A city of canals, classic churches, and gothic palaces with renowned glass/lace ateliers and cultural events. Home of historians, opera singers, and craftsmen; related to icons such as Marco Polo, Tintoretto and Antonio Vivaldi; Venice has a lot to offer.

Venice is known for its canals, campaniles, crafts shops (masks, glass & lace) plus its gothic palaces, small streets and Piazza San Marco. Its historical but relevant, rustic yet beautiful, overcrowded and exclusive at the same time. Within the art world it plays a huge role in the academia and handcrafts spheres; and outside of it, it’s important in the tourism, film and theater worlds. Many iconic artist, architects, composers, intellectuals and cultural events have emerged from this city. Think of Giovani Bellini, Tintoretto, Antonio Contin, Andrea Palladio, Tomaso Albinoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Marco Polo, Giocomo Casanova, the Venice Film Festival and the Venice Biennale. There’s a lot to check out but if you only have a limited amount of time I would make sure to visit 1 historic palace, eat by the Riva Degli Schiavoni, drink a cafe in Piazza San Marco, relax in a classical church, watch a play at Teatro La Fenice, walk around the Castello district, go on a gondola ride and take a picture in front of the St Mark’s Campanile and/or Ponte di Rialto. If you have more time you should try to take a boat ride to Murano and Burano, attend the Venice Biennale, shop around Cannaregio, sunbathe at the beach, and get lost in Lido.

Here are some recommendations of places to visit. The whole city of Venice is an UNESCO site, so enjoy all the hidden corners. The city has 10 ‘Michelin restaurants’, so try to make a reservation to one of them. My top 5 museums are: Basilica di San Marco for Byzantine art; Scuola di San Rocco for Renaissance art (Tintoretto); The Dodge Palace for Gothic architecture and Baroque art; The Museo Correr/Biblioteca Marciana for antiquities and royal rooms; and The Venice Biennale for contemporary art. My favorite ateliers/galeries are: Venini, Barovier & Toso, Ca’ Macana, Akka Projects and Contini Galleria d’Arte. For luxury shopping go to Calle Larga XXII Marzo or the department store at Fondaco Dei Tedeschi; for glass ateliers go to Murano; for lace ateliers go to Burano; for the typical brands go to the Nave de Vero shopping mall; and for cheaper goods Cannaregio. Some venues to check out are Teatro La Fenice for theater and classical music; Teatro San Cassiano for opera; Candlelight by fever for alternative classic music, and Palazzo del Cinema for a movie.

Here are 7 routs to explore Venice:

GOTHIC

RENAISSANCE

Laguna

BAROQUE

DOLCE VITA

BIENNALE

CONTEMPORARY