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Venice’s fairytale cathedral is pure Byzantine in essence, while its façade and interior have been embellished with resplendent mosaics and exquisite works of art through the ages (see Basilica San Marco).

The city’s majestic watercourse swarms with all manner of boats, while its embankments boast a dazzling succession of palaces dating back as early as the 13th century (see Grand Canal).

Elegance and opulence sit side by side in what Napoleon named “the drawing room of Europe”. This magnificent square is adorned with monuments that give testimony to Venice’s glorious past (see Piazza San Marco).

An unsurpassed collection of Venetian paintings, with masterpieces by Titian, Bellini and Giorgione. A must, not only for art lovers (see Accademia Galleries).

This Mediterranean fresh produce market has enlivened this quayside since medieval times and is arguably still the best market in the world (see Rialto Market).

A Gothic interior with grandiose works of art lies in store behind this church’s brick façade (see Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari).

Escape the crowds in the city with a ferry ride over the vast expanse of the lagoon to this peaceful, lush island, the site of Venice’s original settlement (see Torcello).

Italy’s leading museum for 20th-century European and American art, the collection is housed in a one-floor palace on the Grand Canal (see Peggy Guggenheim Collection).

This was the powerhouse of the city’s rulers for nearly 900 years. Passing through a maze of rooms gives visitors an insight into the sumptuous lifestyle that so often accompanied state affairs (see Doge’s Palace).

A wonderful square, bustling with life day and night thanks to its market stalls and outdoor cafés. An added bonus is its many architectural styles (see Campo Santa Margherita).

The top-class orchestra and singers perform opera highlights by Verdi and Rossini, music by Vivaldi and Mozart, and Italian folk music.

This converted cinema regularly stages live ethnic and other music, free of charge. The day’s programme is generally posted on the door.

An enthusiastic multilingual welcome is extended to all visitors in this lively wine bar that never seems to close. It boasts almost non-stop service, an extended “happy hour” from 4–7pm and a delicious assortment of Spanish-style tapas snack meals to accompany the wine.

A magnificent start to an exciting evening – a special ACTV launch from Piazzale Roma transports hopeful clients down the Grand Canal to the landing stage of the beautiful Renaissance palace, alias City Casino, for a glittering night at the tables or the slot machines. It is also a short walk from the San Marcuola ferry stop.

A thoughtful use of candles and soft music helps to create a pleasant and welcoming ambience to this lounge bar and restaurant. They serve imaginative and sometimes somewhat innovative Mediterranean cuisine each evening until 2am.

Visconti’s film starring Dirk Bogarde is now as classic as the Thomas Mann novel on which it is based (see Death in Venice, Thomas Mann).

This unmissable Renaissance palace was the bequest of Giovanni Querini in 1868, the last member of the illustrious dynasty, on the condition that the library be made available “particularly in the evenings for the convenience of scholars”. The immaculately restored palace-museum houses fascinating scenes of public and private life by Gabriel Bella and Pietro Longhi, as well as Carlo Scarpa’s Modernist creations.

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).

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.

The finest work of Vittorio Carpaccio can be seen at the confraternity of the Slavs (Schiavoni). Slaying the dragon is one of the scenes from the lives of Dalmatian saints, executed in 1502.

Mediterranean cuisine, including Neapolitan-style pizza.

Grilled meat and veg, along with pizza and fish.

Calle degli Albanesi near Piazza San Marco is named in honour of this large 15th-century community.

Vivaldi (1678–1741) was both an accomplished musician and an influential composer. Of his 500 concertos, The Four Seasons is the best known, though 10 were transcribed by J.S. Bach. Vivaldi spent extended periods teaching music at the Pietà home for girls (see Vivaldi Concerts).

Aptly named after the Arab word darsina’a (house of industry), Venice’s formidable Arsenale shipyards at one time employed an army of 16,000 to produce the fleets that sailed the Mediterranean, spreading the influence of the Republic through trade deals and naval superiority. Justifiably proud of its innovative assembly-line system, the Arsenale could construct a galley in a matter of hours, notably in 1574 while the French king Henry III was enjoying a banquet. Ringed by walls and towers bearing the winged lion, some of its ancient docks and workshops are now being adapted as exhibition and performance venues (see Arsenale). The row of stone lions which are guarding the entrance hail from various Greek islands looted by Venetian commanders.

The original lectern where Galileo Galilei held his lessons between 1592 and 1610 can be seen on the guided tour of Padua’s historic university, founded in 1222 and second only to Bologna as Italy’s oldest. The institution boasts the world’s first anatomy theatre (1594) where dissections had to be carried out in great secrecy as the church forbade such practices. Other illustrious scholars of the university have included astronomer Copernicus (1473–1543), Gabriel Fallopius (1523–62), who discovered the function of the Fallopian tubes, and Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia, the world’s first woman graduate (see Elena Lucrezia Corner Piscopia).