Access Venice
The Grand Canal at golden hour from the Accademia bridge, the domes of Santa Maria della Salute on the right and the mouth of the canal opening to the basin
VENEZIA · VENETO · ITALY

More than a hundred small islands in a shallow lagoon, stitched together by some four hundred bridges.

The island city at the heart of the Venetian Lagoon: six sestieri on either side of one great canal, a republic that lasted until 1797, and not a single car.

Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Walk it, cross it by boat, and watch the tide.I

Six sestieri, one canal, a lagoon around them

A city on the water

Venice is built on more than a hundred small islands in the Venetian Lagoon, a shallow bay between the mouths of the Brenta and the Sile, divided by canals and linked by some four hundred bridges. Nearly 50,000 people live in the historic island city; most of the municipality's quarter of a million live on the mainland. The centre is divided into six districts, the sestieri — Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo and Santa Croce — and a Venetian address is a sestiere and a number, not a street. The airport and the railway line are on the mainland, joined to the islands by a causeway (getting here); once across, you get around on foot or by water bus. Each sestiere has its own character, which is most of where to stay.

Refugees, a republic, an end

Tradition dates the city to 25 March 421. Its first settlers were refugees from the Roman towns of the mainland, and Torcello, settled in 452, was the parent island. The sestieri were created in about 1170, when Venice was already a maritime power trading across the eastern Mediterranean; the Republic lasted until 12 May 1797, when it dissolved itself under Napoleon's army. Begin with the sights; the lagoon itself — its channels, its tides and the islands beyond the city — has a page of its own (the lagoon), and the mainland towns are for day trips.

The tide, the table and the tickets

Acqua alta, the high water, comes mainly between autumn and spring, and the seasons and festivals are set out month by month (when to come). On set days since 25 April 2024 day visitors have paid an access fee, registered in advance (booking ahead). The city has its own table, from cicchetti to sardines in saor (eating and drinking), and an itinerary for every length of stay.

to the mainlandGrand Canalthe basintoward the LidoCANNAREGIOCASTELLOSAN MARCOSAN POLOSANTA CROCEDORSODUROGIUDECCA1234567891011121314151617The northern lagoonVenice18Murano19Burano20Torcello
  1. St Mark's Basilica
  2. Piazza San Marco
  3. The Campanile
  4. The Doge's Palace
  5. The Grand Canal
  6. The Rialto Bridge
  7. The Rialto Market
  8. The Ca' d'Oro
  9. The Frari
  10. Scuola Grande di San Rocco
  11. The Accademia
  12. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection
  13. Santa Maria della Salute
  14. Santi Giovanni e Paolo
  15. The Arsenale
  16. The Ghetto
  17. San Giorgio Maggiore
  18. Murano
  19. Burano
  20. Torcello
Schematic, not to scale, north at the top — the six sestieri either side of the Grand Canal, the Giudecca to the south, the numbered squares the twenty sights, and below, the northern lagoon with Murano, Burano and Torcello.

On foot, west to eastII

A walk through the city

From the Scuola di San Rocco in San Polo, over the Rialto Bridge and on to the Piazza: six stops, one crossing of the Grand Canal, and the whole walk eastward.

SAN POLOTHE CANALSAN MARCO1Scuola Grande di San Rocco2Frari3Rialto Market4Rialto Bridge5Piazza San Marco6Doge's Palace
Schematic, not to scale: the walk from west to east, crossing the Grand Canal at the Rialto.
  1. The great staircase of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, its walls hung with dark canvases
    The great staircase of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, its walls hung with dark canvasesProf. Mortel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
    San Polo

    Tintoretto's meeting house

    Start in San Polo at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the seat of a confraternity founded in 1478 and named for a saint trusted against the plague. The building was finished in 1560, and every painting in it is by Tintoretto or his workshop, made between 1564 and 1587.

  2. The Rio dei Frari running beside the Campo dei Frari
    The Rio dei Frari running beside the Campo dei FrariFalk2, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    San Polo

    The Franciscans' brick church

    Next door stands the Frari, one of the largest churches in the city. Titian's Assumption of the Virgin hangs over its high altar, and it keeps the only rood screen still in place in a Venetian church.

  3. Under the arcades of the Pescaria, the Rialto fish market
    Under the arcades of the Pescaria, the Rialto fish marketMatthias Süßen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    San Polo

    The market at Rialto

    Walk northeast through San Polo to the Rialto market. The city's market moved to this bank in 1097; the fish is still sold under the arcades of the Pescaria, beside the stalls of fruit and vegetables.

  4. The Rialto Bridge lit in the evening, seen from the water
    The Rialto Bridge lit in the evening, seen from the waterWolfgang Moroder, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
    San Marco · San Polo

    The one stone span

    Cross the Grand Canal on the Rialto Bridge, the oldest of the four bridges over it: a single stone span designed by Antonio da Ponte and built from 1588 to 1591, with two ramps of shops meeting at a portico.

  5. Piazza San Marco with the Campanile and the basilica, framed by the Procuratie
    Piazza San Marco with the Campanile and the basilica, framed by the ProcuratieRamagliolo9, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
    San Marco

    The square they call la Piazza

    Follow the lanes south and east through San Marco into Piazza San Marco. At its east end stands St Mark's Basilica, begun probably in 1063 and the doge's own chapel until the Republic fell.

  6. The courtyard of the Doge's Palace, with the domes of St Mark's behind
    The courtyard of the Doge's Palace, with the domes of St Mark's behindNan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
    San Marco

    The palace on the water

    Finish where the Piazzetta meets the basin, at the Doge's Palace — government, jail and the doge's home in one Gothic building, rebuilt from 1340. Across the water stands Palladio's white church on San Giorgio Maggiore.

Before you goIII

Three things to know first

Italy · VenetoNearly 50,000 in the island cityItalian and VenetianEuroBy tradition 25 March 421A republic until 1797

Eleven parts and a journalIV

The parts of this guide

  1. The SightsTwenty places, one page eachThe SightsFrom the Piazza to Torcello: what each one is, what you see there, and which sestiere it stands in.
  2. Getting HereAn airport on the mainland and a station on the canalGetting HereMarco Polo airport across the water at Tessera, the railway causeway to Santa Lucia, and Piazzale Roma, the last place a car or bus can reach — which to use, and how each ends at a boat.
  3. Getting AroundOn foot, by water bus and by gondola ferryGetting AroundNo cars anywhere: how the vaporetto lines work, the four bridges over the Grand Canal, the traghetto crossings, water taxis, and why walking is still the quickest way to most places.
  4. The SestieriHow to read a Venetian addressThe SestieriSix districts, house numbers that run through a whole sestiere, and the city's own words for a street — calle, campo, fondamenta, rio terà, sotoportego — and how to find anything with them.
  5. The LagoonTides, channels and the other islandsThe LagoonThe bricole that mark the channels, acqua alta and the barriers that now hold it back, and the islands beyond the sights: the Lido, San Michele, Mazzorbo and Sant'Erasmo.
  6. Booking AheadThe access fee, the terrace and the timed doorsBooking AheadWhat must be registered or booked — the day-visitor access fee on its set days, timed entries and the opera — and what never needs a ticket.
  7. When to ComeHigh water in winter, the Redentore in summerWhen to ComeA humid summer and a damp winter, acqua alta from autumn to spring, the Carnival, the Redentore and the Regata Storica — month by month.
  8. Eating & DrinkingCicchetti, sarde in saor and the ombraEating & DrinkingThe lagoon's own table: small plates at a bacaro, sardines in saor, risi e bisi and liver with onions — where each came from and where it is still eaten.
  9. Where to StaySix sestieri and an islandWhere to StaySan Marco, Castello, Cannaregio, San Polo, Santa Croce, Dorsoduro and the Giudecca — each for a night or a week, and whether to sleep on the mainland at all, drawn on a map.
  10. ItinerariesOne day, three, five, a weekItinerariesRoutes by the length of your stay, built around the museums' closing days, the boats to the islands and the walk between the Rialto and the Piazza.
  11. Day TripsBack across the causewayDay TripsPadua, Verona, Vicenza, Treviso, Chioggia and the villas of the Brenta — each a train or a boat away, each a day off the islands.
  12. The JournalQuestions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about Venice, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.

Grouped by where they stand, from the Piazza along the canal and across it, then out onto the lagoon.V

All twenty sights

Around the PiazzaSan Marco, the square Venetians call simply la Piazza

  1. St Mark's BasilicaSan Marco1St Mark's BasilicaThe third church on the site, begun probably in 1063 on the model of a church in Constantinople, and the doge's own chapel until 1797.
  2. Piazza San MarcoSan Marco2Piazza San MarcoThe principal square of Venice, known simply as la Piazza, with the Piazzetta opening from it to the water.
  3. The CampanileSan Marco3The CampanileThe tallest structure in Venice at 323 feet, rebuilt by 1912 after the old tower fell in 1902.
  4. The Doge's PalaceSan Marco4The Doge's PalaceGovernment offices, a jail and the doge's home in one Gothic palace, rebuilt from 1340 and a museum since 1923.

On the Grand CanalThe main street, its oldest bridge and its market

  1. The Grand CanalSan Marco · San Polo · Dorsoduro5The Grand CanalThe city's main street, a reverse S nearly two and a half miles long, lined with more than 170 buildings.
  2. The Rialto BridgeSan Marco · San Polo6The Rialto BridgeThe oldest of the four bridges over the Grand Canal: one stone span, built from 1588 to 1591.
  3. The Rialto MarketSan Polo7The Rialto MarketA market on this bank since 1097, in the oldest part of the city — fish in the arcaded Pescaria, fruit and vegetables beside it.
  4. The Ca' d'OroCannaregio8The Ca' d'OroThe House of Gold, the best-surviving Gothic palace on the Grand Canal and a museum since 1927.

Across the canalSan Polo and Dorsoduro, the churches and the galleries

  1. The FrariSan Polo9The FrariA Franciscan brick giant with Titian's Assumption over the high altar and the only rood screen still in place in Venice.
  2. Scuola Grande di San RoccoSan Polo10Scuola Grande di San RoccoThe meeting house of a confraternity founded in 1478, its halls painted by Tintoretto.
  3. The AccademiaDorsoduro11The AccademiaVenetian painting before the nineteenth century, in the old Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal.
  4. The Peggy Guggenheim CollectionDorsoduro12The Peggy Guggenheim CollectionModern art in the unfinished palace where Peggy Guggenheim lived for three decades.
  5. Santa Maria della SaluteDorsoduro13Santa Maria della SaluteA votive church begun in 1631, after the plague of 1630, on the point where the Grand Canal meets the basin.

East and northCastello and Cannaregio, the shipyard and the Ghetto

  1. Santi Giovanni e PaoloCastello14Santi Giovanni e PaoloThe Dominicans' vast brick church, consecrated in 1430, where twenty-five doges are buried.
  2. The ArsenaleCastello15The ArsenaleThe Republic's shipyard, begun around 1104 — at its height the largest industrial complex in Europe.
  3. The GhettoCannaregio16The GhettoInstituted on 29 March 1516, the place that gave the English language the word ghetto.

Out on the waterAn island across the basin and three in the northern lagoon

  1. San Giorgio MaggioreIsola di San Giorgio17San Giorgio MaggiorePalladio's white church on its own island across the basin, built between 1566 and 1610.
  2. MuranoThe lagoon18MuranoA cluster of islands about a mile north of the city, famous for its glass furnaces.
  3. BuranoThe lagoon19BuranoLace and brightly painted houses, 45 minutes from St Mark's by water bus.
  4. TorcelloThe lagoon20TorcelloFirst settled in 452, it had a cathedral and bishops before St Mark's was built.