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A treat for the senses, with artistic piles of luscious peaches and cherries, thorny artichokes and red chicory from Treviso. Fruit, vegetables and fish tend to be strictly seasonal.

Writhing eels, soft-shelled crabs, huge swordfish and crimson-fleshed fresh tuna are among the stars of the 1907 Neo-Gothic fish market hall, barely out of reach of the scavenging, screeching seagulls.

The oldest church in Venice claims to have a foundation set by a pious carpenter in the 5th century, although the present building is medieval. The Gothic portico and 24-hour clock are well worth a look.

New laws and names of criminals were announced atop this porphyry column, supported by a stone figure known as il gobbo (hunchback).

This lop-sided 1525 palace once imprisoned debtors on the ground floor, but the top floors were offices for the city treasurers (camerlenghi ).

A must for every visitor is a trip on the traghetto ferry across the Grand Canal – one of only eight still in operation. Custom dictates that passengers should remain standing.

Merchants gathered to do business deals outside the city’s first bank set up in 1157, now a wine bar. The state abolished private institutions in 1585, profiting from the activity.

This lovely covered passageway decorated with frescoes has been home to silversmiths, goldsmiths and silk traders since the 1300s.

The Erberia, right on the Grand Canal, makes a wonderful spot for boat-watching since the relocation of the wholesale market from here to Tronchetto in the 1990s.

Uniformed carabinieri (police) patrol the elongated law courts edging the Grand Canal. Designed in 1552–5 by Sansovino they are recognizable by their 25 plain arcades.