Venice
Boats Before The Excelsior, Slim Aarons, 1957
Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region, is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals – including the Grand Canal thoroughfare – lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs. Here is our guide to Venezia.
STAY
HOTEL DANIELI Set on Riva degli Schiavoni with a staircase that dates back to the Middle Ages, Hotel Danieli is one of our personal favorite respites. The rooftop Restaurant Terrazza Danieli offers spectacular views of the Grand Canal.
HOTEL CIPRIANI BELMOND Situated on Giudecca Island, a five-minute private Riva ride from St Mark’s Square, Hotel Cipriani is a quiet oasis from the bustling canals of Venice. Begin with a Bellini at Gabbiano Bar and then stroll the gardens and vineyards on your way to Cip’s Club for dinner overlooking the lagoon. Stop by the Bond Bar to see scenes of past movies filmed at the property.
AMAN VENICE Located in one of the city's eight monumental palazzos on the Grand Canal, the Aman Venice is a private retreat in La Serenissima. Enjoy a glass of their signature Prosecco in the garden and head upstairs to the sumptuous dining room for dinner.
GRITTI PALACE A 15th-century palazzo turned luxury hotel, the Gritti Palace dates back to 1475 when the Pisani family transformed it into its current Gothic shape. In 1525, the building became the private residence of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti, until it was turned into a hotel in the 19th century. Today, the property welcomes guests at the Riva Bar and Club del Doge for drinks and dinner on the canal.
IL PALAZZO EXPERIMENTAL A Palazzo in the heart of Venice's Dorsoduro quarter from the Experimental Group. The dining room is straight out of a Wes Anderson movie, and the outdoor garden is a charming place for aperetivo.
ST. REGIS VENICE The St. Regis Venice has a prime location on the Grand Canal. Dine with a view from the Italianate garden.
BAUER HOTEL The Bauer Palazzo is in the heart of the city, near Piazza San Marco on the Grand Canal with a 1940s façade and Art Deco interiors.
HOTEL LONDRA PALACE A Relais & Chateaux property, the Londra Palace has 100 windows overlooking the St. Mark's Basin.
SAN CLEMENTE PALACE KEMPINSKI San Clemente Palace Kempinski is located on the private island of San Clemente, only minutes away from Piazza San Marco by complimentary boat, and a member of the Leading Hotels of the World.
PALAZZO VENART LUXURY HOTEL The stately 15th-century Palazzo has been carefully restored to its former grandeur, including Renaissance frescoes and marble fireplaces. Helmed by the award-winning chef Enrico Bartolini, 2 Michelin starred GLAM Restaurant serves exclusive menus designed by an exceptionally talented culinary artist, Resident chef Donato Ascani.
BAGLIONI HOTEL LUNA A stone’s throw from St. Mark’s Square, the palazzo dates to 1118, and throughout the years has undergone transformations from a convent into an aristocratic palace and even a shelter for the Knights Templar. Today’s hotel brims with original details, like ornate stucco walls, Murano chandeliers, watercolor paintings and gold fixtures. In the Marco Polo Ballroom, reimagined as a spectacular dining room, the original ceiling frescoes are attributed to pupils of Tiepolo, the 18th-century Venetian painter. Instead of playing second fiddle to the priceless art throughout, the culinary offerings hold their own, especially at the award-winning Canova restaurant, renowned for its menu and extensive wine cellar from St. Mark’s Square, the Baglioni Hotel Luna is cloaked in Venetian history.
MADAMA A stylish retreat with a garden on the canal.
VENICE VENICE A new boutique hotel with a restaurant, gallery, shop, and more.
DINE | DRINK
CIP’S CLUB Hotel Cipriani's scenic restaurant with Venetian cuisine & city views from the terrace.
THE RIVA LOUNGE Based on the materials used in the design of the Riva Yacht, the look and feel of the 36-seat, 55-square-meter Riva Lounge on the Gritti Palace’s terrace reflect the Riva Aquarama Lounge at the Monaco Yacht Club.
LA ZUCCA A cozy restaurant with seasonal vegetarian dishes along the canal.
BIRARRIA LA CORTE Housed in a former brewery with beer on tap and homemade pizzas. Order the house Cynar Spritz made with artichokes from a local farm.
OSTERIA AL SQUERO A locals only bacari for cicchetti and wine.
ANTICHE CARAMPANE Seafood-focused Venetian dishes are served in a cozy, family-run restaurant adorned with photos near the Rialto bridge.
GELATERIA NICO An enduring ice cream parlor & cafe offering gelato, small bites & drinks, plus terrace seating.
AL COVO A family-owned restaurant offering local and seasonal plates by Chef and owner Cesare Benelli.
DA REMIGIO Adriatic classics from pasta to seafood served in a modern-rustic setting with dark-wood decor.
VINO VERO A wine bar with a vast selection of natural wines.
PASTICCERIA RIZZARDINI A historic pastry shop and cafe in the San Polo area not far from the Rialto Bridge with beautiful ceiling cornices and wooden cabinetry.
LUNA SENTADA Classic Venetian dishes, including a baccalá mantecato that takes three days to make, in an elegant, rustic space with tables by a canal.
OSTERIA ALLA FRASCA A charming seafood restaurant.
ARTS | CULTURE | ACTIVITIES
PUNTA DELLA DOGANA An art museum in one of Venice's old customs buildings, the Dogana da Mar. It also refers to the triangular area of Venice where the Grand Canal meets the Giudecca Canal. Today, it houses the Pinault Collection, restored by architect Tadao Ando.
PALAZZO GRASSI Palazzo Grassi is a building in the Venetian Classical style located on the Grand Canal of Venice, between the Palazzo Moro Lin and the Campo San Samuele. Today, it showcases the Pinault Collection.
MUSEO DI PALAZZO GRIMINI The recently restored and reopened Palazzo Grimani of Santa Maria Formosa is a State museum, located in Venice in the Castello district, near Campo Santa Maria Formosa. The Tribuna was inspired by the Pantheon and features incredible tilework and sculptures.
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION A modern art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice, Italy. The collection is housed in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, an 18th-century palace, which was the home of the American heiress Peggy Guggenheim for three decades. She began displaying her private collection of modern artworks to the public seasonally in 1951. After her death in 1979, it passed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which opened the collection year-round from 1980.
MUSEO CORRER Located in St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum includes the rooms of “Sissi” as well as an Archeological Museum and the Marciano library.
DOGE’S PALACE Built in Venetian Gothic style in 1340, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former Republic.
GALLERIE DELL’ ACCADEMIA A gallery of pre-19th-century art housed in the Scuola della Carità on the south bank of the Grand Canal, within the sestiere of Dorsoduro.
GALLERIA GIORGIO FRANCHETTI ALLA CA’ D’ ORO The Ca' d'Oro or Palazzo Santa Sofia is a palace on the Grand Canal, its name means "golden house" due to the gilt and polychrome external decorations which once adorned its walls.
PALAZZO FORTUNY Palazzo Fortuny was built for Benedetto Pesaro in the mid-fifteenth century and known as Palazzo Pesaro degli Orfei in the Venetian Gothic style facing Campo San Beneto. Mariano Fortuny took over the palazzo in 1898, establishing his studio in the loft. Fortuny eventually chose Palazzo Pesaro Orfei as his permanent home and in 1907, together with his wife and muse Henriette Nigrin, he set up a small workshop of fabric printing. In a few years, two entire floors of the building were occupied by his extraordinary atelier for the creation of distinctive dresses and silk and velvet printed fabrics. In 1956, after Fortuny’s death (1949), the building was donated to the City of Venice to be “perpetually used as a center of culture in relation to the arts.”
FORTUNY FACTORY Fortuny fabrics today are still being produced at the original factory founded by Mariano Fortuny almost a century ago. Although the factory itself allows no visitors in order to maintain Mariano Fortuny’s trade secrets, the showroom is open to the public on weekdays, and the adjacent gardens can be visited by appointment.
ARSENALE DA BIENNALE DE VENEZA Lagoonside pavilion & exhibition hall used for art shows at the Biennale festival, plus opera.
PINACOTECA QUERINI STAMPALIA The Fondazione Querini Stampalia is a cultural institution in Venice, founded in 1869 at the behest of Conte Giovanni, the last descendant of the Venetian Querini Stampalia family. Architect Carlo Scarpa designed interior, exterior, and garden elements and spaces on the ground floor of the historic building.
GIARDINI DELLA BIENNALE The Venice Giardini or Giardini della Biennale is an area of parkland in the historic city of Venice which hosts the Venice Biennale Art and Architectural Festivals, major parts of the city's cultural Biennale.
SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE San Giorgio Maggiore (San Zorzi Mazor in Venetian) is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610. The church is a basilica in the classical Renaissance style and its brilliant white marble gleams above the blue water of the lagoon opposite the Piazzetta di San Marco and forms the focal point of the view from every part of the Riva degli Schiavoni.
OLIVETTI SHOWROOM Mid-20th-century Olivetti typewriter showroom with sleek interiors by Carlo Scarpa in the Piazza San Marco.
PALAZZO DONA BRUSA A palazzo-turned exhibition center in Campo San Polo.
SHOP
PIEDATERRE A jewel box of a shop in Rialto and Campo San Stefano with a selection of colorful Venetian slippers.
SANGUEBLU A vintage shop with items by Italian designers.
FONDACO DEI TEDESCHI A historic building on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge. It was the headquarters and restricted living quarters of the city's German merchants. Today, it is a large luxury department store with a ground-level cafe and rooftop terrace featuring impressive views of Venice as well as rotating exhibitions. Book in advance.
GIOBAGNARA A home decor boutique with Italian brands.
DAY & WEEKEND TRIPS
MURANO The “Glass Island” is renowned for its long tradition of glass-making. A short 45-minute ferry from Venice, the “Glass Island” is renowned for its long tradition of glass-making. Visit the Museo del Vetro, which tells the story of glass through the centuries and book a visit to the Carlo Moretti showroom. Built in the Romanesque style, the Church of Santa Maria and San Donato has a colorful mosaic floor and supposedly houses the bones of a slain dragon.
BURANO Picturesque Burano is known for its brightly-colored fishermen's houses and its casual eateries serving seafood from the lagoon. The Museo del Merletto has exhibits on the development of lace-making in the area, and shops sell lace products like linens and clothes, as well as the local butter cookies called "bussolai buranei." The ancient Chiesa di San Martino has a leaning 17th-century bell tower.
Text: Veronica H. Speck Photo: Slim Aarons © Getty Images