Hotel Venezia

Churches

Although San Marco is free, other famous churches charge an entry fee. If you plan to visit three churches or more, you are better off buying the churches pass. There is also a combined pass for museums, churches and transportation only available at the tourist information office but it is relatively expensive.

• Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), Piazza San Marco (Water lines # 1, 52, and 82 will take you from Santa Lucia (the train station) or Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Lucia. Walking is another option but will require a map and lots of time and energy.), TEL +39 041 5225205 (procuratorial phone number). 1st October to 31st March: 9:45AM-4:45PM; 1st April to 30 September: 9:45AM-5PM. Saint Mark's Basilica is on the Piazza San Marco and is one of the highlights of a visit to Venice. As with most churches in Italy, you must be dressed appropriately to be allowed in; this means no short skirts or bare shoulders. You are not allowed to carry large bags or rucksacks inside. You must deposit them just round the corner from the main entrance. Filming and photography is forbidden so be prepared in advance. The visit within the basilica lasts ten minutes. Waiting for entry into the basilica can last up to five or so hours and it may be wise to use alata.it to reserve your visit. Reservation costs € 1,00. Once you have a reservation you can take the group entrance on the left, where you give in the printout of your reservation. Admission to the basilica is free, however, the museum upstairs costs €3 and to view the high altar and treasury costs €2.

• San Giovanni e Paolo (San Zanipolo in Venetian dialect). A fine, huge Dominican church with the tombs of many Doges. It shares its piazza with the fine Renaissance facade of the Scuola San Marco and an equestrian statue of the mercenary (condottiere) captain Colleone. Look out for the testicles (coglioni in Italian - it's a lousy pun) on his coat of arms!

• Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The big friary church, with fine monuments and paintings, among which the famous 'Assunta' by Titian.

• Santa Maria dei Miracoli. A perfect jewel box church, simple in form but ornamented with fine exterior marble facings.

Museums

There is a museum pass available for some of Venice's best known museums. It does not include all of them. It is already worthwhile buying it if you intend to visit the two big museums at Saint Marc Square: The Doge's Palace and Correr Museum. A more expensive pass also including some famous churches and transportation is available at the tourist information.

• Correr Museum, San Marco 52 (on San Marco Square), . Interesting collection of globes, starting from the 16th century. There is also an only library hall, an archeological museum of Roman antiques and an important picture gallery. At the end of your visit, don't miss the museum art cafe, with their tables on the San Marco square.

• Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), (San Marco square). Don't miss the guided tour named Secret Itinerary (€16), which will let you discover the part of the palace where the city's administration worked, as well as Casanova's jail and the wonderful five hundred year old roof structure.

• La Fenice Theater (Teatro La Fenice), (300 m west of San Marco square). Visit this historic theater with an audioguide (good explanations in several languages). The theater is an identical reconstruction (rebuilt in 2003) of the previous theater building that burned down in 1996. €7.

• Jewish Ghetto of Venice. While racial and ethnic neighborhoods had existed prior to the Venetian Ghetto, Venice's ghetto was the first "ghetto" (coming from a Venetian word for the Iron Foundry that was on the site previously) and "ghetto" eventually came to mean any neighborhood that was made up of a single ethnic/racial group. Today, Jewish life is still very active in the ghetto, and elsewhere in Venice, and is home to five synagogues. Visiting on Saturdays (the Jewish Sabbath) will prove very fruitless because all shops, restaurants, and other Jewish places will be closed.

• The Jewish Museum (Museo Ebraico), Cannaregio 2902/b, TEL +39 041 715 359, fax: +39 041 72 3007), . Hours:1 June - 30 September: 10AM-7PM 1 October- 31 : 10AM-6PM The Museum is closed on Saturday (Shabbat), during Jewish festivities, on December 25th , on 1st January and on 1 May. Entrance to the Museum: Full price: € 3.00, Reduced price: € 2.00. Entrance to the Museum and Guided Tours to Synagogues: Full price: € 8.50, Reduced price: € 7.00.

• Mocenigo Palace (Palazzo Mocenigo), (vaporetto San Stae). Closed on Mondays. A collection of clothes dating from the 18th century. €4.

• The Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (Located on the Dorsoduro region of Venice, to the east of the Accademia bridge, on the southern side of the Grand Canal), TEL +39.041.2405.411 ( fax: +39.041.5206.885). Hours: W-M: 10AM-6PM. Closed on Tuesdays and on 25 December. Open on national holidays (including Tuesdays). The Peggy Guggenheim Museum offers a personal collection of modern art collected by Peggy Guggenheim. Peggy was an American married to modern artist Max Ernst, and funded a number of his contemporaries. The gallery includes a sculpture garden and works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Tanguy, Duchamp, Pollock, Dali, and Mondrian. Admission: Adults: €12, Seniors (over 65 years): €10, Students (18 years and under or holders of valid student ID): €7.

• Ca' Pesaro — Beautiful palace housing the gallery of modern art focusing on Italian art in the 19th Century as well as the Marco Pollo Museum, a rich collection mainly of Asian exhibits.

• Ca' Rezzonico — Museum of the 18th Century in Venice - attempts to revive the domestic atmosphere of Venetian nobilities.

• Bell tower of St. Mark's (Campanile di San Marco) — The current tower dates from 1912; an exact replica of the previous tower which collapsed in 1902. The top of the tower offers great views of Venice and the lagoon.

• Clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio) — Having been closed for restoration for many years, the restored astronomical clock is now visible. The fascinating tour of the clock mechanism (and rooftop bell) can only be visited on a guided tour.

• Scuola grande di San Rocco — A masterpiece of Tintoretto, this guild house is an exquisite example of Manierist art in its best. In order to allow a comfortable admiration of the detailed ceiling mirrors are offered to the visitors.

• Galleria dell'Accademia di Venezia — Venice's most significant art museum which is also one of Italy's best. A must see! Regular tickets: €6,50, Reduced-price tickets: €3,25, Advanced reservation fee: €1,00.

Other Classical art museums are:

• Glass Museum (Museo del Vetro) — On Murano, the island so typical of its glasswork. Closed on Wednesday, 25 December, 1 January. Working hours: 10 - 16 (winter), 10 - 17 (summer). Full price: €6, reduced price: €4.

• Goldoni's House (Casa Goldoni) — House of Venice' famous playwright.

• Lace Museum (Museo del Merletto).

Other museums include:

• Museo Fortuny.
• Museum of Greek Icons.
• Natural History Museum.
• Naval History Museum (Museo Storico Navale).
• Palazzo Grassi.
• Scala Contarini del Bovolo.

Exhibitions

• Leonardo da Vinci in the Chiesa di San Barnaba shows machines reproduced from Leonardo's codices. Some of the exhibits are interactive and copies of the codices are available for further reading. Campo San Barnaba, opening hours 9:30 - 19:30, just until 30th December 2010.

Outdoor sights, piazzas, bridges, canals

• Don't miss the Rialto market and the Rialto Bridge (Italian: Ponte di Rialto) on San Polo, the smallest sestiere. The Rialto market is for shoppers. To the east is a neighborhood of small shops and restaurants; to the west is the Rialto farmers' market. Shopping is slightly less expensive than in the tourist-filled Piazza San Marco. The bridge has become one of Venice's most recognizable icons and has a history that spans over 800 years. Today's Rialto Bridge was completed in 1591 and was used to replace a wooden bridge that collapsed in 1524.
• Zattere. It's a long and sunny walk along the Giudecca canal, protected during winter time from cold northerly winds for being exposed to south and shielded by buildings. You might find interesting to see how a gondola is made, stopping by the Squero (Venetian for small ship yard) across the canal near San Trovaso Church. It's one of the few still in business in town. With some luck, you'll see some gondole through various manufacturing steps (note that gondole are not straight to counter-balance the gondoliere push).