Venice Highlights

Canal Grande

City Layout

Most of Venice may be a maze of canals and alleys but there are particular places where people walk or gather, usually campi (squares) or fondamente (waterside promenades). The city is divided into six sestrieri: to the north and east of Grand Canal, San Marco is in the center, Castello to the east and Cannaregio to the west; to the south and west, Dorsoduro lies across the Grand canal from San Marco with San Polo, then Santa Croce to the north.  The aquatic highway by which most of the sestrieri are reached is the main street of the city and that is, of course, the Grand canal.

The Grand Canal

Following the course of an original creek through the muddy islands of the lagoon, the serpentine canal sweeps in two great curves from what is now the Santa Lucia railway station to the Basin of San Marco. it varies in width from 130 to 230 feet, has a max depth of 18 feet and is crossed by three bridges - the Scalzi, the Rialto and the Accademia and seven traghetto (ferry gondola)routes. Travelling eastwards along the Grand canal, some of the principal buildings between the railway station and the Rialto Bridge are, on the left hand side, the Scalzi, San Geremia and San Marcuola churches and the palaces Ca'Labia, Ca Vendramin - Calergiand the Ca'd'Oro. On the right hand side are the San Simeone Piccolo and San Stae churches, the palaces Fondaco dei Turchi and Ca'Favretto  and then the fish, fruit and vegetable markets just before the Rialto Bridges. Between the Rialto and the Accademia bridges are, on the left hand side, the church of San Samuele and the Ca'Mocenigo
                                                                     The most romantic views in Venice


 

Cafe Florian

Piazza San Marco

The Piazza San Marco is the heart of Venice. When Napoleon conquered the Venetian Republic he called ,the most elegant drawing room in Europe', and so it  still is. At the eastern end stands the Basilica di San Marco with its Byzantine domes; to one side is its campanile, the Piazzetta outside the Doges Palace and the Basin of San marco; to the other the Clock Tower and the Piazzetta dei Leoncini, named after the red marble lions standing there. The north side of the Piazza is bounded by the Procuratie Vecchie, the former offices of the Republic's administration, with an arcade of shops below and the Cafe Quadri, once patronised by the Austrian occupiers of Venice. On the south side are the former administration building, the Procuratie Nuove, with another arcade of shops and the Cafe Florian, the favorite of Venetian patriots during the Austrian occupation. At the western end of the Piazza, the church of San Geminiano was demolished on Napoleon's orders and a new arcade with a ballroom above was built. The two granite columns near the water's edge in the Piazzetta were set up in the 12-th century; one is surmounted by a stone Lon of St. Mark, the other by the figure of St. Theodore, the first patron saint of the city, proudly wielding shield and spear.

Cafe Quadri

Promenades and Squares

The Riva degli Shiavoni is the principal waterside promenade of Venice, running eastwards from the Doges Palace to the Ca'di Dio canal, where its name changes; then continuing to the Giardini (public gardens. After the Doges Palace and the adjoining State Prison comes the Hotel Danieli and a succession of other grand hotels facing the Basin of San Marco. The wide, paved Riva, broken by a succession of bridges over canals, is cluttered with cafe tables and souvenir - sellers, stalls at its western end, while its waterside is busy with vaporetto piers and the pleasure boats and tugs that moor there. Leading from the Riva to the north are many alleys and archways running into the maze of the city and to a few squares, notably the Campo San Zaccaria and the Campo Bandiera e Moro. Beyond the canal leading to the Arsenale, lie the Giardini, the public gardens, rather dusty and unkempt but with fine tall trees, among which are the pavilions where the Biennale art exhibition is held. This rare open space is where Napoleon demolished the buildings to lay out defensive batteries.

View over Canal Grande

Inexpensive Hotels in Venice

The choice of pleasant accommodation for visitors on a low budget is limited, but there are some gems of pensioni with historical or literary associations or fine views to compensate for any lack of luxury.

Bucintoro - The best view of Venice from any hotel is from here. All the bedroom windows overlook the Riva degli Schiavoni, the Basin of San Marco and the island of San Giorgio, the Salute and the Doges Palace beyond. Run by a delightful family, it is cosy rather than smart and has its own restaurant, so offering half-board.

Calcina  - another fine view of water - in this casethe canale Giudecca - is from the Calcina, the small hotel on the Zattere, where Ruskin stayed while writing The Stones of Venice. Partly modernized and lacking some of its former modest charm, it is a friendly little hotel and a favorite with British visitors.





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Venice Islands
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Venice Islands

Islands

Scattered across nearly 200 square miles of the Venetian lagoon are some 40 islands. Half of them are now deserted, while those still inhabited may be thriving communities or isolated institutions - a prison, a hospital or a religious retreat - and a few are used for public or private recreation. Enough of them can be visited to add another dimension to a holiday in Venice. The main Venice islands are very well serviced by vaporetto, but the others can only be reached by water-taxi. 

                                                                            Shopping in Venice

                                               Burano

San Polo

The fishermen's and lace makers island with a population of about 5 000 lies more than five miles to the northeast of Venice. While Murano is work a day and slightly dishevelled,  Burano is neat and clean and its multi-colored cottages lining little canals make it a perfect subject for photographs. Burano's character has been shaped by its industries - the robust way of life of its fishermen and boat -builders and the delicacy of its lacemakers skills. Usually women can be seen making lace outside the doors of their cottages - although they are now dwindling in number - and their products (as well as embroidery from Hong Kong) are on sale at stalls and local shops.
There are few buildings of note but the church of San Martino contains a painting of the Crucifixtion by the elder Tiepolo and boasts the most alarmingly tilted campanile of them all. Vaporetto: route 12

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Chioggia

Gondolas & Vaporetto

Once an island, Chioggia is now, like Venice, connected to the mainland by a causeway; unlike Venice, several of its canals have been filled in to become roads for cars. In the far south of the lagoon, 16 miles from Venice, it has grown from a fishing port to an important town of some 55 000 inhabitants. Now, in essence, it belongs to the mainland rather than the lagoon.

Much of the town, particularly around the remaining canals, is reminiscent of Venice and many buildings date from the 13^th to 18^th centuries. There are several fine churches, notably the Duomo, built between the 13^th an 17^th centuries, which contains a painting by the elder Tiepolo. There are a number of excellent fish restaurants to sample the local catch near the harbor and in the Corso del Popolo. Vaporetto: route 11



                                              The Lido

Venetian Masks

This is the only one of the Venetian islands to have roads, and its buses, cars and lorries are imported by ferry from the mainland. A little to the southeast of Venice, it is just over seven miles long and a half a mile wide, covering the largest sand bank between the lagoon and the Adriatic. With a population of about 20 000 it is essentially a seaside holiday resort and is crowded in summer, when it is also host to the International Film Festival. 

It was at its most fashionable before World War I as the architecture of its hotels and villas testifies, and its long sandy beach is still lined with wooden bathing huts, which recall that time. Its most notable building is, in fact, a short distance across the water: the 16 th century  fortress of Saint Andrea, built on the little island of Vignole to command the main entrance to the lagoon. It was the guns of this fort that fired on a French warship in 1797, so precipitating the French invasion and the end of the Republic. The fortress, adorned with a massive relief carving of the Lion of St. Mark, is currently under major restoration and not open to the public.

From the Vaporetto bound from the Lido to San Marco, Venice is seen as it was intended it should first be seen, from the deck of a ship approaching from the sea, its towers, domes and palaces materializing between water and sky in one of the great spectacles the world has to offer. Vaporetto: routes 1,6,14,52,61 and 82.

Grand Canal

                                                                   Top Ten Things to Do in Venice
Venice 10 Essentials

If you only have a short time to visit Venice, and would like to take home unforgettable impressions, here are the essentials:

1. Take a boat along the Grand Canal by day, to marvel at its majestic water-lapped palazzi and gaily painted mooring poles, or by night to catch glimpses of the grand illuminated interiors;

2. Visit the Rialto markets at the crack of dawn before the crowds arrive;

3. A mid-morning coffee in Europe's finest square, atmospheric St. Mark's will both delight and bankrupt you;

4. Stroll along the southern shore of the Dorsoduro, with its boathouses, bars, and cafes. Go at dusk, when Venetians take their passeggiata or promenade;

Italian cuisine

5. Indulge yourself in the romance of a gondola ride at sunset and capture the magic of Venice;


6. Take the lift up to the top of the Campanile or San Giorgio Maggiore for breathtaking views;

7. Watch the world go by from the terrace of a Venetian classic, Harry's Dolci on the Giudecca, whilst sipping on a Bellini cocktail;

8. Get lost in the labyrinthine alleys and backwaters of the city, or visit the outlying islands for a taste of Venetian life off the main tourist drag;

9. See Venice by night. The canals have a magical beauty and many of the main monuments are floodlit;

10. End your day Venetian - style with an ice-cream or a digestif in one of the city's countless cafe-ringed squares.

Booking Hotel in Venice

***** Bauer Grunwald e Grand - The land-side of this hotel is modern but its canal facade reveals that it was once a splendid palazzo. Today it has an opulence designed for the plutocracy. It offers views over the Grand Canal.

**** Bonvecchiati - Situated close to the Piazza San Marco, this is one of the more expensive hotels which cater for package holidays. Although it lacks the distinctive Venetian character, it is comfortable and well placed for exploring the city. 

****Cipriani - Across the water on the otherwise unfashionable island of Giudecca is the Cipriani, the caravanserai of the rich and smart. Elegant and comfortable as the former religious institution buildings now are, they lack the character of Venice itself, which lies across the Basin of San Marco and is reached in five minutes by the hotel's free ferry. Its principal asset is its magnificent open air swimming pool, a miraculous cure for fatique after a long day's sightseeing in the city. Non-residents lunching at the hotel may be allowed t use the pool if it is not crowded, but the charge is expensive.

Suggested Reading:
Eating Out in Venice
Venice Highlights
Booking Hotel in Venice

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