(includes Burano, Isola San Clemente, Lido, Mazzorbo, Murano, San Michele, all 6 Sestiere & Torcello)
BAKERIES, COFFEE, ICE CREAM, JUICE & TEA
Cannaregio
●Panificio Volpe – Calle del Ghetto Vecchio; 011-39-041-715-178; panificiovolpegiovanni.com/panificiovolpegiovanni.htm; kosher bakery; try almond cookies, made daily.
●Pasticceria dal Mas – 150 Rio Terà Lista de Spagna; pasticceriacioccolateriadorz.it; 011-39-041-715-101; authentic, Venetian pastry shop.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Majer – Via Garibaldi; 011-39-041-528-9014; miranomagazine.com; pastry shop that specializes in frittelle (fried dough with ricotta), zabaglione, etc.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●Majer – Santa Margherita; 011-39-041-528-9014; miranomagazine.com; pastry shop that specializes in frittelle (fried dough with ricotta), zabaglione, etc.
Lido
●Terrazza Ristorante Nicely – 9 Via Morandi (Nicelli Airport); 011-39-041-770-300; aeroportonicelli.it; Art Deco gem at airport now used only for private aircraft; restaurant open to public; panoramic water views.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Caffe Florian – 56 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-520-5641; caffeflorian.com; open for over 290 years; ornate back room much more affordable.
San Polo
●Majer – Sant’Agostino; 011-39-041-722-873; miranomagazine.com; pastry shop that specializes in frittelle (fried dough with ricotta), zabaglione, etc.
●Pasticceria Rizzardini – Campielloe dei Meloni; 011-39-041-522-3835; facebook.com/pages/Pasticceria-Rizzardini/150211578349596; from 1742; killer cream puffs and dangerous doughnuts; try lingue di suocere (“mother-in-law’s tongues”), sprinkled pallone di Casanova (“Casanova’s balls”); most famous, however, for fritelle veneziane (fried raisin-dotted dough balls).
Santa Croce
●Gelateria Alaska – Calle Larga dei Bari; 011-39-041-715-211; best ice cream in Venice.
●Majer – Piazzale Roma; 011-39-041-710-385; miranomagazine.com; pastry shop that specializes in frittelle (fried dough with ricotta), zabaglione, etc.
●Majer – San Giacomo dell’Orio; 011-39-041-524-0317; miranomagazine.com; pastry shop that specializes in frittelle (fried dough with ricotta), zabaglione, etc.
●Pasticceria Rio Marin – 284 Rio Marin; 011-39-041-718-523; barpasticceriariomarin.it; family-owned bakery with great zaleti (cornmeal cookies), custom cakes, and tiramisu.
BARS & NIGHTCLUBS
Cannaregio
●La Cantina – Strada Nuova (Campo San Felice); 011-39-41-522-8258; facebook.com/cantinavenezia; excellent wine list with around 30 wines available by glass; enoteca on main street; local meeting point; throw back Prosecco with couple oysters; awful pasta.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Bar Mio – Via Garibaldi; 011-39-041-521-1361; just across from Il Nuovo Galeon; small bar with green awning; makes best tramezini (small sandwiches filled with cheeses, crab, and ham); perfect for afternoon break.
●El Mascaron – Calle Lunga (on Campo Santa Maria Formosa); 011-39-041-522-5995; osteriamascaron.it; bacara serving excellent grilled fish.
●Trattoria da Remigio – Salizada dei Greci; 011-39-041-523-0089; facebook.com/pages/Trattoria-da-Remigio/225786677517834; just next door to Osteria Oliva Nera; serves baccala; also, good for sgroppino (after-dinner drink made with ice, lemon sorbet, and vodka.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●Il Caffe (Caffe Rosso) – Campo Santa Margherita; 011-39-041-528-7998; cafferosso.it; beers and spritzers; bizarre bright-red exterior; loved by arty, avant-garde, bohemian set; cosy with certain romantic mystery; shiny art deco coffee machine makes spot-on cappuccinos; famous for Spritz al Bitter.
●Enoteca Cantinone gia Schiavi – Fondamenta Nani; 011-39-041-523-0034; arte.it/guida-arte/venezia/in-citta/locale/cantinone-già-schiavi-1256; bacaro; 19th Century establishment; try baccala mantecato (creamy salt cod spread).
●Gabbiano Bar – 10 Giudecca (Hotel Cipriani, Giudecca Island); 011-39-041-520-7744; hotelcipriani.com; famous for Bellini but try George Clooney’s Buona Notte (cranberry juice, vodka, lime, and bitters).
●Osteria alla Bifora – Campo Santa Margherita; 011-39-041-523-6119; facebook.com/pages/Osteria-alla-Bifora/186000421442411; older crowd, after-dinner drinks locale.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Harry’s Bar – Calle Vallaresso; 011-39-041-528-5777; cipriani.com; legendary for Bellinis and $30 club sandwiches; if you order Prosecco, make sure to ask that it be served in Harry’s signature “round carafe.”
●PG – Ramo Grassi (at Palazzina Grassi, at Campo San Samuele); 011-39-041-528-4644; palazzinag.com/en; in 16th Century palazzo transformed by Philippe Starck.
●Settimo Cielo – Campo San Moise (at Bauer Il Palazzo); 011-39-349-520-7022; ilpalazzovenezia.com/dining-bars/settimo-cielo-lounge; 7th floor lounge offers tremendous canal views.
San Polo
●Bar Al Marca – Campo Cesare Battisti (just beyond Rialto Market:); 011-39-347-100-2583; hole-in-wall wine bar among most popular in Venice; specializes in little sandwiches.
●Cantina do Mori – Calle do Mori; 011-39-041-522-5401; Venice’s most famous and oldest bacaro (wine bar); famous for ciccheti (Venetian tapas); try poached baby octopus and/or marinated eggplant rolls.
●Naranzaria – Erbaria di Rialto; 011-39-041-724-1035; naranzaria.it; bacaro that serves sushi and Asian-inflected dishes, as well as traditional cichetti.
Santa Croce
●Bacareto da Lele – 183 Campo dei Tolentini; no telephone; facebook.com/pages/Bacareto-da-Lele/184657361571895; tiny (look for 2 barrels); serves all day; always full with locals.
●Enoteca Buso Durello – 466 Piazzale Roma; 011-39-041-520-2219; simple wine bar crowded with locals; best place to sip Durello (quickly rivalling Prosecco as Venice’s preferred drink); small plates.
HOTELS
Cannaregio
●Ca’ Sagredo – Campo Santa Sofia Ca’ D’Oro (near Rialto bridge); 011-39-041-241-3111; casagredohotel.com; stunning 15th Century palazzo; special rooms include Biblioteca (in former library) and Arts & Stucco rooms (with detailed plasterwork); at minimum, ask for room with window over canal.
●Domus Orsoni – Sottoportego dei Vedei; 011-39-041-275-9538; domusorsoni.it; beautiful; in Jewish quarter; clean and historic; in mosaic establishment.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Charming Houses DD724 & iQs – Campiello Querini Stampalia; 011-39-041-241-0062 or 011-39-041-277-0262; thecharminghouse.com; sister properties that are Chiara Bocchini’s (Venice’s Diane von Furstenberg) brainchild; modern; glass walls divide iQs’ lobby from canal dock.
●Hotel Daniele – Riva degli Schiavoni; 011-39-041-522-6480; daniele.hotelinvenice.com; luxurious; 3 connected 14th, 19th, & 20th Century palazzi; calm, cool oasis; elegant bar and outstanding rooftop restaurant.
●Metropole – Riva degli Schiavoni (Hotel Castello); 011-39-041-520-5044; hotelmetropole.com/eng; Vivaldi lived here 1704-1738 (when was La Pieta Church’s chapter house, where he served as concert and violin master); quirky palazzo has evolved from that church building into Romantik hotel association member; outfitted as Victorian-style home, packed with quirky curios (bottle openers, cigarette cases, crucifixes, fans, & purses); public salons tucked with cozy bars and sitting niches; accommodations vary widely in true Romantic style (such details as Burano glass lamps and Murano chandeliers, inlaid wood furnishings, and Romantic-era watercolors and prints); rooms overlook Bacino San Marco (side canal where water taxis pull up) or courtyard housing lovely garden restaurant enlivened by nightly keyboard music; free car parking if you let them know you need it before 8pm day you arrive.
●Palazzo San Pietro – 67 Castello; 011-39-0415-202-565; pilgrimsway.it (password: tower); Giorgio & Ilaria Miani’s Castello residence; among several rentals couple owns throughout Europe; gorgeous 4-story waterfront palazzo on San Pietro Island.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●Bauer Palladio Hotel & Spa – Fondamenta Zitelle; 011-39-041-520-7022; palladiohotelspa.com; small hotel and spa with exquisitely planted, tranquil gardens.
●Ca Maria Adele – 111 Rio Terra dei Catecumeni; 011-39-041-520-3078; camariaadele.it; 12-room Orientalist fantasy, overlooking Salute Church and Grand Canal; book Moores, Oriental, or Fireside “concept suites”; breakfast included.
●Centurion Palace – Grand Canal; 011-39-041-34-281; centurionpalacevenezia.com; tremendous location; 50 rooms and suites in modernist design; room 601 is white (walls, bleached hardwood floors, bathtub (just steps from king-size bed)); room 209, junior suite, draped in scarlet and chocolate brown with double-height ceilings, canopy bed and 2 balconies over canal.
●Hotel Cipriani – 10 Giudecca; 011-39-041-520-7744; hotelcipriani.com; ask for room 133 (if you want 2 bathrooms), or apartment-like accommodations in Palazzo Vendramin (attached structure), such as La Dogaressa (2 bedrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking lagoon); legendary, heated salt-water pool.
●Pensione Accademia – 1058 Dorsoduro; 011-39-041-521-0188; pensioneaccademia.it; in 17th Century villa; affordable; step through ivy-covered gate (just off Grand Canal) into private garden; 27 rooms (ask for room Thelma, has private garden portion) are effortlessly elegant, with parquet floors, antique desks, creamy walls and snug, shiny modern bathrooms – but some offer 4-poster beds, wood-beamed ceilings & canal glimpses; buffet breakfasts are served on lawn in summer, sunsets are toasted with complimentary drink; highly recommended.
●Villa F – Palazzo Mocenigo (Giudecca); 011-39-041-520-7022; villafvenezia.com/villa-f; 2K euros daily; private apartments.
Isola San Clemente
●San Clemente Palace – 1 San Clemente Island (across from San Marco); 011-39-041-244-5001; sanclementepalacevenice.com; 11th Century monastery; considerable distance from city; 4 acres parkland; pool with lovely poolside bar, La Conchiglie.
Lido
●Grande Albergo Ausonia & Hungaria – 28 Gran Viale S.M. Elisabetta; 011-39-041-242-0060; hungaria.it; most stunning early 20th Century (1905), Art Deco hotel; exterior clad in majolica designed by Bassano-born ceramicist, Luigi Fabris; best for day visits, due to inland location.
Mazzorbo
●Venissa – 3 Fondamente di Santa Caterina; 011-39-041-527-2281; venissa.it; 6 nicely furnished rooms; great base for lagoon exploring; closed between November 7th and spring.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Bauer Il Palazzo – Campo San Moise; 011-39-349-520-7022; ilpalazzovenezia.com; restored 18th Century palace on Grand Canal; carved stucco ceilings; individually decorated rooms so opulent they seem museum-like; 7th floor Settimo Cielo lounge has terrace with views of canals below.
●Palace Bonvecchiati – Calle dei Fabbri; 011-39-041-296-3111; palacebonvecchiati.it.
●Ca’ dei Nobile – Rio Terra delle Colonne; 011-39-041-528-3473; cadeinobile.com; right around corner from St. Mark’s Square.
●Hotel Gritti Palace – 2467 Campo Santa Maria del Giglio; 011-39-04-179-4611; venice-hotel-gritti.com; stepping inside is like returning to era of Grand Tour; Gothic palace on Grand Canal; former residence of Vatican ambassadors; rooms sometimes disappointing; try to get 1 of 16 rooms with water views (2nd floor rooms are best price for money – which is still high); outside terrace great for breakfast or cocktails but over-priced.
●Hotel Londra Palace – Riva Degli Schiavoni; 011-39-041-520-0533; hotelondra.it; Tchaikovsky composed part of 4th Symphony in this hotel on St. Mark’s Square; very pretty with good restaurant.
●Luna Hotel Baglioni – 18 Villa della Moscova; 011-39-041-528-9840; baglionihotels.com; 12th Century hotel next to St. Mark’s Square that used to be Knights Templar lodging; elegant.
●Novecento – Calle del Dose; 011-39-041-241-3765; novecento.iz; 9 small rooms but fine staff; charming garden; excellent breakfast.
●Palazzo Sant’Angelo – Grand Canal; 011-39-041-241-1452; palazzosantangelo.it; former palace between Rialto and Accademia Bridge; elegant but no restaurant.
●Palazzina Grassi – Campo San Samuele; 011-39-041-528-4644; palazzinagrassi.it; Philippe Starck design behind 15th Century exterior.
●Westin Europa & Regina – Grand Canal; 011-39-041-240-0001; westin.com.
San Polo
●Aman Canal Grande Venice – Calle Tiepolo Baiamonte; 011-39-041-270-7333; amanresorts.com/amancanalgrandevenice/home.aspx; Palazzo Papadopoli, built in 1550 by architect (& Sansovino follower), Gian Giacomo de Grigi, as commissioned by Coccina family; palazzo sold to Tiepolo family in 1718, who employed painter Giambattista Tiepolo to decorate rooms with frescoes that still remain today; palazzo changed hands several times between 1837-64 when acquired by Papadopoli family; brothers Count Nicolo & Angelo Papadopoli moved to Venice from Corfu in Greece & Nicolo married Maddalena Aldo Brandolini who came from wealthy intellectual family; Papadopoli Brandolinis bought & in 1865 hired architect Girolamo Levi, entrusting internal decoration of piano nobile (main living area) to Michelangelo Guggenheim; featured 1 of 1st elevators in Venice, as well as electric powered chandeliers & internal phone system; brothers also bought 2 adjacent buildings that they razed to build 2 gardens; ast 19th Century close, Vera Papadopoli Aldobrandini married Count Giberto Arrivabene with palazzo as part of her dowry; today, owned by her grandson, Count Giberto Arrivabene Valenti Gonzaga, who continues to live on 5th floor.
●Ca’Arco Antico – Calle del Forno (near Rialto Market); 011-39-041-241-1227; arcoanticovenice.com; affordable bed & breakfast; 5-minute walk from Rialto Bridge.
●Oltre il Giardino – Fondamenta Contarini; 011-39-041-275-0015; oltreilgiardino-venezia.com; 6-room, 3-story home once owned by Gustav Mahler’s widow, Alma; on small canal near Frari Church; high-walled garden; ask for upper floor room although ground floor room as garden access.
●La Villeggiatura – Calle dei Botteri; 011-39-041-524-4673; lavilleggiatura.it; nondescript palazzo with elegant rooms and warm wood floors; very affordable.
RESTAURANTS
Cannaregio
●Al Bacco – Fondamenta delle Cappuccine; 011-39-041-721-415; several minutes on foot from ghetto; casual restaurant on Canal di San Girolamo; very Venetian and for locals and well-informed travelers; try soft-shelled crab called moleche.
●Le Balthazar – Campo di Ghetto Nuovo; 011-39-041-244-0125; kosherclublebalthazar.com; Kosher; traditional Veneto dishes, like sardines with polenta.
●La Cantina – Strada Nuova (Campo San Felice); 011-39-41-522-8258; takes simple cicheto to another level with its freshly prepared, imaginative dishes; oysters on ice that barman shucks to order; hand-operated slicer for charcuterie; around 30 wines available by glass; like all bacari, no menu; raw fish is speciality so try trio of minced salmon, lightly seared tuna with finely chopped cucumber, and sea bass with tomatoes, prepared right in front of you.
●Gam Gam – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-523-1495; Kosher, middle eastern restaurant; couscous, felafel, etc.
●Da Marisa – Fondamente di San Giobbe; 011-39-041-740-211; simple trattoria overlooking Canal di Cannaregio; menu changes daily; outdoor seating weather permitting.
●Osteria Ca d’Oro alla Vedova – Strada Nuovo; 011-39-041-528-5324; fluffiest meatballs in Venice; try polpo al umido (octopus stewed in tomato).
●Pizzeria Al Faro – Campo del Ghetto Vecchio; 011-39-041-275-0794; pizzeriaalfaro.com; pizza.
●I Quattro Rusteghi – Campo del Ghetto Nuovo; 011-39-041-715-160; Venetian staples.
●Ristorante Al Vagon – near Rialto Bridge; 011-39-041-523-7558; alvagon.com; seafood specialties.
●Vini da Gigo – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-528-5140; vinidagigo.com; locals go there; lunch.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Al Covo – 3968 Castello; 011-39-041-522-3812; ristorantealcovo.com; owners Cesare Benelli & Diane Rankin have been serving traditional pastas and fish dishes in their cozy restaurant since 1987.
●Corte Sconta – Calle de Pestrin; 011-39-041-522-7024; lunch; trattoria, with beautiful patio; seafood.
●Ristorante al Covo – Campiello della Pescaria; 011-39-041-522-3812; ristorantealcovo.com; beloved seafood restaurant; nights when it seems you hear nothing but English but this has never compromised dining at this warm and welcoming spot, where super-fresh fish and excellent selection of moderately priced wines are due to naturally hospitable Diane Rankin, co-owner and dessert whiz (try dark chocolate cake with chili-pepper-spiced chocolate sauce) who hails from Texas; her husband, Cesare Benelli, runs kitchen.
●Ristorante Daniele – Riva degli Schiavoni (at Hotel Daniele); 011-39-041-522-6480; daniele.hotelinvenice.com; luxurious hostelry made of 3 connected palaces dating from 14th, 19th, and 20th Centuries; outstanding rooftop restaurant with tremendous views; imaginative menu is not particularly Venetian.
●Metropole – Riva degli Schiavoni (Hotel Castello); 011-39-041-520-5044; hotelmetropole.com/eng.
●Il Nuovo Galeon – Via Garibaldi; 011-39-041-520-4656; friendly restaurant with great clam spaghetti.
●Osteria Oliva Nera – Salizada dei Greci; 011-39-041-522-2170; osteria-olivanera.com; short walk from Campo dell’Arsenale; small, friendly spot with paper table-cloths; smart, contemporary fish and meat; known for stuffed zucchini.
●Osteria di Santa Marina – Campo Santa Marina; 011-39-041-528-5239; fantastic fish restaurant with especially good raw bar; elegant but informal and unpretentious but reservations essential.
●Alle Testiere – Calle del Mondo Novo; 011-39-041-522-7220; osteriaalletestiere.com; acclaimed, 22-seat osteria; gently priced; reservations required.
●Trattoria da Remigio – Salizada dei Greci; 011-39-041-523-0089; just next door to Osteria Oliva Nera; serves baccala, calamari, and squid risotto; also, good for sgroppino (after-dinner drink made with ice, lemon sorbet, and vodka.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●Antica Locanda Montin – Fondamenta di Borgo; 011-39-041-522-7151; locandamontin.com; traditional décor, pergola garden, and simple, honest dishes; affordable.
●Enoteca Cantinone gia Schiavi – Fondamenta Nani; 011-39-041-523-0034; bacaro (really a wine shop that sells food); 19th Century establishment; some of best Venetian tapas in town; try baccala mantecato (creamy salt cod spread); can linger by canal with locals.
●Osteria al 4 Feri – Calle Lunga San Barnaba; 011-39-041-520-6978; always bustling; uncomplicated food at normal prices.
●Pane Vino e San Daniele dell’Angelo Raffaele – Calle Lunga Sant Barnaba (Campo dell’Angelo Raffaele); 011-39-041-523-7456; panevinoesandaniele.net; local favortie.
Lido
●Ristorante Nicely – Nicelli Airport, 9 Via Morandi; 011-39-041-276-0729; aeroportonicelli.it; Art Deco gem at airport now used only for private aircraft; restaurant open to public; panoramic water views.
Mazzorbo
●Venissa – 3 Fondamenta Santa Caterina; 011-39-041-527-2281; venissa.it; worth special trip; on nondescript island, in reclaimed, walled vineyard.
Murano
●Acquastanca – 48 Fondamenta Manin; 011-39-041-319-5125; veniceredhouse.com/acqua-stanca; opened last April by Giovanna Arcangeli (Murano native who planned events at Harry’s Bar for decade); Acquastanca is refuge from tourism bustle; quiet, warm atmosphere with locals; cichetti (Venetian snacks) include crispy prawns and octopus salad; few wood tables by canal; housed in former bakery; stylish but not overdone (wood beam ceilings, brick walls, and resin floors; focuses on simple seafood, ; highlights include buttery and perfectly briny spaghetti alle vongole, crispy orata (sea bream) baked in oven with potatoes, baccalà with polenta, and tagliolini with squid; another strength is house-made dessert, such as lemon meringue cake, tiramisù, and coffee coviglia (coffee semifreddo); this restaurant is hideaway for groups with good, local food, where can stop in from breakfast to dinner for espresso or full meal; if you want to really fit in, ask for ombra (little sip of white wine that comes from old Venetian custom of selling white wine from vendors with little carts in ombra, or shade, to keep it cool).
●Busa alla Torre – 3 Campo Santo Stefano (known locally as Lele’s); 011-39-041-739-662; no visit to island complete without lunch here; deep-fried soft shell crabs are must.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Antico Martini – Campo Teatro Fenice; 011-39-041-522-4121; anticomartini.com; 250 year-old restaurant that shares La Fenice Teatro piazza; almost ducally elegant; seafood; also, game and meat; try veal in red wine sauce and/or quail with polenta; reservations necessary.
●Da Bonifacio – Calle degli Albanesi; 011-39-041-522-7507; tiny bar-pasticceria with marble mosaic floor and antique fittings; try pizetta and spritz cocktail.
●Hotel Europa & Regina – Grand Canal; 011-39-041-240-0001; westin.com.
●Da Forni – Calle dei Specchieri; 011-39-041-523-2148; doforni.it; Venetian elegance and quality seafood.
●Caffe Florian – 56 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-520-5641; caffeflorian.com; open for over 290 years; ornate back room much more affordable.
●Al Mercanti – Calle dei Fuseri; 011-39-041-523-8269; almercanti.com; seasonal fare menu changes every 2 months; 50 seats; outdoor seating in square, weather permitting.
●Osteria al Portego – Calle della Malvasia; 011-39-041-522-9038; hard to find (near Rialto Bridge), small restaurant with few tables; reservations recommended; excellent and inconspicuous; classics include spaghetti with mussels and cherry tomatoes and cuttlefish cooked in ink with polenta; both dishes explode with bright, tart flavors but undergirded by earthiness; less-common recipes include tagliatelle with duck ragu and spaghetti with canestrelli (ridged clam with mushroomlike texture).
●PG – Campo San Samuele (at Palazzina Grassi); 011-39-041-528-4644; palazzainagrassi.it.
●De Pisis – Campo San Moise (at Bauer Il Palazzo); 011-39-349-520-7022; bauervenezia.com; formal fine-dining with tremendous canal and city views.
●Trattoria da Fiore – Calle De Le Botteghe; 011-39-041-523-5310; dafiore.it; popular tapas restaurant with local artists and residents.
●Vino Vino – Campo Teatro Fenice (connected to Antico Martini); 011-39-041-522-4121; anticomartini.com; more affordable version of Antico Martini, with more laid-back atmosphere.
San Polo
●Antiche Carampane – Rio Tera de la Carampane; 011-39-041-524-0165; antichecarampane.com; de facto clubhouse for Venetian society; knick-knack-cluttered dining room and awning shaded streetside tables; simple and modestly-priced antipasti.
●Cantina do Mori – Calle do Mori; 011-39-041-522-5401; Venice’s most famous and oldest bacari (wine bar); famous for ciccheti (Venetian tapas); try poached baby octopus and/or marinated eggplant rolls.
●Al Merca – Campo Cesare Battisti gia Bella Vienna; 011-39-346-834-0660; well-heeled crowd for aperitifs and tapas.
●Naranzaria – Erbaria di Rialto; 011-39-041-724-1035; bacaro that serves sushi and Asian-inflected dishes, as well as traditional cichetti; also, for best “spritz.”
●Ostaria al Garanghelo – Calle dei Boteri; 011-39-041-721-721; algaranghelo.it; casual wine bar that serves up excellent seafood.
●Ristorante Osteria Da Fiore – Calle del Scaleter (near Campo San Polo); 011-39-04-172-1308; dafiore.net; serving Venetian tavern fare for over 30 years; pricey but worth it; reservations necessary; 1 of only 2 Michelin-starred restaurants; try risotto with cuttle-fish ink and spider crab.
●Al Paradiso – Calle del Paradiso; 011-39-041-523-4910; small dining room cozy, unpretentious, and warm; proprietor Giordano makes all diners feel like honored guests; Pappardelle al Paradiso, pasta with seafood sauce, and/or risotto with shrimp, champagne, and grapefruit; salmon with honey and balsamic vinegar is stunning.
●Pronto Pesce Pronto – 319 Calle della Beccaria; 011-39-041-822-0298; sort of delicatessen for San Polo locals; few tables; risotto al pesce (on Saturdays) outstanding.
Santa Croce
●Bacareto da Lele – 183 Campo dei Tolentini; no telephone or website; tiny bar (look for 2 barrels) that serves all day; always full with locals; try bovoleti (miniature snails), excellent sandwiches, and/or merluzzo mantecato (creamed cod).
●Enoteca Buso Durello – 466 Piazzale Roma; 011-39-041-520-2219; simple wine bar crowded with locals; best place to sip Durello (quickly replacing Prosecco as Venice’s preferred drink); small plates.
●Al Nono Risorto – Sotoportego de Siora Bettina; 011-39-041-524-1169; pizzeria with lovely garden.
●Il Refolo – Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio; 011-39-041-524-0016; upscale pizzeria created by Da Fiore chef and her son; canalside spot with 25 candlelit, outdoor tables; when in season, ask for green fig pie; try azazel pie (layers of spicy sausage, mozzerella, and chopped tomato).
●Vecio Fritolin – Calle della Regina; 011-39-041-522-2881; veciofritolin.it; deceptively old-fashioned-looking restaurant with contemporary, smart cuisine; walk-bys can buy paper cone of fried calamari, fish, and shrimp (fritolin).
Torcello
●Osteria al Ponte del Diavolo – Fondamenta Borgognoni; 011-39-041-730-401; osteriapontedeldiavolo.com; famous for cuttle-fish salad, which makes restaurant worth ride; just steps from vaporetto dock; open for lunch.
SERVICES
●Aurora Beach Club – 20 Lungomare d’Annunzio (Lido Piazzale Bucintoro); 011-39-335-526-8013; aurora.st; arrange a 4-poster beach bed; bold beach venue with diversions: free library (books and magazines), designated beach sport and chill zones, live music, cocktails bars, open-air cinema.
●Bellini Travel – 7 Barb Mews, London; 011-44-20-7602-7602; bellinitravel.com; run by Emily FitzRoy; no-nonsense, upper-class-connected woman who can arrange behind scenes tours of private gardens and such mainstays as Basilica di San Marco; best guide is Franca Zanchi.
●Eolo Cruises – 11 Via Mantegna (Brugine); 011-39-349-743-1552; cruisingvenice.com; chef Mauro Stoppa offers tasting tours of lagoon surrounding Castello Orientale aboard 1 of few remaining Venetian bragozzo boats.
●Gritti Epicurean School – 2467 Campo Santa Maria del Giglio (at Gritti Palace Hotel); 011-39-041-794-611; thegrittiepicureanschool.com.
●IC Bellagio – Salita Monastero; 011-44-39-31-952-059; icbellagio.com; arranges everything from villa rentals to tours; extensive conversation with potential client makes sure exact needs are understood; best guide in Venice is Guido Leon, who is 30-year veteran and history-music buff.
●Insider’s Italy – 1468 Midland Avenue, Suite 2H, Bronxville, New York; 914-470-1612; insidersitaly.com; owner Marjorie Shaw actually operates business from Rome; main guides in Venice are Giuseppine (architect) and Antonella (historian); can arrange both accommodations and private tours, such as of Arzana, antique boat preservation association that runs 15th Century boatyard.
●Cedric Reversade – 27 Old Gloucester Street, London; 011-44-207-788-7815; cedricreversade.com; rental agent for exclusive palazzos; supplies concierge and staff.
●La Scuola Remiera Casteo – 1 Isola di Santa Elena; 011-39-0415-207-223; remieracasteo@libero.it; Venice’s rowing school offers lessons in navigating city’s famous waterways.
●Venice Cards – HelloVenezia.com; free admission to some museums and churches, all public bathrooms, and land and water transport.
●Venice Etc. – veniceetc.com; travel company run by Donata Grimani, member of 1 of city’s oldest families, & award-winning art director Pamela Berry Morassutti; offers tailor-made “slow” tours for those wanting to explore secret Venice.
●Views on Venice – San Marco; 011-39-041-241-1149; viewsonvenice.com; rental agents that accommodate all price ranges; great properties: (1) Calle delle Erbe 272, Giudecca (pied-a-terre available on nightly basis); and (2) Madonna dell’Orto, Cannaregio (in impeccably restored cloister that has 2 double bedrooms, as well as mezzanine-style guest cottage that sleeps 2, and small walled garden with roses and wisteria, coming with gardener and maid).
SHOPPING
Burano
●Emilia – Piazza Baldassarre Galuppi; 011-39-041-735-299; emiliaburano.it; handmade lace.
Cannaregio
●Gianni Basso Stampatore – Calle del Fumo; 011-39-041-523-4681; Basso uses antique presses, hand-carved, wood printing blocks, and Armenian monks’ techniques to create old-fashioned visiting cards.
●David’s Shop – Campo del Ghetto Nuovo; 011-39-041-275-0418; davidshop.com; Jewish glassware and silver objects.
●Diego Baruch Fusetti – Campo del Ghetto Vecchio; 011-39-041-720-092; shalomvenice.it; Jewish glassware and silver objects.
●Benevento – Strada Nova; 011-39-041-522-0901; gbenevento.it; fabric store; magnificent just to look at.
●Bottega dei Tintoretto – Fondamenta dei Mori; 011-39-041-722-081; tintorettovenezia.it; bespoke and inhouse binding and printing.
●Coin Department Store – Salizada San Giovanni Crisostomo; 011-39-041-520-3581; coin.it; Venice’s only department store; only housewares (on top floor) really worth visiting.
●Costantini – Calle del Fumo; 011-39-041-522-2265; glass animals.
●Esperienze – Ponte delle Guglie; 011-39-041-721-866; local, glass-blown art incorporated into unique necklaces, pins, and other jewelry.
●Ikona Venezia – Campo del Ghetto Nuovo; 011-39-041-528-9387; ikonavenezia.com; contemporary photography art gallery.
●Jesurum – Fondamente della Sensa; 011-39-041-524-2540; jesurum.it; hand-worked lace and linens; expensive but some bargains, too.
●Laboratorio Blu – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-715-819; children’s books.
●Marforio – Merceria 2nd Aprile (very near Rialto Bridge); 011-39-041-25-734; small leather goods and accessories on street level, and bags according to color and style (evening, casual, shoulder-strapped, backpack style) on floors above.
●Mori e Bozzi – Rio Terra della Madonna; 011-39-041-715-261; shoes.
●Old World Books – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-275-9456; from contemporary to rare to used.
●Giacomo Rizzo – Calle San Giovanni Grisostomo (near Coin department store, northeast of Rialto Bridge); 011-39-041-522-2824); packaged pasta products; colorful carnival hats, gondolas, and other imaginatively shaped pasta possibilities (colored and flavored with squash, beet, and spinach).
●San Leonardo Market – where Canal di Cannaregio intersects Ponte delle Guglie; open-air, morning green-market.
●Orsoni Smalti Veneziani – Sottoportego dei Vedei; 011-39-041-244-0002; orsoni.com; mosaics; also runs bed & breakfast, Domus Orsoni.
●Valese – Calle Fiubera; 011-39-041-522-7282; valese.it; foundary that makes world-reknowned door-knockers.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Anticlea Antiquariato – Campo San Provolo (in Church of San Zaccaria direction); 011-39-041-528-6946); glass beads (called “Venetian pearls”); exquisite antique and reproduced baubles; sold singly or already strung.
●Bambole di Trilly – Fondamenta dell’Osmarin (off Campo San Provolo, east out of Piazza San Marco in Church of San Zaccaria direction, north of Campo San Zaccaria); 011-39-041-521-2579; dolls; hand-sewn wardrobes of rich Venetian fabrics and painstakingly painted faces; particularly exquisite.
●Il Canovaccio – Calle delle Bande; 011-39-041-521-0393; ilcanovaccio.com; high-quality, artisan work masks.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●L’Angolo del Passato – Campiello degli Squelini; 011-39-041-528-7896; both contemporary and vintage pieces; real standouts, however, are tumblers by owner, Giordana Naccari’s brother.
●Antichita Claudia Zaggia – Calle della Toletta; 011-39-041-522-3159; genuine antique jewelry (and glassware); beautiful designs and high quality.
●Marie Brandolini – Campiello degli Squelini; 011-39-041-523-3035; lagunab.com; elegant, riotously colorful, hand-painted murano glassware in contemporary style.
●Cafoscarina – Campiello dei Squelini; 011-39-041-522-9602; cafoscarina.it; bookstore with 2 locations, one focusing on sciences and other on arts; selections are unrivaled in Venice.
●Canestrelli – Sacca de la Toletta; 011-39-041-277-0617; venicemirrors.com; handmade mirrors that are art pieces in themselves.
●Carla C – Accademia; 011-39-041-241-3725; antiquusvenice.com; jewelry.
●Cornici Trevisanello – Campo San Vio; 011-39-041-520-7779; brother and sister-run shop that makes hand-made, museum quality picture frames.
●Dittura – 871 San Vio; 011-39-041-523-1163; old-fashioned, red velvet gondolier shoes.
●Fortuny – Fondamente San Biagio (Giudecca); 011-39-041522-4078; fortuny.com; textiles; founded by great Spanish, Belle Epoque designer Mariano Fortuny; all cotton; block-printed by hand.
●Genninger Studio – Campiero Barbello; 011-39-041-522-5565; genningerstudio.com; knickknacks.
●Gualti – Rio Tera Canal; 011-39-041-520-1731; gualti.it; brightly colored jewelry and scarves; not for circumspect dressers.
●Madera – Campo San Barnaba; 011-39-041-522-4181; maderavenezia.it; housewares.
●Massimo Micheluzzi – Ponte delle Maravegie; 011-39-041-528-2190; gallery-like shop that showcases artist’s contemporary (often monochrome) glassworks.
●Mondonovo – Rio Tera Canal; 011-39-041-528-7344; mondonovomaschere.it; traditional, handmade papier-mache masks.
●Pasticceria Tonolo – Calle San Pantalon; 011-39-041-523-7209; known for cream-filled, fresh doughnuts (krapfen).
Murano
●Sent – Fondamente Serenella; 011-39-041-527-4665; marinaesusannasent.com; from long line glass-workers, Marina and Susanna Sent make black glass and clear crystal necklaces, etc.
●Venini – 50 Fondamenta Vetrai; 011-39-041-273-7211; venini.com; since 1921, among Venice’s most innovative and respected glassmakers; products are more artworks than mere blown glass; Versace’s glass objets d’art done by Venini; not cheap but no one else has such lovely or original handblown Murano glassware; in particular, look for works by brother and sister, Alessandro and Laura Diaz de Santillana, as well as by Grazia Rosin.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Atalier Venetia Antonia Sautter – Frezzeria; 011-39-041-522-4426; ballodeldoge.com; if you need to buy or rent Carnevale costumes, great selection; Antonia Sautter designs historical costumes and also personally creates new fantasy ones that are usually highlights of Venice Carnevale Dances; often uses personally designed and produced fabrics; Antonia also revitalized Venetian Carnevale party tradition, creating famous Ballo del Doge; also produces silk and damask pillows in various shapes and sizes, velvet accessories, and slippers for everyday use; also papier-mache masks, puppets, and home furnishings.
●Marie Bagnasco – Ca’Lezze (house name); 011-39-041-520-6685; calezze@tin.it; by appointment only; jewelry; expensive.
●Biblos – Mercerie San Zulian; 011-39-041-521-0714 or 011-39-041-521-908; biblos-venezia.com; leather-bound blank books and journals, marbleized paper, enamel pill boxes, watercolor etchings, and fountain pens.
●Biblos – Via XXII Marzo; 011-39-041-521-0714 or 011-39-041-521-908; biblos-venezia.com; leather-bound blank books and journals, marbleized paper, enamel pill boxes, watercolor etchings, and fountain pens.
●Biblos – Mercerie de l’Orolorgio; 011-39-041-521-0714 or 011-39-041-521-908; biblos-venezia.com; leather-bound blank books and journals, marbleized paper, enamel pill boxes, watercolor etchings, and fountain pens.
●Galleria Marina Barovier – Salizada San Samuele; 011-39-041-523-6748; barovier.it; from glassmaking dynastic family; both contemporary and vintage work; by appointment only.
●Chiarastella Cattana – San Samuele; 011-39-041-522-4369; cushion covers, duvets, and tablecloths.
●Carla C – Calle delle Bottheghe; 011-39-041-520-6395; antiquusvenice.com; jewelry.
●Cavalier la Bottega Dell’Inorador – Campo San Stefano; 011-39-041-523-8621; cavaliervenice.com; hand-gilt frames, mirrors, and sconces.
●Chimento – Campo San Moise; 011-39-041-523-6010; chimento.it; jewelry; own manufacture gold and silver jewelry, as well as items from top international designers, including Faberge.
●Attilio Codognato Gioielleria – 1295 San Marco; 011-39-041-522-5042; attiliocodognato.it; jewelry.
●Colussi – Calle San Luca; 011-39-041-523-1871; colussilafocaccia.com; excellent bakery.
●Ebru di Federica Novello – Calle della Fenince; 011-39-041-528-6302; expert marbleizing technique applies to paper, scarves, and silk ties.
●Frette – Calle Larga (Via XXII Marzo); 011-39-041-522-4914; frette.com; bedclothes, linens, and silk pajamas; will do custom work.
●Gianolla – Calle Spezier; 011-39-041-521-2652; gianollavetroantico.it; owned by Claudio Gianolla; discreet shop that focuses on pieces from 1880-1980.
●Angela Rosa Greco – Ponte delle Ostreglio; 011-39-041-523-4573; handmade, high-end lampshades.
●Jesurum – 60-61 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-520-6177; jesurum.it; hand-worked lace and linens; expensive but some bargains, too.
●Libreria Beronti Alberto – Calle dei Fabbri; 011-39-041-522-4615; coffee table books; art books and other colorful hardbacks on history and Italian sights at 40-50% off.
●Libreria Bertoni Mario – Rio Terrà dei Assassini; 011-39-041-522-9583; coffee table books; art books and other colorful hardbacks on history and Italian sights at 40-50% off.
●Libreria San Giorgio – Calle Larga (Via XXII Marzo, beyond American Express Office toward Campo Santo Stefano); 011-39-041-523-8451; books; Venetian art, history, and literature.
●Libreria al Ponte – Calle della Mandola; 011-39-041-522-4030; travel guides and English-language books.
●Libreria Sansovino – 84 Bacino Orseolo (just north of Piazza San Marco); 011-39-041-522-2623; books; Venetian art, history, and literature.
●Libreria Studium Cattolica – (near Piazza San Marco); 011-39-041-522-2382; travel guides and maps, as well as books in English.
●Cristina Linassi – Campo Santo Stefano; 011-39-041-523-0578; cristinalinassi.it; linens and silk lingerie.
●Giuliana Longo – Calle del Lovo; 011-39-041-522-6454; giulianalongo.com; hats; straw panamas are particular favorites.
●Bruno Magli – Calle dell’Ascensione; 011-39-041-522-7210; brunomagli.it; shoes.
●Marco Polo – Frezzeria (just west off Piazza San Marco); 011-39-041-522-9295; marcopolointernational.it; glass; 1st floor’s front half offers small gift ideas (candy dishes, glass-topped medicine boxes, paperweights, etc.).
●Antonia Miletto – Salizada Malipiero; 011-39-041-520-5177; antoniamiletto.com; jeweler.
●Murano Art Shop – Frezzeria (parallel to Piazza San Marco’s western border); 011-39-041-523-3851; cultural experience; small shop, every inch of wall space draped with city’s most creative artisans’ whimsical crafts; costume jewelry, masks, music boxes, puppets, and like; all expensive, but this rivals Doge’s Palace visit.
●Nalesso – Calle de la Vetona (on left just before Campo Santo Stefano if coming from Piazza San Marco area); 011-39-041-520-3329; specializes in classical-music recordings, particularly Vivaldi and 18th Century Venetian music; can also pick up tickets to most concerts around town.
●Nardi – 69 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-523-2150; nardi-venezia.com; 85 year-old jeweler; popular in 1920s for moretti (“moor’s head” brooches); also silver tableware.
●Ottica Carraro – Calle della Mandola; 011-39-041-520-4258; ottica-carraro.com; sunglasses.
●Il Prato – Calle delle Ostreghe; 011-39-041-523-1148; ilpratovenezia.com; paper products, printed with 16th Century technique of soaking wooden blocks in vegetable dyes.
●Rolando Segalin – Calle dei Fuseri; 011-39-041-522-2115; fantastical footwear in acid-trip of colors and shapes, including curly-toed creations that look like gondolas; many are intended for Carnevale costumes.
●Rubelli – Campo del Teatro; 011-39-041-258-4411; rubella.com; 150 year-old textile company; in 15th Century palazzo; late medieval textiles can be viewed by appointment.
●Valese – Calle Fiubera; 011-39-041-522-7282; valese.it; door-knockers.
●Venini – Piazetta dei Leoni; (tel. 011-39-041-522-4045); venini.com; since 1921, among Venice’s most innovative and respected glassmakers; products are more artworks than mere blown glass; Versace’s glass objets d’art done by Venini; not cheap but no one else has such lovely or original handblown Murano glassware.
●Giancarlo Vio’s Pasticceria Marchini – Ponte San Maurizio (just before Campo Santo Stefano); 011-39-041-522-9109; pastries; traditional cookies beautifully prepackaged for traveling – delicate baicoli, cornmeal raisin zaleti, and S-shaped buranelli.
●Alessandro Zoppi – Calle Larga (Via XXII Marzo); 011-39-041-522-7789; winglets@tin.it; by appointment only; vintage champagne flutes, tumblers, etc.
San Polo
●Bruno Amadi – Calle dei Saoneri; 011-39-041-523-8089; tiny glass atelier that has operated for over 40 years; check out his long-beaked lagoon birds and peas popping out of pods.
●La Bottega dei Mascareri – Ponte di Rialto Bridge (at bridge’s northern end, amid tourist booths); 011-39-041-522-3857; mascarer.com; charming Boldrin brothers’ least-elaborate masks of high quality.
●Legatoria Polliero – Campo dei Frari; 011-39-041-528-5130; tiny shop, owned by Anselmo Polliero, that sells fine, handmade paper products; Venetian marbling and block printing; also, custom-made photograph albums.
●Mazzon Le Borse – Capiello San Toma; 011-39-041-520-3421; handfashioned, calfskin bags, belts, and wallets; will make to order.
●Rialto Fish Market – Campo della Pescaria; opens at 7 a.m.; good for photographs.
●Scriba – Salizada San Rocco (near Frari Church); print shop with fabulous collection of original works from 17th Century to present; ask attendant to pull out local artist, Livio Ceschin’s engravings (atmospheric lagoon depictions).
Santa Croce
●Cartavenezia – 125 Calle Logna; 011-39-041-524-1283; voluptuous, customized papers, perfect for invitations and menus; perfect for embossing.
●Colore Veneziano – 112 Corte de Ca’Zio; 011-39-042-297-025; 19 year-old atelier of artist, Giovanni Gardin; restores antique stained-glass windows, using pieces from damages panels to create stunning works of own design.
●L’Opera al Bianco – Lista Vecchia dei Bari; 011-39-041-713-601; operavenezia.com; antique and modern glass beads.
SIGHTS & SITES
Burano
●Scuola dei Merletti – Piazza Baldassarre Galuppi; 011-39-041-730-034; merlettoitaliano.com; hand-tatted lace school, founded in 1872, closed in 1972, and reopened in 1981.
Cannaregio
●Archivo Renato Maestro – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-718-883; renatomaestro.org; Venetian Jews’ historic document repository.
●Church of Gesuiti – Campo dei Gesuiti; 011-39-041-528-6579; “must see” church, once described as “vulgar”; ornate, Baroque church; also known as Santa Maria Assunta; famous for green and white trompe l’oeil walls and Titian’s Martyrdom of St. Lawrence.
●Church of Madonna dell’Orto – Campo de la Madonna de l’Orto; 011-39-041-275-0462; Tintoretto’s resting place in chapel to right of main apse; see his Last Judgment, Presentation of Virgin in Temple, and Worship of Golden Calf.
●Church of San Giobbe – Campo San Giobbe; 011-39-041-715-881; among Venice’s most important early Renaissance buildings; major works by Pietro Lombardo, Antonio Vivarini, and Girolamo Savoldo; ceiling by Luca della Robbia.
●Church of Scalzi – Fondamenta degli Scalzi; 011-39-041-715-115; baroque gem also known as Santa Maria di Nazareth; ceiling frescoes by Tiepolo.
●Jewish Ghetto – ghetto.it; founded on March 29, 1516 as Europe’s 1st Jewish ghetto; Jews forced to live there and cannot leave from sunset to dawn; area enclosed by gates and watched by guards; Jews allowed to practice only some professions: medicine (because most prepared and able to understand Arab writings); money-lending (because Catholicism forbids), merchantry, and strazzarioli (ragselling); exists until Napoleon conquers Venice and finally opens and eliminates all ghetto gates in 1797.
●Jewish Museum of Venice – Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-715-359; museoebraico.it; can book private tours of both ancient cemetery and museums.
●Palazzo Labia – Campo San Geremia; 011-39-041-715-101; palazzolabia.it; now RAI office; former palace with Tiepolo-painted ballroom.
●Schola Levantina – Campiello delle Schole, Jewish ghetto; 011-39-041-715-359 (tours); ghetto.it; 1st built in 1538; Baldassare Longhena and disciples make decorated wooden bima; also, Andrea Brustolon works on it towards 1600s’ end.
●Schola Spagnola – Jewish ghetto square; 011-39-041-715-359 (tours); ghetto.it; biggest venetian Schole; built during 16th Century’s latter half; rebuilt in 1635 by Baldassare Longhena and once towards 1800s’ end.
Castello (San Pietro di Castello & Sant’Elena)
●Arsenale – Campo dell’Arsenale; most of city’s naval shipyard under Navy control and off limits to public; even when closed, though, worth trip to see Porto Magna (Renaissance gateway guarded by marble lions).
●Cantiere Dordit – 625/A Sestiere Castello; 011-39-320-303-5929 or 011-39-041-520-3678; veniceboats.com/cantiere%20dordit.htm; shipyard among only 5 that still builds gondolas.
●Fondazione Scientifica Querini Stampalia – Santa Maria Formosa; 011-39-041-271-1411; querinistampalia.it; lovely collection and library.
●Via Garibaldi – Castello’s Michigan Avenue; also Venice’s driest spot.
●Gervasuti Foundation – Via Garibaldi (Fontamenta Sant’Ana); gervasutifoundation.com; located in Gervasuti cabinet-maker & joinery workshop space; renowned for excellence in shipbuilding & woodworking.
●Giardini – Viale dei Giardini; among Venice’s only greenspaces; views across to Lido.
●Museo Storico Navale – Riva San Blasio Castello; 011-39-041-244-1399 or 520-0276; marina.difesa.it; ship museum; perhaps more for ages 5-18.
●Palazzo Grimani – Santa Maria Formosa; 011-39-041-520-0345; palazzogrimani.org; prominent Venetian family’s 16th Century home, now open to public; all visitors must make advance reservations.
●San Francesco della Vigna – Campo di San Francesco della Vigna; 011-39-041-523-5341; churchesofvenice.co.uk/castello.htm; 1st Gothic-style, Renaissance church in Venice (1300); built over old vineyard.
●La Serra dei Giardini – 1254 Viale Giuseppe Garibaldi; 011-39-0412-960-360; serradeigiardini.org; restored 19th Century greenhouse & plant nursery; great place for coffee & wandering.
Dorsoduro (Giudecca & Isola Saccra Fisola)
●Chiesa Santa Maria della Salute – Punta della Dogana; 011-39-041-274-3928; vast, octagonal building built on platform made of 100K wooden piles; constructed of Istrian stone and marmorino (brick covered with marble dust); full of Marian symbolism – great dome represents her crown, cavernous interior her womb, 8 sides 8 points on her symbolic star; Baroque high altar, designed by Longhena himself, bears Byzantine Madonna and Child of 12th or 13th Century, brought from Crete by Francesco Morosini in 1670; Tintoretto contributed Marriage at Cana in great sacristy, which includes self-portrait and is considered among his best works; most represented artist is Titian, who painted St. Mark Enthroned with Sts. Cosmas, Damian, Sebastian and Roch, sacristy altarpiece, ceiling paintings of David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac, and Cain and Abel, 8 tondi of Church Doctors and Evangelists, and Pentecost in nave.
●Fondazione Emilio & Annabianca Vedova – at waterfront esplanade head; 011-39-041-523-9060; fondazionevedova.org/en; features 1 of modern Italy’s most reknowned artists’ works: Emilio Vedova; restored by Renzo Piano.
●Gallerie dell’Accademia – 1050 Campo della Carità (in Scuola della Carità); 011-39-041-520-0345; gallerieaccademia.org; Rooms 1-5: gallery layout loosely organized by style & theme from 14-18th Centuries CE; Room 1 includes Jacobello Alberegno’s late-14th Century CE Apocalypse (with Babylon whore riding hydra, babbling blood rivers from her mouth) & Paolo Veneziano’s 1553–59 CE Coronation of Mary (Jesus bestowing crown on his mother with gentle pat on head while before angelic orchestra); Room 2 includes Carpaccio’s Crucifixion and Glorification of Ten Thousand Martyrs of Mount Ararat (Harry’s Bar named its raw-beef dish after him) & Giovanni Bellini’s Pala di San Giobbe (sweet-faced Madonna and Child, emerging from dark niche as angels tune their instruments, martyrs surrounding them include Sts. Roch & Sebastian, suggesting work dates from Venice’s 2nd plague in 1478 CE); Room 4 is portrait-filled, with Hans Memling’s Portrait of Young Man & Giorgione’s sad-eyed La Vecchia (Old Woman); Rooms 6-10: features Tintoretto’s Creation of Animals & 1562 St. Mark Saving Saracen from Shipwreck (action-packed blockbuster), as well as Titian’s 1576 Pietà (possibly finished posthumously by Palma il Giovane), and Paolo Veronese’s freshly restored Feast in House of Levi (originally called Last Supper, but Inquisition condemned him for showing dogs, drunkards, dwarves, Muslims & Reformation-minded Germans cavorting with Apostle); Rooms 11-19: Venetian socialites hang over balconies in 1743–45 CE Tiepolo lunettes (originally in Scalzi Church); Rooms 12-18: showcase Canaletto’s sweeping views of Venice & Giorgione’s highly charged La Tempesta, as well as Lorenzo Lotto’s soul-searching Portrait of Young Scholar, Rosalba Carriera’s self-portrait, Pietro Longhi’s Dance Lesson & Giambattista Piazzetta’s Fortune-Teller; Rooms 20-24: Gentile Bellini’s & Vittore Carpaccio’s Miracles of True Cross; after careful restoration, original convent chapel (Room 23) is serene showstopper fronted by Bellini altarpiece; ornamental splendor reserved for Scuola della Carita’s boardroom (Sala dell’Albergo, newly restored, with lavishly carved ceiling and facing Antonio Vivarini’s wrap-around 1441-50 masterpiece, filled with fluffy-bearded saints keeping watchful eye on boardroom proceedings; Titian closes with 1534-39 CE Presentation of Virgin; finally, seek out Piero della Francesca’s Saint Jerome & Supplicant.
●Peggy Guggenheim Collection – Calle San Cristoforo; 011-39-041-240-5411; guggenheim-venice.it; among most comprehensive and important modern art collections in world; among Venice’s most visited attractions; paintings and sculptures assembled by eccentric and eclectic American expatriate Peggy Guggenheim; among major works are Magritte’s Empire of Light, Picasso’s La Baignade, Kandinsky’s Landscape with Church (with Red Spot), and Pollock’s Alchemy; also, several haunting canvases by Max Ernst, figures by Giacometti, Brancusi sculptures, and numerous works by Braque, Dali, Leger, Mondrian, Chagall, and Miro; directly on Grand Canal, in elegant 18th Century Palazzo Venier dei Leoni; check tourist office for update on museum hours; often open when many others closed and sometimes offers free admission; free permanent collection tours in English on Saturdays at 7 pm.
●Punta Della Dogana – Dorsoduro; 011-39-041-523-1680; palazzograssi.it; Francoise Pinault’s 2nd museum; perched at Grand Canal’s mouth; modern art.
●Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore – 195 Sestiere Giudecca; 011-39-041-275-0462; chorusvenezia.org; Church of Most Holy Redeemer; 16th Century CE Roman Catholic church; architect Andrea Palladio built as votive church to thank god for city’s deliverance from major plague outbreak; located on Canale della Giudecca waterfront; dominates Giudecca skyline; contains numerous paintings by artists including Francesco Bassano, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese.
Lido
●Alberoni Beach – Via Alberoni; venezia-alberoni.com; picturesque beach at Lido bottom; directly accessible from Venice by boat; mile-long stretch where lagoon meets sea; few restaurants and bars, where soft sand meets poplar trees.
●Jewish Cemetery – Riviera San Nicolo; 011-39-041-715-359; museoebraico.it; 14th Century graveyard; tours by appointment;
●Malamocco Driftwood Sculptures – Strada Vicinale Malamocco Alberoni; residents create at each season’s start (winter weather eventually destroys them).
Murano
●Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato – Calle San Donato; 011-39-041-523-0399; beautiful mosaic floors; among oldest churches on Venetian lagoon; last rebuilt 1140; excellent example of authentic Byzantine style architecture; behind altar is unique relic: 4 large bones said to belong to dragon slain by St. Donato.
●Church San Pietro Martire – Campiello Michieli, 3; 011-39-041-739-056; 2 paintings by Giovanni Bellini (Assumption of Virgin and Madonna with Doge Agostino Barbarigo).
●Carlo Moretti – Fondamenta Manin, 3; 011-39-041-736-588; carlomoretti.com; glasswork.
●Museo del Vetro – Fondamenta Giustinian, 8; 011-39-041-739-586; venetian-glass.info/demonstration.php; glass museum.
●S.A.L.I.R. – Fondamenta Manin, 3; 011-39-041-739-033; salir.it; impressive “hall of mirrors.”
Santa Croce
●Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art – Fondamente Pesaro; 011-39-041-524-0695; museiciviciveneziani.it; tremendous 19th-20th Century collection.
San Marco (San Giorgio Maggiore)
●Basilica di San Marco – 328 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-270-8311; basilicasanmarco.it; best time to visit is 6:45 a.m. mass because least crowded and often visiting choirs; small charge for 3 additional sections is well worth money because you want to see: Chancel (see Pala d’Oro altarpiece); Treasury (Byzantine riches plundered from Constantinople); and Loggia-Museo Marciano (Loggia has views over Piazza worth trip alone and Museo has richest Constantinople booty of all, 4 bronze horse statues that once topped Constantinople Hippodrome – the ones facing the piazza are modern replicas).
●Church of San Salvador – Campo San Salvador; 011-39-041-523-6717; chiesasansalvador.it; 16th Century church; has 2 Titian paintings; attendants will grant access to sacristy, where frescoes create celestial-garden-within-monastic-walls illusion.
●Chiesa di San Vidal – Campiello San Vidal; 011-39-041-529-8711; turismovenezia.it; built by Doge Vitale Falier in 11th Century to honor namesake saint; updated by Antonio Gaspari to celebrate Doge Francesco Morosoni’s triumph over Turkish foes in Moorea, with Palladian facade in 1706-14; since deconsecrated; now serves as Interpreti Veneziani’s chief venue and ticket point; inside is St. Vitale on Horseback and 8 Saints, uncharacteristically gore-free work by Vittore Carpaccio.
●Doge’s Palace – 1 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-271-5911; museiciviciveneziani.it; Palazzo Ducale; make sure to book private Itinerari Segreti tour (shows attic prison cell from which Casanova escaped in 1756); make sure to see Tintoretto’s Paradiso.
●La Fenice – Campo San Fantin; 011-39-041-786-511; teatrolafenice.it; restored theater with 1854 painted ceiling by Giambattista Meduna.
●Fortuny Museum – Campo San Beneto; 011-39-041-241-1942; museiciviciveneziani.it; Mario Fortuny – Spanish expatriate artist and textile designer museum.
●Interpreti Veneziani – Campiello San Vidal (at Chiesa di San Vidal); 011-39-041-275-0223; interpretiveneziani.com/en; classical music performances, primarily at Chiesa di San Vidal.
●Museo Correr – 52 Piazza San Marco; 011-39-041-240-5211; museiciviciveneziani.it; artworks, maps, model ships, and statues acquired and/or created before 1797; especially worth seeing are Canova statues in Napoleonic wing, Sale Monumenale in Marciana Library (designed by Jacopo Sansovino to look like jewel box), and 2 paintings – Antonello da Messina’s Pieta with 3 Angels and Vittore Carpaccio’s 2 Venetian Noblewomen.
●Palazzo Grassi – Campo San Samuele; 011-39-041-523-1680; palazzograssi.it; overlooking Grand Canal, Palazzo Grassi presents major temporary exhibitions, some of which are based in whole or in part from its François Pinault Collection.
●Palazzo Papadopoli – Calle della Malvasia; 011-39-041-099-4582; a-venetiandesign.com; Palazzo not open to general public so typically just for outside viewing; among largest privately owned palaces on Grand Canal; belongs to glass collector and designer Giberto Arrivabene, whose family has lived there since 1830s; phone number and website are for Arrivabene’s glassware collection – expensive but highly recommended.
●Ponte dei Sospiri – Rio di Palazzo (steps from Piazza San Marco); built in early 1600s; Baroque style bridge connects Doge’s Palace to what was once prison; per legend, those who cross it have dramatic passage because cross only once (thereafter, in prison and/or Doge’s Palace Inquisitors’ Room, so bridge’s stone-barred windows provide last view); in reality, prison for petty criminals only so no executions; name “Bridge of Sighs” comes from Byron poem; also featured in Poe’s short story, The Assignation.
Santa Croce
●Ca’Pesaro – Fondamenta Ca’Pesaro; 011-39-041-721-127 (galleria) or 011-39-041-524-1173 (oriental museum); museiciviciveneziani.it; 2 museums in 1: galleria – modern art and oriental museum; make sure to see Ippolito Caffi’s late 19th Century depiction of fireworks over Venice.
●Campo San Giacomo Dell’Orio – pretty square that epitomizes “untouristed” Venice.
●Palazzo Mocenigo – Salizada San Stae; 011-39-041-721-798; museiciviciveneziani.it; 18th Century Venetian costumes; magnificent.
●San Simeon Piccolo – 698 Fondamenta San Simeon Piccolo; venezia.fssp.it/pages/intro.php; traditionally founded in 9th Century; 1st documented reference is 1271; Giovanni Scalfarotto (Piranesi was his apprentice) rebuilt completely demolished original church in 1718.
Torcello
●Santa Fosca Chiesa – Piazza Torcello; 011-39-041-296-0630; built for Saint Fosca’s body; make sure to see also Attila’s throne.
●Santa Maria Assunta Chiesa – Piazza Torcello; 011-39-041-296-0630; founded in 7th Century and rebuilt in 11th Century; Venice’s 1st cathedral; vast mosaic depicting Last Judgment, and of Madonna in apse semi-dome (considered most beautiful Byzantine art in Italy); climb bell tower for view; make sure to see Campanile and Museum.
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