Venice Travel Guide

Riding the Grand Canal in a Gondola: Just before sunset, order some delectable sandwiches from Harry's Bar and a bottle of chilled prosecco, then take someone you love on a gondola ride along the Grand Canal for the boat trip of a lifetime.

Sipping Cappuccino on Piazza San Marco: Select a choice spot on one of the world's most famous squares, order a cappuccino, listen to the classical music, and absorb the special atmosphere of Venice.

Sunning on the Lido: The world has seen better beaches, but few sights equal the parade of flesh and humanity of this fashionable beach on a hot summer day.

Contemplating Giorgione's Tempest: If you have time to see only one painting, make it this one at the Accademia. The artist's haunting sense of oncoming menace superimposed over a bucolic setting will stay with you long after you leave Venice.

Spending a Day on Torcello: Of all the islands in the lagoon, our favorite is Torcello, the single best day trip from Piazza San Marco. Visit to see Santa Maria Assunta, the first cathedral of Venice and home to splendid 11th- and 12th-century mosaics. But also come to explore the island, wandering around at leisure in a place time seems to have forgotten. Follow your discoveries with a lunch of cannelloni at Locanda Cipriani, and the day is yours.

Making a Pub Crawl in Search of Cicchetti: There's no better way to escape the tourists and mingle with locals than wandering Venice's back streets in search of local color, drink, and cicchetti (the local version of tapas). By the time you've made the rounds, you'll have had a great time and a full meal -- everything from deep-fried mozzarella and artichoke hearts to mixed fish fries and pizza. Finish, of course, with an ice cream at a gelateria. A good place to start a pub-crawl is Campo San Bartolomeo near the Rialto Bridge -- one of Venice's authentic neighborhoods.

Paying a Visit to the World's Greatest Outdoor Market: When you tire of Gothic glory and High Renaissance masterpieces, head for the Il Mercato di Rialto. Here you can see what the Venetians are going to have for dinner. Barges, or mototopi, arrive throughout the day loaded with the rich produce of the Veneto area. Somehow, blood-red oranges are bloodier here, fresh peas more tender and greener than elsewhere, and red radicchios redder. Sample a pastry fresh from a hot oven at some little hole in the wall, then cap your visit at the vendors' favorite place, the Cantina do Mori, where you can belt down a glass of wine made from Tocai grapes. There's been a tavern at this site since 1462.

Wandering Around Dorsoduro: Dorsoduro attracts everybody coming to see the Peggy Guggenheim Collection or the Accademia -- but few stick around to explore the neighborhood in any depth. Susanna Agnelli, sister of Gianni Versace, keeps a place here, as do many wealthy industrialists who could afford to live anywhere. Yet parts are so seedy as to look haunted. The most intriguing promenade is the Zattere, running the length of the district along the Giudecca Canal.

Visiting the Island of the Dead: For a Venetian, "the last gondola ride" is to San Michele, in a traditional funeral gondola decorated with golden angels. San Michele is a walled cemetery island shaded by massive cypresses, and there's no place quite like it. Celebrities are buried here, but so are ordinary Venetians. Time stands still in more ways than one at this cemetery. There's no more room here; today, Venice has to send its dead to the mainland for burial. But poet Ezra Pound, who lived in Venice from 1959 until his death in 1972, made it just in time.

Seeing the Sun Rise on the Lagoon: For us, there's no more enthralling experience than to get up before dawn and cross the lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore. Architect Andrea Palladio knew exactly what he was doing when he created the church on this exact spot. The church faces Piazza San Marco and the entrance to the Grand Canal. While the tourist zillions are still asleep, waiting to overtake the city, you'll have Venice to yourself as the sun comes up. The architectural ensemble seen in the first glow of dawn, the panorama in all directions as the city awakens, ranks as one of the greatest man-made spectacles on earth.

Experiencing Venice at 2am: You'll truly know the meaning of the word spectacular when sitting at 2am on an outdoor seat on vaporetto no. 1 as it circles Venice. Only the most diehard night owls will be onboard with you. With its twinkling lights and "Titian blue" skies, Venice at this time takes on an aura unique in Europe. It's very quiet at this hour (except for the sound of the vaporetto's motor). Perhaps a gondola will silently glide by. The buildings themselves take on a different mood and color, looking like ghostly mansions from another time. When you get back home, this experience may be the one that lingers longer in your memory than any other.