VENICE is a strange but beautiful city. There’s nowhere else quite like it in the world: a city of canals, churches and cocktails.
The capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, it is built on 118 small islands — linked by 400 bridges — in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces.
I was there some years ago with my mother. We flew from London and took a vaporetta ride from the airport to San Marco Square arriving at sunset on a hot summer’s evening.
Walking to our hotel through the vast Piazza San Marco was a memory I’ll never forget. The rich Byzantine grandeur of Basilica di San Marco, the imposing architecture of Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), the strains of music wafting on the warm evening air as musicians performed in the square and the rows of perfectly placed chairs at the cafes. And the pigeons!!!
Venetian daily life is slow and sometimes frustrating, easy-going and also exasperating
Venetian daily life is slow and sometimes frustrating, easy-going and also exasperating, but we were there for only three days, staying just off San Marco. The island is tiny and we had no agenda, so we wandered the web of back alleys, getting lost and finding our way back again.
We discovered enotecas, ristorantes, and the wonderful simplicity of the Veneto cuisine. Not to mention the amazing colour of the tomatoes at the Rialto farmer’s market in Dorsoduro! We stumbled into linen shops and quaint little mask shops.
We took delight in the fading paint of the facades and the deep green moss on the walls. The interiors of the many churches and the changing colours of the water, the people and the light.
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We marvelled at the gondoliers in their striped matelots and red upholstered, glossy black gondolas. Not to mention the ’50s charm of the highly varnished, wooden vaporettas.
Then there was the amazing Peggy Guggenheim museum. The glass-blowers on Murano. The brightly coloured houses of the lace-making island of Burano . The cemetery island of Torcello.
And, of course, what stay wouldn’t be complete without a cruise down the Grand Canal and sipping a bellini at Harry’s Bar!
Plan on taking a break? Then read here before you pack your bags!
Bellisima! La vita è bella!
WHERE TO EAT, DRINK AND SHOP IN VENICE, ITALY
WHERE TO EAT
Harry’s Bar | San Marco 1323, Calle Vallaresso cipriani.com/en
Da Fiore | San Polo 2202, calle del Scaleter dafiore.net
Al Chioschetto | Dorsoduro 1406A, fondamenta delle Zattere
La Cantina | Cannaregio 3689, campo San Felice
WHERE TO DRINK
Caffe Florian | San Marco 56, Piazza San Marco caffeflorian.com
Caffe del Doge | San Polo 609, calle dei Cinque caffedeldoge.com
Al Prosecco | Santa Croce 1503, campo San Giacomo dell’Orio
Cantina Do Mori | Calle dei Do Mori 429, San Polo
Plus there are plenty of cool bars around Campo Santa Margherita
WHERE TO SHOP
Le Gioie di Bortolo (for show-stopping vintage Italian jewellery) | Campo di San Bartolomeo 5536, San Marco
Venini (the best modern Murano glass) | Piazzetta Leoncini 314, San Marco venini.it
Store (an old-fashioned haberdasher full of beautiful leather gloves and top quality cashmere) | Campo San Luca 4269/b San Marco
Fabio Gatto (relaxed chic fashion) | Via Piavesella 7, Villorba fabiogatto.com
Caigo da Mar (for quirky homewares) | Calle delle Botteghe, San Marco caigodamar.com
WHERE TO GO
Basilica di San Marco | San Marco, Piazza San Marco
Palazzo Ducale | San Marco 1, Piazzetta San Marco visitmuve.it/en/home/
Peggy Guggenheim Collection | Dorsoduro 701, fondamenta Venier Del Leoni guggenheim-venice.it
Gallerie Dell-Accademia | Dorsoduro 1050, campo Carita gallerieaccademia.org/?lang=en
WHERE TO STAY
The Gritti Palace | Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, 2467 thegrittipalace.com
Hotel Cipriani and Palazzo Vendramin | Giudecca 10, Venice hotelcipriani.com/web/ocip/hotel_cipriani.jsp
The Bauers Venezia | San Marco 1459, piazza San Marco bauervenezia.com
Corte De Gabriela | Calle Avvocati 3837, San Marco cortedigabriela.com/en/
Hotel Grande Canal | Santa Croce 932, Campo San Simeone Grands hotelcanalgrande.it
Hotel Danieli | Riva degli Schiavoni 4196 danielihotelvenice.com
