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Italy : Venice - February 2008

Country Code: Dial for Italy

Getting around

Marco Polo International Airport.

Taxi: A road taxi from the airport to Piazzale Roma costs about €30. A water taxi will cost approximately €90.
Tourist information: The most helpful tourist office is the Venice Pavilion on the St Mark’s waterfront (, www.turismovenezia.it).
Ferry: Alilaguna ferries go from the airport to Piazza San Marco for €12 (or €25 for the fast, direct service on the Alilaguna Oro). Alternatively, buses cost €3 and stop at Piazzale Roma, opposite the train station. From here, hop on a vaporetto (water bus) to your hotel. One ticket costs €6. The 24-hour pass costs €15.

GIUDECCA

This is the most surprising island, where working-class Venice survives alongside Palladian churches, secret gardens, a boatyard and a trio of deluxe hotels.

Sleep soundly – The patrician yet homely Hotel Cipriani (10 Isola Della Giudecca, , hotelcipriani.com, rooms from €400) has a revitalised spa and lovely gardens.

Culture vultures – On the 500th anniversary of Palladio’s birth, celebrate the creation of Palladianism by visiting Il Redentore, the architect’s dramatic waterfront church.

Shop til you drop – Snap up the Santa Maria degli Angeli beauty products made in the herb gardens of a former convent by the female prisoners incarcerated on Giudecca (products bought through the Bauer Palladio, beside the Cipriani).

THE LAGOON ISLANDS

The lagoon islands feel remote yet are part of the Venetian tourist trail. They’re and easily accessible by ferry (Murano, Burano, Torcello) or courtesy launch (San Clemente).

Sleep soundly – San Clemente Palace (San Clemente, , thi.it, rooms from €200) is an island resort set in a converted monastery.

Culture vultures – Torcello is the evocative island where Venice began. Its basilica – reminiscent of a storm refuge – is the oldest monument in the lagoon.

Must eat – Set in a former lace school, Da Romano (221 Via Galuppi, tel. ) is an arty spot for Venetian food on the lagoon’s prettiest island, Burano.

Shop til you drop – Barovier & Toso (28 Fondamenta Vetrai) on Murano is one of the most well-respected makers of the island’s eponymous glassware.

THE RIALTO, SAN POLO & SANTA CROCE

The backstreets around the Rialto Bridge are riddled with hole-in-the-wall bacari (wine bars) that haven’t changed much since Venice’s heyday. Bargain in the Rialto and be whisked back into an era of spice traders and money lenders, when this was the greedy heart of the Venetian Republic.

Must eat – Although now more fishy than raunchy Antiche Carampane (Rio Terra delle Carampane, San Polo 911, ) occupies a former brothel. The razor clams come from the Rialto fish market and reel in Venetian celebrities faster than any Madam ever could.

Must drink – Al Bancogiro (Campo San Giacometto) is the canalside wine bar that brings the Venetian bacaro concept up to date without betraying its rough-and-ready origins. Drink a sparkling Prosecco or the local spritz, made with white wine, soda and bitters.

Shop til you drop – Head to the Rialto’s sprawling markets for olives, cheese, salami and fruit.

SAN MARCO

Surprisingly few visitors stray far beyond Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square), “the finest drawing room in Europe”, and the public face of Venice. After parading around the pigeon-filled square and capturing Canaletto’s views with your camera, slip into the backstreets and face the city’s formidable ghosts, from Casanova and Marco Polo to Vivaldi and Wagner.

Sleep soundly – Bauer Il Palazzo (San Marco 1413/d, , bauervenezia.com, rooms from €430) is a sumptuous boutique hotel overlooking the monastic island of San Giorgio.

Culture vultures – Palazzo Grassi (Campo San Samuele 3231) is staging the blockbuster show Rome & The Barbarians, which focuses on late antiquity in Western civilisation.

Must eat – Trattoria Do Forni (Calle Specchieri, San Marco 468, ) is awash with Venetian seafood, but has trusty Italian options if you go green around the gills when you see risotto swimming in black cuttlefish ink.

Must drink – Centrale (Piscina Frezzeria, San Marco 1659) is a sleek late-night lounge and cocktail bar that shrieks Milan or Manhattan rather than sleepy Venice.

Compiled by Lisa Gerard-Sharp