Things to do in Venice
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Basilica di San Marco
Luminous angels trumpet the way into San Marco in glittering mosaics above vast portals. Inside, the soaring stone structure still sets standards for razzle-dazzle, from the intricate geometry of 12th-century polychrome marble floors to 11th- to 15th-century mosaic domes glittering with millions of gilt-glass tesserae (tiles). This show-stopper took a brains trust of Mediterranean artisans almost 800 years and grand larceny to complete. Legend has it that Venetian merchants smuggled the corpse of St Mark out of Egypt in 828; the arrival of St Mark’s body in Venice is depicted in mosaics dating from 1270 on the left of the facade. Riots and fires thrice destroyed exterior …
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Palazzo Ducale
Don’t be fooled by its Gothic elegance: this building was all business, from medieval carved stone capitals depicting key Venetian guilds along the arcade, to Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon’s 15th-century PortadellaCarta (Paper Door), the bulletin board for government decrees facing the piazza. The building was damaged by fire in 1577, but Antonio da Ponte (who designed the Ponte di Rialto) restored it.
Entering through the colonnaded courtyard, you’ll spot Sansovino’s statues of Mars and Neptune flanking the Scala dei Giganti (Giants’ Staircase), which Antonio Rizzo built as a suitably grand entrance for Venice’s dignitaries and which is currently undergoing restora…
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Peggy Guggenheim Collection
After tragically losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim befriended Dadaists, dodged Nazis, and amassed avant-garde works by 200 modern artists at her palatial home on the Grand Canal. Peggy’s Palazzo Venier dei Leoni became a modernist shrine, chronicling surrealism, Italian futurism, and abstract expressionism, with a subtext of Peggy’s romantic pursuits – the collection includes key works by Peggy’s ex-husband Max Ernst and Jackson Pollock, among Peggy’s many rumoured lovers. Peggy collected according to her own convictions rather than for prestige or style, so her collection includes inspired folk art and lesser-known local artists alongside artis…
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Trattoria Corte Sconta
The Biennale jet set seeks out this vine-covered corte sconta (hidden courtyard) for imaginative housemade pasta and ultrafresh, visually striking seafood. Crustaceans are arranged on a platter like dabs of paint on an artist’s palette, black squid-ink pasta is artfully topped with bright orange squash and tender cappesante (scallops) sticking out their red feet, and roast eel loops like the River Brenta on the plate with a drizzle of balsamic reduction.
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Antiche Carampane
Hidden in the once-shady lanes behind Ponte delle Tette (Tits Bridge), this culinary indulgence is a trick to find, and you may wonder who you have to, erm, know to get a reservation. The sign proudly announcing ‘no tourist menu’ signals a welcome change: say goodbye to soggy lasagne and hello to lagoon-fresh crudi (Venetian sushi), bottarga pasta, and filetto di San Pietro (steak with artichokes or radicchio trevisano ).
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Caffè dei Frari
Take your espresso with a heaping of history at the century-old carved wooden bar, or recover from sensory overload of I Frari with a sandwich, glass of wine and easy conversation at dinky indoor cafe tables.
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Gallerie dell’Accademia
Hardly academic, these galleries contain more murderous intrigue, forbidden romance, shameless politicking and near-riots than the most outrageous Venetian parties. The walls of the former Santa Maria della Carità convent complex maintained their serene composure for centuries, with the outstanding architectural assistance of Bartolomeo Bon, Palladio and Carlo Scarpa – but ever since Napoleon installed his haul of Venetian art trophies in this convent in 1807, there’s been nonstop visual drama inside these walls. To guide you through the ocular onslaught, visits are loosely organised by style, theme and painter from the 14th to 18th centuries, beginning with Paolo Venezia…
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St Mark's Square
Napoleon dubbed it the 'finest drawing room in Europe', and visitors and pigeons alike have been flocking here for centuries to strut and crow. There is a constant carnival atmosphere thanks to the cacophony of duelling cafe orchestras, cooing pigeons, and constant traffic of waiters serving alfresco diners.
Now that most visitors arrive in Venice via the railway station, the magical symbolism of the waterside Piazzetta San Marco has to a great extent been lost.
The piazzetta's two columns bear emblems of the city's patron saints: the winged lion of St Mark and the figure of St Theodore. From the Campanile (bell tower), you can enjoy breathtaking views. St Mark's Square i…
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Taverna del Campiello Remer
Off the tourist routes and close to any Venetian foodie’s heart, you’ll find this vaulted cavern that opens onto a secluded square along the Grand Canal. Buffet-style lunches come fully loaded with affettati (Trevisana sausages and cured meats) and freshly made pasta for about €20. At dinner, abundant primi are served family-style with about a pound of pasta for two, and diners valiantly struggle to leave room for the grilled catch of the day and the obligatory tiramisu. Specials are recited rather than written down, and the sign says: menú turistico non ghe xe (there’s no tourist menu). Book ahead, or brave the crowds for an aperitivo and cicheti buffet.
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Naranzaria
East meets West in this hip corner bistro with sushi and Venetian-style cicheti, along with light summer dishes. Swilled down with fine local and Friuli wines, this microscopically sized locale with cool ambient music adds a metro touch to the Rialto market bustle. Grab a table upstairs in winter or a canalside position in summer. (The Naranzaria was long the orange market. Oranges were prized by mariners not for making juice but as a preventive measure against scurvy while at sea.)
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Museo della Musica
Housed in the restored neoclassical Chiesa di San Maurizio, this collection of rare and often very curious instruments spans the 17th to 19th centuries and is accompanied by informative panels on the life and times of Antonio Vivaldi. To hear how these instruments sound in action, check out the kiosk with a range of early-music CDs and ticket point for Interpreti Veneziani, who fund this museum and play museum-piece instruments with modern verve around the corner at San Vidal.
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Camuffo
Kids, entomologists and glass collectors troop over the bridge, under the portico and into the second calle (alleyway) on the left to arrive at the city’s finest selection of lampworked glass beetles and dragonflies. With a miniature blowtorch and the patience of a saint, Signor Camuffo adds metallic foils to molten glass to make shimmering wings. Between bugs, he’ll chat about his work and sell you strands of Murano glass beads at excellent prices.
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Osteria alla Vedova
Culinary convictions run deep here at one of Venice’s oldest osterie, which is why you won’t find spritz or coffee on the menu or pay more than €1 for a bar snack of Venetian meatballs – best not to get them started about spaghetti Bolognese. Enjoy superior seasonal cicheti at strictly fair prices at the bar, or call ahead to claim a wood table that has weathered a thousand elbows in post-pasta stupors.
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La Pietà
Originally called Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione but fondly nicknamed La Pietà, this Giorgio Massari–designed church is best known for its association with the composer Vivaldi, who was concertmaster here in the early 18th century – hence its current sporadic use as a concert hall. The original church was located next door, and a few fragments of it are visible in the Hotel Metropole.
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Gloria Astolfo
Take your fashion cues from Venetian painting masterpieces at this Venetian bead artisan’s showcase. Garlands of beaded tiger lilies make open-necked T-shirts instantly glamorous, and those baroque pearl earrings would gently tickle your shoulders if you started to nod off at La Fenice. Prices starting at €35 are surprisingly down-to-earth for jewellery this original, especially so close to Piazza San Marco.
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Al Nono Risorto
Manifesto or menu? At Al Nono Risorto, pizzas are listed alongside urgent action alerts: ‘No abandoning animals!’, ‘More rights for gays and domestic partners!’ Prices are left of centre, radical-chic servers can’t be bothered with petty bourgeois orders, and on sunny days, all of Venice converges on the garden for squid with polenta, the bargain house prosecco, and cross-partisan bonding.
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Hostaria Da Franz
Known in Venice as home to one of the best tiramisus in the world, Da Franz is also a phenomenal seafood stop (trying to get a table here during the Biennale is impossible). Two dishes spring to mind: the melt-in-mouth seppie (cuttlefish) prepared in black ink, and the anguila (eel), prepared according to grandma's secret recipes as a grilled fillet - surprising and delicious.
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Ae Oche
Architecture students and budget-minded foodies converge here for a choice of 70-plus wood-fired pizzas and ale at excellent prices. Extreme eaters order the lip-buzzing mangiafuoco (fire-eater) with hot salami, Calabrese peppers and Tabasco sauce, while Palladio scholars stick with the classic white estiva with rocket, seasoned Grana Padano cheese and cherry tomatoes.
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Highlights Of Italy
8 days (ex Venice)
by Intrepid
Lose yourself in enchanting Venice city, Feast on scrumptious seafood on Italy's coast, Travel down the Cinque Terre's rugged coastal path, Witness a golden sun…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,480 -
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Millevini
For the price of a souvenir T-shirt, a top-notch Veneto vintage recommended by well-versed staff could become a highlight of your visit – beyond DOC prosecco, there are Veneto Merlots with gumption, and surprisingly velvety Valpollicellas. This brick wine-cellar is right at the foot of the Rialto bridge, a convenient stop if you want to toast the sunset on your hotel terrace.
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Osteria Mocenigo
A young and enthusiastic team serves you in this smallish but welcoming Venetian eatery. Exposed timber beams and burnt brown floor tiles give the place a sense of warmth, but it is unmistakeably fresh and modern - no attempt at recreating ye olde Venice here. Try the insalata di piovra (octopus salad, around €12).
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Tre Spiedini Da Bes
A classic osteria where you can crowd in for no-nonsense food. Choose from several broths and pasta for the first course and then dig into, say, a slab of sole for the main. It's a typically cramped Venetian locale, with ponderous timber ceiling beams and all sorts of paraphernalia hanging on the walls.
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Schegge
Go incognito in style, with highly original masquerade masks revealing influences as diverse as Gothic architecture and Modigliani. Well into the night, you’ll find this dedicated mother-daughter team wielding tiny paintbrushes, coaxing minute baroque tendrils into bloom along the side of a Klimt mask.
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Pasticceria Tonolo
Dire B&B breakfasts with packaged croissants are corrected at Tonolo, which serves flaky apfelstrudel (apple pastry) and oozing pain au chocolat (chocolate croissants). Chocolate-topped beignets and espresso are filled with hazelnut mousse as rich as a Venetian doge at tax time.
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Da Nico
Gelato to go is half-price at the bar, but sunny days are meant for lazing away dockside with Da Nico’s gianduiotto, a slab of hazelnut gelato submerged under panna (whipped cream), or panna in ghiaccio, frozen whipped cream sandwiched between cookies.
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