Venice

Italy·Europe

Currency

EUR

Language

Italian

Timezone

Rome

Continent

Europe

Our guide

Discover Venice

Venice is built on a hundred and eighteen islands and has not one car. Everything converges on St Mark's Square — the basilica, the Doge's Palace, the campanile — and on the Rialto bridge a little further up the Grand Canal. The rest is a maze of lanes and bridges where getting lost is the main pleasure.

When to go

April to May, and October. Summer is stifling and the city saturates to a degree that is hard to picture. Winter brings the acqua alta, the high tides that flood St Mark's, but also a foggy and nearly empty Venice that many prefer. Carnival, in February, fills everything.

Getting around

On foot and by vaporetto; there is no other option. Vaporetto line 1 runs the length of the Grand Canal for the price of a ticket — the best view in the city and immeasurably cheaper than a gondola. Buy a day pass if you will use it more than twice.

Where to eat

Caffè Florian, open on St Mark's Square since 1720, is the oldest café in Europe still trading — you pay dearly, and for the terrace rather than the coffee. Harry's Bar is where the Bellini and carpaccio were invented. To eat without ruin, look for the bacari, the cicchetti bars, in Cannaregio and Dorsoduro.

Good to know

An access fee applies to day visitors on certain busy days — check before you travel. Accommodation is the main expense, well ahead of admission. Only two halal addresses are listed.

Smart Planning