Venice Highlights
A curated tour of Venice's most iconic sights, from the grandeur of St. Mark's Square to the colorful lagoon islands of Murano and Burano.
Trip Stops
- 1
Venice's grand main square, ringed by arcaded palaces and cafés, and famously the lowest point in the city during acqua alta floods. Napoleon reportedly called it 'the finest drawing room in Europe.'
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 2
A dazzling Byzantine cathedral wrapped in gold mosaics, built to house the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist, smuggled out of Egypt in a barrel of pork. Its facade even displays four bronze horses looted from Constantinople in 1204.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 3
Venice's tallest structure at nearly 99 meters, with a belfry offering sweeping lagoon views. The original tower collapsed without warning in 1902 and was rebuilt brick by brick a decade later.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 4
The seat of Venetian government for centuries, its Gothic tracery hiding a lavish interior with Tintoretto's largest painting. Convicted prisoners crossed the attached Bridge of Sighs for one last glimpse of the city.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 5
An enclosed limestone bridge linking the Doge's Palace to the old prisons, named for prisoners' sighs as they glimpsed the outside world one last time. Legend holds that lovers who kiss beneath it at sunset are bound for eternal love.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 6
A Palladian-designed island church across the water from St. Mark's, its stark white facade painted repeatedly by Monet and Canaletto. Climb the campanile for arguably the best panoramic view of Venice, minus the crowds.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 7
Venice's premier art museum, tracing the city's painting history from Byzantine icons to Renaissance masters Titian and Tintoretto. It also holds Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, displayed only a few weeks every six years.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 8
An unfinished 18th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal turned modern art museum, once the home of American heiress Peggy Guggenheim. Works by Picasso, Pollock, and Dalí fill the rooms, and Guggenheim herself is buried in the garden.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 9
A Baroque domed basilica built as a votive offering after Venice survived a devastating plague in the 1630s. Its dome is one of the most photographed silhouettes on the Venice skyline.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 10
The oldest of the four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, its single stone arch replacing centuries of wooden predecessors that repeatedly collapsed or burned. Rows of shops have lined both sides since the 16th century.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 11
Venice's centuries-old produce and fish market, trading on this spot since 1097 and still supplying the city's kitchens each morning. Arrive early to watch gondolas unload crates of seafood straight from the lagoon.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 12
The most ornate Gothic palace on the Grand Canal, its name meaning 'House of Gold' for the gilding that once covered its facade. Today it houses a small but excellent art collection behind an exquisite Moorish-inspired courtyard.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 13
A cluster of lagoon islands synonymous with glassmaking since Venetian authorities forcibly relocated furnaces here in 1291, fearing fires in the city. Watch live glassblowing demonstrations and browse centuries-old workshops.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
- 14
A fishing island famous for candy-colored houses, said to be painted so brightly that fishermen could spot home through the fog. It's also renowned for handmade lace, a craft that once rivaled Venice's glass in prestige.
📍 Venice, Veneto, Italy
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