Nolinski Venezia

Worth getting out of bed for

Nolinski Venezia  – Evok Collection is set on a very glamorous calle shared with Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci and Ferragamo – so shopping temptations run high (psst: Versace, Prada, Cartier and many more are just around the corner too…). For something more culturally edifying, Piazza San Marco – where you can get your fill of haloed portraiture, lavish frescoes and alabaster hardbodies at the Museo Correr, or travel back to Roman times at the Museo Archeologico –  is less than a five-minute walk away. Ride up the Campanile for the views, order espresso at Caffè Florian (because some clichés are worth it), marvel at the exorbitant wealth on display in the Doge’s Palace, and yet again at St Mark’s Basilica’s gold lining. Venice is by no means stuck in the past though, especially when it comes to art – after all, the Biennale turns the city into a living gallery every two years (from April to November). Nearby there’s the modern-art-hung Victoria Miro and Bugno galleries, and cross into Dorsoduro for the incredible collection Peggy Guggenheim amassed over her lifetime (she’s buried here too). While you’re over that side of the Grand Canal, stop into the Gallerie dell'Accademia for another serve of masterpieces. And, for a colourful finish, take a day-trip to Burano, for pictures against a backdrop of rainbow houses. 

Hold up – you’re not done yet – because art never sleeps (although it might watch you as you do, with Venetian pieces of various eras hung in your room). Curator Amélie Du Chalard has taken on Nolinski’s spaces as if they were her own gallery (Amelie Maison d’Art in Paris, FYI), adding 16th-century stone lions to welcome you by the entrance, followed by a phantasmagorical landscape by Bruno Dufourmantelle, then a blown-glass sculpture by Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert here, a ceramic bas-relief by Brazilian Valéria Nascimento there… Plus a smattering of statuary, drawings and Renaissance oils, playing on themes of water and light, throughout. But wait – there’s more art yet, with more than 4,000 books on and around the subject in the Library Bar (and some in your room too).

Local restaurants

Osteria Da Carla has a frontage bearing the name 'Pietro Panizzolo', but just ignore that – we're not ones to split hairs about names when there's the likes of red prawns with a citrus zing in creamy chicory sauce, scallops with coconut milk and lemongrass, and ricotta- and lemon-stuffed sardines with a dab of lime mayonnaise at stake. The menu changes four times a year, so with each new season comes fresh delights. Bistrot de Venise's food is as decadent as its decor – all red-and-gold flocked wallpaper, gilt-edged mirrors, swoops of heavy curtain. Alongside lashings of caviar, you might have ravioli stuffed with smoked ricotta, saffron and almonds; duck with apple, grape, onion and mustard; or orange crème brulée with rosemary ice-cream. And, the luxury train keeps chugging on at Restaurant Do Forni, in the guise of the Orient Express, whose carriages inspired the interiors. In swagged splendour, slurp down linguine in crayfish sauce, crack into cuttlefish fresh from the harbour, and finish with strawberries in balsamic vinegar or pineapple soaked in Maraschino liqueur. There’s a rich vein of restaurants to be found just beyond St Mark’s Square, say Luna Sentada, which takes inspiration from Venice’s explorer son Marco Polo in offering Italian cuisine with Eastern flavours. Try curried scallops and artichoke, duck ragu with orange-y breadcrumbs and sultanas, or fresh fish on a bed of Himalayan salt with edamame and black sesame. Trattoria alla Rivetta is denoted by the lantern bearing its name; it can be used for a cicchetti pit stop (try the creamed cod with polenta or the mussels and clams marinara) but there are more substantial eats too: crab dumplings, fish lasagne, stuffed aubergines and fried catches from the lagoon. The Met Restaurant is beautiful, with its rosy Marmorino walls and Murano-glass detailing, and its Michelin-starred cooking is equally alluring; and Quadri offers visual feasting too, with more Murano glass, beams and gilded wallpaper. And, innovative cooking means meals of paccheri stuffed with beetroot, cabbage and cauliflower with caviar in an eel sauce; tortelli with saffron and licorice; or scampi with cuttlefish livers and sea urchin. 

Local cafés

After the pomp of Nolinsi Venezia  – Evok Collection, Birreria Forst might seem a tad humble. But, the regular Italy frequenter knows to look beyond that to the menu – here it’s awash with stacked sandwiches and fabulous meat and cheese platters. For sweeter treats, Pasticceria Rizzardini on Campiello dei Meloni is a delightful spot lined with wooden shelves holding bottles of liqueurs and glass counters with cakes, cookies, meringues and more. Close to the Rialto Bridge, Cantina Do Spade doesn't have a very long menu, but they've made what's on there count – try bigoli with sardines, creamed cod with polenta or simply fried fish. And Cantina Do Mori, also in that neck of the woods, is one of Venice's oldest bacari, where Casanova used to take his dates allegedly… Under a ceiling hung with copper pots, tasty one-bite morsels are stacked on plates – try lard-spread crostini and salty anchovies speared with cheek-puckering pickled onions. 

Local bars

Can you do better than George Clooney? Maybe, but why risk it? Stop into the Aman Venice – where he and Amal got hitched – for cocktails as sophisticated as the actor himself. Or, head to L’Ombra del Leone for an aperitivo – it’s set by the Grand Canal in a palazzo that’s used as the HQ for the organisation behind the Venice Film Festival and Biennales – so keep an ear open…