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Condé Nast Traveler picks
 Best of Venice
As 100,000 tourists discover every day of the summer high season, Venice remains the one city that must be seen to be believed, its beauty doubled by being reflected at every turn in the water of its canals. It could be said that Venice actually competes as a work of art with the paintings, sculptures, and monuments that it contains—and that's saying something in the place that gave us Titian, Tintoretto, Canaletto, Veronese, and Mantegna.
Attractions & Activities The best way to explore this northern Italian destination—where you can hear your own footsteps at high noon because there is no wheeled traffic anywhere—is on foot. Head in any direction, and take your time. Everywhere you look, you'll find another eye-catching detail. Because addresses are confusing—none are given by street but rather by consecutive numbering that covers an entire district (there are six districts in central Venice)—a map is essential, such as the Euro City 1:15,000 map of Venice (GeoCenter, $8). Perhaps the most astonishing sight in the city is the five-domed St. Mark's Basilica. There's no charge to enter the gilded interior, though you'll pay a few euros to join the crowd gazing at the Pala d'Oro altarpiece, which glitters with precious stones and gold—a priceless, awe-inspiring relic of the skills of medieval goldsmiths. The basilica began as the opulent private chapel for Venice's doge, or magistrate, who lived next door in the Doges' Palace. The Gothic palazzo, which combined the functions of our White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court, is a gracefully arcaded structure with an interior that reveals the power and opulence of Venice at the height of its glory. Across the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro district, a great many masterworks are in the Accademia Gallery, at the base of the bridge of the same name, and in the Ca d'Oro, the exquisite Gothic mansion on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district. The latter is closer to another bridge, the famed Rialto, which retains its antique allure, architecturally if not commercially: Souvenir stands have replaced most of the original commercial markets, of which Shakespeare's Salanio asked, "What news on the Rialto?" Venice's churches also contain exquisite works—and are remarkable in themselves, particularly the Redentore and others designed by the great Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. In San Polo, visit Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, called the Frar, to see one of Titian's great masterpieces, the Assumption, and in Dorsoduro San Sebastiano, a church which glows with the work of Veronese and contains his tomb. Lodging Several hotels in the central San Marco district have achieved Condé Nast Traveler Gold List status: The spectacular Gritti Palace, on the Grand Canal, has hosted Woody Allen, among others. The Hotel Danieli, in the famous Palazzo Dandolo, was recently renovated, but stay in the old section—and take advantage of the concierge desk, where the staff can work miracles. The Bauer Hotel & Bauer Il Palazzo feels surprisingly secluded even though it is on the Grand Canal, near the Piazza San Marco. A goblet's throw from the Piazza San Marco, the 99-room Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal comprises several buildings sharing a mix of Venetian opulence (silk fabrics, Murano glass) and minimalist understatement—the higher the floor, the better. The discreet Hotel Kette has been completely renovated, with well-appointed rooms very near the reopened La Fenice opera house. More reasonably priced hotels include the 35-room Hotel Do Pozzi, whose enclosed courtyard is a refuge from the crowds in the nearby Piazza San Marco, and the Locanda Art Déco, off the relatively quiet Campo San Stefano, which has period furniture—a great twist on the usual Venetian froufrou decor. On the Grand Canal, the stately Palazzo Sant'Angelo, long a private home, reopened as a hotel in 2000. Its own pier is a handy boarding point for anyone heading to the nearby Piazza San Marco. Venice has made a fine art of excluding from its private life the millions of visitors who arrive each year. Which is why the seven-room Ca'Bauta—on the second floor of the former Muazzo family palace in Castello—is such a welcome addition to the hotel scene. It's run by good-humored Venetians who are happy to share their city with you. At the extravagant, beautiful Hotel Colombina, on Calle del Remedio by a quiet canal, the Bridge of Sighs is visible from all the front rooms, and there's an elegant little bar downstairs. Ca'Pisani Hotel, at the Accademia Bridge on the Dorsoduro side, aims at visitors who'll pay for hyper-chic surroundings. Its La Rivista wine bar is a slick diner serving excellent salads and cheeses. A few steps away from the Pisani, the Hotel Belle Arti is an attractively recycled former hostel with a garden and a fountain. Many art historians like Dorsoduro's La Calcina, favored by John Ruskin, the Victorian art critic, who stayed here in the mid-nineteenth century when he was working on The Stones of Venice. With only 29 rooms, some with views of the island of Giudecca, it books up quickly in summer. The Hotel Galleria is atmospherically set in part of a seventeenth-century palace in Dorsoduro, on the Grand Canal. Locanda Ca'del Brocchi is a seven-room hotel in a sixteenth-century palazzo near the museum housing the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The plush, secluded 70-room Boscolo Hotel Dei Dogi is near the Gesuiti church in the Cannaregio's residential area of Madonna dell'Orto. It has a spacious interior garden and lagoon views. Dining You must, of course, have coffee, tea, or limonata at the great (and yes, overpriced) Caffé Florian, on the Piazza San Marco. It is by far the best place to watch the crowd (39-041-520-5641). Craftsmen, lighting people, architects, and singers drop into Ristorante al Teatro, steps from La Fenice (1916 Campo S. Fantin; 39-041-522-1052; entrées, $15-$28). The cavernous space inside the Centrale restaurant and lounge owes more to SoHo than to any Venetian tradition, which is probably why so many pretty young things congregate here (1659b San Marco, Piscina Frezzeria; 39-041-296-0664; entrées, $15-$34). Chef Giovanni Ciresa is in charge of the kitchen at De Pisis, part of the Bauer Hotel, housed in an exquisitely renovated eighteenth-century palazzo. The imaginative menu adds global touches to Mediterranean food: Parmesan beef carpaccio with bok choy, chestnut-flour taglierini with beets, guinea fowl with black truffles (1459 San Marco; 39-041-520-7022; entrées, $49-$62). Osteria Ai Assassini serves delicious, moderately priced seafood—especially the small grilled branzini (sea bass)—and great wines (3695 San Marco; 39-041-528-7986; entrées, $11-$18). Right on the Ponte del Megio, the secluded Osteria La Zucca (the pumpkin) serves imaginative vegetable and meat dishes, including a tasty vitello tonnato, and great bottles of Tocai. If you don't manage to get a table outside, ask for one by the window so you can watch the boat traffic (1762 Santa Croce; 39-041-524-1570; entrées, $15-$18). Do Farai, in Dorsoduro, is one of the city's best-kept secrets—and not easy to find. In summer, reserve a table in the shady Campiello Squellini. Stefano, the headwaiter, is a splendid practitioner of the Venetian art of preparing raw seafood: His baby striped bass carpaccio, marinated in prosecco, olive oil, and "lemon rain" and served on a bed of grilled artichokes, is the best cold dish in Venice (3278 Dorsoduro; 39-041-277-0369; entrées, $12-$18). An eighteenth-century scuola now houses the Ristorante Riviera, which is in a wonderful location right on the Zattere promenade, on the Giudecca Canal, where very fresh seafood is adventurously cooked—a carpaccio of octopus, a trio of raw fish), and homemade black pasta made with cuttlefish ink with frutti di mare (1473 Zattere; 39-041-522-7621; entrées, $12-$25). Antica Trattoria La Furatola derives its name from the Venetian word for a small shop selling prepared food at a good price. Its two cheerful rooms are often filled with locals, who come here for the two types of seafood antipasti—marinated (sardines and anchovies) and boiled (shrimp and more). The catch of the day is cooked to order (2879 Calle Lunga San Barnaba; 39-041-520-8594; entrées, $12-$23). The Casin Dei Nobili, tucked into an arcade of the same name, garners Venetians' highest praise of all: inexpensive but good. The young owners have done up the main room as a kind of chic catacomb. The handwritten menu changes daily and is old-school Venetian with a twist: marinated, grilled eggplant and radicchio, fat steak fillets wrapped deliciously in prosciutto, and a full menu of wafer-thin pizzas (2765 Calle Lombardo; 39-041-241-1841; entrées, $9-$12). For the grand tradition of cicchetti, the elaborate Venetian bar snacks that rival tapas in complexity and variety, find Il Paradiso Perduto, at Fondamenta della Misericordia, in Cannaregio. There's live music whenever the chef—or anyone else—feels like attacking the baby grand (2540 Fondamenta della Misericordia; 39-041-720-581; cicchetti, $5-$10). Truth in Travel is the guiding principle for all content published in Condé Nast Traveler. Other travel publications often accept free travel and accommodations. Condé Nast Traveler does not. It is independent of the travel industry. The magazine always pays its way, and, as far as possible, its correspondents travel anonymously. By doing so, they experience the world—both the good and the bad—as other travelers do, and their reports and recommendations are fair, impartial, and authoritative.
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