Venice – there’s no other city like it. It has an otherworldly charm and magic that captures your soul and makes you fall in love with it as soon as you hop off the vaparetto or walk through the doors of the central station right onto the Grand Canal. I think that has something to do with the combination of the crumbling architecture, the tranquil waterways and the special quality of light that gives everything it touches a soft glow. That and the innate fragility of the place, which makes you feel grateful to see it still standing as you walk over it’s umpteen bridges and hear the sound of lapping water.
Yes, it can be overrun by tourists, but you don’t have to venture far to get a more local feel for the city. Take your time and soak up the atmosphere away from the crowds, whether that’s people watching from a campo, sipping an espresso at a counter or sampling some cicchetti at an ancient wine bar. Then put Google maps away and lose yourself in the maze-like alleyways – you’re never far from a sign directing you to San Marco or Rialto so it’s hard to get truly lost.
I have very fond memories of Venice, dating back to when I was a young architectural history student working at the British Pavilion during the Architecture Biennale. It truly was a unique place to live and I feel privileged that I got to live like a local for six weeks back in 2012.
This Venice travel guide has a mix of much-loved favourites and newly discovered addresses from my most recent trip to see the 2023 edition of the iconic international exhibition. Here’s you’ll find a mix of cultural destinations, architectural gems and authentic eateries for a truly Venetian experience!
All images Cate St Hill
Venice travel guide
PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK
You’re bound to eat well in Venice, if you avoid the tourist traps around the perimeter of St Mark’s Square – this is not somewhere to order a pizza! The best osteria’s and bacaro’s (a typical Venetian wine bar) can be found hidden down winding lanes and smaller passages. If you’re in Venice you have to sample some cicchetti – these little snacks were traditionally sold by wine merchants coming to the city to accompany a local red or white wine. Typically eaten while standing at a bar, grab a plate with a sample of toppings and enjoy by a canalside (but watch out for sneaky seagulls who will snatch a whole cicchetto given half the chance!). Just don’t sit and eat them on a bridge – it’s a Venetian faux pas. The most authentic to Venice include: baccalà (salted cod) and sarde in saor (sweet and sour sardines with raisins and pine nuts).
RESTAURANTS
– Al Pesador Osteria – Rialto – a restaurant conveniently located next to the Rialto bridge, looking over the Grand Canal. Get a glass of wine and plate of cicchetti and enjoy looking over the water
– Cantina do Spade – Rialto – an ancient 600-year-old Venetian tavern serving traditional cuisine and cicchetti – Casanova is said to have come here with his many lovers!
– Cà D’oro alla Vedova – Cannaregio – a cute restaurant serving classic Venetian cuisine – it’s popular so it is worth booking ahead for this one
– Taverna al Remer – Cannaregio – a cosy restaurant and cocktail bar hidden down an alleyway away from the crowds
– Corte Sconta – Castello – a charming trattoria with a vine-covered courtyard, ideal if it’s warm and you want to sit outside
– Al Covo – Castello – an authentic family-run restaurant, if you want a slightly fancier meal. Nearly all their vegetable produce comes from a garden on the island of Sant’Erasmo
– Osteria Enoteca ai Artisti – Dorsoduro – A fine dining restaurant known for its fish and seafood
– Venissa – Mazzorbo – A Michelin-starred restaurant and sustainable vineyard on one of the islands within the Venetian Lagoon. Go for a wine tour, enjoy dinner and stay the night
WINE BARS
– Cantine del Vino già Schiavi – Dorsoduro – a small family-run bacaro dating back to the 19th century on a small canal opposite a squero (gondola boatyard). The freshly made cicchetti are more unusual than you’ll find elsewhere, with flavours such as smoked swordfish, tuna with cacao and octopus salad
– The Caffe Rosso – Dorsoduro – a historical local cafe in Campo Santa Margherita that’s popular with students and perfect for people watching. In the 19th century it would host lively debates with the Osteria al Capon opposite
– El Refolo – Castello – a casual wine bar that’s perfect for a spritz after visiting the nearby (art or architecture) biennale or giardini – they make their own Campari style spirit
– Bar All’Arco – Rialto – a small bar popular with locals, serving cicchetti using produce from the nearby Rialto fish market
– Vino Vero – Cannaregio – a bar opened in 2014 with a selection2 of natural wines from the world, if you fancy a break from all the spritz!
– Al Timon Bragozzo – Cannaregio – A casual bar for spritz and (more!) cicchetti, sit on the canalside or the bar’s own boat
CAFES
– Caffè La Serra – Castello – A beautiful cafe housed in a restored 19th-century glasshouse, stop there for a coffee if you’re on the way to the biennale
– Pasticceria Rosa Salva – Campo S.S. Giovanni e Paolo – They also have one near St Mark’s Square, but this one is more authentic. Have an espresso standing at the bar or enjoy a pastry in the sunshine of the square
PLACES TO SHOP
I don’t think you really go to Venice to shop… You’re more likely, instead, to stumble across a little antique paper shop or mask maker while getting lost in the back alleys. Still, here’s a few places that are worth popping into for a browse.
– Patience – Calle Lion – a small little shop in Castello, making handmade clothes created with respect towards the environment
– Antica Legatoria Piazzesi – Ponte Zaguri – Venice’s oldest paper shop that began as a bookbinding business began in 1890. Here you’ll find hand-printed paper and stationery
– Salice – San Marco – A teeny tiny shop with sustainably made women’s clothes
– Libreria Acqua Alta – Santa Maria Formosa – A famous bookshop known for its piles of waterlogged books and resident cats. To me, it had become a bit of an Instagram gimmick…
THINGS TO DO
I’ve been to Venice a number of times and I always have my favourite places that I like to return to time and time again. Of course you can be the typical tourist and tick off St Mark’s Square, the Doge’s Palace and the Gallerie dell’Accademia, but you can read about them in any old travel guide! Here’s a few other gems that offer contemporary culture, modern art and architectural interest.
– La Biennale di Venezia – Arsenale and Giardini – an international cultural exhibition that alternates between art and architecture each year. Spread across the Arsenale, a former shipyard, and the national pavilions of the Giardini, the exhibition asks artists, architects and makers to respond to a specific topical theme. It’s a vast show, spread across 7,000 sqm, so it pays to dedicate at least a whole day to it. www.labiennale.org
– Fondazione Querini Stampalia – Campo Santa Maria Formosa – I think this is one of my favourite pieces of architecture in Venice, hidden in an unassuming corner of a square in Castello. The ground floor of this historic building was reconfigured by Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa to embrace the ingress of Venice’s famous Acqua Alta. The highlight is the tranquil, Japanese-inspired garden at the back of the museum www.querinistampalia.org
– Olivetti exhibition centre – Piazza San Marco – Another Carlo Scarpa masterpiece, created for the typewriter brand in 1957-58. The centrepiece is a marble staircase with cantilevered stone slabs that are supported by slender brass rods. https://fondoambiente.it/negozio-olivetti-eng
– Peggy Guggenheim collection – Dorsoduro – A small, intimate museum housed in Peggy Guggenheim’s former home, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, with a grand terrace looking over the Grand Canal. Here you’ll find modern masterpieces from the likes of Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. www.guggenheim-venice.it/en/the-museum/
– Punta alla Dogana – Dorsoduro – Walk further along to the tip of Dorsoduro and you will come across this contemporary art museum in one of Venice’s old customs buildings. The building was restored by Tadao Ando in 2009 and now plays host to the Pinault collection. www.pinaultcollection.com/palazzograssi
– Palazzo Grassi – Campo San Samuele – A contemporary art museum paired with the Punta alla Dogana and also owned by François Pinault. Exhibitions tickets get you into both venues so don’t pay twice. www.pinaultcollection.com/palazzograssi
– Fondazione Prada – Calle Corner – The Venetian outpost of the Fondazione Prada, housed in a beautiful Baroque palazzo, Ca’ Corner della Regina. www.fondazioneprada.org/visit/visit-venice
– Giardini Reali – Piazza San Marco – A free botanical oasis right in the middle of the city that reopened in 2019 after a five year restoration and decades of neglect. www.visitvenezia.eu
PLACES TO STAY
– Venice can be expensive and quickly books up so often your best bet is an Airbnb – we stayed in this cute apartment, which was the perfect location for the biennale.
– Casa Burano – Burano – a hotel owned by the Michelin-starred restaurant and vineyard Venissa, on the colourful island of Burano. casaburano.it
– Il Palazzo Experimental – Fondamenta Zattere Al Ponte Lungo, Dorsoduro – 32 elegantly designed rooms and suites designed by Dorothee Meilichzon, with a restaurant and cocktail club. palazzoexperimental.com
So there’s my Venice travel guide! I always get such lovely comments about my travel guides so I hope you love the city as much as I do – please let me know if you visit and enjoy any of these recommendations, I’d love to hear from you.
