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If you're only in town for a day and it's your first ever visit, you will find it hard to resist the more obvious sights. Instead of the classic stroll from the train station to Piazza San Marco, you could catch the vaporetto down the Grand Canal to Accademia and visit the Gallerie dell'Accademia, followed by the Peggy Guggenheim collection. Proceed to the grand Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute. After visiting this church, catch a vaporetto across the mouth of the canal to San Marco, where you can finally see what you have been waiting for: the famous square and its extraordinary basilica. If you have time and energy you could explore the innards of the Palazzo Ducale and head up to the top of the Campanile for views over the city.
Island Hopping
It's possible to spend a day devoted entirely to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano is the centre of Venice's highly skilled glass manufacturing industry and Burano is famous for its lace. Burano also happens to be a pretty fishing village, its streets and canals lined with bright, pastel-coloured houses. Give yourself time to wander into the quietest corners and shady parks. Walk over the wooden bridge to neighbouring Mazzorbo, a larger island with little more than a few houses, a couple of trattorie and open green space. Delightful Torcello, with its overgrown main square and sparse, scruffy-looking buildings and monuments, once rivalled Venice. Now it's home to fewer than 80 people.
Nooks & Crannies
Venetian veterans could try taking a vaporetto to Rialto and explore the produce markets and shops in this area before settling in to an early lunch. Proceed through the busy lanes towards the magnificent Chiesa di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and the nearby Scuola Grande di San Rocco. After such a culture hit you might wander into Campo Santa Margherita for a drink, followed by a lazy stroll through the Dorsodura area.
A Top Day in Venice
The day begins with obligatory coffee and croissants on Campo Santa Maria Formosa. In anticipation of a day's walking, I give myself time to digest while watching the comings and goings on the square. Fed and watered, I wander over in the direction of Rialto, stopping at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi to remind myself that even a Post Office in Venice is palatial. Ignoring the uninspiring shops on Rialto Bridge I walk up the outside steps, taking a moment to watch the traffic on the Grand Canal, and over into Rialto Market. Even if I'm not buying, the fresh produce stalls and the splendid fish market are an insight into the Venetian way of life - watching customers lug heavy bags I wonder if they ever wish the city had room for cars. On my way through San Polo I potter around the shops, eschewing the questionable Murano glass fish-in-bowls for a bargain pair of fishnet tights or a beaded necklace. My stomach's now rumbling and the elaborately decorated Caffè Frari is perfect for a ham and cheese panino (sandwich) and a flick through the paper. Refuelled, I pop into Venice's largest church, the Franciscan Chiesa di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari then get my Tintoretto fix from the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. All that culture's made me thirsty and my watch is chiming ' spritz o'clock' (Italian white wine and soda with Campari or Aperol), so I head to Campo Santa Margarita for a glass of the Venetian aperitif with Aperol rather than Campari (too bitter for my sweet tooth). Kids are playing football, young Venetian studs are checking out glamorous-looking girls and families are meeting up on this lively square. Dinner is a real treat and I make my way to Zattere to get the vaporetto over to Giudecca and Cip's, the Hotel Cipriani's less formal restaurant. As I sup on beautiful sea-bream and admire the view of St. Mark's and Dorsoduro I wonder if there's really any other way to live. Later the gleaming hotel boat chauffeurs me back to my Venetian home, sated and content.
Author: Laetitia Clapton
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