Location: Venice
Top Things to do in Venice
Top 10 Things to do Good for Kids in Venice, Veneto
With its gondolas, canals, amazing restaurants, and unforgettable romantic ambiance, Venice is definitely a city for one's bucket list. Waterfront palazzos, palaces, and churches make drifting down the Grand Canal feel like cruising through a painting. To really experience Venice you must go to the opera or to a classical music performance, nibble fresh pasta and pastries, and linger in the exhibit halls of an art gallery. Label lovers will drool over the high-end shopping in Piazza San Marco.
Restaurants in Venice
1. Centro Storico di Venezia
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2,219 reviews
Reviewed By L9034OAcarlosb - Lisbon, Portugal
Find your own path through that maze of bridges, canals, alleys and monuments which makes the heart of the Centro Storico. Leave your luggage at the hotel, and hit the streets. You won`t regret a single second. Enjoy.
2. Canal Grande
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41,173 reviews
Venice's main water thoroughfare, lined with great Renaissance palaces, is a colorful and busy spectacle of gondolas and vaporetti.
Reviewed By Bandit-One - Lucerne, Switzerland
We have been in Venice a bunch of times. But still amazes us the same as the first time. It's just a lovely place to be. Countless sights, great food and no (car) traffic. The Canale Grande is one of the most famous sights in the city. And rightly so. You could rent a private water taxi, take a tour boat or just hop on one of the water buses. For us the water bus was fine. Drive along the whole canale or hop and off (buy a day-ticket). You will pass endless interesting sights. Starting from the train station (Ferrovia) the Ponte degli Scalzi, the Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo, the Chiesa di San Geremia, Rialto Mercato and Rialto Bridge, the Ponte dell’Accademia, the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, the Punta della Dogana and at the other end the Piazza San Marco with the Palazzo Ducale and the Basilica di San Marco. And that's just the very big sights along the way. Of course you also can walk through Venice (we love it) and you will pass the Canale lots of times. It's also fun just to wander around without plan and getting lost in the beautiful backstreets of Venice. This time we were lucky to rent an apartement for a few day directly on the Canale Grande. With views of the canal from every room. Be it in the morning during breakfast or in the evenings when the lights on the canal seemed magical: We never got and never will get bored of that sight. Light or dark, day or night, sunny or rainy. The Canale Grande is a sight to behold. Love it - and we love this town.
3. Piazza San Marco
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 36,943 reviews
It is said that Napoleon called San Marco "the drawing room of Europe." And it is a breathtakingly beautiful place. But the square has long been a lure for massive numbers of pigeons, drawn by the massive numbers of tourists who readily feed them. While the tourists happily post for photos amid the flock, there are concerns that the birds' presence--and what they leave behind--will damage the centuries old architecture and art work.
Reviewed By usctrojantravelgirl - Los Angeles, United States
I’ve visited St. Mark’s Square many times but truly enjoyed this visit. While the piazza was crowded and even flooded during high tide, the waters quickly diminished, the weather was beautiful and there are enough opportunities to get the perfect photos!
4. Scala Contarini del Bovolo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,510 reviews
The tallest spiral staircase of Venice is a perfect synthesis of different architecture styles (Renaissance, Gothic and Venetian-Byzantine). It was commissioned by Pietro Contarini in late 1400 as a decorative element of the adjacent family's Palazzo. Even today there are several hypotheses about the authorship of the manufacturer. The monument can be considered a unique architectural jewel in the lagoon, the new Renaissance expression that was establishing in the city. The Scala is connected to the palace by three floors lodges. At the top there is the Belvedere with a wonderful view of Venice, from here you can see the domes and the Campanile di San Marco, the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, and even the Teatro la Fenice.
Reviewed By JuneJaundoo - Brighton, United Kingdom
Well, this is a little bit off the beaten track, and well worth going to see. Once a private residence many years ago, it's now been restored and is open to the public. Its €7pp to climb the stairs and admire the view. This will become a main tourist stop in a few years. Its amazing to think it was once a private house, and that it's there tucked away down tiny streets, hidden from view, it makes you wonder just what lies behind some of the dull doors of Venice!
5. Ponte dei Sospiri
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7,050 reviews
This historic bridge connects the Doge's Palace with its prisons and was named for the condemned prisoners who crossed it to meet their executioners.
Reviewed By Erfurt - Jupiter, United States
The Bridge of Sighs is world renown, it is packed with tourists coming and going, there is a lot of pushing and chaffing going on, everyone wants to take a photo of this scene, and the once who take " selfies " really jam up this beautiful sight best seen from the bridge where this photo was taken..The Bridge of Sighs is made from white limestone passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace. A MUST see...
6. Torre dell'Orologio
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,216 reviews
This 14th-century clock stands on the north side of St. Mark's Square,and is known by its large clock face displaying the hours of the day, phases of the moon and movement of the sun through the signs of the Zodiac.
Reviewed By massimoswitz - Opfikon, Switzerland
Beautiful clock tower in front of the basilica of San Marco that every hour you hear the Moors ringing the bells.
7. Giudecca
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 614 reviews
Giudecca is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, in northern Italy. It is part of the sestiere of Dorsoduro and is a locality of the comune of Venice.
Reviewed By Oakandco - Birchington, United Kingdom
Less than five minutes on a vaporetto and you can flee the maddening crowds of San Marco and find yourself on a little oasis of calm - with, arguably, the best ground level views in the whole city. Granted, there's not a lot of life on the island of Giudecca, but if you're pondering where to stay, heavily entertain the idea of being here. Not only is it peaceful, but you can sit at one of a number of cafes and restaurants eating a meal a few euros cheaper than on the 'main islands' and be perched about a foot (literally) from the lapping waters of the Giudecca canal (which means you too can gasp at the ridiculous size of the cruise ships as they make their slow progress too and from the terminal further up the canal). Your view? Across the canal to the main square...truly beautiful at night on a warm late summer's evening. In addition to a number of vaporetto stops, perhaps most crucially there's a supermarket which sells bottles of prosecco for 4 euros and limoncello for even less. Almost, on its own, worthy of making the trip.
8. Campanile di San Marco
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 9,064 reviews
Originally built as a lighthouse to assist navigation in the lagoon, visitors can be whisked by elevator to the top of St. Mark's Campanile or bell tower to savor incredible views of Venice, the lagoon and the Alps in the distance.
Reviewed By chicago90Phoenix
If you love priceless views including the multiple domed roof of St. Marks Church, this is the place to be. You will appreciate the beauty and how special and unique Venice is when you have this birds eye view perspective of this empire.
9. Campo del Ghetto
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,294 reviews
Dating back to the 16th-century, this is the oldest Jewish Ghetto in the world with its five synagogues, which are the oldest still existing.
Reviewed By 303SteveA303 - Bath, United States
When you describe the experience of visiting Venice, it seems to always include St Mark', the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal and perhaps a day in Murano across the lagoon. We stayed in the Canneregio neighborhood and enjoyed a part of Venice that is a little removed from the main tourist areas. It is also where the Jewish ghetto is and we found it to be a very interesting place to wander about and explore. The story of Jews in Venice is fascinating. Our visit to the Jewish museum on the Campo del Ghetto Nuovo gave us a better understanding of the role that Jews played in the social and economic history of Venice. The tour they offer of the old synagogues in the ghetto is also excellent to help understand the religious traditions Jews brought to Venice. As in other parts of Venice, there are canals, narrow streets, and squares; but here there are also old gates intended to lock in residents of the ghetto after dark. There is also an excellent kosher restaurant, Gam Gam, nearby that serves some really good food and should not be missed. Right down the street from the restaurant is a wonderful pastry shop .... another reason to visit the ghetto.
10. Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,763 reviews
Designed by Baldassare Longhena in 1631-83, the church's façade is embellished with 125 statues, which form a sharp contrast to the somber interior.
Reviewed By massimoswitz - Opfikon, Switzerland
Round basilica with huge dome with several paintings and in the sacristy you can visit Titian's masterpieces.
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