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Venice

Italy

Cityscape: Archipelago of alleyways
City life: Walking on water

Truly one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Venice is a maze in which to lose yourself, wandering its charming, traffic-free alleys.

Drifting along one of the hundreds of canals by gondola or watertaxi, you can admire Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Give Piazza San Marco a chance to sink in, then follow the locals away from the touristy main drags to the best restaurants, hidden churches and lively markets.

Pictured: Ca Maria Adele

Boutique hotels in Venice

Our round-up of the hippest hideaways and boutique hotels in Venice

Getting there

Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.

Worth getting out of bed for

Highlights the best Venice has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Eating, drinking & dancing

We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Venice.

Smith Maps

Here is the map of Venice; each Mr & Mrs Smith hotel is marked by a flag; click it for more details.

Taxis: Use waterbuses (€5 a journey). They all take the same route; the difference is how many stops they make. You can hail or call a watertaxi.
Tipping culture: Five to ten per cent is expected.
Packing tips: Comfortable shoes; mosquito repellent in summer.
Recommended reads: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann; The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan; A History of Venice by John Julius Norwich.
Cuisine: Traditional dishes include fegato alla Veneziana (calf’s liver), cuttlefish in its ink, and seafood risotto. Wines are among Italy’s best.
Currency: Euro.
Dialing codes: Country code for Italy: 39. Venice: 041.
Do go/don't go: August is hot, sticky and full of tourists. Autumn can be lovely.

Getting there

Planes, trains, automobiles, or maybe even helicopter – we tell you the best way to go.

Worth getting out of bed for

Highlights the best Venice has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we've even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.

Very Venice

Have a coffee in Piazza San Marco, where the first cup was served. Journey into a romantic otherworld on a gondola ride. A masked ball – find a local to take you to the best.

Viewpoint: Enjoy a 360-degree look across the city from the Campanile di San Marco.
Arts and culture: Venice is packed full of churches, museums and galleries. We love the Museum of Modern Art (San Stae waterbus stop) and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Dorsoduro (www.guggenheim-venice.it), right next to both hotels.
Something for nothing: Get a taste of what it feels like to be on a gondola for next to nothing: look for the yellow ‘Traghetto’ signs and follow them to the water. It’s a shuttle gondola service that costs 40c. If you want one to yourself, the average price is €100 an hour.
Shopping: You’ll find all the designer labels around San Marco, and especially on Calle Larga 22 Marzo. Boutiques and gift shops line the streets between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto. Don’t buy masks in the tourist area: close to the hotels is Ca’Macana on Calle delle Botteghe, which made the masks for Eyes Wide Shut. For something different, buy a forcole, the wooden oar rest on a gondola; Saverio Pastor’s workshop is on Fondamenta Soranzo in Dorsoduro (+39 041 522 5699). For Murano glass, try to get to the island of Murano itself.
And...: Visit the town of Asolo, among the cypress-covered Dolomite hills, or the island of Torcello, the site of the original main square. The fish market in Rialto runs Tuesdays to Saturdays. Venice has a beach: you can hire cabanas for the day, but they’re not cheap.

Eating, drinking and dancing

We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Venice.

Restaurants

Ristorante Cantina Canaletto

For a cosy, wine-bottles-along-the-wall kind of osteria, try this restaurant at Castello 5490.

(+39 041 521 2661)

Trattoria alle Testiere

This excellent trattoria on Calle del Mondo Novo specialises in fish.

(+39 041 522 7220)

Bancogiro

Ask for a window seat at this popular restaurant on Campo San Giacometto.

(+39 041 523 2061)

Trattoria do Forni

This trattoria on Calle Specchieri is very classical; book dinner in the Orient Express room.

(+39 041 523 2148)

Ristorante da Fiore

This restaurant on Calle del Scaleter is one of the best places in town; book a month in advance.

(+39 041 721 308)

Poste Vecie

This place on Rialto Pescheria is Venice’s oldest restaurant, reached by a private bridge.

(+39 041 721 822)

Il Refolo

This is a great pizzeria near the Museum of Modern Art, though not open all year round.

(+39 041 524 0016)

Anice Stellato

This restaurant on Fondamenta della Sensa, Cannaregio does fabulous fish with subtle spicing.

(+39 041 720 744)

Locanda Montin

This pretty place on Fondamenta di Borgo serves great antipasti on a vine-covered terrace.

(+39 041 522 7151)

Printable destination guide

Venice

Italy

Truly one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Venice is a maze in which to lose yourself, wandering its charming, traffic-free alleys.

Boutique hotels in Venice

Getting there

Worth getting out of bed for

Eating, drinking & dancing

Smith Maps

Local knowledge

Venice hotels

Ca Maria Adele

DD724

I Qs

Getting there

Worth getting out of bed for

Very Venice

Diary

Eating, drinking and dancing

Restaurants

Ristorante Cantina Canaletto

Trattoria alle Testiere

Bancogiro

Trattoria do Forni

Ristorante da Fiore

Poste Vecie

Il Refolo

Anice Stellato

Locanda Montin