GRAND CANAL

The Grand Canal is the main artery of Venice along which much of the city’s hustle and bustle takes place. Its inverted S shape, running from Ferrovia (the train station) to Piazza San Marco, splits the city equally into two. The Number 1 vaporetto will take you along the full length of the canal past hundreds of opulent palazzi, magnificent churches and striking republican buildings dating back to the 14th century.

RIALTO BRIDGE
Address: Ponte del Rialto

Built in 1592 as a permanent replacement for the wooden bridge that collapsed, Rialto is the oldest standing bridge over the Grand Canal. The central walkway is lined with small shops selling a range of goods from Murano glass to jewellery.

BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
Address: Piazza San Marco Tel: 041 522 5697 Open: Basilica, Tesoro, and Pala d'Oro – Mon-Sat 09:45 –17:00, Sun 14:00-17:00 Museo Marciano - Daily 09:45-17:00 Admission: Basilica – free, Museo Marciano - €1.50, Tesoro - €2

Consecrated in 1024, the wonderfully exotic and mystical basilica is one of Venice’s top attractions. Its five bulbed domes, inspired by Byzantine architecture in Constantinople are perched high above the arched doorways decorated with stunning frescoes. The interior is gilded in dazzling mosaics, depicting scenes from the New Testament, and houses the Pala d’Oro (Golden Altarpiece) encrusted with thousands of precious stones. Visitors can climb up to the terrace to admire the view over San Marco Square and the four bronze horse statues, which date as far back as the 3rd century.

PALAZZO DUCALE & BRIDGE OF SIGHS
Address: Piazza San Marco Tel: 041 271 5911 Open: Daily 09:00-19:00 (Apr-Oct), 09:00-17:00 (Nov-Mar) Admission: €11 adults, concessions available.

The stunning Palazzo Ducale has served as the centre of Venetian government and the private residence of the Doge for more than a thousand years. Its beautiful Gothic-Renaissance façade is covered in white and pink marble. The palace has been reconstructed several times over the centuries, but the present form dates back to the early 15th century. The main entrance through Porta della Carta leads to an elegant inner courtyard adorned with Gothic arches. The palace’s decadent interior is covered in frescoes painted by Veronese, Titian, Carpaccio, and Tintoretto. The enclosed Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) connecting the palace to the prison is one of the city’s most popular attractions. It got its name from the sighs exhaled by prisoners upon viewing the outside world for the last time as they were led across the bridge to their prison cells.

BASILICA DEI FRARI
Address: San Polo 3072 Tel: 041 522 2637 Web: www.basilicadeifrari.it Open: Mon-Sat 09:00-18:00, Sun 13:00-18:00 Admission: €2.50

The interior of this 14th century Gothic basilica is filled with works of famous artists. The most impressive is Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin above the altar. Other notable works include Titian’s Virgin of the Pesaro Family, Donatello’s St John the Baptist woodcarving and Bellini’s Madonna and Child. The church also contains the tombs of Titian and Venetian sculptor Canova.

SCHOOL OF ST ROCH
Address: San Polo 3058 Tel: 041 523 4864 Website: www.sanrocco.it Open: Daily 09:00-17:30 Admission: €5.50

The former guild and religious confraternity serves as a museum with an extensive collection of the 16th century artist’s Jacopo Robusti’s (Tintoretto) work. It exhibits a series of his dark and mystical paintings for which he is famous. The must-sees are the dramatic La Crocifissione (The Crucifixion) and La Strage degli Innocenti (The Slaughter of the Innocent).

ACCADEMIA (GALLERIE DELL’ACADEMIA)
Address: Dorsoduro 1055 Tel: 041 522 2247 Website: www.gallerieaccademia.org Open: Mon 08:15-14:00, Tue-Sun 08:15-19:15 Admission: €6.50

Accademia is the home to one of the finest collections of Venetian art in the world. Works by great Venatian master such as Bellini, Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Titian and Veneziano are displayed in chronological order from the 13th to the 18th century. Don’t miss Giorgione’s Tempest and Feast in the House of Levi by Veronese.

PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
Address: Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Dorsoduro 701 Tel: 041 240 5411 Website: www.guggenheim-venice.it Vaporetto: Academia stop Open: Mon, Wed-Sun 10:00-18:00 (Apr-Oct open Sat 10:00-22:00) Admission: €10, concessions available

Housed in American expatriate’s Peggy Guggenheim’s former palace, the museum exhibits her remarkable collection of modern art, believed to be one of the best in the world. Major works by artist such as Kandinsky, Dali, Ernst, Chegall, Miro and Picasso are on display. A wide array of styles is represented in the gallery from Cubism and Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism. Most notable paintings are Picasso’s La Baignade and Kandinsky’s Landscape with Church.