Venice

Don’t miss

The fairytale city is laden with attractions. Admire majestic Piazza San Marco, flanked by St Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace and travel by vaporetto (waterbus) along Venice’s canals, passing Rialto Bridge, Bridge of Sighs and lavish palazzo apartments. Stroll aimlessly in the Jewish Quarter in Canareggio near St Lucia station and visit Burano Island’s colourful houses.

Retail therapy

The shopping streets around San Rialto and San Marco dish up Italian design and jewellery while San Polo, across the Grand Canal, sells affordable gifts, leather goods and wonderful fabric collections. For Venetian glassware, visit Murano Island - witness glass-blowing demonstrations and buy gorgeous pieces from traditional studios.

Eat & drink

Venetians love bar snacks or cicchetti like fried clab claws and marinated sardines. Try cuttlefish risotto, pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup) and fegato alla veneziana (liver with onions, washed down with regional Prosecco and Valpolicella wines. By night, bar-hop in backstreet haunts and visit Ernest Hemingway’s favourite spot, Harry’s Bar.

Hidden gem

Escape the crowds at Torcello Island, an hour’s boat ride across the lagoon. Mostly a nature reserve, soak up the views and admire the Byzantine mosaics in its 7th-century cathedral.