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)

Molino Stucky

Plans are afoot to convert this impressive Hanseatic Gothic flour mill dominating the Giudecca Canal into a conference and hotel complex. Built between 1897– 1920, workers pale-faced from flour were a common sight until 1954 when operations ceased.
Mondonovo

Venice’s most original papiermâché masks. A monstrous bear’s head might hang alongside a gloating Tutankhamun, but the speciality is Carnival costumes. Masks for the film Eyes Wide Shut (2000) were made here.
Moonraker (1979)

Roger Moore as James Bond steers a gondola-cumhovercraft across Piazza San Marco in a thrilling chase.
Murano

Long synonymous with glassmaking, Murano developed blowing and fusion techniques to extraordinary heights in the 1500s, and so closely guarded were the trade secrets that skilled craftsmen could migrate only under pain of death. Though Venice’s glass monopoly lasted only until the 17th century, its fame lives on. A visit to the Glass Museum with its 4,000 exhibits is a must (see Museo dell’Arte Vetrario). Don’t be put off by the reps who invite tourists to see a furnace and showroom; it’s a unique opportunity to watch the glassblowers at work and is free of charge. However, if you accept a free boat trip from San Marco to a glass factory, you’re expected to make your own way back by vaporetto if you don’t buy anything. Glassmaking aside, Murano is a lovely place to wander around, with canals, alleyways and friendly islanders.
Murano Collezioni

A stunning new showroom containing contemporary pieces by Carlo Moretti and Venini, alongside classic light fittings by Barovier & Toso.
Museo Civico di Storia Naturale

Gigantic ferns, weird fish and an ancestor of the crocodile, all in fossilized form from the Eocene era, 50 million years ago are treasures hailing from Bolca in the Lessini foothills. They testify to the tropical shallows that spread across the area prior to the formation of the Alps.
Museo Correr

Priceless artworks and a miscellany of items on Venice’s history are housed in this fine museum on Piazza San Marco (see Museo Correr Complex).
Museo del Merletto

A must for crafts enthusiasts is the lacemaking island of Burano and this precious display of more than 200 rare lace items, documenting a 500-year history.
Museo dell’Arte Vetrario

A phenomenal chandelier from 1864, constructed from 356 handmade pieces, weighing 330 kg (730 lb) and measuring nearly 7 m (23 ft) in circumference and 4 m (13 ft) high, is the star of this glass museum in the Palazzo Giustiniani. Other exhibits include Phoenician phials, blown vases, ruby chalices, exquisite mirrors and the famed kaleidoscopic beads once traded worldwide.
Museo di Icone

A rich if small collection of 14th–18th-century Byzantine icons is on display, some painted by Greek artists living in Venice.