RESTAURANTS
La Madonna, Calle della Madonna 594 (tel. [0039] 041 522 3824 but you cannot book)….best to arrive by 7, or eat after 9, if you do not want to wait for a table; this has long been a favourite – busy, with its many attractive rooms bustling with locals and tourists. Good, unfancy, generous portions. Good wine in carafes, absolutely no need to order anything else. One minute from Rialto Bridge. Never be tempted to dine in one of the many prettily-lit traps along the Grand Canal by the Rialto.
Trattoria Corte Sconte, (tel. 041 522 7024)….good, near Arsenale, medium price, fashionable but some think it trades on its attractive setting.
La Furatola, Dorsoduro 2870, Calle Lunga San Barnaba (tel. 041 520 8594)…fish only, red-checked paper tablecloths; you choose from a platter of fresh fish. Must book. Small, cheap; the chap behind the bar at Ai Cugnai (below) considered this rival the best.
* Trattoria Da Ignazio, San Polo 2749, Calle dei Saoneri (tel. 041 523 4852)….closed Sat., this family run traditional restaurant has a pleasant tree-shaded courtyard, and a more varied menu than most, with well-cooked local specialities and excellent service. Must book.
Ai Cugnai, S. Vio, Accademia No. 857 (tel. 041 52 89 238)..…small, simple, cheap fish restaurant serving freshly caught fish, crabs, octopus etc. from the Veneto and Lagoon. Nice old ladies serve.
Ai Gondolieri, Ponte del Formager, San Vio 366 (tel. 041 528 6396)…..no fish (for once), meat, game and vegetables only. One spec. is risotto al radicchio (chicory). Cosy, expensive.
Trattoria da Bepi, Cannaregio 4550, 30131 (tel. 041 5285031)…..near Fondamente Nuove, behind Ca d’Oro, quite good for lunch if you’re in the area, family run.
Antica Trat. Poste Vecie, Rialto Pescheria (tel. 041 721 822)…..open for dinner only, in fish market by Rialto bridge, three rooms but the nicest are the two rooms with fires – obviously fish a speciality.
Ristorante Al Giardinetto, Salizzad Zorzi 4928 (tel. 041 528 5332)…..difficult to find, near S. Zaccaria church (beautiful Bellini altarpiece), closed Sat., attractive interior with pictures and barrel vaulted ceiling, popular with locals and arty English types of a certain age, but good, friendly and not too expensive; excellent carpaccio.
Trat. da Remigio, Castello 3416 (tel. 5230089)……v. busy (cl. Mon. eve. and Tues.) full of Venetians. Food trad. Ven., décor basic, service quick, just round corner from Al Giardinetto.
Vini Da Gigio, Fond. Di S. Felice, Cannaregio 3628/A (tel. 041/5285140)…..small, by pretty canal, behind Ca d’Oro, good, popular, few tourists, medium price.
Al Covo, Campiello della Pesheria, Castello 3968 (tel. 041 522 3812)…..near the Riva degli Schiavoni. Good. Simply decorated with changing menu. Not cheap and a bit cramped. Complimentary sea-food crostini. Closed Wed./Thurs.
Hotel Monaco e Gran Canale (tel. 041 520 0211) and Hotel Europa e Regina (tel. 041 520 0477) both offer lunch (expensive) outside on the Grand Canal-side terrace, if the weather is nice and you need to spend money. It can be worth it. What the Venetians tend to do, however, when the sun shines, is go to the Fondamente Zattere opposite the island of Giudecca. Here there are adequate restaurants with tables outside in the sun, sheltered from the wind and overlooking the wide Giudecca Canal. Although you can have a simple and good al fresco pizza in several, the best for food on the Zattere are these two –
Gianni, Zattere 918 (tel. 041 5237210)….not cheap, but attractive interior as well as good terrace on Giudecca Canal. Food good and reliable, incl. pizzas.
Riviera Rist., Zattere 1473, Dorsoduro (tel. 041 522 7621)…..fancier menu, tables outside right on the water, with a smallish pretty interior and plenty of fashionable Venetians in fur coats even in Summer.
Trat. Pizz. Do Mori, GIUDECCA, 588 (tel. 041 522 5452)…..ex-Harry’s Bar proprietors, on the fondamente overlooking the Zattere (Palastrina waterbus-stop), Salute beyond and St. Mark’s in the distance; pleasant old interior with locals lunching. Good trad. fish specialities.
Cip’s, GIUDECCA, (tel. 041 520 7744)…..the new, ‘informal’ restaurant belonging to the fancy CIPRIANI HOTEL around the corner. The food does not justify the price, but the view from the floating pontoon – across to St. Mark’s and the Doge’s Palace, does. Elegant, slightly poncey, service.
Trat. Altanella, Calle delle Erbe, 268, GIUDECCA (tel. 041 522 7780)…..small fish rest. down main side canal. Good, old family-run place. On a hot day must book pleasant terrace. Cl. Mon., Tues.
Antica Trattoria Muranese, Rivalonga 20, 30121, MURANO (tel. 041/739610)…..good for lunch on this underrated island, but order the set lunch, particularly pasta fish dishes. À la carte unreliable. Large garden behind.
Trat. Buca alla Tore, Campo S. Stefano 3, MURANO (tel. 041 739 662)….lunch only (every day); excellent fishy place with two picturesque wooden-beamed dining rooms inside and tables in pretty square outside. Ebullient owner. Best on island.
Trat. Da Romano, Via S.M.D. 221, BURANO (tel. 041 730030)…..converted many years ago from the old lace school on this very pretty island; full of pictures, beautiful old interior, local fishermen prop up the bar. Good food, excellent veal chop.
* Eating in Venice is plagued by too many pretty but touristy restaurants catering to a passing trade that won’t come back; and by a two-tier price system whereby locals get the same meal for considerably less. There is a new association of 14 restaurants called Ristoranti della Buona Accoglienzi (Warm Welcome Restaurants) which aims to provide good local food at one honest price.
HOTELS
[In no particular order - updated October 2007. Prices are approx. It is best to discuss your requirements on the telephone with hotels and confirm by e-mail. Booking online is a gamble, it is never clear whether the room has a balcony, a view etc. Venice hoteliers can be a bit high-handed, and move you to a lesser room to accommodate a favoured client (or sometimes move you to a different hotel – as happened to a guest of the Hotel Ca’ Pisani Canal (see below) who found on his arrival that he was a guest of the less attractive Locanda Canal Hotel) . Thus it is important to ensure that your room requirements are confirmed in writing, which you should take with you. Don’t stand for any nonsense – stamp your foot and leave if not satisfied. One of the hotels below will have room.]
Locanda Ai Santi Apostoli [aisantia@tin.it]
Cannaregio 4391 (tel. 041 5212612; fax. 041 5212611)
Has two large rooms overlooking the Grand Canal (other rooms are big but don’t have views), and a one-bedroom apartment with a sunny roof terrace. Expensive, but very nicely furnished with good antiques, as is the elegant sitting room. The hotel occupies two floors of a palazzo on the Strada Nuova. There is a lift. Closed for most of August and December.
La Calcina [info@lacalcina.com]
Zattere 780 (tel. 041 520 6466)
On the Zattere, overlooking Giudecca Canal and Island (and Palladio’s churches). Ruskin stayed here (plaque on wall); only worth it if you get a room (all quite small) at the front (better still, on the corners) where you pay only a little more. The do have apartments on a canal around the corner if you’re a group and want to be more or less together. They recently opened a good terrace restaurant on the canal. Wonderful place to sit (expensively) in the evening or enjoying the lunchtime sun.
Hotel San Cassiano [info@sancassiano.it]
Santa Croce 2232 (tel. 5241 768)
An old palazzo, Ca’ Favretto, now a 3* hotel with 6 rooms on the Grand Canal, which are the only ones worth having, and fine piano nobile breakfast room. Impersonal management. Part of a group of Venetian hotels, all of which tend to suffer from this problem. But it’s fun to sit on their floating terrace and wave at the gondolas. And drink. There are very few hotels on the Grand Canal that are affordable; this is one. The ones that everyone has heard of – Gritti, Monaco & Grand Canal, Ca' Sagredo, Danieli, Carlton & Grand Canal, Londra Palace, Metropole…are prohibitively expensive and, mostly, over-rated.
Hotel Bucintoro [info@hotelbucintoro.com]
Castello 2132, 30122
This used to be a simple 2*, with pokey rooms and minute bathrooms, but it overlooked the bacino and across to San Giorgio Maggiore, and thus was in a most enviable position with great views. And sure enough, a predator emerged to buy it and tart it up. It is opening as a 4* hotel in late 2007. But from their website the rooms seem sensitively decorated. Worth a look at for its position alone, along from St. Marks towards the Biennale.
American [reception@hotelamerican.net]
S. Vio 628 (tel. 5204733)
3*, smallish well-appointed rooms, on quiet canal, convenient, well run. A good position equidistant from the Zattere, the Academy and the Salute. Make sure to book one of the nine rooms on the canal, particularly no.s 14 and 23. Average price 200 euros. Within 30 feet is a pleasant restaurant. With luck you will find your hotel after dinner, if the canal doesn’t beckon.
Hotel Giorgione [info@hotelgiorgione.com]
SS Apostoli 4587 (tel. 041 522 5810)
The ‘superior double’ rooms of the Giorgione are the most spacious and only cost a little extra. They are worth it. Some rooms face a small canal. The hotel is quite large but friendly, and well situated behind the Ca d’Oro, with good public rooms and a pleasant inner courtyard for drinks and breakfast. Games room for kiddies.
La Residenza
Castello 3608 (tel. 528 5315)
Old, pleasantly shabby palazzo, with beautiful lobby and airy lounge, on quiet, lovely square, 2*. Air conditioned. Large rooms and bathrooms for its class. Some people complain management are grumpy. Perhaps they are fed up with dumb questions about power showers and internet connections and where Macdonalds is. Average price 150 euros.
Pensione Seguso [pensioneseguso@tiscali.it]
Zattere 779 (tel. 528 6858)
Lovely position on corner of small canal and the Zattere, overlooking Giudecca. Pretty modest rooms. You may have to share ‘facilities’. Rather hard beds. A lack of soundproofing doesn’t help. But the family Seguso are extremely nice and some find it a joy not to have air conditioning. Those who go for the demi-pension option praise the dining room. If you’re looking for modern conveniences this is not for you. If you use a public bathroom you will be charged 2 euros for a towel. On the other hand, take care to get a large room at the front with canal and ‘ensuite’ bathroom (they exist) and you may be more than content. Average price of room 150 euros.
Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo [info@alpontemocenigo.com]
S. Croce 2063, Venice 30135
10 rooms, average price 200 euros. Charming old entrance courtyard, where drinks and breakfast can be taken. Small reception area but some generous, beamed bedrooms with traditional furniture and some 4 posters. Two rooms with canal views and balconies, go for these, much the best. Helpful staff, particularly Walter and Sandro. Quiet area away from tourists. There is an annexe where the rooms are similar in style and size. This gets top marks on one website for customer satisfaction.
Hotel dei Dragomanni [info@hoteldragomanni.com]
San Marco 2711, Venice 30124
The 4* hotel has recently been expensively refurbished in Deco-ish style. Good bathrooms with smart showers – and generous beds. Rooms are not huge but lots of mirrors give an airy feel. Average price 300 euros. But pay more to get a canal-view room with balcony. Hotel offers free rides to Murano, but you’ll land at the Murano Glass factory and feel embarrassed when you don’t buy a nasty knick-knack – so avoid.
Hotel Ca’ Pisani Canal [info@locandacanal.it]
Cannaregio 6105, Venice 30131, Italy
New hotel owned by the Locanda Canal Hotel where you check in. Insist on staying at Pisani, it’s much nicer. 5 good, newly and traditionally decorated rooms. Try and get the two best rooms (60 euros extra) on the canal, wonderful view of gondolas sailing by. No reception, you are given a key and let yourself in and out. A quiet spot, but not remote. Average price 150 euros.
Palazzo Schiavoni Hotel [desk@palazzoschiavoni.com]
Castello 3288 Venice Island, Venice 30122
Small hotel (5 rooms) on a quiet canal next door to the Scuola di San Giorgio, housing the famous Carpaccio St. George paintings. Good location near, but not too near, St. Mark’s. Pleasant Venetian neighbourhood with restaurants and shops. Smaller rooms open onto a rooftop patio. Others are larger, with frescoed ceilings and antique furniture. Modern bathrooms, and – for Americans – effective showers Two magnificent churches are just around the corner - S. Zaccharia, with its marvellous Bellini, and S. Francesco della Vigna whose façade is by Palladio. Good breakfast in charming room. Average price per night per room 180 euros.
Ca’ Dogaressa [info@cadogaressa.com]
Fondamenta di Cannaregio 1018, Venice 30121
Located on a quiet canal in Canareggio, some way from the touristy areas, but with good access to public transport. The owners, Paolo and his family, are most helpful. Rooms at the front have canal views, noise is not too bad though. Breakfast (good) in fine weather is taken on the wide pavement by the canal. Excellent air conditioning which can be important. Average price of rooms is 150 euros per night but splash out and go for one of the junior suites on the canal, worth it for the space and the view.
Residence Corte Grimani [info@cortegrimani.com]
S Marco 4402, Corte Grimani, Venice 30124
15 rooms and apartments, average price 320 euros. Between St. Marks and the Rialto. Apartments are equipped with kitchen, utensils, TV, bathroom, bedroom, dining and living room area. Some have canal views. New but already popular for the location, helpfulness of staff and the convenience of its own landing place, where you can arrive by taxi or gondola. Good value. Large beamed rooms are furnished with good plain furniture, eschewing the faux Venetian of so many rivals.
Hotel Palazzo Abadessa [info@abadessa.com ]
Calle Priuli, Cannaregio 4011, Venice 30131
Old stone-faced palazzo in Canareggio, away from the herd, overlooking small canal (behind the Strada Nove, near Ca’ d’Oro). 12 high ceilinged rooms decorated in traditional Venetian style. Modern bathrooms. Best (quiet) rooms are overlooking the garden – no. 16 is a very large double. Nice staff, good breakfast. Not cheap, average price is 300 euros per night.
The following are adequate, medium-priced hotels that do not have views – San Moisé (3*), Pausania (3*), Santo Steffano (3*), Bel Sito (3*), Carpaccio (3*), Flora (3*), Ala (3*), Kette (3*).
APARTMENTS
Apartments can be cheaper – and nicer – than hotels, for slightly longer stays. Most however are small and dingy, and on no account should you book one that has not been seen or recommended.
Ca’ Badoer dei Barbacani… has a two bedroom (4/6 beds) ‘family apartment’ on the 3rd floor, the ‘second Piano Nobile’. Faces south, overlooks the Frari. Good kitchen and bathroom. Furnished with good antiques. Min. stay one week (Sat. - Sat.) – contact Mrs. G. Barber, 39 Oakthorpe Rd., Oxford OX2 7BD (01865 511500)
Cannaregio 4935/4933a….is a palazzetto modelled on the Ca d’Oro, but considerably more modest. It is on a side canal near the Gesuiti church, in a non-touristy area, convenient for the Fondamente Nuove and the water-buses to the islands. It has views along and down two canals. It has three apartments – Piano Nobile (one double, two single rooms, 4 beds in all, bath and shower); Mezzanino (one double with two divans in sitting room, shower); Attic (two double beds with spacious dining/sitting area, bath). Use of canoe. Flexible booking. Contact Odile Taliani, Salesianergasse 8/II/52, Vienna, A1030, Austria (tel. 0043 1712 5091; fax. 0043 1715 4291).
Palazzetto da Schio….owned by the same family for 300 years. The present owner, Contessa Anna da Schio, has created 3 well-furnished apartments (one with one double bedroom, two with two double bedrooms) which are (gradually) paying for restoration. Situated on F. Soranzo, Dorsaduro 316/b, 30123, between the Grand and Giudecca canals, on a quiet side canal. Flexible booking. Contact Contessa Anna da Schio. Tel/fax. 0039 041 5237937; avenezia@tin.it
Dorsoduro 3920 Donna Onesta….managed by Centro Immobiliare NG SRL, Dorsoduro n.3066 (tel. 0039 041 5220932; fax. 0039 041 5230598; centro.immobiliare@iol.it). I have stayed in this light, quite roomy flat, and found it both convenient and comfortable. A good bathroom, lovely dining room and sitting room with long row of windows looking out onto a pretty canal and café opposite. Restaurant underneath treats you like a Venetian if you indicate where you’re staying (discount on dinner). The drawback is noise; both double rooms are above an alley where footsteps echo, and a metal bridge is also noisy. Ear plugs, or strong drink, necessary. Flexible booking.
MUSEUMS and PALACES
Obviously the ACCADEMIA (by the bridge of the same name) is the main attraction. Luckily, the museum contains a lot of very uninteresting pictures which can be skipped, leaving more time for the really great pictures and lunch. What I recommend is zooming through the small rooms off the corridor to the left as you pass through the 14th c. hall, pausing by a terrific Tintoretto portrait, and on to the magnificent Carpaccios, Titians, Tintorettos, Bellinis (several beautiful Madonnas), Giorgiones (above all The Tempest) and the great Veronese Christ in the House of Levi. Fine collection of Venetian 13/14c. paintings.
The GUGGENHEIM has an impressive modern collection (Picasso, Klee, Roualt, Ernst…), bought by Peggy Guggenheim, whose artist daughter Pegeen is understandably over-represented; good position on the G. Canal in an unfinished palazzo between the Salute and Accademia, and interesting sculptures in the attractive interior courtyard, where there is a good little café.
The CORRER, by the entrance to St. Mark’s Sq., has a Carpaccio, a great Bellini Madonna, some famous Longhi and a (damaged) Antonello but is otherwise worth a visit for the famous 16c. bird’s-eye view (wood cut) of Venice by Jacopo de Barbari (1505). Temporary exhibitions are staged here.
The Ca Rezzonico and Ca d’Oro both on the G. Canal have magnificent exteriors and interiors. The former is the Venetian museum of the 18th c. (with spectacular Tiepolo ceilings) and the latter houses the eclectic and remarkable art collection of Baron Giorgio Franchetti (d. 1922), but the palazzo is perhaps the best exhibit.
The Blue Guide lists nearly 200 palazzi, many on the Grand Canal, but mostly open to the public only by prior arrangement. However, they can be appreciated from the outside. The following (in ascending date order) are – subjectively – the most beautiful: Ca’ Loredan (12th c.), Pal. Bernardo, P. Pisani Moretta, P. Barbaro, P. Priuli (analysed by Ruskin in The Stones of Venice, 1853), Ca. Foscari, P. Contarini Fasan, P. Contarini del Bovolo (part of the rear façade is a magnificent spiral staircase), P. Dario, P. Corner, P. Mocenigo, P. Pesaro (Modern Art Museum), P. Labia, P. Grassi (the last, great, anachronistic palazzo built on the Grand Canal – completed in 1772).
The DOGE’S PALACE is magnificent - impressive not least for the sheer size of the rooms and the huge Tintoretto Paradiso (the biggest canvas in the world).
