venezia S.L.) on the island of Venice itself. If your train happens to terminate at Mestre, you’ll need to buy a €1.25 Mestre-Santa Lucia ticket and validate it before hopping any nonexpress, regional train (with an R or RV prefix) for the ride across the causeway to Venice (6/hour, 10 minutes).

Santa Lucia train station plops you right into the old town on the Grand Canal, an easy vaporetto ride or fascinating 45-minute walk (with a number of bridges and steps) to St. Mark’s Square.

The station has a baggage check (€6/5 hours, €17/24 hours, daily 6:00-23:00; along track 1). Pay WCs are at track 1 and in the back of the big bar/cafeteria area inside the station. You’ll find the TI across from track 2.

Before heading into town, confirm your departure plan (use the ticket machines or study the partenze/departures posters on walls). The banks of user-friendly ticket machines are handy (but cover Italian destinations only). They take euros and credit cards, display schedules, and issue tickets. Some are only for Trenitalia trains (toll tel. 892-021, www.trenitalia.it); others are for the high-speed Italo service (tel. 06-0708, www.italotreno.it).

For international tickets or live help, head to the ticket windows in the corner, near track 14 (Trenitalia open 6:00-21:00; Italo open 7:30-20:00). Or take care of these tasks online or at a travel agency (ticket fee, see here).

Getting from the Train Station to Central Venice: It’s best by vaporetto. Walk straight out of the station to the canal, where you’ll see five vaporetto docks, each serving different boats. Electronic signboards show which boats are leaving when and from which dock. Docks A and B are to the left; C, D, and E are to the right: Dock A (fast boat #2, wrong direction), Dock B (fast boat #2 to Rialto and San Marco), Dock C (circular-route boats #4.1 and #5.1), Dock D (circular-route boats #4.2 and #5.2), and Dock E (slow boat #1, making every stop down the Grand Canal all the way to San Marco). Buy a €7.50 ticket before you board; as ticket-window lines by the docks can be long, consider buying your ticket inside the station at the TI or a newsstand, or at the self-service machines near the docks. Before buying a single-ride vaporetto ticket, consider getting a transit pass (see here). As you hop on, confirm that your boat is going to your stop.

A water taxi from the train station to central Venice costs about €60-80 (the taxi dock is straight ahead).

By Bus

Venice’s “bus station” is an open-air parking lot called Piazzale Roma. The square itself is a jumble of different operators, platforms, and crosswalks over busy lanes of traffic. But bus stops are well-signed. The ticket windows for ACTV (including #5 to Marco Polo Airport) are in a building between the bridge and vaporetto stop. The ATVO ticket office (express buses to Marco Polo and Treviso airports and to Padua) is at #497g in the big, white building, on the right side of the square as you face away from the canal (office open daily 6:45-19:30).

Piazzale Roma also has two big parking garages and the People Mover monorail (€1.50, links to the cruise port and then the parking-lot island of Tronchetto). A baggage-storage office is next to the monorail at #497m (€7/24 hours, daily 6:00-20:00).

If you arrive here, find the vaporetto docks (just left of the modern bridge) and take #1 or the faster #2 down the Grand Canal to reach the Rialto, Accademia, or San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) stops. Electronic boards direct you to the dock you want. Before buying a single-ride vaporetto ticket, consider getting a transit pass (see here). If your hotel is near here or near the train station, you can get there on foot.

By Car

The freeway (monitored by speed cameras) dead-ends after crossing the causeway to Venice. At the end of the road you have two parking-garage choices: Tronchetto or Piazzale Roma. As you drive into the city, signboards with green-and-red lights indicate which lots are full. (You can also park in Mestre, on the mainland, but it’s less convenient.)

Parking at Tronchetto: This big garage is a bit farther out, but it’s a bit cheaper and well-connected by vaporetto (€3-5/hour, €21/24 hours, tel. 041-520-7555, www.veniceparking.it).

From the garage, cross the street to the brick building and go right to the vaporetto dock (not well-signed, look for ACTV). At the dock, catch vaporetto #2 in one of two directions: via the Grand Canal (more scenic, stops at Rialto, 40 minutes to San Marco), or via Giudecca (around the city, faster, no Rialto stop, 30 minutes to San Marco).

Don’t be waylaid by aggressive water taxi boatmen. They charge €100 to take you where the vaporetto will for far less. Also avoid the travel agencies masquerading as TIs; deal only with the ticket booth at the vaporetto dock or the VèneziaUnica public transport office. If you’re going to buy a local transit pass, do it now.

If you’re staying near the bus or train station, you can take the €1.50 People Mover monorail, which brings you from Tronchetto to the bus station at Piazzale Roma. From there, it’s a five-minute walk across the modern Calatrava Bridge to the train station (buy tickets with cash or credit card from machine, 3-minute trip).

Parking at Piazzale Roma: The two garages here are more convenient but more expensive and likelier to be full. Both face the busy Piazzale Roma, where the road ends. The big white building on your right is the Autorimessa Comunale city garage (€26/24 hours, TI office in payment lobby open daily 7:30-19:30, tel. 041-272-7211, www.avmspa.it). In a back corner of the square is the private Garage San Marco (€32/24 hours, tel. 041-523-2213, www.garagesanmarco.it). At either, you’ll have to give up your keys. Near the Garage San Marco, avoid the Parcheggio Sant’Andrea, which charges higher rates.

Parking in Mestre: The Parcheggio Stazione garage across from the train station in Mestre (on the mainland) makes sense if you have light bags and are staying within walking distance of Santa Lucia Station (€2.50/hour, €14/day, www.sabait.it).

By Plane or Cruise Ship

For information on Venice’s airport and cruise ship terminal, see the end of this chapter.

HELPFUL HINTS

Theft Alert: The dark, late-night streets of Venice are generally safe. Even so, pickpockets (often elegantly dressed) work the crowded main streets, docks, and vaporetti. Your biggest risk of pickpockets is inside St. Mark’s Basilica, near the Accademia or Rialto bridges (especially if you’re preoccupied with snapping photos), or on a tightly packed vaporetto.

A handy polizia station is on the right side of St. Mark’s Square as you face the basilica (at #63, near Caffè Florian). To call the police, dial 113. The Venice TI handles complaints—which must be submitted in writing—about local crooks, including gondoliers, restaurants, and hotel rip-offs (fax 041-523-0399, complaint.apt@turismovenezia.it).

It’s illegal for street vendors to sell knockoff handbags, and illegal for you to buy them; both you and the vendor can get big fines.

Medical Help: Venice’s Santi Giovanni e Paolo hospital (tel. 118) is a 10-minute walk from both the Rialto and San Marco neighborhoods, located behind the big church of the same name on Fondamenta dei Mendicanti (toward Fondamente Nove). You can take vaporetto #4.1 from San Zaccaria, or #5.2 from the train station or Piazzale Roma, to the Ospedale stop. Also, a first-aid station staffed by English-speaking doctors is on St. Mark’s Square (at #63—same address as polizia station, daily 8:00-20:00), on the right-hand side as you face the basilica.

Sightseeing Tips: The city is inundated with cruise-ship passengers and tours from mainland hotels daily from 10:00 to about 16:00. Major sights are busiest in the late morning, making this a delightful time to explore the back lanes. Sights that have crowd problems get even more packed when it rains.

To avoid the worst of the crowds at St. Mark’s Basilica, go early or late, or reserve a time online. You can usually bypass the line if you have a large bag to check (see here).

For the Doge’s Palace, purchase your ticket at the never-crowded Correr Museum across St. Mark’s Square. You can also visit later in the day; crowds thin out after 15:00.

For the Campanile, ascend first thing in the morning or go late (it’s open until 21:00 July-Sept), or skip it entirely if you’re going to the similar San Giorgio Maggiore bell tower.

Picnics: Picnicking is illegal anywhere on St. Mark’s Square, and offenders can be fined. The only place nearby for a legal picnic is in Giardinetti Reali, the small bench-filled park along the waterfront west of the Piazzetta near St. Mark’s Square. Elsewhere in Venice, picnicking is no problem.

Dress Modestly: When visiting St. Mark’s Basilica or other major churches, men, women, and even children must cover their shoulders and knees. Remove hats when entering a church.

Public Toilets: Handy public pay WCs are near major landmarks, including: St. Mark’s Square (behind the Correr Museum and at the waterfront park, Giardinetti Reali), Rialto, and the Accademia Bridge. Or use free toilets at any museum you’re visiting, or any café you’re eating in.

Best Views: A slow vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal—ideally very early or just before sunset—is a shutterbug’s delight (try to sit in the front seats, available on some older boats). On St. Mark’s Square, enjoy views from the soaring Campanile or the balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica (both require admission). The Rialto and Accademia bridges provide free, expansive views of the Grand Canal, along with a cooling breeze. The luxury “mall” Fondaco dei Tedeschi, just north of the Rialto bridge, has even better views—but as the space is small (and free) it can be crowded, especially near sunset. Or get off the main island for a view of the Venetian skyline: Ascend San Giorgio Maggiore’s bell tower (admission fee), or venture to Giudecca Island to visit the swanky bar of the Molino Stucky Hilton Hotel (the free-to-“customers” shuttle boat leaves from near the San Zaccaria-B vaporetto dock).

Water: I carry a water bottle to refill at public fountains. Venetians pride themselves on having pure, safe, and tasty tap water piped in from the foothills of the Alps. You can actually see the mountains from Venice’s bell towers on crisp, clear winter days.

Pigeon Poop: If your head is bombed by a pigeon, resist the initial response to wipe it off immediately—it’ll just smear into your hair. Wait until it dries, and it should flake off cleanly. But if the poop splatters on your clothes, wipe it off immediately to avoid a stain.

SERVICES

Wi-Fi: Almost all hotels have Wi-Fi, many have a computer that guests can use, and most provide these services for free.

Useful App: For free audio versions of my Grand Canal Cruise and tours of St. Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Frari Church, get the Rick Steves Audio Europe app (see here).

Post Office: The main post office is a little south of the Rialto Bridge on Marzaria San Salvador, part of the main shopping drag running toward San Marco (Mon-Fri 8:30-19:00, Sat 8:30-12:30, closed Sun). You’ll find branch offices with shorter hours (generally mornings only) around town, including a handy one right behind St. Mark’s Square (near the TI).

Bookstores: In keeping with its literary heritage, Venice has classy and inviting bookstores. The small Libreria Studium, a block behind St. Mark’s Basilica, has a carefully chosen selection of new English books, including my guidebooks (Mon-Sat 9:00-19:30, shorter hours Sun, on Calle de la Canonica at #337—see map on here, tel. 041-522-2382).

Used-bookstore lovers will appreciate the funky Acqua Alta (“high water”) bookstore, whose quirky owner Luigi has prepared for the next flood by displaying his wares in a selection of vessels, including bathtubs and a gondola. Look for the “book stairs” in his back garden (daily 9:00-20:00, large and classically disorganized selection includes prints of Venice, just beyond Campo Santa Maria Formosa on Lunga Santa Maria Formosa, Castello 5176—see map on here, tel. 041-296-0841).

For a solid selection of used books in English, visit Marco Polo, on Calle del Teatro o de l’Opera, close to the St. Mark’s side of the Rialto Bridge, just past the Coin department store and behind the church (daily 9:30-19:30, Cannaregio 5886a—see map on here, tel. 041-522-6343).

Laundry: Venice has two coin-operated launderettes. Orange Self-Service Lavanderia is across the Grand Canal from the train station (daily 7:30-22:30, on Ramo de le Chioverete, Santa Croce 665b—see map on here, mobile 346-972-5446). The other, called Effe Erre, is off Campo Santa Maria Formosa (daily 6:30-23:30, on Ruga Giuffa, Castello 4826—see map on here, mobile 349-058-3881).

To save time and spend about the same amount, take your laundry to the full-service Lavanderia Gabriella, a few streets north of St. Mark’s Square (drop off Mon-Fri 8:00-12:30, closed Sat-Sun; pick up 2 hours later or next working day, on Rio Terà de le Colonne, San Marco 985—see map on here, tel. 041-522-1758, friendly Elisabetta).

Travel Agencies: You can avoid a time-consuming trip to Venice’s crowded train station by booking online or using a downtown travel agency. Ask your hotel for the nearest one.

Agenzie 365, in the main lobby of the train station, sells vaporetto and train tickets (about 9 percent surcharge on train tickets, daily 8:00-19:30; tel. 041-275-9412).

English Church Services: San Zulian Church offers a Mass in English (generally Mon-Fri at 9:30 and Sun at 11:30, Oct-April Sun at 10:30, 2 blocks toward Rialto off St. Mark’s Square, tel. 041-523-5383). St. George’s Anglican Church welcomes all to its English-language Eucharist (Sun at 10:30, located on Campo San Zio in Dorsoduro, midway between Accademia and Peggy Guggenheim Collection, www.stgeorgesvenice.com).

GETTING AROUND VENICE

On Foot

The city’s “streets” are narrow pedestrian walkways connecting its docks, squares, bridges, and courtyards. To navigate, look for signs on street corners pointing you to (per) the nearest major landmark. The first landmarks you’ll get to know are San Marco (St. Mark’s Square), Rialto (the bridge), Accademia (another bridge), Ferrovia (“railroad,” meaning the train station), and Piazzale Roma (the bus station). Determine whether your destination is in the direction of a major signposted landmark, then follow the signs through the maze.

As you get more comfortable with the city, dare to disobey these signs, avoid the posted routes, and make your own discoveries. While 80 percent of Venice is, in fact, not touristy, 80 percent of the tourists never notice. Escape the crowds and explore on foot. Walk and walk to the far reaches of the town. Don’t worry about getting lost—in fact, get as lost as possible. Keep reminding yourself, “I’m on an island, and I can’t get off.” When it comes time to find your way, follow the arrows on building corners or simply ask a local, “Dov’è San Marco?” (“Where is St. Mark’s?”) Most Venetians speak some English. If they don’t, listen politely, watch where their hands point, say “Grazie,” and head off in that direction. In a few blocks, ask again. If you’re lost, refer to your paper map or smartphone app, or pop into a hotel and ask for their business card—it probably comes with a map and a prominent “You are here.”

Every building in Venice has a house number. The numbers relate to the district (each with about 6,000 address numbers), not the street. Therefore, if you need to find a specific address, it helps to know its district, street, house number, and nearby landmarks.

Some helpful street terminology: Campo means square, a campiello is a small square, calle (pronounced “KAH-lay” with an “L” sound) means “street,” and a ponte is a bridge. A fondamenta is the embankment along a canal or the lagoon. A rio terà is a street that was once a canal and has been filled in. A sotoportego is a covered passageway. Salizzada literally means a paved area (usually a wide street). The abbreviations S. and S.S. mean “saint” and “saints” respectively. Don’t get hung up on the exact spelling of street and square names, which may sometimes appear in Venetian dialect (which uses de la, novo, and vechio) and other times in standard Italian (which uses della, nuovo, and vecchio).

By Vaporetto

Venice’s public transit system, run by a company called ACTV, is a fleet of motorized bus-boats called vaporetti. They work like city buses except that they never get a flat, the stops are docks, and if you jump off between stops, you might drown. For the same prices, you can purchase tickets and passes at docks and from ACTV affiliate VèneziaUnica (ACTV—tel. 041-2424, www.actv.it; VèneziaUnica—www.veneziaunica.it).

Tickets and Passes

Individual Vaporetto Tickets: A single ticket costs €7.50 (kids under 6 travel free). Tickets are good for 75 minutes; you can hop on and off at stops and change boats during that time. Your ticket (a plastic card embedded with a chip) is refillable—don’t toss it after the first use. You can put more money on it at the automated kiosks and avoid waiting in line at the ticket window. The fare is reduced to €5 for a few one-stop runs (corsa semplice) that are hard to do by foot, including from San Zaccaria to San Giorgio Maggiore. It’s smart to keep your receipt (in case you’re checked and your ticket is faulty).

Vaporetto Passes: You can buy a pass for unlimited use of vaporetti: €20/24 hours, €30/48 hours, €40/72 hours, €60/7-day pass. All passes must be validated each time you board by touching it to the small white machine on the dock. Because single tickets cost a hefty €7.50 a pop, these passes can pay for themselves in a hurry. Think through your Venice itinerary before you step up to the ticket booth to pay for your first vaporetto trip. The 48-hour pass pays for itself with five rides (for example: to your hotel on your arrival, on a Grand Canal joyride, into the lagoon and back, and to the train station). Keep in mind that smaller and/or outlying stops, such as Sant’Elena and Biennale, are unstaffed—another good reason to buy a pass. It’s fun to be able to hop on and off spontaneously, and avoid long ticket lines. On the other hand, many tourists just walk through Venice and rarely use a boat.

Travelers ages 14-29 can get a 72-hour pass for €22 if they also buy a Rolling Venice discount card for €6 (see here). Those settling in for a much longer stay can ride like a local by buying the Vènezia Unica card (details at www.veneziaunica.com).

Passes are also valid on some of ACTV’s mainland buses, including bus #2 to Mestre (but not the #5 to the airport nor the airport buses run by ATVO, a separate company). Pass holders get a discounted fare for all ACTV buses that originate or terminate at Marco Polo Airport (see here).

Buying and Validating Tickets and Passes: Purchase tickets and passes from the automated machines at most stops, from ticket windows (at larger stops), or from the VèneziaUnica offices at the train station, bus station, and Tronchetto parking lot.

Before you board, validate your ticket by holding it up to the small white machine on the dock until you hear a pinging sound. If you purchase a vaporetto pass, you need to touch the pass to the machine each time you board a boat. The machine readout shows how long your ticket is valid—and inspectors do come by now and then to check tickets. If you’re unable to purchase a ticket before boarding, seek out the conductor immediately to buy a single ticket (or risk a big fine).

Important Vaporetto Lines

For most travelers, only two vaporetto lines matter: line #1 and line #2. These lines leave every 10 minutes or so and go up and down the Grand Canal, between the “mouth” of the fish at one end and St. Mark’s Square at the other. Line #1 is the slow boat, taking 45 minutes and making every stop along the way. Line #2 is the fast boat that zips down the Grand Canal in 25 minutes, stopping only at Tronchetto (parking lot), Piazzale Roma (bus station), Ferrovia (train station), Rialto Bridge, San Tomà (Frari Church), San Samuele (opposite Ca’ Rezzonico), Accademia Bridge, and San Marco (west end of St. Mark’s Square, end of the line).

Sorting out the different directions of travel can be confusing. Some boats run on circular routes, in one direction only (for example, lines #5.1 and #5.2, plus the non-Murano sections of lines #4.1 and #4.2). Line #2 runs in both directions and is almost, but not quite, a full loop. The #2 boat leaving from the San Marco stop goes in one direction (up the Grand Canal), while from the San Zaccaria stop—just a five-minute walk away—it goes in the opposite direction (around the tail of the “fish”). Make sure you use the correct stop to avoid taking the long way around to your destination.

To clear up any confusion, ask a ticket-seller or conductor for help (sometimes they’re stationed on the dock to help confused tourists). Get a copy of the most current ACTV map and timetable (in English and Italian, can be downloaded from www.actv.it, theoretically free at ticket booths but often unavailable). System maps are posted at stops, but it’s smart to print out your own copy of the map from the ACTV website before your trip.

Boarding and Riding

Many stops have two boarding platforms, and large stops—such as San Marco, San Zaccaria, Rialto, Ferrovia (train station), and Piazzale Roma—have multiple platforms. At these larger stops, helpful electronic boards display which boats are coming next, and when, and from which platform they leave; each platform is assigned a letter (clearly marked above the gangway). At smaller stops without electronic displays, signs on each platform show the vaporetto lines that stop there and the direction they are headed. As you board, confirm your destination by looking for an electronic sign on the boat or just asking the conductor.

You may notice some vaporetti sporting a corsa bis sign, indicating that it’s running a shortened or altered route, and that riders may have to hop off partway (at Rialto, for example) and wait for the next boat. If you see a corsa bis sign, before boarding ask the conductor whether the boat is going to your desired destination (e.g., simply ask, “San Marco?”).

Crowd-Beating Tips

For fun, take my self-guided Grand Canal Cruise. But be warned: Grand Canal vaporetti can be absolutely jam-packed, especially during the tourist rush hour (during mornings heading in from Piazzale Roma, and in evenings heading out to Piazzale Roma). Riding at night, with nearly empty boats and chandelier-lit palace interiors viewable from the Grand Canal, can be a highlight of your Venetian experience.

By Traghetto

Only four bridges cross the Grand Canal, but traghetti (shuttle gondolas) ferry locals and in-the-know tourists across the Grand Canal at three additional locations. Just step in, hand the gondolier €2, and enjoy the ride—standing or sitting. Some traghetti are seasonal, some stop running as early as 12:30, and all stop by 18:00. Traghetti are not covered by any transit pass.

By Water Taxi

Venetian taxis, like speedboat limos, hang out at busy points along the Grand Canal. Prices are regulated: €15 for pickup, then €2 per minute; €5 per person for more than four passengers (boats can carry around 10 people); and €10 between 22:00 and 6:00. If you have more bags than passengers, the extra ones cost €3 apiece. (For information on taking the water taxi to/from the airport, see here.) Despite regulation, prices can be soft; negotiate and settle on the price or rate before stepping in. For travelers with lots of luggage or small groups who can split the cost, taxi boat rides can be a worthwhile and time-saving convenience—and skipping across the lagoon in a classic wooden motorboat is a cool indulgence. For a little more than €100 an hour, you can have a private, unguided taxi-boat tour. You may find more competitive rates if you prebook through the Consorzio Motoscafi water taxi association (tel. 041-522-2303, www.motoscafivenezia.it).

By Gondola

If you’re interested in hiring a gondolier for your own private cruise, see here.

Tours in Venice

Local guides and tour companies offer plenty of walking tours that cater to a variety of interests.

To sightsee on your own, download my free audio tours that illuminate some of Venice’s top sights (see sidebar on here).

Avventure Bellissime Venice Tours

This company offers several small-group, English-only tours, including a basic two-hour St. Mark’s Square introduction called the “Original Venice Walking Tour” (€25, includes church entry, most days at 11:00, Sun at 14:00), a 65-minute boat tour of the Grand Canal (€48, daily at 16:00, 10 people maximum), a Rialto Market-area food-and-wine tour (€69, in summer 3/week at 11:15), and mainland excursions (details at www.tours-italy.com, tel. 041-970-499, info@tours-italy.com). For a 10 percent Rick Steves discount, contact them before booking for a promo code.

Alessandro’s Classic Venice Bars Tour and Backstreets Tour

Alessandro Schezzini is a connoisseur of Venetian bacari—classic old bars serving wine and traditional cicchetti snacks. He organizes two-hour Venetian bar tours (€35/person, most nights at 18:00) that include sampling cicchetti with wines at three bacari. (If you think of this tour as a light dinner with a local friend, it’s a particularly good value.) He also runs a 1.5-hour Backstreets Tour that gets you into offbeat Venice (€20/person, most nights at 16:30).

Both tours depart almost daily in season when six or more sign up. Meet 50 yards north of the Rialto Bridge under the big clock on Campo San Giacomo. (Book via email, alessandro@schezzini.it, or by phone at 335-530-9024; www.schezzini.it.)

Artviva Tours

This company offers several tours, including general intro-to-Venice tours, themed tours (Grand Canal, Venice Walk, Doge’s Palace, Gondola Tour), or a private “Learn to Be a Gondolier” tour (for details, see www.italy.artviva.com). They offer a 10 percent Rick Steves discount (www.artviva.com/ricksteves, username “ricksteves” and password “reader”).

Venicescapes

Michael Broderick’s private, themed tours of Venice are intellectually demanding and beyond the attention span of most mortal tourists. But travelers with a desire to learn find him passionate and engaging. Your time with Michael is like a rolling, graduate-level lecture (see his website for various 4- to 6-hour itineraries, 2 people-$280-310 or the euro equivalent, $60/person after that, admissions and transport extra, tel. 041-850-5742, mobile 349-479-7406, www.venicescapes.org, info@venicescapes.org).

Local Guides

Plenty of licensed, trained guides are available. If you organize a small group from your hotel at breakfast to split the cost (figure on €75/hour with a 2-hour minimum), the fee becomes more reasonable. I’ve enjoyed working with the following guides:

Venice at a Glance

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Square Venice’s grand main square. See here.

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Basilica Cathedral with mosaics, saint’s bones, treasury, museum, and viewpoint of square. Hours: Mon-Sat 9:45-17:00, Sun 14:00-17:00 (Sun until 16:00 Nov-Easter). See here.

▲▲▲Doge’s Palace Art-splashed palace of former rulers, with prison accessible through Bridge of Sighs. Hours: Daily 8:30-19:00, Nov-March until 17:30. See here.

▲▲▲Rialto Bridge Distinctive bridge spanning the Grand Canal, with a market nearby. Hours: Market—souvenir stalls open daily, produce market closed Sun, fish market closed Sun-Mon. See here.

▲▲Correr Museum Venetian history and art. Hours: Daily 10:00-19:00, Nov-March until 17:00. See here.

▲▲Accademia Venice’s top art museum. Hours: Mon 8:15-14:00, Tue-Sun until 19:15. See here.

▲▲Peggy Guggenheim Collection Popular display of 20th-century art. Hours: Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, closed Tue. See here.

▲▲Frari Church Franciscan church featuring Renaissance masters. Hours: Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun 13:00-18:00. See here.

▲▲Scuola San Rocco “Tintoretto’s Sistine Chapel.” Hours: Daily 9:30-17:30. See here.

▲Campanile Dramatic bell tower on St. Mark’s Square with elevator to the top. Hours: Daily 8:30-21:00, Sept-mid-Oct until sunset, mid-Oct-April 9:30-17:30. See here.

▲Bridge of Sighs Famous enclosed bridge, part of Doge’s Palace, near St. Mark’s Square. Hours: Always viewable. See here.

▲La Salute Church Striking church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Hours: Daily 9:00-12:00 & 15:00-17:30. See here.

▲Punta della Dogana Museum of contemporary art. Hours: Wed-Mon 10:00-19:00, closed Tue. See here.

▲Ca’ Rezzonico Posh Grand Canal palazzo with 18th-century Venetian art. Hours: Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Tue year-round. See here.

Church of San Zaccaria Final resting place of St. Zechariah, plus a Bellini altarpiece and an eerie crypt. Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-12:00 & 16:00-18:00, Sun 16:00-18:00. See here.

Church of San Polo Has works by Tintoretto, Veronese, and Tiepolo. Hours: Mon-Sat 10:30-16:30, closed Sun. See here.

Nearby Islands

▲San Giorgio Maggiore Island facing St. Mark’s Square, featuring dreamy church and fine views back on Venice. Hours: Daily 9:00-19:00, Nov-March 8:30-18:00. See here.

San Michele Cemetery island on the lagoon. Hours: Daily 7:30-18:00, Oct-March until 16:30. See here.

▲Murano Island famous for glass factories and glassmaking museum. Hours: Glass Museum open daily 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00. See here.

▲▲Burano Sleepy island known for lacemaking and lace museum. Hours: Museum open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Mon year-round. See here.

▲Torcello Near-deserted island with old church, bell tower, and museum. Hours: Church open daily March-Oct 10:30-18:00, Nov-Feb until 17:00, museum closed Mon. See here.

Walks Inside Venice is enthusiastic about teaching (€270/3 hours per group of up to 6; Roberta: mobile 347-253-0560; Sara: mobile 335-522-9714; www.walksinsideitaly.com, info@walksinsidevenice.com). They also offer regularly scheduled small-group, English-only walking tours (€62.50, Mon-Sat at 14:30, 2.5 hours) and also do side-trips to outlying destinations. Ask about Rick Steves discounts.

Elisabetta Morelli and Corine Govi, who run 2Guides4Venice, are informative and reliable (Elisabetta: mobile 328-753-5220, bettamorelli@inwind.it; Corine: mobile 347-966-8346, corine_g@libero.it; www.2guides4venice.com).

Venice with a Guide, a co-op of 10 good guides, offers a range of tours (€150 for a 2-hour tour, www.venicewithaguide.com).

Tour Leader Venice, a.k.a. Treviso Car Service, specializes in getting you outside of Venice by car or minivan—to countryside villas, prosecco wine-and-cheese tastings, and the Dolomites—but also offers guided walks in Venice (mobile 348-900-0700 or 333-411-2840; www.trevisocarservice.com, tvcarservice@gmail.com; for Venice tours also see www.tourleadervenice.com, info@tourleadervenice.com; Igor, Andrea, and Marta). They also provide transfer services to Venice’s airport and cruise terminal (see here).

Tour Packages for Students

Andy Steves (Rick’s son) runs Weekend Student Adventures (WSA Europe), offering 3-day and 10-day budget travel packages across Europe including accommodations, skip-the-line sightseeing, and unique local experiences. Locally guided and DIY unguided options are available for student and budget travelers in 12 of Europe’s most popular cities, including Venice (guided trips from €199, see www.wsaeurope.com for details).

Grand Canal Cruise

(See “Grand Canal” map, here.)

Take a joyride and introduce yourself to Venice by boat, an experience worth ▲▲▲. Cruise the Canal Grande all the way to St. Mark’s Square, starting at the train station (Ferrovia) or the bus station (Piazzale Roma, where you’re more likely to find an empty seat). Consider topping it off with my self-guided tour of St. Mark’s Basilica (see here). If it’s your first trip down the Grand Canal, you might want to stow this book and just take it all in—Venice is a barrage on the senses that hardly needs narration. On the other hand, these notes give the cruise meaning and help orient you to this great city.

This tour is designed to be done on the slow boat #1. The express boat #2 travels the same route, but it skips many stops. To help you enjoy the visual parade of canal wonders, I’ve organized this tour by boat stop. I’ll point out both what you can see from the current stop, and what to look forward to as you cruise to the next stop.

You can break up the tour by hopping on and off at various sights—but remember, a single-fare vaporetto ticket is good for just 75 minutes (passes let you hop on and off all day).

Length of This Tour: Allow 45 minutes. With limited time, take the 25-minute express vaporetto #2. Or do only half the trip—choose either Ferrovia-to-Rialto or Rialto-to-San Marco. Early and late in the day, the vaporetto #2 terminates at Rialto; you’ll have to get off and switch to #1 to do the whole tour.

Tours: Download my free Grand Canal Cruise audio tour.

Where to Sit: Some older vaporetti have seats in the bow (in front of the captain’s bridge), the perfect vantage point for spotting sights left, right, and forward. Otherwise, your options include sitting inside (and viewing the passing sights through windows); standing in the open middle deck (where you can move from side to side if the boat’s not crowded—especially easy after dark); or sitting outside in the back (where you’ll miss the wonderful forward views). For views, the left side has a slight edge, with more sights and the best light late in the day.

OVERVIEW

The Grand Canal is Venice’s “Main Street.” At more than two miles long, nearly 150 feet wide, and nearly 15 feet deep, it’s the city’s largest canal, lined with its most impressive palaces. It’s the remnant of a river that once spilled from the mainland into the Adriatic. The sediment it carried formed barrier islands that cut Venice off from the sea, forming a lagoon.

Venice was built on the marshy islands of the former delta, sitting on wood pilings driven nearly 15 feet into the clay (alder was the preferred wood). About 25 miles of canals drain the city, dumping like streams into the Grand Canal. Technically, Venice has only three canals: Grand, Giudecca, and Cannaregio. The 45 small waterways that dump into the Grand Canal are referred to as rivers (e.g., Rio Novo).

Venice is a city of palaces, dating from the days when the city was the world’s richest. The most lavish palaces formed a grand architectural cancan along the Grand Canal. Once frescoed in reds and blues, with black-and-white borders and gold-leaf trim, they made Venice a city of dazzling color. This cruise is the only way to truly appreciate the palaces, approaching them at water level, where their main entrances were located. Today, strict laws prohibit any changes in these buildings, so while landowners gnash their teeth, we can enjoy Europe’s best-preserved medieval/Renaissance city—slowly rotting. Many of the grand buildings are now vacant. Others harbor chandeliered elegance above mossy, empty (often flooded) ground floors.

SELF-GUIDED CRUISE

This tour starts at the Ferrovia vaporetto stop (at Santa Lucia train station). If you want to board upstream at the less-crowded Piazzale Roma, it’s a five-minute walk over the Calatrava Bridge from the Ferrovia stop. At Piazzale Roma, check the electronic boards to see which dock the next #1 or #2 is leaving from, hop on board to get your pick of seats, and start reading the tour when your vaporetto reaches Ferrovia.

1 Ferrovia: This site has been the gateway into Venice since 1860, when the first train station was built. The Santa Lucia station, one of the few modern buildings in town, was built in 1954. The “F.S.” logo above the entry stands for “Ferrovie dello Stato,” the Italian state railway system. Consider that before the causeway was built in the mid-1800s, Venice was an island with no road or train access and no water system. With the causeway the city got a train line, an aqueduct, and a highway.

More than 20,000 people a day commute in from the mainland, making this the busiest part of Venice during rush hour. The Calatrava Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal between the train station and Piazzale Roma upstream, was built in 2008 to alleviate some of the congestion.

2 Riva de Biasio: Venice’s main thoroughfare is busy with all kinds of boats: taxis, police boats, garbage boats, ambulances, construction cranes, and even brown-and-white UPS boats. Somehow they all manage to share the canal in relative peace.

About 25 yards past the Riva de Biasio stop, look left down the broad Cannaregio Canal to see what was the Jewish Ghetto. The twin, pale-pink, six-story “skyscrapers”—the tallest buildings you’ll see at this end of the canal—are reminders of how densely populated the world’s original ghetto was. Set aside as the local Jewish quarter in 1516, this area became extremely crowded. This urban island developed into one of the most closely knit business and cultural quarters of all the Jewish communities in Italy, and gave us our word “ghetto” (from geto, the copper foundry located here).

3 San Marcuola: At this stop, facing a tiny square just ahead, stands the unfinished Church of San Marcuola, one of only five churches fronting the Grand Canal. Centuries ago, this canal was a commercial drag of expensive real estate in high demand by wealthy merchants. About 20 yards ahead on the right (across the Grand Canal) stands the stately gray Turkish Exchange (Fondaco dei Turchi), one of the oldest houses in Venice. Its horseshoe arches and roofline of triangles and dingle balls are reminders of its Byzantine heritage. Turkish traders in turbans docked here, unloaded their goods into the warehouse on the bottom story, then went upstairs for a home-style meal and a place to sleep. Venice in the 1500s was very cosmopolitan, welcoming every religion and ethnicity, so long as they carried cash. (Today the building contains the city’s Museum of Natural History—and Venice’s only dinosaur skeleton.)

Just 100 yards ahead on the left (the tallest building with the red canopy), Venice’s Casinò is housed in the palace where German composer Richard (The Ring) Wagner died in 1883. See his distinct, strong-jawed profile in the white plaque on the brick wall. In the 1700s, Venice was Europe’s Vegas, with casinos and prostitutes everywhere. Casinòs (“little houses” in Venetian dialect) have long provided Italians with a handy escape from daily life. Today they’re run by the state to keep Mafia influence at bay. Notice the fancy front porch, rolling out the red carpet for high rollers arriving by taxi or hotel boat. Across the canal, the plain brick 15th-century building was a granary. Now it’s a grade school.

4 San Stae: The San Stae Church sports a delightful Baroque facade. Opposite the San Stae stop is a little canal opening—on the second building to the right of that opening, look for the peeling plaster that once made up frescoes (you can barely distinguish the scant remains of little angels on the lower floors). Imagine the facades of the Grand Canal at their finest. Most of them would have been covered in frescoes by the best artists of the day. As colorful as the city is today, it’s still only a faded, sepia-toned remnant of a long-gone era, a time of lavishly decorated, brilliantly colored palaces.

Just ahead (on the right, with blue posts) is the ornate white facade of Ca’ Pesaro, which houses the International Gallery of Modern Art. “Ca’” is short for casa (house).

In this city of masks, notice how the rich marble facades along the Grand Canal mask what are generally just simple, no-nonsense brick buildings. Most merchants enjoyed showing off. However, being smart businessmen, they only decorated the sides of the buildings that would be seen and appreciated. But look back as you pass Ca’ Pesaro. It’s the only building you’ll see with a fine side facade. Ahead (about 100 yards on the left) is Ca’ d’Oro, with its glorious triple-decker medieval arcade (just before the next stop).

5 Ca’ d’Oro: The lacy Ca’ d’Oro (House of Gold) is the best example of Venetian Gothic architecture on the canal. Although a simple brick construction, its facade is one of the city’s finest. Its three stories offer different variations on balcony design, topped with a spiny white roofline. Venetian Gothic mixes traditional Gothic (pointed arches and round medallions stamped with a four-leaf clover) with Byzantine styles (tall, narrow arches atop thin columns), filled in with Islamic frills. Like all the palaces, this was originally painted and gilded to make it even more glorious than it is now. Today the Ca’ d’Oro is an art gallery.

Look at the Venetian chorus line of palaces in front of the boat. On the right is the arcade of the covered fish market, with the open-air produce market just beyond. It bustles in the morning but is quiet the rest of the day. This is a great scene to wander through—even though European Union hygiene standards have made it cleaner but less colorful than it once was.

Find the traghetto gondola ferrying shoppers—standing like Washington crossing the Delaware—back and forth. While once much more numerable, today only three traghetto crossings survive along the Grand Canal, each one marked by a classy low-key green-and-black sign. Piloting a traghetto isn’t the normal day job of these gondoliers. As a public service, all gondoliers are obliged to row a traghetto a few days a month. Make a point to use them. At €2 a ride, traghetti offer the cheapest gondola rides in Venice (but at this price, don’t expect them to sing to you).

6 Rialto Mercato: This stop serves the busy market. The long, official-looking building at the stop is the Venice courthouse. Directly ahead (on the left), is the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (former German Exchange, a trading center for German merchants in the 16th century). Later the central post office, it’s now a luxury shopping mall with great rooftop views. Rising above it is the tip of the Campanile (bell tower), crowned by its golden angel weathervane at St. Mark’s Square, where this tour will end.

You’ll cruise by some trendy and beautifully situated wine bars on the right, but look ahead as you round the corner and see the impressive Rialto Bridge come into view.

A major landmark, the Rialto Bridge is lined with shops and tourists. Constructed in 1588, it’s the third bridge built on this spot. Until the 1850s, this was the only bridge crossing the Grand Canal. With a span of 160 feet and foundations stretching 650 feet on either side, the Rialto was an impressive engineering feat in its day. Earlier bridges here could open to let big ships in, but not this one. By the time it was completed in the 16th century, Venetian trading power was ebbing. After that, much of the Grand Canal was closed to shipping and became a canal of palaces.

When gondoliers pass under the fat arch of the Rialto Bridge, they take full advantage of its acoustics: “Volare, oh, oh...”

7 Rialto: A separate town in the early days of Venice, Rialto has always been the commercial district, while San Marco was the religious and governmental center. Today, a winding street called the Mercerie connects the two, providing travelers with human traffic jams and a mesmerizing gauntlet of shopping temptations. This is one of the only stretches of the historic Grand Canal with landings upon which you can walk. Boats unloaded the city’s basic necessities here: oil, wine, charcoal, iron. Today, the quay is lined with tourist-trap restaurants.

Venice’s sleek, black, graceful gondolas are a symbol of the city (for more on gondolas, see here). With about 500 gondoliers joyriding amid the churning vaporetti, there’s a lot of congestion on the Grand Canal. Pay attention—this is where most of the gondola and vaporetto accidents take place. While the Rialto is the highlight of many gondola rides, gondoliers understandably prefer the quieter small canals. Watch your vaporetto driver curse the better-paid gondoliers.

Ahead 100 yards on the left, two gray-colored palaces stand side by side (City Hall and the mayor’s office). Their horseshoe-shaped, arched windows are similar and their stories are the same height, lining up to create the effect of one long balcony.

8 San Silvestro: We now enter a long stretch of important merchants’ palaces, each with proud and different facades. Because ships couldn’t navigate beyond the Rialto Bridge, the biggest palaces—with the major shipping needs—line this last stretch of the navigable Grand Canal.

Palaces like these were multi-functional: ground floor for the warehouse, offices and showrooms upstairs, and living quarters above, on the “noble floors” (with big windows to allow maximum light). Servants lived and worked on the very top floors (with the smallest windows). For fire-safety reasons, kitchens were also located on the top floors. Peek into the noble floors to catch a glimpse of their still-glorious chandeliers of Murano glass.

The Palazzo Grimani (across from the San Silvestro dock) sports a heavy white Roman-style facade—a reminder that the Grimani family included a cardinal and had strong Roman connections.

The Palazzo Papadopoli, with the two obelisks on its roof (50 yards beyond the San Silvestro stop on the right, with the blue posts), is the very fancy Aman Hotel where George Clooney was married in 2014.

9 Sant’Angelo: Notice how many buildings have a foundation of waterproof white stone (pietra d’Istria) upon which the bricks sit high and dry. Many canal-level floors are abandoned as the rising water level takes its toll.

The posts—historically painted gaily with the equivalent of family coats of arms—don’t rot underwater. But the wood at the waterline, where it’s exposed to oxygen, does. On the smallest canals, little “no motorboats” signs indicate that these canals are for gondolas only (no motorized craft, 5 kph speed limit, no wake).

10 San Tomà: Fifty yards ahead, on the right side (with twin obelisks on the rooftop) stands Palazzo Balbi, the palace of an early-17th-century captain general of the sea. This palace, like so many in the city, flies three flags: Italy (green-white-red), the European Union (blue with ring of stars), and Venice (a lion on a field of red and gold). Today it houses the administrative headquarters of the regional government.

Just past the admiral’s palace, look immediately to the right, down a side canal. On the right side of that canal, before the bridge, see the traffic light and the fire station (the 1930s Mussolini-era building with four arches hiding fireboats parked and ready to go).

The impressive Ca’ Foscari, with a classic Venetian facade (on the corner, across from the fire station), dominates the bend in the canal. This is the main building of the University of Venice, which has about 25,000 students. Notice the elegant lamp on the corner—needed in the old days to light this intersection.

The grand, heavy, white Ca’ Rezzonico, just before the stop of the same name, houses the Museum of 18th-Century Venice (described on here). Across the canal is the cleaner and leaner Palazzo Grassi, the last major palace built on the canal, erected in the late 1700s. It was purchased by a French tycoon and now displays part of Punta della Dogana’s contemporary art collection.

11 Ca’ Rezzonico: Up ahead, the Accademia Bridge leads over the Grand Canal to the Accademia Gallery (right side), filled with the best Venetian paintings (described on here). There was no bridge here until 1854, when a cast-iron one was built. It was replaced with this wooden bridge in 1933. While meant to be temporary, it still stands today, nearly a century later.

12 Accademia: From here, look through the graceful bridge and way ahead to enjoy a classic view of La Salute Church, topped by a crown-shaped dome supported by scrolls (described on here). This Church of St. Mary of Good Health was built to ask God to deliver Venetians from the devastating plague of 1630 (which had killed about a third of the city’s population).

The low, white building among greenery (100 yards ahead, on the right, between the Accademia Bridge and the church) is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The American heiress “retired” here, sprucing up a palace that had been abandoned in midconstruction. Peggy willed the city her fine collection of modern art (described on here).

Two doors past the Guggenheim, Palazzo Dario has a great set of characteristic funnel-shaped chimneys. These forced embers through a loop-the-loop channel until they were dead—required in the days when stone palaces were surrounded by humble wooden buildings, and a live spark could make a merchant’s workforce homeless. Three doors later is the Salviati building, which once served as a glassworks. Its fine Art Nouveau mosaic, done in the early 20th century, features Venice as a queen being appreciated by the big shots of society.

13 Santa Maria del Giglio: Back on the left stands the fancy Gritti Palace hotel. Hemingway and Woody Allen both stayed here (but not together).

Take a deep whiff of Venice. What’s all this nonsense about stinky canals? All I smell is my shirt. By the way, how’s your captain? Smooth dockings?

14 Salute: The huge La Salute Church towers overhead as if squirted from a can of Catholic Reddi-wip.

As the Grand Canal opens up into the lagoon, the last building on the right with the golden ball is the 17th-century Customs House, which now houses the Punta della Dogana contemporary art museum (see here). Its two bronze Atlases hold a statue of Fortune riding the ball. Arriving ships stopped here to pay their tolls.

15 San Marco: Up ahead on the left, the green pointed tip of the Campanile marks St. Mark’s Square, the political and religious center of Venice... and the final destination of this tour. You could get off at the San Marco stop and go straight to St. Mark’s Square (and you’ll have to if you’re on vaporetto #2, which terminates here). But I’m staying on the #1 boat for one more stop, just past St. Mark’s Square (it’s a quick walk back).

Survey the lagoon. Opposite St. Mark’s Square, across the water, the ghostly white church with the pointy bell tower is San Giorgio Maggiore, with great views of Venice (see here). Next to it is the residential island Giudecca, stretching from close to San Giorgio Maggiore past the Venice youth hostel (with a nice view, directly across) to the Hilton Hotel (good nighttime view, far right end of island).

Still on board? If you are, as we leave the San Marco stop, look left and prepare for a drive-by view of St. Mark’s Square. First comes the bold white facade of the old mint (in front of the bell tower) marked by a tiny cupola as sturdy as Fort Knox, where Venice’s golden ducat, the “dollar” of the Venetian Republic, was made. Next door is the library, its facade just three windows wide. Then comes the city’s ceremonial front door: twin columns topped by St. Theodore and the winged lion of St. Mark, who’ve welcomed visitors since the 15th century. Between the columns, catch a glimpse of two giant figures atop the Clock Tower—they’ve been whacking their clappers every hour since 1499. The domes of St. Mark’s Basilica are soon eclipsed by the lacy facade of the Doge’s Palace. Next you’ll see many gondolas with their green breakwater buoys, the Bridge of Sighs (leading from the palace to the prison—check out the maximum-security bars), and finally the grand harborside promenade—the Riva.

Follow the Riva with your eye, past elegant hotels to the green area in the distance. This is the largest of Venice’s few parks, which hosts the annual Biennale festival (see here). Much farther in the distance is the Lido, the island with Venice’s beach. Its sand and casinos are tempting, though given its car traffic, it lacks the medieval charm of Venice.

16 San Zaccaria: OK, you’re at your last stop. Quick—muscle your way off this boat! (If you don’t, you’ll eventually end up at the Lido.)

At San Zaccaria, you’re right in the thick of the action. A number of other vaporetti depart from here (see here). Otherwise, it’s a short walk back along the Riva to St. Mark’s Square. Ahoy!

Sights in Venice

SIGHTSEEING PASSES FOR VENICE

SAN MARCO DISTRICT

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco)

Map: St. Mark’s Square

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Basilica (Basilica di San Marco)

Map: St. Mark’s Basilica

▲▲▲Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)

Map: Doge’s Palace

More Sights on the Square

▲▲Correr Museum (Museo Correr)

▲Campanile (Campanile di San Marco)

Behind St. Mark’s Basilica

▲Bridge of Sighs

Church of San Zaccaria

ACROSS THE LAGOON FROM ST. MARK’S SQUARE

▲San Giorgio Maggiore

DORSODURO DISTRICT

▲▲Accademia (Galleria dell’Accademia)

▲▲Peggy Guggenheim Collection

▲La Salute Church (Santa Maria della Salute)

▲Punta della Dogana

▲Ca’ Rezzonico (Museum of 18th-Century Venice)

SAN POLO DISTRICT

▲▲▲Rialto Bridge

Fondaco dei Tedeschi (German Exchange)

▲▲Frari Church (Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari)

Venice’s city museums offer youth and senior discounts to Americans and other non-EU citizens. When you see a in a listing, it means the sight is covered in a free audio tour (via my Rick Steves Audio Europe app—see here).

SIGHTSEEING PASSES FOR VENICE

Venice offers a dizzying array of combo-tickets and sightseeing passes. For most people, the best choice is the Museum Pass, which covers entry into the Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, and more. Note that seven of the most visit-worthy sights in town (the Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Scuola San Rocco, Campanile, and the three sights within St. Mark’s Basilica that charge admission) are not covered by any pass.

All the passes described here are sold at the TI (except for the combo-ticket). Most are also available at participating sights.

Combo-Ticket: A €20 combo-ticket covers both the Doge’s Palace and the Correr Museum. To bypass the long ticket-buying line at the Doge’s Palace, buy your combo-ticket at the never-crowded Correr Museum (or online). These two sights are also covered by the Museum Pass and Venice Card.

Museum Pass: Busy sightseers may prefer this more expensive pass, which covers these city-run museums: the Doge’s Palace; Correr Museum; Ca’ Rezzonico (Museum of 18th-Century Venice); Palazzo Mocenigo Costume Museum; Casa Goldoni (home of the Italian playwright); Ca’ Pesaro (modern art); Museum of Natural History in the Santa Croce district; the Glass Museum on the island of Murano; and the Lace Museum on the island of Burano. At €24, this pass is the best value if you plan to see the Doge’s Palace/Correr Museum and even just one of the other covered museums. You can buy it at any participating museum or via their websites.

Chorus Pass: This pass gives church lovers admission to 16 of Venice’s churches and their art (generally €3 each) for €12 (www.chorusvenezia.org). The Frari church is included, but not St. Mark’s. The typical tourist is unlikely to see more than two of these.

Venice Card: This pass (also called a “city pass”) combines the 12 city-run museums and the 16 churches covered by the Chorus Pass, plus a few minor discounts, for €40. A cheaper variation, San Marco Pack, is more selective: It covers the Correr Museum, Doge’s Palace, and your choice of any three churches for €28. But it’s hard to make either of these passes pay off (valid for 7 days, www.veneziaunica.com).

Rolling Venice: This youth pass offers discounts at dozens of sights and shops, but its best deal is for transit. If you’re under 30 and want to buy a 72-hour transit pass, it’ll cost you just €22—rather than €40—with the Rolling Venice pass (€6 pass for ages 14-29, sold at TIs, vaporetto ticket offices, and VèneziaUnica shops; for more info see www.veneziaunica.it and search for “Rolling Venice”).

SAN MARCO DISTRICT

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco)

(See “St. Mark’s Square” map, here.)

This grand square is surrounded by splashy, historic buildings and sights: St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Campanile bell tower, and the Correr Museum. The square is filled with music, lovers, pigeons, and tourists by day, and is your private rendezvous with the Venetian past late at night, when Europe’s most magnificent dance floor is the romantic place to be.

For a detailed explanation of St. Mark’s Square, download my free audio tour.

Visiting the Square: St. Mark’s Basilica dominates the square with its Eastern-style onion domes and glowing mosaics. Mark Twain said it looked like “a vast warty bug taking a meditative walk.” (I say it looks like tiara-wearing ladybugs copulating.) To the right of the basilica is its 325-foot-tall Campanile. Behind the Campanile, you can catch a glimpse of the pale-pink Doge’s Palace. Lining the square are the former government offices (procuratie) that managed the treasury of St. Mark’s, back when the church and state were one, and administered the Venetian empire’s vast network of trading outposts, which stretched all the way to Turkey.

With your back to the church, survey one of Europe’s great urban spaces, and the only square in Venice to merit the title “Piazza.” Nearly two football fields long, it’s surrounded by the offices of the republic. On the right are the “old offices” (16th-century Renaissance). At left are the “new offices” (17th-century High Renaissance). Napoleon called the piazza “the most beautiful drawing room in Europe,” and added to the intimacy by building the final wing, opposite the basilica, that encloses the square.

The arcade ringing the square, formerly lined with dozens of fine cafés, still provides an elegant promenade—complete with drapery that is dropped when necessary to provide relief from the sun.

Imagine this square full of water. That happens every so often at very high tides (acqua alta), a reminder that Venice and the sea are intertwined. (Now that one is sinking and the other is rising, they are more intertwined than ever.)

Watch out for pigeon speckle. Venetians don’t like pigeons, but they do like seagulls—because they eat pigeons. In 2008, Venice outlawed the feeding of pigeons. But tourists—eager for a pigeon-clad photo op—haven’t gotten that message.

The original Campanile (cam-pah-NEE-lay, bell tower) was an observation tower and a marvel of medieval and Renaissance architecture until 1902, when it toppled into the center of the piazza. It was rebuilt 10 years later; an elevator takes you to the top (see here for more about the Campanile).

For a slow and pricey evening thrill, invest €15 or so (including any cover charge for the music) for a drink at one of the elegant cafés with the dueling orchestras (see “Cafés on St. Mark’s Square” on here). For an unmatched experience that offers the best people-watching, it’s worth the splurge.

The Clock Tower (Torre dell’Orologio), built during the Renaissance in 1496, marks the entry to the main shopping drag, called the Mercerie (or “Marzarie,” in Venetian dialect), which connects St. Mark’s Square with the Rialto Bridge. From the piazza, you can see the bronze men (Moors) swing their huge clappers at the top of each hour. In the 17th century, one of them knocked an unsuspecting worker off the top and to his death—probably the first-ever killing by a robot. The tower sports one of the world’s first “digital” clocks (with dramatic flips every five minutes).

You can go inside the Clock Tower with a prebooked guided tour that takes you close to the clock’s innards and out to a terrace with good views over the square and city rooftops (€12 combo-ticket includes Correr Museum—where the tour starts—but not Doge’s Palace; €7 for the tour if you already have a Museum Pass or Correr/Doge’s Palace combo-ticket; tours in English Mon-Wed at 10:00 and 11:00, Thu-Sun at 14:00 and 15:00; no kids under age 6). While reservations are required for the Clock Tower tour, you have a decent chance of being able to “reserve” on the spot—try dropping by the Correr Museum for same-day (or day-before) tickets. To ensure a spot in advance, reserve by calling 848-082-000, or book online at http://torreorologio.visitmuve.it.

The small square between the basilica and the water is the Piazzetta. This “Little Square” is framed by the Doge’s Palace on the left, the library on the right, and the waterfront of the lagoon. The pale-pink Doge’s Palace is the epitome of the style known as Venetian Gothic. Columns support traditional, pointed Gothic arches, but with a Venetian flair—they’re curved to a point, ornamented with a trefoil (three-leaf clover), and topped with a round medallion of a quatrefoil (four-leaf clover). The pattern is found on buildings all over Venice and on the formerly Venetian-controlled Croatian coast, but nowhere else in the world (except Las Vegas).

Where the basilica meets the Doge’s Palace is the traditional entrance to the palace, decorated with four small Roman statues—the Tetrarchs. No one knows for sure who they are, but I like the legend that says they’re the scared leaders of a divided Rome during its fall, holding their swords and each other as all hell breaks loose around them.

The two large 12th-century columns near the water were looted from Constantinople. Mark’s winged lion sits on top of one. The lion’s body (nearly 15 feet long) predates the wings and is more than 2,000 years old. The other column holds St. Theodore (battling a crocodile), the former patron saint who was replaced by Mark. In the distance, on an island across the lagoon, is one of the grandest views in the city, of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore. With its four tall columns as the entryway, the church, designed by the late-Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, influenced the appearance of future government and bank buildings around the world.

▲▲▲St. Mark’s Basilica (Basilica di San Marco)

(See “St. Mark’s Basilica” map, here.)

Built in the 11th century to replace an earlier church, this basilica’s distinctly Eastern-style architecture underlines Venice’s connection with Byzantium (which protected it from the ambition of Charlemagne and his Holy Roman Empire). It’s decorated with booty from returning sea captains—a kind of architectural Venetian trophy chest. The interior glows mysteriously with gold mosaics and colored marble. Since about A.D. 830, the saint’s bones have been housed on this site. The San Marco Museum within holds the original bronze horses (copies of these overlook the square), and a balcony offering a remarkable view over St. Mark’s Square.

Cost: Basilica entry is free, unless you pay €2 for an online reservation that lets you skip the line. Three separate exhibits within the church charge admission: the Treasury (€3, includes audioguide), Golden Altarpiece (€2), and San Marco Museum (€5).

Hours: Church open Mon-Sat 9:45-17:00, Sun 14:00-17:00 (Sun until 16:00 Nov-Easter), interior brilliantly lit daily 11:30-12:30; museum open daily 9:45-16:45, including Sun mornings when the church itself is closed; if considering a Sun visit, note that the museum has a balcony that provides a fine view down to the church’s interior. The treasury and the Golden Altarpiece are both open Mon-Sat 9:45-17:00, Sun 14:00-17:00; Nov-Easter Mon-Sat until 16:00, Sun 14:00-16:00.

Information: Tel. 041-270-8311, www.basilicasanmarco.it.

Dress Code: Modest dress (no bare knees or bare shoulders) is strictly enforced for men, women, and even kids. Shorts are OK if they cover the knees.

Getting There: It’s on St. Mark’s Square (vaporetto: San Marco or San Zaccaria).

Bag Check (and Skipping the Line): Small purses and shoulder bags are usually allowed inside, but larger bags and backpacks are not. Check them for free for up to one hour at the nearby church called Ateneo San Basso, 30 yards to the left of the basilica, down narrow Calle San Basso (see map on facing page; daily 9:30-17:00). Note that you generally can’t check small bags that would be allowed inside. Those with a bag to check usually get to skip the line, as do their companions (meaning about one or two others—keep it within reason; this is at the guard’s discretion). Leave your bag at Ateneo San Basso and pick up your claim tag. Take your tag to the basilica’s tourist entrance. Keep to the left of the railing where the line forms and show your tag to the gatekeeper. He’ll generally let you in, ahead of the line.

Theft Alert: St. Mark’s Basilica is the most notorious place in Venice for pickpocketing—inside, it’s always a crowded jostle.

Tours: Free, hour-long English tours (heavy on the mosaics’ religious symbolism) are offered many days at 11:30 (meet in atrium, schedule varies, see schedule board just inside entrance).

Download my free St. Mark’s Basilica audio tour.

Self-Guided Tour

Start outside in the square, far enough back to take in the whole facade. It’s a riot of domes, columns, and statues, completely unlike the towering Gothic churches of northern Europe or the heavy Baroque of much of the rest of Italy. Inside is a decor of mosaics, colored marbles, and oriental treasures that’s rarely seen elsewhere. The Christian symbolism is unfamiliar to Western eyes, done in the style of Byzantine icons and even Islamic designs. Older than most of Europe’s churches, St. Mark’s feels like a remnant of a lost world.

The church is encrusted with materials looted from buildings throughout the Venetian empire. Their prize booty was the four bronze horses that adorn the balcony, stolen from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (these are copies); the atrium you’re about to enter was added on to the church as their pedestal. Later, it was decorated with a mishmash of plundered columns. The architectural style of St. Mark’s has been called “Early Ransack.”

Now zero in on the details.

1 Exterior—Mosaic of Mark’s Relics: The mosaic over the far left door shows two men (in the center, with crooked staffs) bearing a coffin with the body of St. Mark. Eight centuries after Mark’s death, his holy body was in Muslim-occupied Alexandria, Egypt. In A.D. 829, two visiting Venetian merchants “rescued” the body from the “infidels” and spirited it away to Venice.

• Enter the atrium of the basilica, and look up and to the right into an archway decorated with fine mosaics.

2 Atrium—Mosaic of Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood: In the scene to the right of the entry door, Noah and sons are sawing logs to build a boat. Below that are three scenes of Noah putting all species of animals into the ark, two by two. Across the arch, the flood hits in full force, drowning the wicked. Noah sends out a dove twice to see whether there’s any dry land where he can dock. He finds it, leaves the Ark with a gorgeous rainbow overhead, and offers a sacrifice of thanks to God.

• Climb seven steps, pass through the doorway, and enter the nave. Just inside the door, step to the far left, stop, let your eyes adjust, and survey the church.

3 The Nave—Mosaics and Greek-Cross Floor Plan: These golden mosaics are in the Byzantine style, though many were designed by artists from the Italian Renaissance and later. The often-overlooked lower walls are covered with green-, yellow-, purple-, and rose-colored marble slabs, cut to expose the grain, and laid out in geometric patterns. Even the floor is mosaic, with mostly geometrical designs. It rolls like the sea. Venice is sinking and shifting, creating these cresting waves of stone. The church is laid out with four equal arms, topped with domes, radiating out from the center to form a Greek cross (+).

• Find the chandelier near the entrance doorway (in the shape of a Greek cross cathedral space station), and run your eyes up the support chain to the dome above.

4 Pentecost Mosaic: In a golden heaven, the dove of the Holy Spirit shoots out a pinwheel of spiritual lasers, igniting tongues of fire on the heads of the 12 apostles below, giving them the ability to speak other languages without a Rick Steves phrase book. You’d think they’d be amazed, but their expressions are as solemn as...icons. One of the oldest mosaics in the church (c. 1125), it has distinct “Byzantine” features: a gold background and apostles with halos, solemn faces, almond eyes, delicate blessing hands, and rumpled robes, all facing forward.

• Shuffle along with the crowds up to the central dome.

5 Central Dome—Ascension Mosaic: Gape upward to the very heart of the church. Christ—having lived his miraculous life and having been crucified for man’s sins—ascends into the starry sky on a rainbow. In Byzantine churches, the window-lit dome represented heaven, while the dark church below represented earth—a microcosm of the hierarchical universe.

Under the Ascension Dome: Look around at the church’s furniture and imagine a service here. The 6 rood screen, (like the iconostasis in a Greek church) topped with 14 saints, separates the congregation from the high altar, heightening the “mystery” of the Mass. The 7 pulpit on the right was reserved for the doge, who led prayers and made important announcements.

North Transept: In the north transept (left of the altar), today’s Venetians pray to a painted wooden icon of Mary and Baby Jesus known as 8 Nicopeia, or Our Lady of Victory (it’s a small painting crusted over with a big stone canopy). In its day, this was the ultimate trophy—the actual icon, used to protect the Byzantine army in war, looted by the Crusaders.

• In the south transept (right of main altar), find the dim mosaic high up on the three-windowed wall above the entrance to the treasury.

9 Discovery of Mark Mosaic: This mosaic isn’t a biblical scene; it depicts the miraculous event that capped the construction of the present church. (It’s high up and hard to read.)

It’s 1094, the church is nearly complete (see the domes shown in cutaway fashion), and it’s time to reinter Mark’s bones under the new altar. There’s just one problem: During the decades of construction, locals forgot where they’d stored his body!

So (on the left), all of Venice gathers inside the church to bow down and pray for help finding the bones. The doge (from the Latin dux, meaning leader) leads them. Soon after (on the right), the patriarch (far right) is inspired to look inside a hollow column where he finds the relics. Everyone turns and applauds, including the womenfolk, who stream in from the upper-floor galleries. The relics were soon placed under the altar in a ceremony that inaugurated the current structure.

Additional Sights: The 10 Treasury (Tesoro) and 11 Golden Altarpiece (Pala d’Oro) give you the easiest way outside of Istanbul or Ravenna to see the glories of the Byzantine Empire. Venetian crusaders looted the Christian city of Constantinople and brought home piles of lavish loot (perhaps the lowest point in Christian history until the advent of TV evangelism). Much of this plunder is stored in the Treasury of San Marco. As you view these treasures, remember that most were made in about A.D. 500, while Western Europe was stuck in the Dark Ages. Beneath the high altar lies the body of St. Mark (“Marce”) and the Golden Altarpiece, made of 250 blue-backed enamels with religious scenes, all set in a gold frame and studded with 15 hefty rubies, 300 emeralds, 1,500 pearls, and assorted sapphires, amethysts, and topaz (c. 1100).

Upstairs, in the 12 San Marco Museum (Museo di San Marco) you can see an up-close mosaic exhibition, a fine view of the church interior, a view of the square from the balcony with bronze horses, and (inside, in their own room) the original horses. The staircase up to the museum is in the atrium, near the basilica’s main entrance.

▲▲▲Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)

(See “Doge’s Palace” map, here.)

The seat of the Venetian government and home of its ruling duke, or doge, this was the most powerful half-acre in Europe for 400 years. The Doge’s Palace was built to show off the power and wealth of the Republic. The doge lived with his family on the first floor up, near the halls of power. From his once-lavish (now sparse) quarters, you’ll follow the one-way tour through the public rooms of the top floor, finishing with the Bridge of Sighs and the prison. The place is wallpapered with masterpieces by Veronese and Tintoretto.

Cost and Hours: €20 combo-ticket includes Correr Museum, also covered by Museum Pass, daily 8:30-19:00, Nov-March until 17:30, last entry one hour before closing, café, next to St. Mark’s Basilica, just off St. Mark’s Square, vaporetto stops: San Marco or San Zaccaria, tel. 041-271-5911, http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it.

Avoiding Lines: If the line is long at the Doge’s Palace, buy your combo-ticket at the Correr Museum across the square; then go straight to the Doge’s Palace turnstile, skirting along to the right of the long ticket-buying line and entering at the “prepaid tickets” entrance. Or, you can buy your ticket online—at least 48 hours in advance—for an extra €0.50 on the museum website. Crowds tend to diminish after 15:00.

Tours: The audioguide tour is dry but informative (€5, need ID for deposit). For a 1.25-hour live guided tour, consider the Secret Itineraries Tour, which takes you into palace rooms otherwise not open to the public (€20, includes Doge’s Palace admission but not Correr Museum admission; €14 with combo-ticket; three English-language tours each morning). Though the tour skips the palace’s main hall, you’re welcome to visit the hall afterward on your own. Reserve ahead for this tour in peak season—it can fill up as much as a month in advance. Book online (http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it), reserve by phone (tel. 848-082-000, from the US dial 011-39-041-4273-0892), or you can try just showing up at the info desk. Avoid the Doge’s Hidden Treasures Tour—it reveals little that would be considered a “treasure” and is a waste of money.

Visiting the Doge’s Palace: You’ll see the restored facades from the courtyard. Notice a grand staircase (with nearly naked Moses and Paul Newman at the top). Even the most powerful visitors climbed this to meet the doge. This was the beginning of an architectural power trip.

In the Senate Hall, the 120 senators met, debated, and passed laws. Tintoretto’s large Triumph of Venice on the ceiling (central painting, best viewed from the top) is an allegory of the city in all her glory. Lady Venice is up in heaven with the Greek gods, while barbaric lesser nations swirl up to give her gifts and tribute.

The Armory—a dazzling display originally assembled to intimidate potential adversaries—shows remnants of the military might that the empire employed to keep the East-West trade lines open (and the local economy booming).

The giant Hall of the Grand Council (175 feet by 80 feet, capacity 2,600) is where the entire nobility met to elect the senate and doge. It took a room this size to contain the grandeur of the Most Serene Republic. Ringing the top of the room are portraits of the first 76 doges (in chronological order). The one at the far end that’s blacked out (in the left corner) is the notorious Doge Marin Falier, who opposed the will of the Grand Council in 1355. He was tried for treason, beheaded, and airbrushed from history.

On the wall over the doge’s throne is Tintoretto’s monsterpiece, Paradise, the largest oil painting in the world. Christ and Mary are surrounded by a heavenly host of 500 saints. The painting leaves you feeling that you get to heaven not by being a good Christian, but by being a good Venetian.

Cross the covered Bridge of Sighs over the canal to the prisons. Circle the cells. Notice the carvings made by prisoners—from olden days up until 1930—on some of the stone windowsills of the cells, especially in the far corner of the building.

Cross back over the Bridge of Sighs, pausing to look through the marble-trellised windows at all of the tourists.

Cafés on St. Mark’s Square

In Venice’s heyday, it was said that the freedoms a gentleman could experience here went far beyond what any true gentleman would actually care to indulge in. But one extravagance all could enjoy was the ritual of publicly consuming coffee: showing off with an affordable luxury, doing something trendy, while sharing the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Exotic coffee was made to order for the fancy café scene. Traders introduced coffee, called the “wine of Islam,” from the Middle East (the plant is native to Ethiopia). The first coffeehouses opened in the 17th century, and by 1750 there were dozens of cafés lining Piazza San Marco and 200 operating in Venice.

Today, several fine old cafés survive and still line the square. Those with live music feature similar food, prices, and a three- to five-piece combo playing a selection of classical and pop hits, from Brahms to “Bésame Mucho.”

You can wander around the square listening to the different orchestras, or take a seat at a café and settle in. At any café with live music, it’s perfectly acceptable to nurse a cappuccino for an hour—you’re paying for the music with the cover charge. And remember, you can sip your coffee at the bar at a nearly normal price—even with the orchestra playing just outside.

For locations of the following cafés, see the map on here.

Caffè Florian (on the right as you face the church) is the most famous Venetian café and was one of the first places in Europe to serve coffee (daily 9:00-24:00, shorter hours off-season, www.caffeflorian.com). It was originally named “Triumphant Venice” (Venezia Triomfante). But under French occupation, in the early 19th century, that politically incorrect name was changed. If you sit outside and get just an espresso—your cheapest option—expect to pay €12.50: €6.50 for the coffee and a €6 cover charge when the orchestra is playing (which is most of the day).

The Florian has been a popular spot for a discreet rendezvous in Venice since 1720. Each room has a historic or artistic theme. For example, the “Room of the Illustrious Men” features portraits of great Venetians from Marco Polo to Titian. The outside tables are the main action, but do walk inside through the richly decorated, old-time rooms where Casanova, Lord Byron, Charles Dickens, and Woody Allen have all paid too much for a drink. The café’s orchestra—the most serious on the square—plays daily from 10:00 to 24:00. Each hour comes with a musical theme (operetta, Latin, Romantic, jazz, Venetian, and so on—you can ask for the program).

Gran Caffè Quadri, opposite the Florian and established in 1780, has another illustrious roster of famous clientele.

Gran Caffè Lavena, near the Clock Tower, is less storied—although it dates from 1750 and counts composer Richard Wagner as a former regular. Drop in to check out its dazzling but politically incorrect chandelier.

Gran Caffè Chioggia, on the Piazzetta facing the Doge’s Palace, charges no cover and has a few musicians playing—including a pianist—and a wider variety of tunes (no inside ambience, slightly cheaper than the others if you just want to sit on square, music from 10:30 to 23:00—jazz after 21:00).

Eden Bar and Caffè Aurora are less expensive and don’t have live music.

More Sights on the Square

▲▲Correr Museum (Museo Correr)

This uncrowded museum gives you a good overview of Venetian history and art. The doge memorabilia, armor, banners, statues (by Canova), and paintings (by the Bellini family and others) re-create the festive days of the Venetian Republic. And it’s all accompanied—throughout the museum—by English descriptions and views of St. Mark’s Square. But the Correr Museum has one more thing to offer, and that’s a quiet refuge—an elegant Neoclassical space—in which to rise above St. Mark’s Square when the piazza is too hot, too rainy, or too overrun with tourists.

Cost and Hours: €20 combo-ticket also includes the Doge’s Palace, also covered by Museum Pass; daily 10:00-19:00, Nov-March until 17:00, last entry one hour before closing; bag check free and mandatory for bags bigger than a large purse, elegant café, enter at far end of square directly opposite basilica, tel. 041-240-5211, http://correr.visitmuve.it.

Avoid long lines at the crowded Doge’s Palace by buying your combo-ticket at the Correr Museum. For €12 you can see the Correr Museum and tour the Clock Tower on St. Mark’s Square, but this ticket doesn’t include the Doge’s Palace (and the €20 combo-ticket mentioned above doesn’t include the Clock Tower). For more on reserving a Clock Tower tour, see here.

▲Campanile (Campanile di San Marco)

This dramatic bell tower replaced a shorter tower, part of the original fortress that guarded the entry of the Grand Canal. That tower crumbled into a pile of bricks in 1902, a thousand years after it was built. Ride the elevator 325 feet to the top of the bell tower for the best view in Venice (especially at sunset). For an ear-shattering experience, be on top when the bells ring. The golden archangel Gabriel at the top always faces into the wind. Beat the crowds and enjoy the crisp morning air at 9:00 or the cool evening breeze at 18:00.

Cost and Hours: €8, daily 8:30-21:00, Sept-mid-Oct until sunset, mid-Oct-April 9:30-17:30, last entry 45 minutes before closing, may close during thunderstorms, audioguide-€3, tel. 041-522-4064, www.basilicasanmarco.it.

Behind St. Mark’s Basilica

▲Bridge of Sighs

This much-photographed bridge connects the Doge’s Palace with the prison. Travelers popularized this bridge in the Romantic 19th century. Supposedly, a condemned man would be led over this bridge on his way to the prison, take one last look at the glory of Venice, and sigh. Though overhyped, the Bridge of Sighs is undeniably tingle-worthy—especially after dark, when the crowds have dispersed and it’s just you and floodlit Venice. During the middle of the day, however, being immersed in the pandemonium of global tourism (and selfie sticks) can be a fascinating experience in itself.

Getting There: The Bridge of Sighs is around the corner from the Doge’s Palace. Walk toward the waterfront, turn left along the water, and look up the first canal on your left. You can walk across the bridge (from the inside) by visiting the Doge’s Palace.

Church of San Zaccaria

This historic church is home to a sometimes-waterlogged crypt, a Bellini altarpiece, a Tintoretto painting, and the final resting place of St. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.

Cost and Hours: Free, €1.50 to enter crypt, €0.50 coin to light up Bellini’s altarpiece, Mon-Sat 10:00-12:00 & 16:00-18:00, Sun 16:00-18:00 only, two canals behind St. Mark’s Basilica.

ACROSS THE LAGOON FROM ST. MARK’S SQUARE

▲San Giorgio Maggiore

This is the dreamy church-topped island you can see from the waterfront by St. Mark’s Square. The striking church, designed by Palladio, features art by Tintoretto and stunning views from its bell tower of Venice and the lagoon. And even if you’re not interested in any of the above, it’s worth a trip just to escape from tourist-mobbed St. Mark’s Square.

Cost and Hours: Free entry to church; daily 9:00-19:00, Nov-March 8:30-18:00. The bell tower costs €6 and is accessible by elevator (runs until 20 minutes before the church closes but is not accessible Sun during services).

Getting There: To reach the island from St. Mark’s Square, take the one-stop, five-minute ride on vaporetto #2 from San Zaccaria (6/hour, €5 special vaporetto ticket, usually from dock B, direction: Tronchetto).

DORSODURO DISTRICT

▲▲Accademia (Galleria dell’Accademia)

Venice’s top art museum, packed with highlights of the Venetian Renaissance, features paintings by the Bellini family, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Tiepolo, Giorgione, Canaletto, and Testosterone. It’s just over the wooden Accademia Bridge from the San Marco action.

Cost and Hours: €12, Mon 8:15-14:00, Tue-Sun until 19:15, last entry one hour before closing, dull audioguide-€6. At Accademia Bridge, vaporetto: Accademia, tel. 041-522-2247, www.gallerieaccademia.org.

Avoiding Lines: Just 400 people are allowed into the gallery at one time, so you may have to wait. It’s most crowded on Tue mornings and whenever it rains; it’s least crowded Wed, Thu, and Sun mornings (before 10:00) and late afternoons (after 17:00). While it’s possible to book tickets in advance (€1.50/ticket surcharge; either book online at www.gallerieaccademia.org or call 041-520-0345), it’s generally not necessary if you avoid the busiest times.

Renovation: The museum is nearing the end of a major, multiyear expansion and renovation. As a result, paintings come and go, and the actual locations of the pieces are hard to pin down. Still, the museum contains sumptuous art—the best in Venice. Be flexible: You’ll probably just end up wandering around and matching descriptions to blockbuster paintings when you find them. If you don’t find a particular piece, check Room 23, which seems to be their catchall holding pen for displaced art.

Visiting the Accademia: The Accademia is the greatest museum anywhere for Venetian Renaissance art and a good overview of painters whose works you’ll see all over town. Venetian art is underrated and, I think, misunderstood. It’s nowhere near as famous today as the work of the florescent Florentines, but—with historical slices of Venice, ravishing nudes, and very human Madonnas—it’s livelier, more colorful, and simply more fun. The Venetian love of luxury shines through in this collection, which starts in the Middle Ages and runs to the 1700s. Look for grand canvases of colorful, spacious settings, peopled with happy locals in extravagant clothes having a great time.

Medieval highlights include elaborate altarpieces and golden-haloed Madonnas, all painted at a time when realism, depth of field, and emotion were considered beside the point. Medieval Venetians, with their close ties to the East, borrowed techniques such as gold-leafing, frontal poses, and “iconic” faces from the religious icons of Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul).

Among early masterpieces of the Renaissance are Mantegna’s studly St. George. As the Renaissance reaches its heights, so do the paintings, such as Titian’s magnificent Presentation of the Virgin. It’s a religious scene, yes, but it’s really just an excuse to display secular splendor (Titian was the most famous painter of his day—perhaps even more famous than Michelangelo). Veronese’s sumptuous Feast in the House of Levi, pictured below, also has an ostensibly religious theme (in the middle, find Jesus eating his final meal)—but it’s outdone by the luxury and optimism of Renaissance Venice. Life was a good thing and beauty was to be enjoyed. (Veronese was hauled before the Inquisition for painting such a bawdy Last Supper...so he fine-tuned the title.)

End your tour in the largest room in the museum, Room 23, whose inner court generally holds the finest works—including masterpieces by Giovanni Bellini (such as his Madonna degli Alberetti) and Giorgione (such as The Tempest).

▲▲Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The popular museum of far-out art, housed in the American heiress’ former retirement palazzo, offers one of Europe’s best reviews of the art of the first half of the 20th century. Stroll through styles represented by artists whom Peggy knew personally—Cubism (Picasso, Braque), Surrealism (Dalí, Ernst), Futurism (Boccioni), American Abstract Expressionism (Pollock), and a sprinkling of Klee, Calder, and Chagall.

Cost and Hours: €15, usually includes temporary exhibits, Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, closed Tue, audioguide-€7, pricey café, a 5-minute walk from the Accademia Bridge, vaporetto: Accademia or Salute, tel. 041-240-5411, www.guggenheim-venice.it.

▲La Salute Church (Santa Maria della Salute)

This impressive church with a crown-shaped dome was built and dedicated to the Virgin Mary by grateful survivors of the 1630 plague.

Cost and Hours: Free entry to church, €4 to enter the Sacristy; daily 9:00-12:00 & 15:00-17:30. It’s a 10-minute walk from the Accademia Bridge; the Salute vaporetto stop is at its doorstep, tel. 041-274-3928, www.seminariovenezia.it.

▲Punta della Dogana

This museum of contemporary art, opened in 2009, makes the Dorsoduro a major destination for art lovers. Housed in the former Customs House at the end of the Grand Canal, it features cutting-edge 21st-century art in spacious rooms. This isn’t Picasso and Matisse, or even Pollock and Warhol—those guys are ancient history. But if you’re into the likes of Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, Rachel Whiteread, and a host of newer artists, the museum is world class. The displays change completely about every year, drawn from the museum’s large collection—so large it also fills Palazzo Grassi, farther up the Grand Canal.

Cost and Hours: €20 (varies depending on exhibit), Wed-Mon 10:00-19:00, closed Tue, last entry one hour before closing, small café, tel. 199-112-112 within Italy, 041-200-1057 from abroad, www.palazzograssi.it.

Getting There: Punta della Dogana is near La Salute Church (vaporetto: Salute). Palazzo Grassi is a bit upstream, on the east side of the Grand Canal (vaporetto #2: San Samuele).

▲Ca’ Rezzonico (Museum of 18th-Century Venice)

This Grand Canal palazzo offers the most insightful look at the life of Venice’s rich and famous in the 1700s. Wander under ceilings by Tiepolo, among furnishings from that most decadent century, enjoying views of the canal and paintings by Guardi, Canaletto, and Longhi.

Cost and Hours: €10, Wed-Mon 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Tue year-round; audioguide-€4 or €6/2 people; last entry one hour before closing, café, at Ca’ Rezzonico vaporetto stop, tel. 041-241-0100, http://carezzonico.visitmuve.it.

SAN POLO DISTRICT

▲▲▲Rialto Bridge

One of the world’s most famous bridges, this distinctive and dramatic stone structure crosses the Grand Canal with a single confident span. The arcades along the top of the bridge help reinforce the structure...and offer some enjoyable shopping diversions, as does the market surrounding the bridge (produce market closed Sun, fish market closed Sun-Mon).

Fondaco dei Tedeschi (German Exchange)

The long-ago home to Germanic traders (tedeschi) in the city, and more recently the main post office, this block-long building has been restored and turned into a luxury “mall” with fantastic views from its roof terrace. The ground floor features gourmet food shops, ritzy cafés, classy Venetian souvenirs, and free WCs. As you head to the top, imagine the cosmopolitan mix of people who flocked to the city centuries ago to trade with the merchants of Venice (not much has changed). On the terrace, you’ll be treated to a unique perspective over the roofs of Venice and the Grand Canal.

Cost and Hours: Free, daily 10:00-20:00, longer hours in summer, less crowded in the morning, most crowded near sunset, north side of Rialto Bridge, www.tfondaco.com.

▲▲Frari Church (Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari)

My favorite art experience in Venice is seeing art in the setting for which it was designed—as it is at the Frari Church. The Franciscan “Church of the Brothers” and the art that decorates it are warmed by the spirit of St. Francis. It features the work of three great Renaissance masters: Donatello, Giovanni Bellini, and Titian—each showing worshippers the glory of God in human terms.

A Dying City?

Venice’s population (fewer than 55,000 in the historic city) is half what it was just 30 years ago, and people are leaving at a rate of a thousand a year. Of those who stay, 25 percent are 65 or older.

Sad, yes, but imagine raising a family here: Apartments are small, high up, and expensive. Humidity and occasional flooding make basic maintenance a pain. Home-improvement projects require navigating miles of red tape, and you must follow regulations intended to preserve the historical ambience. Everything is expensive because it has to be shipped in from the mainland. You can easily get glass and tourist trinkets, but it’s hard to find groceries or get your shoes fixed. Running basic errands involves lots of walking and stairs—imagine crossing over arched bridges while pushing a child in a stroller and carrying a day’s worth of groceries.

With millions of visitors a year (150,000 a day at peak times), on any given day Venetians are likely outnumbered by tourists. Despite government efforts to subsidize rents and build cheap housing, the city is losing its residents. The economy itself is thriving, thanks to tourist dollars and rich foreigners buying second homes. But the culture is dying.

Greedy residents could sink Venice long before the sea swallows it up. Locals happily rent apartments to tourists a few times a month rather than affordably to local families, and shopkeepers sell trinkets to tourists before pots and pans to the local population. Even the most hopeful city planners worry that in a few decades Venice will not be a city at all, but a museum, a cultural theme park, a decaying Disneyland for adults.

Cost and Hours: €3, Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun 13:00-18:00, audioguide-€2, modest dress recommended, on Campo dei Frari, near San Tomà vaporetto and traghetto stops, tel. 041-272-8618, www.basilicadeifrari.it.

Tours: You can rent an audioguide for €2, or download my free Frari Church audio tour.

Visiting the Frari Church: In Donatello’s wood statue of St. John the Baptist (just to the right of the high altar), the prophet of the desert—dressed in animal skins and nearly starving from his diet of bugs ’n’ honey—announces the coming of the Messiah. Donatello was a Florentine working at the dawn of the Renaissance.

Bellini’s Madonna and Child with Saints and Angels painting (in the sacristy farther to the right) came later, done by a Venetian in a more Venetian style—soft focus without Donatello’s harsh realism. While Renaissance humanism demanded Madonnas and saints that were accessible and human, Bellini places them in a physical setting so beautiful that it creates its own mood of serene holiness. The genius of Bellini, perhaps the greatest Venetian painter, is obvious in the pristine clarity, rich colors (notice Mary’s clothing), believable depth, and reassuring calm of this three-paneled altarpiece.

Finally, glowing red and gold like a stained-glass window over the high altar, Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin sets the tone of exuberant beauty found in the otherwise sparse church. Titian the Venetian—a student of Bellini—painted steadily for 60 years...you’ll see a lot of his art. As stunned apostles look up past the swirl of arms and legs, the complex composition of this painting draws you right to the radiant face of the once-dying, now-triumphant Mary as she joins God in heaven.

Feel comfortable to discreetly freeload off passing tours. For many, these three pieces of art make a visit to the Accademia Gallery unnecessary (or they may whet your appetite for more). Before leaving, check out the Neoclassical pyramid-shaped Canova monument flanking the nave just inside the main entrance and (opposite that) the grandiose tomb of Titian. Compare the carved marble Assumption behind Titian’s tombstone portrait with the painted original above the high altar.

▲▲Scuola San Rocco

Sometimes called “Tintoretto’s Sistine Chapel,” this lavish meeting hall (next to the Frari Church) has some 50 large, colorful Tintoretto paintings plastered to the walls and ceilings. The best paintings are upstairs, especially the Crucifixion in the smaller room. View the neck-breaking splendor with the mirrors available in the Grand Hall.

Cost and Hours: €10, daily 9:30-17:30, tel. 041-523-4864, www.scuolagrandesanrocco.it.

▲Church of San Polo

This nearby church, which pales in comparison to the two sights just listed, is only worth a visit for art lovers. One of Venice’s oldest churches (from the ninth century), San Polo features works by Tintoretto, Veronese, and Tiepolo and son.

Cost and Hours: €3, Mon-Sat 10:30-16:30, closed Sun.

VENICE’S LAGOON

(See “Lagoon Tour” map, here.)

The island of Venice sits in a lagoon—a calm section of the Adriatic protected from wind and waves by the natural breakwater of the Lido. Beyond the church-topped island of San Giorgio Maggiore (directly in front of St. Mark’s Square—see here), four interesting islands hide out in the lagoon: San Michele, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. A fifth island has the beach—the Lido—a nice outing for a beach break on a sunny day.

Lagoon Tour

These four islands make a good, varied, and long day trip that you can do on your own (see “Getting There” on the next page for directions).

San Michele (a.k.a. Cimitero) is the cemetery island—the final resting place of Venetians and a few foreign VIPs, from poet Ezra Pound to composer Igor Stravinsky. The stopover is easy, since boats come every 10 minutes. If you even half-enjoy wandering through old cemeteries, you’ll dig this one—it’s full of flowers, trees, scurrying lizards, and birdsong, and has an intriguing chapel (cemetery open daily 7:30-18:00, Oct-March until 16:30; reception to the left as you enter, free WC to the right).

Murano (worth ▲) is famous for its glassmaking. From the Colonna vaporetto stop, skip the glass shops in front of you, walk to the right, and wander up the street along the canal, Fondamenta dei Vetrai (Glassmakers’ Embankment). The Faro district of Murano, on the other side of the canal, is packed with factories (fabriche) and their furnaces (fornaci). You’ll pass dozens of glass shops along the canal. Window-shopping here can be as much fun as buying—the personality, style, and prices of wares vary wildly from place to place. Early along this promenade, at #47, is the venerable Venini shop, with glass that’s a cut above much of what else is on offer here, and with an interior showing off the ultimate in modern Venetian glass design (Mon-Sat 9:30-18:00, closed Sun).

Murano’s Glass Museum (Museo Vetrario) traces the history of this delicate art, with the very best examples of 500 years of Venetian glassmaking on display (€10, daily 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, last entry one hour before closing, tel. 041-739-586, http://museovetro.visitmuve.it).

Burano, known for its lacemaking and countless lace shops (and worth ▲▲), offers a delightful pastel village alternative to big, bustling Venice. The tight main drag is packed with tourists and lined with shops, some of which sell Burano’s locally produced white wine. Wander to the far end of the island and the mood shifts. A grassy area, with benches and a waterside promenade, makes for a pretty picnic spot. Continuing all the way around the church and its leaning bell tower brings you into a peaceful yet intensely colorful, small-town world.

Burano’s Lace Museum (Museo del Merletto di Burano) shows the island’s lace heritage (€5, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Nov-March until 17:00, closed Mon year-round, tel. 041-730-034, http://museomerletto.visitmuve.it).

Torcello (worth ▲) is the birthplace of Venice, where some of the first mainland refugees settled, escaping the barbarian hordes. Yet today, it’s the least-developed island (pop. 20) in the most natural state, marshy and shrub-covered. There’s little for tourists to see except the Santa Maria Assunta Church, the oldest in Venice, which still sports some impressive mosaics, a climbable bell tower, and a modest museum of Roman sculpture and medieval sculpture and manuscripts (10-minute walk from the dock, €12 combo-ticket covers museum, church, and bell tower; €9 combo-ticket covers church and bell tower; combo-tickets include audioguide; museum only—€3; church and bell tower—€5 each; church open daily 10:30-18:00, Nov-Feb until 17:00, museum and campanile close 30 minutes earlier, museum closed Mon year-round; museum tel. 041-730-761, church/bell tower tel. 041-730-119).

Getting There: You can travel to any of the four islands by vaporetto. Because single vaporetto tickets (€7.50) are only valid for 75 minutes, getting a vaporetto pass for this lagoon excursion makes more sense (see here for more on vaporetto tickets). Vaporetti can be very crowded; if you want a seat for the longer rides, show up at the boat dock a bit early to get in line.

For a route that takes you to all four islands, start at the Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop on the north shore of Venice (the “back” of the fish). Lines #4.1 and #4.2 converge here before heading out to Murano. Catch either one (every 10 minutes); you’ll first cross to San Michele (whose stop is called Cimitero) in six minutes, then continue another three minutes to Murano-Colonna. Stroll through Murano, then leave that island from a different stop: Murano-Faro, where you can board vaporetto #12 for the 30- to 40-minute trip to Burano. From Burano, you can side-trip to Torcello on vaporetto #12 (5-minute trip each way, make sure it stops at Torcello). To make a quick return to Venice from Burano, hop vaporetto #12 (some of these boats skip Torcello), which returns you to Fondamente Nove (45 minutes).

Lido Beach

Venice’s nearest beach is the Lido, across the lagoon on an island connected to the mainland (which means car traffic). The sandy beach is pleasant, family-friendly, and good for swimming. You can rent an umbrella, buy beach gear at the shop, get food at the self-service café, or have a drink at the bar. Everything is affordable and in the same building (vaporetto: Lido S.M.E., walk 10 minutes on Gran Viale S. Maria Elisabetta to beach entry).

Experiences in Venice

GONDOLA RIDES

Riding a gondola is simple, expensive, and one of the great experiences in Europe. Gondoliers hanging out all over town are eager to have you hop in for a ride. While this is a rip-off for some, it’s a traditional must for romantics.

The price for a gondola starts at €80 for a 35-minute ride during the day. You can divide the cost—and the romance—among up to six people per boat, but only two get the love seat. Prices jump to €100 after 19:00—when it’s most romantic and relaxing. Adding a singer and an accordionist will cost an additional €120. If you value budget over romance, you can save money by recruiting fellow travelers to split a gondola. Prices are standard and listed on the gondoliers’ association website (go to www.gondolavenezia.it, click on “Using the Gondola,” and look under “charterage”).

Dozens of gondola stations (servizio gondole) are set up along canals all over town. Because your gondolier might offer narration or conversation during your ride, talk with several and choose one you like. You’re welcome to review the map and discuss the route. Doing so is also a good way to see if you enjoy the gondolier’s personality and language skills. Establish the price, route, and duration of the trip before boarding, enjoy your ride, and pay only when you’re finished. While prices are pretty firm, you might find them softer during the day. Most gondoliers honor the official prices, but a few might try to scam you out of some extra euros, particularly by insisting on a tip. (While not required or even expected, if your gondolier does the full 35 minutes and entertains you en route, a 5-10 percent tip is appreciated; if he’s surly or rushes through the trip, skip it.)

If you’ve hired musicians and want to hear a Venetian song (un canto Veneziano), try requesting “Venezia La Luna e Tu.” Asking to hear “O Sole Mio” (which comes from Naples) is like asking a Chicago lounge singer to sing “Swanee River.”

Glide through nighttime Venice with your head on someone’s shoulder. Follow the moon as it sails past otherwise unseen buildings. Silhouettes gaze down from bridges while window glitter spills onto the black water. You’re anonymous in the city of masks, as the rhythmic thrust of your striped-shirted gondolier turns old crows into songbirds. This is extremely relaxing (and, I think, worth the extra cost to experience at night). Suggestion: Put the camera down and make it a point for you and your partner to enjoy a threesome with Venice. Women, beware...while gondoliers can be extremely charming, locals say that anyone who falls for one of these Venetian Romeos “has slices of ham over her eyes.”

For cheap gondola thrills during the day, stick to the €2 one-minute ferry ride on a Grand Canal traghetto. At night, vaporetti are nearly empty, and it’s a great time to cruise the Grand Canal on the slow boat #1. Or hang out on a bridge along the gondola route and wave at romantics.

FESTIVALS

Venice’s most famous festival is Carnevale, the celebration Americans call Mardi Gras (Jan 27-Feb 13 in 2018; www.carnevale.venezia.it). It’s most festive on weekends, but can be particularly quiet during the first week. Carnevale, which means “farewell to meat,” originated centuries ago as a wild two-month-long party leading up to the austerity of Lent. In Carnevale’s heyday—the 1600s and 1700s—you could do pretty much anything with anybody from any social class if you were wearing a mask. These days it’s a tamer 18-day celebration, culminating in a huge dance lit with fireworks on St. Mark’s Square. Sporting masks and costumes, tourists and Venetians—from kids to businessmen—join in the fun. In drawing such big crowds, Carnevale has nearly been a victim of its own success, driving away many Venetians (who skip out on the craziness to go skiing in the Dolomites). European tourists descend en masse, spending hundreds of euros on costumes and attending extravagant events. Unless you’re interested in photographing (or participating in) the fun, any other day this time of year will be much less chaotic, and less expensive.

Every year, the city hosts the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, a world-class contemporary fair, alternating between art in odd years (the main event) and architecture in even years (much smaller). The exhibition spreads over the Arsenale and Giardini park. When the Biennale focuses on visual art, representatives from 80-plus nations offer the latest in contemporary art forms: video, computer art, performance art, and digital photography, along with painting and sculpture (take vaporetto #1 or #2 to Giardini-Biennale; for details and an events calendar, see www.labiennale.org). The actual exhibition usually runs from June through November, but other events loosely connected with the Biennale—film, dance, theater—are held throughout the year (starting as early as February) in various venues on the island.

Other typically Venetian festival days filling the city’s hotels with visitors and its canals with decked-out boats are Feast of the Ascension Day (May 10 in 2018), Feast and Regatta of the Redeemer (Festa del Redentore) on the third weekend in July (with spectacular fireworks show Sat night), and the Historical Regatta (old-time boats and pageantry, first Sat and Sun in Sept). Vogalonga is a colorful regatta that attracts more than 1,500 human-powered watercraft; teams of often-costumed participants follow a 20-mile course through the canals and lagoon (late May-early June, www.vogalonga.it). Crowds soar and vaporetti run limited schedules during these events. Smaller regattas include the Murano Regatta (early July) and the Burano Regatta (mid-Sept).

Venice’s patron saint, St. Mark, is commemorated every April 25. Venetian men celebrate the day by presenting roses to the women in their lives (mothers, wives, and lovers).

Every November 21 is the Feast of Our Lady of Good Health (Santa Maria della Salute). On this local “Thanksgiving,” a bridge is built over the Grand Canal so that the city can pile into La Salute Church and remember how Venice survived the gruesome plague of 1630. On this day, Venetians eat smoked lamb from Dalmatia (which was the cargo of the first ship admitted when the plague lifted). Festivities around the church include stands selling candles, sweets, and novelties for kids.

Shopping in Venice

Shoppers like Murano glass (described earlier), Burano lace (fun lace umbrellas for little girls), Carnevale masks (fine shops and artisans all over town), art reproductions (posters, postcards, and books), prints of Venetian scenes, traditional stationery (pens and marbled paper products of all kinds), calendars with Venetian scenes, silk ties, scarves, and plenty of goofy knickknacks (Titian mousepads, gondolier T-shirts, and little plastic gondola condom holders).

In touristy areas, shops are typically open from 9:00 to 19:30 (sometimes with a break from about 13:00 until 15:00 or 16:00), and more stores are open on Sunday here than in the rest of the country. If you’re buying a substantial amount from nearly any shop, bargain—it’s accepted and almost expected. Offer less and offer to pay cash; merchants are very conscious of the bite taken by credit-card companies.

Venice is particularly known for “needle lace,” with intricate flowers, leaves, and curling stems, which was used for cuffs, gowns, and frilly collars. The Il Merletto shop just off St. Mark’s Square sells pieces crafted by students of the Scuola dei Merletti, the local lace-making school in Burano (exit the square near the northwest corner through Sotoportego del Cavalletto, then across the little bridge to the right, daily 10:00-17:00, San Marco 95, tel. 041-520-8406).

Popular Venetian glass is available in many forms: vases, tea sets, decanters, glasses, jewelry, lamps, mod sculptures (such as solid-glass aquariums), and on and on. Shops will ship it home for you, but you’re likely to pay as much or more for the shipping as you are for the item(s), and you may have to pay duty on larger purchases. Make sure the shop insures their merchandise (assicurazione), or you’re out of luck if it breaks. If your item arrives broken and it has been insured, take a photo of the pieces, send it to the shop, and they’ll replace it for free.

Some visitors feel that because they’re in Venice, they ought to grab the opportunity to buy glass. Remember that you can buy fine glass back home, too (Venice stopped forbidding its glassblowers from leaving the republic a few centuries ago)—and under less time pressure.

Also, be aware that much of the cheap glass you’ll see in Venice is imported (a sore point for local vendors dealing in the more expensive, locally produced stuff). Genuine Venetian glass comes with the Murano seal.

If you’d like to watch a quick glassblowing demonstration, try Galleria San Marco, a tour-group staple just off St. Mark’s Square, which offers great demos every few minutes. They typically let individual travelers flashing this book sneak in with tour groups until 16:00 to see the show (and sales pitch). If you buy anything, show this book and they’ll take 20 percent off the listed price. The gallery is in an alley that runs behind the north side of the square; walk through the passageway between #140 and #141, then look for #181a on your left and go up to the second floor (daily 8:30-17:00, on Calle del Cappello Nero, San Marco 181a—see map on here, tel. 041-271-8671, info@galleriasanmarco.it, manager Aldo Dinon).

If you’re serious about glass, visit the island of Murano, its glass museum, and many shops (described earlier, under “Venice’s Lagoon”). You’ll find greater variety on Murano, but prices are usually the same as in Venice.

Nightlife in Venice

You must experience Venice after dark. The city is quiet at night, as many tour groups (not mine) stay in the cheaper hotels of Mestre on the mainland, and the masses of day-trippers return to their beach resorts and cruise ships. Gondolas cost more, but are worth the extra expense (see here).

Venice has a busy schedule of events, church concerts, festivals, and entertainment. Check at the TI or the TI’s website (www.turismovenezia.it) for listings. The free monthly Un Ospite di Venezia lists all the latest happenings in English (free at fancy hotels, or check www.unospitedivenezia.it/en).

Baroque Concerts

Venice is a city of the powdered-wig Baroque era. For about €25, you can take your pick of traditional Vivaldi concerts in churches throughout town. Homegrown Vivaldi is as ubiquitous here as Strauss is in Vienna and Mozart is in Salzburg. In fact, you’ll find frilly young Vivaldis hawking concert tickets on many corners. Most shows start at 20:30 and generally last 1.5 hours. You’ll see posters in hotels all over town (hotels sell tickets at face-value).

Tickets for Baroque concerts in Venice can usually be bought the same day as the concert, so don’t bother with websites that sell tickets with a surcharge. The general rule of thumb: Musicians in wigs and tights offer better spectacle; musicians in black-and-white suits are better performers.

The Interpreti Veneziani orchestra, considered the best group in town, generally performs 1.5-hour concerts nightly at 21:00 inside the sumptuous San Vidal Church (€29, church ticket booth open daily 9:30-21:00, north end of Accademia Bridge, tel. 041-277-0561, www.interpretiveneziani.com).

Other Performances

Venice’s most famous theaters are La Fenice (grand old opera house, box office tel. 041-2424, www.teatrolafenice.it), Teatro Goldoni (mostly Italian live theater), and Teatro Fondamenta Nuove (theater, music, and dance).

Musica a Palazzo is a unique evening of opera at a Venetian palace on the Grand Canal. You’ll spend about 45 delightful minutes in each of three sumptuous rooms (about 2.25 hours total) as eight musicians (usually four instruments and four singers) perform. They generally present three different operas on successive nights—enthusiasts can experience more than one. With these kinds of surroundings, under Tiepolo frescoes, you’ll be glad you dressed up. As there are only 70 seats, you must book by phone or online in advance (€85, nightly at 20:30, Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, Fondamenta Duodo o Barbarigo, vaporetto: Santa Maria del Giglio, San Marco 2504, mobile 340-971-7272, www.musicapalazzo.com).

St. Mark’s Square

For tourists, St. Mark’s Square is the highlight, with lantern light and live music echoing from the cafés. Just being here after dark is a thrill, as dueling café orchestras entertain. The ultimate Venetian music scene is at the venerable Caffè Florian. But Gran Caffè Chioggia (facing the Doge’s Palace) doesn’t charge extra for music and has good jazz nightly (see sidebar on here). Every night, enthusiastic musicians play the same songs, creating the same irresistible magic. Hang out for free behind the tables (allowing you to move easily on to the next orchestra when the musicians take a break), or spring for a seat and enjoy a fun and gorgeously set concert. If you sit a while, expect to pay €15 and up (for a drink and the cover charge for music)—money well spent. Dancing on the square is free, and encouraged.

Several venerable cafés and bars on the square serve expensive drinks outside but cheaper drinks inside at the bar. The scene in a bar like Gran Caffè Lavena (despite its questionable chandelier) can be great. You’ll hear people talking about the famous Harry’s American Bar, which sells overpriced food and American cocktails to dressy tourists near the San Marco-Vallaresso vaporetto stop. But it’s a rip-off...and the last place Hemingway would drink today. It’s far cheaper to get a drink at any of the hole-in-the-wall bars just off St. Mark’s Square; you can get a bottle of beer or even prosecco to-go in a plastic cup.

Wherever you end up, streetlamp halos, live music, floodlit history, and a ceiling of stars make St. Mark’s magic at midnight. You’re not a tourist, you’re a living part of a soft Venetian night...an alley cat with money. In the misty light, the moon has a golden hue. Shine with the old lanterns on the gondola piers, where the sloppy lagoon splashes at the Doge’s Palace...reminiscing.

Sleeping in Venice

I’ve listed rooms in four areas: St. Mark’s bustle, the Rialto action, the quiet Dorsoduro area behind the Accademia art museum, and near the train station. In general, the closer to St. Mark’s you are, the less value and more touristy atmosphere you’ll get.

Hotels in Venice can be tricky to locate. If necessary, ask locals for help when you get close. Hotel websites are particularly valuable for Venice because they often include detailed directions (including maps that you can print out) that will help you get to your rooms with a minimum of wrong turns in this navigationally challenging city. The website Venicexplorer.net allows you to search using a hotel’s address number and district (I’ve included these in my listings; click “Venice Civic Number” to open the search window); it’s better than Google Maps, which can choke on Venetian addresses. Remember that Venice has six districts: San Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, San Polo, Santa Croce, and Dorsoduro.

As many hotels in central Venice are in historic buildings, rooms tend to be small and stairs are often plentiful. Unless noted, these listings come without an elevator. If that’s a concern, request a room on a lower floor.

Book your accommodations well in advance if you’ll be traveling during peak season (April-June and Sept-Oct) or if your trip coincides with a major holiday or festival (see here).

I rank accommodations from $ budget to $$$$ splurge. To get the best deal, contact my family-run hotels directly by phone or email. By going direct, the owner avoids a roughly 20 percent commission and may be able to offer you a discount. For more information and tips on hotel rates and deals, making reservations, and finding a short-term rental, see here.

NEAR ST. MARK’S SQUARE

To get here from the train station or Piazzale Roma bus station, ride the slow vaporetto #1 to San Zaccaria or the fast #2 (which also leaves from Tronchetto parking lot) to San Marco. Consider using your ride to follow my tour of the Grand Canal (see Grand Canal Cruise, here); to make sure you arrive via the Grand Canal, confirm that your boat goes “via Rialto.”

East of St. Mark’s Square

Located near the Bridge of Sighs, just off the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront promenade, these places rub drainpipes with Venice’s most palatial five-star hotels.

$$$$ Hotel Campiello, lacy and bright, was once part of a 19th-century convent. Ideally located 50 yards off the waterfront on a tiny square, its 16 rooms offer a tranquil, friendly refuge for travelers who appreciate comfort and professional service (RS%, air-con, elevator, just steps from the San Zaccaria vaporetto stop, Castello 4647; tel. 041-520-5764, www.hcampiello.it, campiello@hcampiello.it; family-run for four generations, currently by Thomas, Nicoletta, and Monica). They also rent three modern family apartments, under rustic timbers just steps away.

$$$$ Hotel Fontana, two bridges behind St. Mark’s Square, is a pleasant family-run place with 15 sparse but classic-feeling rooms overlooking a lively square (RS%, several rooms with terraces, family rooms, air-con, elevator, on Campo San Provolo at Castello 4701, tel. 041-522-0579, www.hotelfontana.it, info@hotelfontana.it, cousins Diego and Gabriele).

$$$$ Hotel la Residenza is a grand old palace facing a peaceful square. It has 16 rooms on three levels (with no elevator) and a huge, luxurious lounge. This is a good value for romantics—you’ll feel like you’re in the Doge’s Palace after hours (air-con; from the Riva, go down Calle del Dose to Campo Bandiera e Moro, at Castello 3608; tel. 041-528-5315, www.venicelaresidenza.com, info@venicelaresidenza.com, Giovanni).

$$$$ Locanda al Leon, which feels a little like a medieval tower house, is conscientiously run and rents 12 rooms just off Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo (RS%, some view rooms, family rooms, air-con, 2 apartments with kitchens, Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, Castello 4270, tel. 041-277-0393, www.hotelalleon.com, leon@hotelalleon.com, Giuliano and Marcella). Their annex down the street, B&B Marcella, has three newer, classy, and spacious rooms for the same rates (check in at main hotel).

$$ Albergo Doni, situated along a quiet canal, is dark and quiet. This time-warp—with creaky floors and 13 well-worn, once-classy rooms—is run by friendly Tessa and her two brothers, Barnaba and (now “retired”) Italian stallion Nikos (RS%, cheaper rooms with shared bath, family rooms, ceiling fans, a few rooms have air-con, Wi-Fi in common areas, on Fondamenta del Vin at Castello 4656, tel. 041-522-4267, www.albergodoni.it, albergodoni@hotmail.it). The hotel also has three nice overflow apartments at the same prices (but without breakfast).

$ Casa per Ferie Santa Maria della Pietà is a wonderful facility renting 53 beds in 15 rooms just a block off the Riva, with a fabulous lagoon-view roof terrace that could rival those at the most luxurious hotels in town. Institutional, with generous public spaces and dorm-style comfort, there are no sinks, toilets, or showers in any of its rooms, but there’s plenty of plumbing down the hall (cash only, 2-night minimum on weekends in peak season, only twin beds, private rooms available, air-con, 100 yards from San Zaccaria-Pietà vaporetto dock, down Calle de la Pietà from La Pietà Church at Castello 3701, take elevator to third floor, tel. 041-244-3639, www.bedandvenice.it, info@bedandvenice.it).

North of St. Mark’s Square

$$$$ Hotel Orion rents 21 simple, welcoming, pricey rooms in the center of the action (you’re paying a premium for the location). Steep stairs (there’s no elevator) take you from the touristy street into a peaceful world high above (RS%—use code “RSTEVES,” air-con, 2 minutes inland from St. Mark’s Square, 10 steps toward St. Mark’s from San Zulian Church at Calle Spadaria 700a, tel. 041-522-3053, www.hotelorion.it, info@hotelorion.it).

$$$ Hotel al Piave, with 27 rooms above a bright, tight lobby and breakfast room, is comfortable and cheery, and you’ll enjoy the neighborhood (RS%, family rooms, lots of narrow stairs, air-con, on Ruga Giuffa at Castello 4838, tel. 041-528-5174, www.hotelalpiave.com, info@hotelalpiave.com; Mirella, Paolo, Ilaria, and Federico).

$$$ Locanda Casa Querini rents six bright, high-ceilinged rooms on a quiet square tucked away behind St. Mark’s. You can enjoy your breakfast or a sunny happy-hour picnic sitting at their tables right on the sleepy little square (RS%, family rooms, in-room fridges, air-con, halfway between San Zaccaria vaporetto stop and Campo Santa Maria Formosa at Castello 4388 on Campo San Zaninovo/Giovanni Novo, tel. 041-241-1294, www.locandaquerini.com, info@locandaquerini.com; Patrizia and Caterina).

$$$ Locanda Silva is a well-located hotel with a functional 1960s feel and a small terrace. It rents 23 simple rooms that are particularly worth considering if you’re willing to share a bathroom to save some money (RS%, closed Dec-Jan, family rooms, small bathrooms, air-con, lots of stairs, on Fondamenta del Remedio at Castello 4423, tel. 041-522-7643, www.locandasilva.it, info@locandasilva.it; Sandra and Katia).

$$ Corte Campana B&B, run by enthusiastic and helpful Riccardo and his Californian wife Grace, rents three quiet, spacious, characteristic rooms in a homey flat just behind St. Mark’s Square. For one room, the private bath is down the hall (cash only, 2-night minimum, family rooms, air-con, slow elevator, on Calle del Remedio at Castello 4410, tel. 041-523-3603, mobile 389-272-6500, www.cortecampana.com, info@cortecampana.com).

Near Campo Santa Maria Formosa

A bit farther north of the options listed above, these are in the quiet, somewhat less touristy Castello area, beyond the inviting Campo Santa Maria Formosa (see map on here).

$$$ Locanda la Corte is perfumed with elegance without being snooty. Its 14 attractive, high-ceilinged, wood-beamed rooms—Venetian-style, done in earthy pastels—circle a small, sun-drenched courtyard and a ground-level restaurant (RS%, family rooms, air-con, on Calle Bressana at Castello 6317, tel. 041-241-1300, www.locandalacorte.it, info@locandalacorte.it).

$$ Alloggi Barbaria, a good budget choice, rents eight simple, characterless rooms on one floor around a bright but institutional-feeling common area. Beyond Campo San Zanipolo/Santi Giovanni e Paolo, it’s a fair walk from the action, but in a pleasant residential neighborhood. The Ospedale vaporetto stop is two minutes away on foot, with no steps (RS%, family rooms, limited continental breakfast, air-con in summer, Wi-Fi in common areas, on Calle de le Capucine at Castello 6573, tel. 041-522-2750, www.alloggibarbaria.it, info@alloggibarbaria.it, friendly Fausto). You can reach the Ospedale stop on vaporetto #5.2 from the train or bus stations, or (on request) via the Alilaguna blue line from the airport.

West of St. Mark’s Square

These more expensive hotels are solid choices in a more elegant neighborhood.

$$$$ Hotel Flora sits buried in a sea of fancy designer boutiques and elegant hotels almost on the Grand Canal. It’s formal, with uniformed staff and grand public spaces, yet the 40 rooms have a homey warmth and the garden oasis is a sanctuary for well-heeled, foot-weary guests (RS%, air-con, elevator, family apartment, on Calle Bergamaschi at San Marco 2283a, tel. 041-520-5844, www.hotelflora.it, info@hotelflora.it).

$$$$ Hotel Bel Sito offers pleasing Old World character, 34 smallish rooms, generous public spaces, a peaceful courtyard, and a picturesque location—facing a church on a small square between St. Mark’s Square and the Accademia (RS%, some view rooms, air-con, elevator; near Santa Maria del Giglio vaporetto stop—line #1, on Campo Santa Maria Zobenigo/del Giglio at San Marco 2517, tel. 041-522-3365, www.hotelbelsitovenezia.it, info@hotelbelsitovenezia.it, graceful Rossella).

$$$$ Hotel Mercurio, a lesser value a block in front of La Fenice Opera House, offers 29 peaceful, comfortable rooms (some view rooms, family rooms, air-con, lots of stairs, on Calle del Fruttariol at San Marco 1848, tel. 041-522-0947, www.hotelmercurio.com, info@hotelmercurio.com; Monica, Vittorio, Piereangelo, and Giacomo).

NEAR THE RIALTO BRIDGE

These places are on opposite sides of the Grand Canal, within a short walk of the Rialto Bridge. Express vaporetto #2 brings you to the Rialto quickly from the train station, the Piazzale Roma bus station, and the parking-lot island of Tronchetto, but you’ll need to take the “local” vaporetto #1 to reach the minor stops closer to the last two listings. To locate the following hotels, see the map on here.

$$$$ Hotel al Ponte Antico is exquisite, professional, and small. With nine plush rooms, a velvety royal living/breakfast room, and its own dock for water taxi arrivals, it’s perfect for a romantic anniversary. Because its wonderful terrace overlooks the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, and market action, its rooms without a canal view may be a better value (air-con, 100 yards from Rialto Bridge at Cannaregio 5768, use Rialto vaporetto stop, tel. 041-241-1944, www.alponteantico.com, info@alponteantico.com, Matteo makes you feel like royalty).

$$$ Pensione Guerrato, right above the colorful Rialto produce market and just two minutes from the Rialto Bridge, is run by friendly, creative, and hardworking Roberto and Piero. Their 800-year-old building—with 22 spacious, charming rooms—is simple, airy, and wonderfully characteristic. At the low end of the $$$ range, it’s a great value considering the location and charm (RS%, cheaper rooms with shared bath, family rooms, air-con, on Calle drio la Scimia at San Polo 240a, take vaporetto #1 to Rialto Mercato stop to save walk over bridge, tel. 041-528-5927, www.hotelguerrato.com, info@hotelguerrato.com, Monica and Rosanna). My tour groups book this place for 90 nights each year. Sorry. The Guerrato also rents family apartments in the old center (great for groups of 4-8) for around €60 per person.

$$$ Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo is off the beaten path—a 10-minute walk northwest of the Rialto Bridge—but it’s a great value. This 16th-century Venetian palazzo has a garden terrace and 15 comfy, beautifully appointed, and tranquil rooms (RS%, air-con, take vaporetto #1 to San Stae stop, head inland along right side of church and find Santa Croce 1985, tel. 041-524-4797, www.alpontemocenigo.com, info@alpontemocenigo.com, Sandro and Valter).

NEAR THE ACCADEMIA BRIDGE

As you step over the Accademia Bridge, the commotion of touristy Venice is replaced by a sleepy village laced with canals. This quiet area, next to the best painting gallery in town, is a 15-minute walk from the Rialto or St. Mark’s Square. The fast vaporetto #2 to the Accademia stop is the typical way to get here from the train station, Piazzale Roma bus station, Tronchetto parking lot, or St. Mark’s Square (early and late, #2 terminates at the Rialto stop where you change to #1). For hotels near the Zattere stop, vaporetto #5.1 (or the Alilaguna speedboat from the airport) are good options.

To locate the following hotels, see the map on here.

South of the Accademia Bridge, in Dorsoduro

$$$$ Pensione Accademia fills the 17th-century Villa Maravege like a Bellini painting. Its 27 comfortable, elegant rooms gild the lily. You’ll feel aristocratic gliding through its grand public spaces and lounging in its wistful, breezy gardens (must pay first night in advance, family rooms, air-con, no elevator but most rooms on ground floor or one floor up, on Fondamenta Bollani at Dorsoduro 1058, tel. 041-521-0188, www.pensioneaccademia.it, info@pensioneaccademia.it).

$$$$ Hotel la Calcina, the home of English writer John Ruskin in 1876, maintains a 19th-century formality. It comes with three-star comforts in a professional yet intimate package. Its 26 nautical-feeling rooms are squeaky clean, with nice wood furniture, hardwood floors, and a peaceful waterside setting facing Giudecca Island (some view rooms, air-con, no elevator and lots of stairs, rooftop terrace, buffet breakfast outdoors in good weather on platform over lagoon, near Zattere vaporetto stop at south end of Rio de San Vio at Dorsoduro 780, tel. 041-520-6466, www.lacalcina.com, info@lacalcina.com).

$$$$ Casa Rezzonico, a tranquil getaway far from the crowds, rents seven inviting, nicely appointed rooms with a grassy private garden terrace. All the rooms overlook either the canal or the garden (RS%, family rooms, air-con, near Ca’ Rezzonico vaporetto stop—line #1, a few blocks past Campo San Barnaba on Fondamenta Gherardini at Dorsoduro 2813, tel. 041-277-0653, www.casarezzonico.it, info@casarezzonico.it, brothers Matteo and Mattia).

$$$$ Hotel Galleria has nine tight, old-fashioned, velvety rooms, most with views of the Grand Canal. Some rooms are quite narrow. It’s run with a family feel by Lucio (breakfast in room, ceiling fans, 30 yards from Accademia art museum, next to recommended Foscarini pizzeria at Dorsoduro 878a, tel. 041-523-2489, www.hotelgalleria.it, info@hotelgalleria.it).

$$$$ Hotel Belle Arti, with a stiff, serious staff, is pricey and lacks personality but has an inviting garden terrace, and 67 heavily decorated rooms (air-con, elevator, 100 yards behind Accademia art museum on Rio Terà A. Foscarini at Dorsoduro 912a, tel. 041-522-6230, www.hotelbellearti.com, info@hotelbellearti.com).

$$$$ Don Orione Religious Guest House is a big cultural center dedicated to the work of a local man who became a saint in modern times. With 80 rooms filling an old monastery, it feels cookie-cutter-institutional (like a modern retreat center), but is also classy, clean, peaceful, and strictly run. It’s beautifully located, comfortable, and a good value supporting a fine cause: Profits go to mission work in the developing world (family rooms, groups welcome, air-con, elevator, on Rio Terà A. Foscarini, Dorsoduro 909a, tel. 041-522-4077, www.donorione-venezia.it, info@donorione-venezia.it).

$$$ Ca’ San Trovaso rents six newly renovated rooms in a little three-floor, formerly residential building. The location is peaceful, on a small, out-of-the-way canal (RS%, some view rooms, breakfast in your room, tiny roof terrace, nearby apartments available with 3-night minimum, near Zattere vaporetto stop, off Fondamenta de le Romite at Dorsoduro 1350, tel. 041-241-2215, mobile 349-125-3890, www.casantrovaso.com, info@casantrovaso.com, Anna and Alessandra).

$$$ Casa di Sara, a colorfully decorated B&B, is hidden in a leafy courtyard in a humble back-street area overlooking a canal. Their four quiet rooms and tiny roof terrace offer the maximum in privacy (air-con, along Fondamenta de le Romite at Dorsoduro 1330, mobile 342-596-3563, www.casadisara.com, info@casadisara.com, Aniello).

North of the Accademia Bridge

These places are between the Accademia Bridge and St. Mark’s Square.

$$$$ Novecento Hotel rents nine plush rooms on three floors, complemented by a big, welcoming lounge, an elegant living room, and a small breakfast garden. This boutique hotel is nicely located and has a tasteful sense of style, mingling Art Deco with North African and Turkish decor (air-con, lots of stairs, on Calle del Dose, off Campo San Maurizio at San Marco 2683, tel. 041-241-3765, www.novecento.biz, info@novecento.biz).

$$$ Foresteria Levi, run by a foundation that promotes research on Venetian music, offers 32 quiet, institutional yet comfortable and spacious rooms—some are loft quads, a good deal for families (RS%, air-con, elevator, on Calle Giustinian at San Marco 2893, tel. 041-277-0542, www.foresterialevi.it, info@foresterialevi.it). From the base of the Accademia Bridge, it’s just over the tiny Ponte Giustinian.

$$$ Istituto Ciliota (a.k.a. Domus Ciliota) is a big, efficient, and sparkling-clean place—well-run, well-located, church-owned, and plainly furnished—with 30 dorm-like rooms and a peaceful courtyard. If you want industrial-strength comfort with no stress and little character, this is a fine value (air-con, elevator; just off Campo San Stefano, down Calle de le Botteghe to Calle de le Muneghe, San Marco 2976; tel. 041-520-4888, www.ciliota.it, info@ciliota.it).

$$$ Hotel San Samuele rents 10 tidy rooms in an old palazzo near Campo San Stefano. It’s in a great locale, and the rooms with shared bath can be a good deal (RS%, no breakfast, fans, some stairs, on Salizada San Samuele at San Marco 3358, tel. 041-520-5165, www.hotelsansamuele.com, info@hotelsansamuele.com, Judith).

NEAR THE TRAIN STATION

I don’t recommend the train station area. It’s crawling with noisy, disoriented tourists with too much baggage and people whose life’s calling is to scam visitors out of their money. It’s so easy just to hop on a vaporetto upon arrival and sleep in the Venice of your dreams. Still, some like to park their bags near the station, and if so, these places stand out. The farther you get from the station, the more pleasant the surroundings.

Close to the Station

These hotels are very close to the station, but each is down a side street, away from the throngs along the main drag.

$$$$ Hotel Abbazia fills a former abbey with both history and class. The refectory makes a grand living room for guests, a garden fills the old courtyard, and the halls leading to 50 rooms are monkishly wide (RS%, air-con, no elevator, some ground-floor rooms, fun-loving staff, 2 blocks from the station on the very quiet Calle Priuli dei Cavaletti, Cannaregio 68, tel. 041-717-333, www.abbaziahotel.com, info@abbaziahotel.com).

$$ Hotel S. Lucia, 150 yards from the train station, is oddly modern and sterile, with bright and spacious rooms and tight showers. Its 13 rooms are simple and clean. Guests enjoy their sunny garden area out front (cheaper rooms with shared bath, air-con, closed Nov-Feb, on Calle de la Misericordia at Cannaregio 358, tel. 041-715-180, www.hotelslucia.com, info@hotelslucia.com, Gianni, Alessandra, and their son, Lorenzo).

$ Hotel Rossi, sitting quietly at the end of a dead-end street off the main Lista di Spagna, rents 17 tired, well-worn rooms that are cheap in every sense—the budget-minded will find it tolerable for a night or two, but consider yourself forewarned (cheaper rooms with shared bath, air-con, lots of stairs, on Calle de le Procuratie, Cannaregio 262, tel. 041-715-164, info@hotelrossi.ve.it).

Across the Bridge from the Train Station

These two places are in a quieter area on the other side of the Grand Canal from the train station—you’ll have to haul your bags across a big bridge. Both are also convenient to the bus station at Piazzale Roma.

$$$ Albergo Marin is loosely run, with 19 nice but sloppily kept rooms. It’s close enough to the station to be convenient, but far enough to be quiet, sane, and residential (air-con, on Ramo de le Chioverete at Santa Croce 670b, tel. 041-718-022, www.albergomarin.it, info@albergomarin.it, Giacomo).

$$ Hotel Ai Tolentini is a pleasant couple hundred yards from the Piazzale Roma bus station—just far enough to make you feel like you’re actually in Venice. The seven rooms are on two floors, up narrow stairs above a restaurant that can be noisy (small breakfast at nearby café, air-con, on Calle Amai at Santa Croce 197g, tel. 041-275-9140, www.albergoaitolentini.it, info@albergoaitolentini.it).

Farther from the Station, Toward the Jewish Ghetto and Rialto

While still walkable from the station, these listings are just outside the chaotic station neighborhood, in a far more pleasant residential zone close to the former Jewish Ghetto. The nearest Grand Canal vaporetto stop is San Marcuola.

$$$ Locanda Ca’ San Marcuola is a peaceful, characteristic, good-value oldie-but-goodie renting 14 fine rooms a few steps from the Grand Canal (family rooms, air-con, elevator, next to San Marcuola vaporetto stop on Campo San Marcuola, Cannaregio 1763, tel. 041-716-048, www.casanmarcuola.com, info@casanmarcuola.com).

$$$ Locanda Herion, tucked down a sleepy lane just off a busy shopping street, rents 13 beige-tiled, homey rooms (RS%—use code STEVES, a few shared terraces, one room is wheelchair accessible, air-con, pay Wi-Fi, on Campiello Augusto Picutti, Cannaregio 1697a, tel. 041-275-9426, www.locandaherion.com, info@locandaherion.com).

$$ Hotel Henry, a small family-owned hotel, rents 15 simple, flowery, nicely maintained rooms with few public spaces. It’s in a sleepy residential neighborhood near the Jewish Ghetto, a 10-minute walk from the train station (RS%, family rooms, no breakfast but bars nearby, apartments available, air-con, on Calle Ormesini at Campiello Briani, Cannaregio 1506e, tel. 041-523-6675, www.hotelhenry.it, info@hotelhenry.it, Manola and Henry).

Eating in Venice

While touristy restaurants are the norm in Venice, you can still make the most of your meal by dining at one of my recommended listings and following these tips. First trick: Walk away from triple-language menus or laminated pictures of food. Second trick: For freshness, eat fish. (But remember that seafood can be sold by weight—per 100 grams or etto—rather than a set price.) Many seafood dishes are the catch of the day. Third trick: Eat later. A place may feel touristy at 19:00, but if you come back at 21:00, it can be filled with locals. Tourists eat barbarically early, which is fine with the restaurants because they fill tables that would otherwise be used only once in an evening.

I rank restaurants from $ budget to $$$$ splurge. For general advice on eating in Italy, including details on ordering, dining, and tipping in restaurants, where to find budget meals, picnicking help, and Italian cuisine and beverages—including wine, see here.

NEAR THE RIALTO BRIDGE

For locations, see the map on here.

North of the Bridge

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near the Rialto Bridge” map, here.)

These restaurants and wine bars are located near or beyond Campo Santi Apostoli, on or near the Strada Nova, the main drag going from Rialto toward the train station.

$$$ Taverna al Remer is a creative place with its own private square overlooking the Grand Canal (across from the Rialto Market). Its restaurant seating is deep in an old, candlelit warehouse, and its happy-hour “yard” offers a chance to sit on their private pier and enjoy the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge action (free light buffet accompanying drinks, 17:30-19:00). They also offer a good lunch buffet (€20, Mon-Fri 12:00-15:00), regular dinner menu (19:00-22:30) and live music after 21:00 (daily, Sat dinner seatings only at 19:30 & 21:30, reservations smart, Cannaregio 5701, tel. 041-522-8789, www.alremer.it, taverna.remer@yahoo.it). From Campo San Bartolomeo, head north (behind the statue) and cross one bridge. Then, just past the pink church (San Giovanni Crisostomo), about 10 yards before the next bridge, venture down the tiny dark lane on the left.

$$$ Trattoria da Bepi, bright and alpine-paneled, feels like a classic, where Loris carries on his mother’s passion for good, traditional Venetian cuisine. Ask for the seasonal specialties: The seafood appetizer plate and crab dishes are excellent. There’s good seating inside and out. If you trust Loris, you’ll walk away with a wonderful dining memory (Fri-Wed 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-22:00, closed Thu, reservations recommended, half a block off Campo Santi Apostoli on Salizada Pistor, Cannaregio 4550, tel. 041-528-5031, www.dabepi.it).

$$$ La Cantina is a rustic yet sophisticated enoteca—you won’t find a menu here. Rather than cook (there’s no kitchen), they serve cicchetti and gourmet cold plates of meat, cheese, and fish. Though short on smiles and expensive (meat-and-cheese plates-€18/person, seafood plates-€35/person), you’ll enjoy good ingredients paired with fine wines. You can sit inside and watch the preparation scene or enjoy the parade of passersby from great seats right on the Strada Nova (Mon-Sat 11:00-22:00, closed Sun, facing Campo San Felice on Strada Nova near Ca’ d’Oro, Cannaregio 3689, tel. 041-522-8258).

$$$$ Vini da Gigio, a more expensive option, has a traditional Venetian menu and a classy but unsnooty setting that’s a pleasant mix of traditional and contemporary (Wed-Sun 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-22:30, closed Mon-Tue, 4 blocks from Ca’ d’Oro vaporetto stop on Fondamenta San Felice, behind the church on Campo San Felice, Cannaregio 3628a, tel. 041-528-5140, www.vinidagigio.com).

East of the Rialto Bridge

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near the Rialto Bridge” map, here.)

The next few places hide away in the twisty lanes between the Rialto Bridge and Campo Santa Maria Formosa. Osteria da Alberto is a tad farther north of the others, in Cannaregio.

$ Rosticceria Gislon is a cheap—if confusing—self-service diner. This throwback budget eatery—kind of an Italian Mel’s Diner—has a surly staff: Don’t take it personally. Notice that the different counters serve up different types of food—pastas, secondi, fried goodies, and so on. You can get it to go, grab one of the few tiny tables, or munch at the bar—but I’d skip their upper-floor restaurant option (great fried mozzarella al prosciutto, fruit salad, cheap glasses of wine, prices listed on wall behind counter, no cover and no service charge, daily 9:00-21:30, San Marco 5424, tel. 041-522-3569). To find it, imagine the statue on Campo San Bartolomeo walks backward 20 yards, turns left, and goes under a passageway. Follow him.

$$ Osteria al Portego is a small and popular neighborhood eatery near Campo San Lio. Carlo serves good meals, bargain-priced house wine, and excellent €1-3 cicchetti—best enjoyed early, around 18:00. The cicchetti here can make a great meal, but consider sitting down for a dinner from their menu. From 12:00-14:30 & 17:30-21:30, their six tables are reserved for those ordering from the menu; the cicchetti are picked over by 21:00. Reserve ahead if you want a table (daily 11:30-15:00 & 17:30-22:00, on Calle de la Malvasia, Castello 6015, tel. 041-522-9038, Federica). From Rosticceria Gislon (listed above), continue over a bridge to Campo San Lio, turn left, and follow Calle Carminati straight 50 yards over another bridge.

$$ Osteria da Alberto, up near Campo Santa Maria Novo, is one of my standbys. They offer up excellent daily specials: seafood dishes, pastas, and a good house wine in a woody and characteristic interior. It’s smart to reserve at night—I’d request a table in front (daily 12:00-15:00 & 18:30-22:30; on Calle Larga Giacinto Gallina, midway between Campo Santi Apostoli and Campo San Zanipolo/Santi Giovanni e Paolo, and next to Ponte de la Panada bridge, Cannaregio 5401; tel. 041-523-8153, www.osteriadaalberto.it, run by Graziano and Giovanni).

Rialto Market Area

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near the Rialto Bridge” map, here.)

The north end of the Rialto Bridge is a great area for menu browsing, bar-hopping, drinks, and snacks; it also has fine sit-down restaurants. As with market neighborhoods anywhere, you’ll find lots of hard-working holes-in-the-wall with a line on the freshest of ingredients and catering to local shoppers needing a quick, affordable, and tasty bite. This area is very crowded by day, nearly empty early in the evening, and packed with young, chic Venetians later.

My listings below include a stretch of dark and rustic pubs serving cicchetti (Venetian tapas), a strip of trendy places fronting the Grand Canal, a few little places on the market, and a couple of “normal” restaurants serving solid pasta, pizza, and secondi. All but the last eatery are within 200 yards of the market and each other.

The Cicchetti Strip: Four Venetian Tapas Bars

Cicchetti bars specialize in finger foods and appetizers that combine to make a speedy and tasty meal. The selection and ambience are best on workdays—Monday through Saturday for lunch or early dinner (see “The Stand-Up Progressive Venetian Pub-Crawl Dinner,” on here). An ombra (“shadow”) is a small glass of wine often offered with cicchetti.

The 100-yard-long stretch starting two blocks inland from the Rialto Market (along Sotoportego dei Do Mori and Calle de le Do Spade) is beloved among Venetian cicchetti enthusiasts for its delightful bar munchies, good wine by the glass, and fun stand-up conviviality. These four places serve food all day, but the spread is best at around noon (generally open daily 12:00-15:00 & 18:00-20:00 or 21:00; two of the places I list are closed Sun). Each place offers a fine bar-and-stools scene, and a couple can be treated like a restaurant—order from their rustic menu and grab a table. Scout these places in advance (listed in the order you’ll reach them, if coming from the Rialto Bridge) to help decide which ambience is right for the experience you have in mind. Then pick one, dig in, and drink up.

At each place, look for the list of snacks and wine by the glass at the bar or on the wall. When you’re ready for dessert, try dipping a Burano biscuit in a glass of strawberry-flavored fragolino or another sweet dessert wine. Most bars are closed 15:00-18:00 and offer glasses of house wine for under €1, better wine for around €3, and cicchetti for €1.50-2.

$ Bar all’Arco, a bustling one-room joint, is particularly enjoyable for its tiny open-face sandwiches (Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, closed Sun, San Polo 436; Francesco, Anna, Matteo).

$ Cantina Do Mori has been famous with locals (since 1462) and savvy travelers (since 1982) as a convivial place for fine wine. They serve a forest of little edibles on toothpicks and francobolli (a spicy selection of 20 tiny, mayo-soaked sandwiches nicknamed “stamps”). Go here to be abused in a fine atmosphere—the frowns are part of the shtick—and be aware that prices can add up quickly (closed Sun, can be shoulder-to-shoulder, San Polo 430).

$ Osteria ai Storti, with a cool photo of the market in 1909, is more of a sit-down place (tables inside and on street). It’s run by Alessandro, who speaks English and enjoys helping educate travelers, and his sister Baby—pronounced “Bobby” (daily, around corner from Cantina Do Mori on Calle San Matio, San Polo 819).

$ Cantina Do Spade is expertly run by Francesco, who clearly lists the cicchetti and wines of the day (also good for sit-down meals, 30 yards down Calle de le Do Spade from Osteria ai Storti at San Polo 860, tel. 041-521-0583).

The Bancogiro Stretch: Five Places Overlooking the Grand Canal

Just past the Rialto Bridge, between Campo San Giacomo and the Grand Canal, this strip of five popular places in a recently renovated old building has some of the best canalside seating in Venice. I call this the “Bancogiro Stretch” (the restaurants front a former banking building called Bancogiro).

Each place has a unique character and formula. Unless otherwise noted, all are open daily and serve drinks, cicchetti, and inventive, somewhat pricey sit-down meals. While you can get a drink anytime, dinner is typically served only after 19:00 or 19:30. During meals, they charge more and limit table seating to those ordering full lunches or dinners; but between mealtimes you can enjoy a drink or a snack at fine prices. After dinner hours, the Bancogiro Stretch—especially in the surrounding alleys that house low-rent bars—becomes a youthful and trendy nightspot. Before or after dinner, this strip is one of the best places in town for a spritz.

Here’s the rundown (in the order you’ll reach them from the Rialto Bridge): $$$ Bar Naranzaria serves Italian dishes with a few Japanese options. $$ Caffè Vergnano is your cheapest option—especially during mealtimes (vegan dishes and a busy microwave oven). $$$ Osteria al Pesador has a friendly staff and serves local specialties. $$$ Osteria Bancogiro has the best reputation for dinner, a passion for the best cheese, and good cicchetti options at the bar (nice €17 cheese plate, closed Mon, tel. 041-523-2061, www.osteriabancogiro.it). The more modern $$ Bar Ancòra seems to be most popular with the local bar crowd, with a live piano player crooning lounge music during busy times (cicchetti at the bar).

Other Good Eateries near the Rialto Market

$ Al Mercà (“At the Market”), a few steps away and off the canal, is a lively little nook with a happy crowd, where law-office workers have lunch and young locals gather in the evening for drinks and little snacks. The price list is clear, and the youthful crowd seems to enjoy connecting with curious tourists (stand at bar or in square—there are no tables and no interior, Mon-Sat 10:00-14:30 & 18:00-21:00, closed Sun, on Campo Cesare Battisti, San Polo 213).

$$$ Ristorante Vini da Pinto is a tourist-friendly eatery facing the fish market, with a large menu and relaxing outdoor seating (make sure you’re sitting at the right restaurant and not their neighbors). Owner Giorgio visits the market each morning to select the day’s best catch. Enjoy the lunch-only fixed-price, three-course seafood meal for €17, including a pasta, seafood sampler plate, veggies, and dessert. Rick Steves readers receive a welcoming prosecco and a farewell limoncello and homemade biscotti (daily 11:30-23:00, Campo de le Becarie, San Polo 367a, tel. 041-522-4599).

$$ Osteria al Ponte Storto, a little family-run place on a quiet canalside corner a block off the main drag, is worth seeking out for its good-value main dishes, daily specials, and peaceful location (Tue-Sun 12:00-15:00 & 18:00-21:45, closed Mon, down Calle Bianca from San Aponal church, San Polo 1278, tel. 041-528-2144).

Between the Rialto Bridge and Frari Church

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near the Rialto Bridge” map, here.)

$$$$ Trattoria Antiche Carampane is a dressy, family-run place with an open kitchen and a local following. They have a passion for fish (and make a point: no pizza) and serve traditional Venetian dishes with a fresh twist that change with the season. It’s small—there’s just 30 seats with six tables on the street (Tue-Sat 12:45-14:30 & 19:30-22:30, closed Sun-Mon, reservations necessary, Rio Tera delle Carampane, San Polo 1911, tel. 041-524-0165, www.antichecarampane.com, Francesco).

$$ Ostaria al Garanghelo is a happy little eatery with an inviting menu, a love for fresh fish, and an old but shiny ambience. They have a few seats on the street—good for people-watching—and offer a seafood tasting platter and vegetarian dishes (daily, Calle dei Boteri, San Polo 1570, tel. 041-721-721).

$$ Antica Birraria la Corte is an everyday eatery on the delightful Campo San Polo. Popular for its huge array of pizza—and smaller selection of hearty salads, pasta, and secondi—it fills the far side of this cozy, family-filled square. Although the interior is sprawling and modern, it’s a joy to eat on the square, where metal tables teeter on the cobbles, the wind plays with the paper mats, and children run free (daily 12:00-15:00 & 18:00-22:30, on Campo San Polo at #2168—see map on here, tel. 041-275-0570).

NEAR ST. MARK’S SQUARE

While my first listing is a serious restaurant, the other places listed here are cheap-and-cheery options convenient to your sightseeing. For locations, see the map on here.

$$$$ Ristorante Antica Sacrestia is a classic restaurant where the owner, Pino, takes a hands-on approach to greeting guests. His staff serves creative fixed-price meals (€35, €55, or €80), a humdrum menù del giorno, and wonderful pizzas. (Be warned: These meals seem designed to overwhelm you with too much food. There’s no wine by the glass. Order carefully. Pizza is your only budget escape.) You can also order à la carte; their €22 antipasto spread looks like a lagoon aquarium spread out on a plate. My readers are welcome to a free sgroppino (lemon vodka after-dinner drink) upon request (Tue-Sun 11:30-15:00 & 18:00-23:00, closed Mon, behind San Zaninovo/Giovanni Novo Church on Calle Corona, Castello 4463, tel. 041-523-0749, www.anticasacrestia.it).

The Stand-Up Progressive Venetian Pub-Crawl Dinner

My favorite Venetian dinner is a pub crawl (giro d’ombra)—a tradition unique to Venice, where no cars means easy crawling. (Giro means stroll, and ombra—slang for a glass of wine—means shade, from the old days when a portable wine bar scooted with the shadow of the Campanile bell tower across St. Mark’s Square.)

Venice’s residential back streets hide plenty of characteristic bars (bacari), with countless trays of interesting toothpick munchies (cicchetti) and blackboards listing the wines that are uncorked and served by the glass. This is a great way to mingle and have fun with the Venetians. Bars don’t stay open very late, and the cicchetti selection is best early, so start your evening by 18:00. Most bars are closed on Sunday. For a stress-free pub crawl, consider taking a tour with the charming Alessandro Schezzini (see here).

Cicchetti bars have a social stand-up zone and a cozy gaggle of tables where you can generally sit down with your cicchetti or order from a simple menu. In some of the more popular places, the crowds happily spill out into the street. Food generally costs the same price whether you stand or sit.

I’ve listed plenty of pubs in walking order for a quick or extended crawl. If you’ve crawled enough, most of these bars make a fine one-stop, sit-down dinner.

While you can order a plate, Venetians prefer going one-by-one...sipping their wine and trying this...then give me one of those...and so on. Try deep-fried mozzarella cheese, gorgonzola, calamari, artichoke hearts, and anything ugly on a toothpick. Crostini (small toasted bread with a topping) are popular, as are marinated seafood, olives, and prosciutto with melon. Meat and fish (pesce; PESH-ay) munchies can be expensive; veggies (verdure) are cheap, at about €3 for a meal-sized plate. In many places, there’s a set price per food item (e.g., €1.50). To get a plate of assorted appetizers for €8 (or more, depending on how hungry you are), ask for “Un piatto classico di cicchetti misti da €8” (oon pee-AH-toh KLAH-see-koh dee cheh-KET-tee MEE-stee dah OH-toh eh-OO-roh). Bread sticks (grissini) are free for the asking.

Bar-hopping Venetians enjoy an aperitivo, a before-dinner drink. Boldly order a Bellini, a spritz con Aperol, or a prosecco, and draw approving looks from the natives.

Drink the house wines. A small glass of house red or white wine (ombra rosso or ombra bianco) or a small beer (birrino) costs about €1. The house keg wine is cheap—€1 per glass, about €4 per liter. Vin bon, Venetian for fine wine, may run you from €2 to €6 per little glass. There are usually several fine wines uncorked and available by the glass. A good last drink is fragolino, the local sweet wine—bianco or rosso. It often comes with a little cookie (biscotto) for dipping.

“Sandwich Row”: On Calle de le Rasse, just steps away from the tourist intensity at St. Mark’s Square, is a handy strip I call “Sandwich Row.” Lined with several sandwich bars, it’s the closest place to St. Mark’s to get a decent sandwich at an affordable price with a place to sit down (most places open daily 7:00-24:00, about €1 extra per item to sit; from the Bridge of Sighs, head down the Riva and take the second lane on the left). $ Birreria Forst is an unpretentious café that serves busy local workers a selection of meaty €3 sandwiches with tasty sauce on wheat bread, or made-to-order sandwiches (daily 9:30-23:00, air-con, rustic wood tables, Castello 4540, tel. 041-523-0557). $ Bar Verde is a more modern sandwich bar with clear and good pricing plus fun people-watching views from its corner tables (also splittable salads, fresh pastries, at the end of Calle de le Rasse facing Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, Castello 4526).

$$ Ristorante alla Basilica, just one street behind St. Mark’s Basilica, is a church-run, indoor, institutional-feeling place that serves a solid €16 fixed-price lunch, often amid noisy school groups. It’s not self-serve—you’ll be seated and can choose a pasta, a secondi, and a vegetable side dish off the menu. Don’t expect high cuisine or ingratiating service—but it’s efficient and filling (Wed-Mon 12:00-15:00, closed Tue, air-con, Calle dei Albanesi, Castello 4255, tel. 041-522-0524).

$ Ristorante Cinese Capitol, around the corner from the listings above, provides a break from Italian. It serves inexpensive but tasty Chinese standards to eat in or take out (daily 11:00-15:30 & 17:30-23:00, on Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, Castello 4294, tel. 041-522-5331).

Picnicking: Though you can’t picnic on St. Mark’s Square, you can legally take your snacks to the nearby Giardinetti Reali, the small park along the waterfront west of the Piazzetta.

NORTH OF ST. MARK’S SQUARE, NEAR CAMPO SANTA MARIA FORMOSA

For a (marginally) less touristy scene, walk a few blocks north to the inviting Campo Santa Maria Formosa. For locations, see the map on here.

$$$$ Osteria alle Testiere is my top dining splurge in Venice. Hugely respected, Luca and his staff are dedicated to quality, serving up creative, artfully presented market-fresh seafood (there’s no meat on the menu), homemade pastas, and fine wine in what the chef calls a “Venetian Nouvelle” style. With only 22 seats, it’s tight and homey, with the focus on food and service. They have daily specials, 10 wines by the glass, and one agenda: a great dining experience. This is a good spot to let loose and trust your host. They’re open for lunch (12:00-15:00), and reservations are a must well in advance for their two dinner seatings: 19:00 and 21:30 (plan on spending €50 for dinner, closed Sun-Mon, on Calle del Mondo Novo, just off Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Castello 5801, tel. 041-522-7220, www.osterialletestiere.it).

$$$ Osteria al Mascaron is a rustic little bar-turned-restaurant where I’ve gone for years to watch Gigi, Momi, and their food-loving band of ruffians dish up rustic-yet-sumptuous pastas with steamy seafood to salivating foodies. The €16 antipasto misto plate—have fun pointing—and two glasses of wine make a terrific light meal (Mon-Sat 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-23:00, closed Sun, reservations smart Fri-Sat, Wi-Fi; on Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa, a block past Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Castello 5225; tel. 041-522-5995, www.osteriamascaron.it). While they advertise pastas only for two, you are welcome to have a half-order for half-price—still plenty big.

Fast and Cheap Eats: The veggie stand on Campo Santa Maria Formosa is a fixture. For döner kebabs and pizza to go, head down Calle Lunga Santa Maria Formosa to $ Peter Pan at #6249 (daily 11:30-23:00, Castello).

DORSODURO

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near Accademia Bridge” map, here.)

All of these recommendations are within a 10-minute walk of the Accademia Bridge (for locations, see the map on here). Dorsoduro is great for restaurants and well worth the walk from the more touristy Rialto and San Marco areas. The first listings, near the Accademia, are best for lunch. The places in Zattere overlook the Giudecca Canal. Best for dinner are the four restaurants near Campo San Barnaba. Last are a handful of pizzerias and cicchetti bars on Campo Santa Margarita. My top Dorsoduro listing, Ristorante Lineadombra, is described later in “Splurging on a Great View.”

Near the Accademia Bridge

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near Accademia Bridge” map, here.)

$$ Bar Foscarini, next to the Accademia Bridge and Galleria, offers decent pizzas and panini in a memorable Grand Canal-view setting. The food is forgettable and drinks are pricey. But you’re paying a premium for this premium location. On each visit to Venice, I grab a pizza lunch here while I ponder the Grand Canal bustle. They also serve breakfast (daily 8:00-23:00, until 20:30 Nov-April, on Rio Terà A. Foscarini, Dorsoduro 878c, tel. 041-522-7281, Paolo and Simone).

$ Enoteca Cantine del Vino Già Schiavi, with a wonderfully characteristic cicchetti-bar ambience, is much loved for its €1.50 cicchetti, €4 sandwiches (order from list on board), and €1-2 glasses of wine. You’re welcome to enjoy your wine and finger food at the bar or out on the sidewalk (specify “fuori” to sit outside and they’ll provide plastic cups; please don’t sit on the bridge). This is primarily a wine shop with great prices for bottles to go (Mon-Sat 8:30-20:30, closed Sun, 100 yards from Accademia art museum on San Trovaso canal; facing the Accademia, take a right and then a forced left at the canal to the second bridge—it’s at Dorsoduro 992, tel. 041-523-0034).

$ Bar al Maraveje is handy for a sandwich, with quiet, comfy tables just minutes from the Accademia. They serve a range of fresh sandwiches, from less expensive topolini (four-bite sandwiches) and tramezzini (crustless sandwich triangles) to heartier ciabatta sandwiches (daily, 100 yards west of the Accademia, just over a bridge on Calle de la Toletta, Dorsoduro 1185, tel. 041-523-5768).

$ Bar Toletta, a few doors down (#1191), has similar offerings and better tramezzini. Like other bars around town, avoid their frozen, microwaved pasta, as evidenced by the laminated pictures out front.

$ Al Vecio Marangon glows like a dream come true on its corner tucked away from the frenzy of Venice, about 100 yards west of the Accademia. This stylishly rustic bar serves cicchetti-style dishes and pastas within its tight and picturesque interior or at a line of outdoor tables. Consider their splittable piatto di cicchetti misti, a sampler of sardines, octopus, codfish, and seafood salad. As they take no reservations, arrive early or be prepared to wait (daily 12:00-22:00, on Calle de la Toletta, Dorsoduro 1210, tel. 041-277-8554).

Zattere

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near Accademia Bridge” map, here.)

$$$ Terrazza dei Nobili takes full advantage of the warm, romantic evening sun. They serve regional specialties, along with pizza, at tolerable prices. The breezy and beautiful seaside seating comes with the rumble of vaporetti from the nearby stop. The interior is bright and hip (daily 12:00-24:00; from Zattere vaporetto stop, turn left to Dorsoduro 924; tel. 041-520-6895).

$ Oke Pizzeria is playful, with casual tables on the embankment and a sprawling pizza-parlor interior. It’s a hit with young Venetians for its fun atmosphere (daily 11:30-23:00, a couple hundred yards from the Zattere vaporetto stop, Dorsoduro 1414, tel. 041-520-6601).

On or near Campo San Barnaba

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near Accademia Bridge” map, here.)

This small square is a delight—especially in the evening. As these places are within a few steps of each other—and the energy and atmosphere can vary—I like to survey the options before choosing (although reservations may be necessary to dine later in the evening).

$$$ Ristoteca Oniga has an eclectic yet cozy interior, great tables on the square, and is run by the enthusiastic Raffaele. The menu has a few vegetarian and meat dishes but focuses on fresh fish and other sea creatures, highlighted by their specialty, bucintoro—a pan full of mussels, clams, prawns, calamari, and spaghetti (daily 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-22:30, closed Tue in winter, reservations smart, Campo San Barnaba, Dorsoduro 2852, tel. 041-522-4410, www.oniga.it).

$$$ Osteria Enoteca Ai Artisti serves well-presented quality dishes, with seating within its tight little wine-snob interior or at a few petite, romantic canalside tables. They serve good wines by the glass. When reserving, make sure they know your preference—a table on the canal or inside (Mon-Sat 12:45-15:00 & 19:00-22:00, closed Sun, Fondamenta de la Toletta, Dorsoduro 1169a, tel. 041-523-8944, www.enotecaartisti.com, Vicenzo).

$$ Pizzeria al Profeta is a casual place popular for great pizza and steak. Its sprawling interior seems to stoke conviviality, as does its leafy garden out back (Wed-Mon 12:00-14:30 & 19:00-23:30, closed Tue; from Campo San Barnaba, a long walk down Calle Lunga San Barnaba to #2671, tel. 041-523-7466).

$$$ Enoteca e Trattoria la Bitta is dark and woody, with a soft-jazz bistro feel, tight seating, and a small back patio. They serve beautifully presented, traditional Venetian food with—proudly—no fish. Their helpful wait staff and small, handwritten daily menu are focused on local ingredients (including rabbit) and a “slow food” ethic. As it has an avid following, they do two dinner seatings (19:00 and 21:00) and require reservations (dinner only, Mon-Sat 19:00-23:00, closed Sun, cash only, just off Campo San Barnaba on Calle Lunga San Barnaba, Dorsoduro 2753a, tel. 041-523-0531, Debora and Marcellino).

On Campo Santa Margarita

(See “Hotels & Restaurants near Accademia Bridge” map, here.)

For a fresh, youthful, and neighborhood vibe away from the tourist crowds and cutesy Venice, hike out to Campo Santa Margarita, where you’ll find a multigenerational slice-of-life scene by day and a trendy college-bar scene after dark. The square is ringed by bakeries, pubs, pizzerias, and fruit stands offering options for everything from picnics to finer dining. If slumming, a picnic or takeout pizza on this square (with fine benches and trees) is great. The area gets a little sketchy late at night.

$$ Osteria alla Bifora is a former butcher shop, serving lots of polenta and classic dishes in their candle-lit woody interior and at tables on the square. For rustic cicchetti plates ranging from sardines, anchovies, and cod to platters of fine salamis and cheeses, this is a good choice (daily, #2930, tel. 041-523-6119, Franco and Mirella).

$$ Osteria Do Torri is a family affair delightfully situated with tables overlooking the square. Loretta and Paolo offer wines, little Venetian plates, love, and passion (daily, #3408, tel. 041-522-0686).

$$ Pier Dickens Ristorante-Pizzeria, next door, also has good tables on the square and serves a huge selection of pizzas as well as three-course fixed-price meals (daily, #3410, tel. 041-241-1979).

Various hole-in-the-wall cicchetti bars (on the square and just off it) serve drinks and cicchetti plates to local eaters with a contagious love of life.

SPLURGING ON A GREAT VIEW

Overlooking the Giudecca Canal: Immediatley behind La Salute Church, $$$$ Ristorante Lineadombra is peacefully situated on the Giudecca Canal, with commanding lagoon views from their big floating terrace and a spacious, modern, and dressy interior. This is a gourmet treat, with gorgeously presented dishes that are local and modern at the same time. Each dish is a memory, and even though plates are pricey (€20 appetizers and pastas, €30 secondi), you are welcome to share. The appetizers are especially big and are happily served on two smaller plates. Reserve ahead and choose seating inside or on their terrace. Service is friendly yet professional (daily 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:00, closed Tue off-season, a short walk behind La Salute Church, directly across the island from the Salute vaporetto stop, Dorsoduro 19, tel. 041-241-1881, www.ristorantelineadombra.com).

Romantic Canalside Settings

Of course, if you want a meal with a canal view, it generally comes with lower quality and/or a higher price. But if you’re determined to take home a canalside memory, these places (many described elsewhere in this chapter) can be great.

Near the Rialto Bridge: The five places I call the “Bancogiro Stretch” offer wonderful canalside dining and a great place to enjoy a drink and/or a snack between meals or after dinner (see here).

Rialto Bridge Tourist Traps: Venetians are embarrassed by the lousy food and aggressive “service” at the string of joints dominating the best romantic, Grand Canal-fringing real estate in town. Still, if you want to linger over dinner with a view of the most famous bridge and the songs of gondoliers oaring by (and don’t mind eating with other tourists), this can be enjoyable. Don’t trust the waiter’s recommendations for special meals. The budget ideal would be to get a simple pizza or pasta and a drink for €15, and savor the ambience without getting ripped off. But few restaurants will allow you to get off that easy. To avoid a dispute over the bill, ask if there’s a minimum charge before you sit down (most places have one).

Near the Accademia: Next to the Accademia Bridge, Bar Foscarini offers decent pizzas overlooking the canal with no cover or service charge (see here).

Ponte dei Greci, East of St. Mark’s Square: Two delightful canals meet at the Ponte dei Greci. Restaurants have gobbled up every inch of canalside real estate to feed tourists forgettable food—and great memories. Three cheap pizzerias are busy along Canal San Provolo. For nicer fare, two pricier restaurants on Fondamenta San Lorenzo (Ristorante alla Conchiglia and Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci) are lit up like Christmas trees after dark. With gondolas gliding by, you can’t argue with the setting.

Overlooking the Giudecca Canal: Located in Zattere—on the Venice side of the wide Giudecca Canal—Terrazza dei Nobili is particularly nice just before sunset (vaporetto: Zattere, see here). For a cheaper perch on the same canal, consider Oke Pizzeria, described on here. I Figli delle Stelle Ristorante, on the island of Giudecca, is a classy restaurant offering romantic canalside seating and a wonderful experience (vaporetto: Zitelle, see here). Ristorante Lineadombra, with a terrace on the Giudecca Canal, serves gourmet dishes to a dressy crowd (see here).

On Fondamente Nove with a View of the Open Lagoon: Try Ristorante Algiubagiò for a good opportunity to eat well while overlooking the north lagoon (see here).

On Burano: Trattoria al Gatto Nero sits on a tranquil canal under a tilting bell tower in the pastel townscape of Burano. If you’re touring the lagoon and want to enjoy Burano without the crowds, go late and consider a dinner here.

On Fondamente Nove, with a Lagoon View: $$$$ Ristorante Algiubagiò is a good place to eat as you look over the northern lagoon. You could combine a meal here with a trip to Murano or Burano. The name joins the names of the four owners—Alberto, Giulio, Barbara, and Giovanna—who strive to impress visitors with quality, creative Venetian cuisine made with the best ingredients. Reserve a waterside table or sit in their classy cantina dining room (daily 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:30, between the two sets of vaporetto docks on Fondamente Nove, Cannaregio 5039, tel. 041-523-6084, www.algiubagio.net).

On Giudecca Island, with a View of St. Mark’s Square: $$$ I Figli delle Stelle Ristorante offers a delightful dining experience with an excuse to ride the boat from St. Mark’s Square across to the island of Giudecca. Simone and his staff artfully serve Venetian classics with a dash of Rome and Puglia and a passion for fish and lamb. While they have inside seating, the reason to venture here is to sit canalside with fine views of Venice across the broad Giudecca Canal and all the water traffic. Reserve ahead to specify “first line” seating along the water, “second line” seating a few steps away, or a table inside (Wed-Mon 12:30-14:30 & 19:00-23:00, closed Tue, 50 yards from Zitelle vaporetto dock—from San Marco, ride line #4.2 or #2, Giudecca 70, tel. 041-523-0004, www.ifiglidellestelle.it).

On St. Mark’s Square: If you want to eat fancy on Piazza San Marco, $$$$ Gran Caffè Quadri (a.k.a. Bistro ABC Quadri) is the place to go. Upstairs is their Michelin-star restaurant, but this bistro, also dressy and a bit pretentious, shares the same kitchen, with a more traditional and accessible menu, and prices that won’t ruin your appetite. While its 15 tables are all inside, the orchestra is just out the window (daily 12:00-15:00 & 19:00-22:30, reservations smart, San Marco 121, tel. 041-522-2105, www.alajmo.it/grancaffe-quadri).

PICNICS AND SWEETS

Picnicking

You’re legally forbidden from picnicking anywhere on or near St. Mark’s Square except for Giardinetti Reali, the waterfront park near the San Marco vaporetto docks. Though it’s legal to eat outdoors elsewhere around town, you may be besieged by pigeons who are, in turn, besieged by aggressive seagulls.

Venice has one main produce market and several convenient supermarkets:

Outdoor Market near the Rialto Bridge: The fruit and vegetable market that sprawls for a few blocks to the north of the Rialto Bridge is a fun place to assemble a picnic (best Mon-Sat 8:00-13:00, liveliest in the morning, closed Sun). The adjacent fish market is wonderfully slimy (closed Sun-Mon). Side lanes in this area are speckled with fine hole-in-the-wall munchie bars, bakeries, and cheese shops. The Rialto Mercato vaporetto stop is convenient to both.

Produce Stands: Many larger squares have a produce stand. To find the one nearest St. Mark’s Square, face St. Mark’s Basilica, then walk along its left side, heading east down Calle de la Canonica. Cross the bridge and turn left at Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo. There are also stands on Campo Santa Maria Formosa and Campo Santa Margarita.

Supermarket near St. Mark’s Square: A handy Co-op supermarket is between St. Mark’s and Campo Santa Maria Formosa, on the corner of Salizada San Lio and Calle del Mondo Novo at Castello 5817. It has a deli counter and a great selection of picnic supplies, including packaged salads for €3 and fresh sandwiches (daily 8:30-22:00).

Other Supermarkets: The largest supermarket in town is the Co-op at Piazzale Roma, next to the vaporetto stop at Santa Croce 504. It’s an easy walk from the train station, as is a smaller Co-op on Campo San Felice (along the Strada Nova between the train station and Rialto area, Cannaregio 3660). A Conad supermarket is convenient for those staying in Dorsoduro: It’s at #1492, as far west as possible on the Zattere embankment, by the San Basilio vaporetto stop and the cruise-ship docks. And just beyond the Rialto vaporetto stop is another handy Co-op (facing the Grand Canal on Riva del Carbon). All are open long hours daily.

Good Gelato and Chocolate Spots

Venice isn’t known for its quality gelato but you’ll still find good gelaterie in every Venetian neighborhood, typically offering one-scoop cones for about €2 (€1 per extra scoop). The words artigianale or produzione propria indicate that a shop makes its own gelato, although sometimes from powder or paste bases (avoid brightly colored gelato or places that have overflowing tubs). The following places are all open long hours daily.

St. Mark’s Side of the Rialto Bridge: An expensive gourmet gelato shop, Gelatoteca Suso, serves delectable flavors in cups you can eat (next to recommended Rosticceria Gislon on Calle de la Bissa, San Marco 5453a).

St. Mark’s Square: Both Gran Caffè Lavena at #134 and Todaro (on the corner of the Piazzetta at #5, near the water just under the crocodile-topped column) are cafés that have gelato counters in summer. They won’t win any awards but they are convenient.

On Campo Santa Margarita and Campiello San Tomà: Along with all the regular flavors, Il Doge has Sicilian-style granita—slushy ice flavored with fresh fruit.

Near Campo Santa Maria Formosa: On Salizada San Lio is the popular La Boutique del Gelato (next to Hotel Bruno). And nearby is a hit with chocolate lovers: Cioccolateria VizioVirtù (Vice and Virtue). Across from the recommended Osteria al Portego, it’s a modern lab of deliciousness with fine gelato as a bonus (10:00-19:30, closed Mon, Castello 5988, tel. 041-275-0149).

Venice Connections

BY TRAIN

Unless otherwise specified, the following connections are for Trenitalia. See here for more on Italian trains.

From Venice by Train to: Padua (2/hour, 25-50 minutes), Vicenza (2/hour, 45-75 minutes), Verona (2/hour, 1.5-2 hours), Ravenna (roughly hourly, 3 hours, transfer in Ferrara or Bologna), Florence (Trenitalia: hourly, 2-3 hours, may transfer in Bologna, often crowded—reserve ahead; Italo: 4/day, 2 hours, reservations required), Bolzano/Dolomites (to Bolzano about hourly, 3 hours, transfer in Verona; catch bus from Bolzano into mountains), Milan (2/hour, most direct on high-speed ES trains, 2.5 hours), Cinque Terre/Monterosso (5/day, 6 hours, change in Milan), Rome (Trenitalia: hourly, 4 hours, 1 direct night train, 7 hours, reserve ahead; Italo: 4/day, 3.5 hours, reservations required), Naples (Trenitalia: almost hourly, 5.5 hours, some change in Bologna or Rome, reserve ahead; Italo: 3/day, 5.5 hours, reservations required), Brindisi (5/day, 9 hours, change in Rome or Bologna).

International Destinations: Interlaken (4/day, 6-6.5 hours with 2 changes), Munich (1/day direct, 6.5 hours, more with change in Verona; reservable only at ticket windows or via www.bahn.com), Innsbruck (1/day direct, 5 hours, more with change in Verona; reservable only at ticket windows or via www.bahn.com), Salzburg (4/day, 6-7 hours with change in Villach), Paris (2/day direct, 11 hours, change in Turin; 1 direct night train, 14.5 hours, reserve up to 4 months in advance, no rail passes accepted, www.thello.com); Geneva (1/day direct, 2/day with change in Milan, 7-8 hours). Travelers to Ljubljana and Vienna can take an Austrian Railways bus (1-2/day in the morning) to Villach in Austria, and continue from there by direct train (bus leaves from Tronchetto and Mestre railway station; buy tickets from windows in train station). To Ljubljana, there’s also a direct DRD bus from Mestre (1/day, 3.25 hours, www.drd.si) and a private shuttle service (www.goopti.com). To Vienna, you can also take a direct evening train (1/day, 8 hours) or night train (1/day, 11 hours).

BY PLANE

Marco Polo is Venice’s main airport. Some budget flights, including Ryanair, use the smaller airport in the nearby city of Treviso.

Marco Polo Airport

Venice’s small, modern airport is on the mainland shore of the lagoon, six miles north of the city (airport code: VCE). There’s one sleek terminal, with a TI (daily 9:00-20:00), car-rental agencies, ATMs, a bank, and a few shops and eateries. For flight information, call 041-260-9260, visit www.veniceairport.com, or ask your hotel.

Getting Between the Airport and Venice

You can link the airport and central Venice in four ways: by Alilaguna boat, water taxi, airport bus, or land taxi. Each are described in more detail below.

Alilaguna boats reach most of this chapter’s recommended hotels very simply, with no changes. Hotels near the train station, however, are better served by the bus to Piazzale Roma.

Both Alilaguna boats and water taxis leave from the airport’s boat dock, an eight-minute walk from the terminal. Exit the arrivals hall and turn left, following signs along a covered sidewalk.

When flying out of Venice, allow yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. Water transport can be slow—just getting there can take up to two hours. Alilaguna boats are small and can fill up. In an emergency, you can always hop in a water taxi and get to the airport in 30 minutes.

Alilaguna Airport Boats

These boats make the scenic journey across the lagoon, shuttling passengers between the airport and the island of Venice (€15, €27 round-trip, €1 surcharge if bought on boat, discount if bought online, includes 1 suitcase and 1 piece of hand luggage, additional bags-€3 each, roughly 2/hour, 1-1.5-hour trip depending on destination). Alilaguna boats are not covered by city transit passes, but they do use the same docks and ticket windows as the regular vaporetti. You can buy Alilaguna tickets online at www.alilaguna.it or www.venicelink.com.

There are three key Alilaguna lines for reaching St. Mark’s Square. From the airport, the blue line (linea blu) heads first to Fondamente Nove (40 minutes), then loops around to San Zaccaria and San Marco (about 1.5 hours) before continuing to Zattere and the cruise terminal (almost 2 hours). The orange line (linea arancio) runs down the Grand Canal, reaching Guglie (handy for Cannaregio hotels, 45 minutes), Rialto (1 hour), and San Marco (1.25 hours). In high season, the red line (linea rossa) runs to St. Mark’s in just over an hour. It circumnavigates Murano and then runs parallel to the blue line, ending at Giudecca Zitelle. For a full schedule, visit the TI, see the website (www.alilaguna.it), call 041-240-1701, ask your hotelier, or scan the schedules posted at the docks.

From the Airport to Venice: You can buy Alilaguna tickets at the airport’s TI, the ticket desk in the terminal, and at the ticket booth at the dock. Any ticket seller can tell you which line to catch to get to your destination. Blue- and orange-line boats from the airport run roughly twice an hour; red goes once an hour (blue line from 6:15, orange line from 7:45, red line from 9:40; blue and orange lines run until about midnight, red line makes its last run at 18:40).

From Venice to the Airport: Ask your hotelier which dock and which line is best. Blue-line boats start leaving Venice as early as 3:50 in the morning. Scope out the dock and buy your ticket in advance to avoid last-minute stress.

Water Taxis

Luxury taxi speedboats zip directly between the airport and the closest dock to your hotel, getting you within steps of your destination in about 30 minutes. The official price is €110 for up to four people; add €10 for every extra person (10-passenger limit). You may get a higher quote—politely talk it down. A taxi can be a smart investment for small groups and those with an early departure.

From the airport, arrange your ride at the water-taxi desk or with the boat captains at the dock. From Venice, book your taxi trip the day before your departure, either through your hotel or directly with the Consorzio Motoscafi water taxi association (tel. 041-522-2303, www.motoscafivenezia.it).

Airport Shuttle Buses

Buses between the airport and Venice are fast, frequent, and cheap. They drop you at Venice’s bus station, at the square called Piazzale Roma. From there, you can catch a vaporetto down the Grand Canal—convenient for hotels near the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s Square. If you’re staying near the train station, you can walk from Piazzale Roma to your hotel.

Two bus companies serve this route: ACTV and ATVO. ATVO buses take 20 minutes and go nonstop. ACTV buses make a few stops en route and take slightly longer (30 minutes), but you get a discount if you buy a Venice vaporetto pass at the same time (see here). The service is equally good (either bus: €8 one-way, €15 round-trip; ACTV bus with transit-pass discount: €6 one-way, €12 round-trip; runs about 5:00-24:00, 2/hour, drops to 1/hour early and late, check schedules at www.atvo.it or www.actv.it).

From the Airport to Venice: Buses leave from just outside the arrivals terminal. Buy tickets from the TI, the ticket desk in the terminal, the kiosk near baggage claim, or ticket machines. ATVO tickets are not valid on ACTV buses and vice versa. Double-check the destination; you want Piazzale Roma. If taking ACTV, you want bus #5.

From Venice to the Airport: At Piazzale Roma, buy your ticket from the ACTV windows (in the building by the bridge) or the ATVO office (at #497g) before heading out to the platforms (although sometimes an attendant sells tickets near the buses). The newsstand in the center of the lot also sells tickets.

Land Taxi or Private Minivan

It takes about 20 minutes to drive from the airport to Piazzale Roma or the cruise port. A land taxi can do the trip for about €50. To reserve a private minivan, contact Treviso Car Service (minivan-€55, seats up to 8; car-€50, seats up to 3; mobile 338-204-4390 or 333-411-2840, www.trevisocarservice.com).

Treviso Airport

Several budget airlines, such as Ryanair and Wizz Air, use Treviso Airport, 12 miles northwest of Venice (airport code: TSF, tel. 042-231-5111, www.trevisoairport.it). The fastest option into Venice (Tronchetto parking lot; convenient if taking vaporetto line #2) is on the Barzi express bus, which does the trip in just 40 minutes (€12, buy tickets on board, every 1-2 hours, www.barziservice.com). From Tronchetto, hop on a vaporetto, or take the People Mover monorail to Piazzale Roma for €1.50. ATVO buses are a bit more frequent and drop you right at Piazzale Roma (saving you the People Mover ride), but take nearly twice as long (€12 one-way, €22 round-trip, about 2/hour, 70 minutes, www.atvo.it; buy tickets at the ATVO desk in the airport and stamp them on the bus). Treviso Car Service offers minivan service to Piazzale Roma (minivan-€75, seats up to 8; car-€65, seats up to 3; for contact info, see listing earlier).

BY CRUISE SHIP

Most cruise ships dock at Venice’s Stazione Marittima, at the west end of town. From the cruise port, the most direct way to reach St. Mark’s Square is to take the Alilaguna express boat (2/hour in each direction, 30 minutes, www.alilaguna.it). Another option is to take the People Mover monorail from the port to Piazzale Roma, then hop on a vaporetto. It’s about a five-minute walk to the People Mover, then a three-minute ride to Piazzale Roma, where you’ll find a stop for vaporetti to St. Mark’s Square (45 minutes on boat #1, 25 minutes on boat #2).

Other options for getting to the center from the cruise port include walking (about an hour to St. Mark’s Square) or an expensive water taxi ride (at least €70-80).

For more details, see my Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports guidebook.