DK Travel : Venice

The uniquely romantic city of Venice was built entirely on water and has managed to survive into the 21st century without cars. Narrow alleyways and canals pass between sumptuous palaces and magnificent churches, colourful neighbourhood markets and quiet backwaters, unchanged for centuries. Few cities possess such an awesome line-up of sights for visitors.

For guided tours around Venice (see Guided Tours)

Fabric

Lace is the most Venetian of materials, but attractive linens and velvets are also good value.
Façade

Usually fronting a canal, this was the only exterior wall decorated with a costly stone overlay to impress visitors.
Farmacia Ponci

The “Casa degli Speziali”, the oldest pharmacy in Venice, carries on its business in modern premises alongside its restored 16th-century rooms. Displayed on original briarwood shelving adorned with Baroque statues in Arolla pinewood, are rows of 17th-century porcelain jars for medicinal ingredients; for safety reasons poisons were kept in a rear room. Pharmacies were strictly regulated and totalled 518 in 1564, the year their guild was formed.
Feeding the Pigeons

Scattering feed to the birds in Piazza San Marco (see Piazza San Marco) while Mum and Dad immortalize you on video is a must for young visitors. Bags of corn are hawked by sellers, but the birds eat anything.
Fegato alla Veneziana

Calves’ liver Venetian-style cooked slowly with onions and vinegar.
Fellini’s Casanova (1976)

Donald Sutherland walks around a fantasized version of Venice in this Fellini film.
Feltrinelli Internazionale

Browse through the well-stocked shelves of English- and other European-language crime and mystery novels, fiction, travel, classics, children’s literature and reference books in this chain bookshop.
Fendi

Flamboyant frocks and shoes for special occasions and crazily beaded bags, all with the “double-F” Fendi mark.
Ferry Trips

Restful for adults, exciting for youngsters, the varied boat lines are an ideal way for families to appreciate the joys of the city. Get older children to plan trips on the route maps but avoid the outside seating on the vaporetto with toddlers. For an extended trip, take the majestic double-decker motonave over to Lido and Punta Sabbioni (see Island Boat Fares).
Festa del Redentore

People crowd on to all available watercraft, decorated with paper lanterns and greenery, for a feast of roast duck and watermelon, followed by a midnight fireworks display. It all takes place near Palladio’s church on Giudecca (see Andrea Palladio) to commemorate the end of the 1576 plague. For those on foot, a temporary pontoon bridge stretches from the Zattere over the Giudecca canal.