Venice

The grand ceremonial heart of Venice — a vast, arcaded piazza flanked by the gold-mosaicked Basilica di San Marco, the soaring Campanile bell tower, and the Doge's Palace. One of the world's great public spaces.

One of the most extraordinary Gothic palaces in the world and the former seat of Venetian power — with magnificent gilded council chambers, Tintoretto masterpieces, the Bridge of Sighs, and the dark dungeons of the inquisition.

A 45-minute vaporetto (water bus) journey along the entire length of the Grand Canal — Venice's main artery — past Renaissance palazzos, the Rialto Bridge, Ca' d'Oro, and centuries of extraordinary architecture.

Venice's famous glassmaking island — a labyrinth of canals and colourful facades where master glassblowers have practised their art since 1291. Free demonstrations in working furnaces are spectacular to watch.

The best seafood restaurant in Venice — a tiny 24-cover room in Castello that has been serving the city's finest raw seafood and fish pasta for 30 years. Intimate, personal, and utterly exceptional.

Venice's most authentic bacaro (standing wine bar), operating near the Rialto since 1415 — line up at the bar for cicchetti (small bites) and a glass of house wine at prices that defy the surrounding tourist economy.

The most celebrated restaurant on Burano island — the colourful-houses island of the Venetian lagoon — serving outstanding traditional risotto and seafood at prices half of central Venice.

A beautiful waterfront terrace on the Zattere quayside with views across the Giudecca Canal — excellent contemporary seafood in a calmer, more residential corner of Venice well away from the San Marco crowds.

A tiny outdoor bar opposite Dorsoduro's last working gondola repair yard — serving the best cicchetti and ombra (small glass of wine) in Venice with an unmatchably authentic canalside atmosphere.

The best rooftop bar in Venice — a panoramic terrace on the converted Stucky flour mill on Giudecca island, delivering a sweeping view of the entire city and lagoon that is magnificent at golden hour.

Venice's most atmospheric late-night bar near the Rialto — a lively mix of good cocktails, eclectic décor, live jazz on weekends, and a genuinely mixed crowd of locals and in-the-know travellers.

The most famous cicchetti bar in Venice — a tiny standing-room-only spot beside the Rialto market, with outstanding small sandwiches and bites made fresh each morning from the adjacent market stalls.

The oldest café in the world, open continuously since 1720 — a series of beautifully frescoed rooms in the arcades of Piazza San Marco, with an orchestra on the terrace and an atmosphere that is pure theatre.

Venice's finest pasticceria — a Dorsoduro institution producing extraordinary pastries, fruit tarts, and zabaione cream daily since 1886. Always packed with locals who know better than to go anywhere else.

Venice's famous barrier island beach — a long stretch of Adriatic sand with grand art deco hotels and the famous Venice Film Festival venue, reached in 30 minutes by vaporetto from the city.

A 30-minute gondola journey through Venice's back canals — the iconic Venetian experience, gliding under stone bridges and past crumbling palazzo walls in one of the world's most romantic cities.

A half-day trip combining Burano (Venice's rainbow-coloured lace island) and Torcello (the ancient 7th-century settlement that predates Venice itself) — two utterly different but equally extraordinary islands in the northern lagoon.

The finest food experience in Venice — a guided morning tour of the historic Rialto fish and produce market with a Venetian chef, followed by cooking traditional recipes in a private palazzo kitchen.

An evening guided walk through Venice after the cruise passengers have returned to their ships — the empty Piazza San Marco, reflected canal lights, and romantic stone alleys offer a completely different city to the daytime experience.