Things to Do in Venice: Landmarks, Food & Hidden Corners
Venice is the world’s greatest open-air museum, but it’s also a living city with incredible food, secret gardens, and islands waiting to be explored. Here’s how to experience it beyond the postcard checklist.
Iconic Landmarks
St. Mark’s Square & Basilica
The heart of Venice. The basilica’s golden mosaics are dazzling – go early morning or late afternoon to avoid the worst crowds. Entry is free but expect security lines. The Pala d’Oro altar screen and the treasury cost extra and are worth it. The Campanile (bell tower) has an elevator and the best 360-degree view of the city. The Doge’s Palace next door takes you through Venice’s political history, across the Bridge of Sighs, and into the prisons that once held Casanova.
Rialto Bridge & Market
The oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal. The views from the top are classic Venice. But the real draw is the Rialto Market nearby – the fish market (Pescheria) has operated here for a millennium. Go in the morning when it’s bustling with locals. The produce market next door is just as vibrant. This is where Venetian chefs shop.
Grand Canal
The city’s main artery. Take vaporetto Line 1 from Piazzale Roma to San Marco for the best cheap sightseeing tour in Venice. It passes every major palace. Do it at dusk when the palazzos light up. A gondola ride costs €80 for 30 minutes during the day, €100 after sunset – negotiate and agree on price before boarding. For a budget version, a traghetto (gondola ferry) crosses the canal for €2 standing up.
Best Museums & Galleries
- Gallerie dell’Accademia: The definitive collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries. Bellini, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese.
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Modern art in an unfinished 18th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal. Picasso, Pollock, Dali. Her grave is in the sculpture garden.
- Ca’ Rezzonico: Museum of 18th-century Venice. Incredible frescoes, chandeliers, and a view into how the Venetian elite lived.
- Scuola Grande di San Rocco: Tintoretto’s masterpiece – over 60 paintings covering the walls and ceiling. Dark, dramatic, overwhelming.
The Islands
Murano is the glass-making island. Watch a blowing demonstration, then browse showrooms. Burano is the colorful fishing village where every house is painted a different bright hue. Torcello is the original Venice – now mostly abandoned with a stunning Byzantine cathedral and a campanile with zero crowds. San Giorgio Maggiore has a Palladian church with a bell tower view rivaling the Campanile for half the wait.
What to Eat in Venice
Venetian cuisine is seafood-driven, influenced by centuries of trade with the East, and best experienced through cicchetti – small plates served at wine bars called bacari.
- Cicchetti crawl: Hop between bacari in Cannaregio or San Polo. Try baccala mantecato (creamed salt cod), sarde in saor (sweet-sour sardines), polpette (meatballs). Each costs €1-3 with a spritz or un’ombra (small wine).
- Risotto al nero di seppia: Squid ink risotto. Black, briny, unforgettable.
- Fegato alla veneziana: Calves’ liver with onions. The city’s most famous secondo.
- Bigoli in salsa: Thick whole-wheat pasta with anchovy and onion sauce.
- Fritto misto: Mixed fried seafood, often in a paper cone near the Rialto Market.
Getting Lost (On Purpose)
Venice’s greatest activity costs nothing. Put away the map, ignore the signs to San Marco or Rialto, and just walk. The city is only 2.5 miles across – you can’t get truly lost. What you’ll find: empty canals, laundry fluttering between buildings, a tiny workshop where someone’s been making masks for 50 years. The quiet Venice, the real Venice, exists in the spaces between the landmarks. Give yourself at least one afternoon with no agenda.
