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)

Oviesse-Billa

Department store with fashionable, moderately priced clothing for all ages, combined with a supermarket with a great selection of picnic products.
Pagnacco

Polar bears, squirrels and kangaroos are but some of the 200 glass animals this wonderful shop boasts. Orchestras of tiny glass musicians fill the shop window.
Palazzi Barbaro

Cole Porter, Diaghilev, Monet and Whistler are just a few of the great names who figure among the past guests of this private double palace, courtesy of the 19th-century Curtis family from Boston. Henry James wrote The Aspen Papers here and used it as the setting for The Wings of a Dove (see Henry James).
Palazzi Contarini degli Scrigni

A 15th-century residence, enlarged by architect Vincenzo Scamozzi for the 17th-century proprietor Contarini “of the coffers” (scrigni ), so-called for the vast wealth of his family which resided in the Veneto region. The roof-top “folly” acted as a useful observatory for astronomers.
Palazzo Grassi

In 1985, the splendid salons of Palazzo Grassi were superbly restored under the supervision of leading architect Gae Aulenti. Set on the Grand Canal, the palace dates back to 1740 when a wealthy merchant family commissioned Giorgio Massari to design the building. It is located alongside the picturesque tree-shaded Campo San Samuele, which features a graceful Veneto-Byzantine bell tower.
Palazzo Labia

The fames and fortunes of this 17th-century palace overlooking the Canal di Cannaregio could fill a book. Abandoned when its wealthy merchant owners fled to Vienna at the fall of the Republic, it acted as a silk factory, saw-mill and primary school, but the worst damage was inflicted in 1945 when a boat loaded with munitions blew up right in front of it. Luckily the wonderful ballroom frescoed by Tiepolo has been restored. The palace now belongs to RAI, the Italian state broadcasting service.
Palazzo Leoni Montanari

On the entrance portal of this lavishly decorated Baroque palace are carvings of writhing serpents, and Hercules is shown in the act of slaying the Hydra on the loggia. The masterpieces include 120 awe-inspiring Russian icons and 14 fascinating paintings by Pietro Longhi depicting scenes from 18th-century Venetian life and hanging in the frescoed “Room of the Four Continents”.
Palazzo Mastelli

This eclectic delight, tucked away on a peaceful back canal of Cannaregio, was the abode of three merchant brothers from Morea on the Peloponnese from 1112. Their turbaned likenesses in stone adorn neighbouring Campo dei Mori (see Campo dei Mori). A fascinating carved menagerie of lions, birds and a prominent camel can be picked out on the Gothic façade.
Palazzo Mocenigo

An 18th-century patrician palace whose richly furnished and frescoed rooms also have showcases of historic fabrics and costumes including lavishly embroidered waistcoats, fans, bodices and corsets. The Mocenigo family portrait gallery boasts a total of seven doges, topped in fame by Alvise I, the victor at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto against the Turks, which was crucial for the Republic.
Palazzo Pisani-Moretta

Venue of a fabulous masked ball during Carnival, when VIP guests still glide up in gondolas to the candlelit Gothic façade on the Grand Canal, as did the Tsar of Russia and Napoleon’s Josephine in days gone by. Tiepolo and Guarana contributed to the interior Baroque decorations.