Places to Explore

• Cannaregio

  Cannaregio's main drag, which is also the longest street in Venice, runs parallel to the Grand Canal, and was once a canal itself. Lined with fruit and vegetable stalls near Ponte delle Guglie, quiet shops... (more)

• Castello

  Castello, Venice's largest sestiere, includes all of the land from east of Piazza San Marco to the city's easternmost tip. Its name probably comes from a fortress that once stood on one of the eastern... (more)

• Islands of the Lagoon

  The perfect vacation from your Venetian vacation is an escape to Murano, Burano, and sleepy Torcello, the islands of the northern lagoon. Torcello offers ancient mosaics, greenery, breathing space, and... (more)

• Piazza San Marco

  One of the world's most beautiful squares, Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark's Square) is spiritual and artistic heart of Venice, a vast open space bordered by an orderly procession of arcades marching toward... (more)

• San Giorgio Maggiore and the Giudecca

  Beckoning travelers across Saint Mark's Basin, sparkling white through the mist, is the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, separated by a small channel from the Giudecca. A tall brick campanile on that distant... (more)

• San Marco and Dorsoduro

  The sestiere Dorsoduro (named for its "hard back" solid clay foundation) is across the Grand Canal to the south of San Marco. It is a place of monumental churches, meandering canals, modern art galleries... (more)

• San Polo and Santa Croce

  The two smallest of Venice's six sestieri (districts), San Polo and Santa Croce, were named after their main churches, though the Chiesa di Santa Croce was demolished in 1810. The city's most famous bridge... (more)