10 ESSENTIAL PLACES TO VISIT IN VENICE

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This list of the best places to visit in Venice, will help you prepare your multi-day getaway to one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Surrounded by water, this city is perfect for getting lost in its narrow alleys of the old town, discovering ancient Venetian churches and palaces, taking a romantic walk through its canals aboard a gondola or getting on a vaporetto and getting excited while touring the impressive Grand Canal.
In addition to all this, if you have more time, you can approach the islands of Murano and Burano, and above all, enjoy Italian cuisine and end the day with a delicious ice cream.

Based on the experience of the two occasions that we have visited the city of the canals, in the last we wrote this guide of Venice in 3 days and the travel guide to Venice, we have made this list of 10 essential places to see in Venice. We start!

1. Doge's Palace

The 9th-century Ducal Palace located at one end of the San Marcos Square, is one of the most impressive palaces in Europe and one of most beautiful places to visit in Venice.
Highlighting for its fantastic facade of the fifteenth century, which combines elements of the Gothic, Renaissance and Byzantine style in addition to its exterior, a visit to the interior is essential, where you can see its construction made of Verona marble that includes several places of great beauty such as the Scala dei Giganti, the Scala d'Oro, the Duke's apartment, the armory, the Grand Council Hall and the Bridge of Sighs.
This bridge, which you can also see from the outside from the Riva degli Schiavoni, is said to be named after the last breath of open air the prisoners gave when crossing it and accessing the prisons and as a curiosity we will tell you that from one of the dungeons escaped the most famous lover in the world, Casanova.

Remember that the Doge's Palace is one of the most visited places in Venice, next to the Basilica of San Marcos, and you have to keep in mind is that large queues are formed at the entrance.
For this reason, one of the alternatives to skip the lines and learn more about the history of the palace is to book a guided tour in Spanish or take this offer that includes the palace, the Basilica of San Marcos and a city tour with a guide in Spanish .
If you do not want to take a guided tour you can book this priority ticket in advance that will save you time.
You can expand the information by reading this specific post about the Doge's Palace in Venice.
Visiting hours: every day from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., from April to October they close at 7 p.m.

Ducal Palace

2. Rialto Bridge

The Rialto Bridge, built in stone between 1588 and 1591, is the oldest of the four that cross the Grand Canal and another of the essential places to see in Venice.
In addition to the daytime visit, it is worth approaching at sunset to see the best sunset in venice from the top of the bridge, with the Grand Canal in the foreground.
In one of the streets that descend from the bridge is the Rialto Market, where you can buy from typical Venetian masks, Murano glass souvenirs, to fruits and vegetables.
In this area around the bridge there are also good and cheap restaurants to eat something fast like pasta to take away from Pasta and Sugo or the pizza at the taglio of the Pizzeria L'Angelo and for dessert we recommend the delicious ice cream of Suso Gelatoteca.

Rialto Bridge, one of the places to visit in Venice

3. Grand Canal

One of the best things to do in Venice is to travel on Vaporetto the Grand Canal, the main avenue that crosses the city forming a S.
Our recommendation is to take the boat at the Piazzale Roma stop and navigate for 4 kilometers, seeing the facades of the magnificent Renaissance palaces such as the Ca 'd'Oro Palace or the Ca' Rezzonico Palace, until you reach the Plaza de San Marcos.
You also have the option of crossing the Grand Canal in traggeetto, a larger than usual gondola that costs only one euro.
Remember that to make the best photo of the Grand Canal you have to climb one of its famous bridges such as the Descalzos Bridge, the Rialto Bridge or the Accademia Bridge.

If you are going to use the Vaporetto to move around the city or to go to the nearby islands, you can save a few euros by booking this transport card that gives unlimited access to the vaporetto for 1, 2, 3 or 7 days.

Another of the best ways to enjoy the Grand Canal is to walk along both banks and negotiate with a gondolier a gondola ride that takes you through the narrowest canals of the old town.
We can confirm that it is one of the best experiences you can have in this city as it offers you the possibility of going through places that are inaccessible on foot.
The gondola ride can cost you about 80 euros for 40 minutes, although an option to lower costs is to share the boat with more people booking this ride in advance or this gondola that includes seranata.

Grand Canal of Venice

4. Acqua Alta Library

Acqua Alta, located in the center, is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world and one of the most popular places to visit in Venice.
Entering the beautiful Campiello del Tintor square, you will feel the smell of old books that accumulate forming batteries on the wooden shelves.
The problem that this library has when being located next to a canal, is with the one known as the Acqua Alta phenomenon, which causes that when the water level rises throughout the city, it floods. It is for this reason that you will see books inside a gondola in the middle of the store or even in bathtubs.
Once you have found the book you were looking for or a souvenir such as a postcard or a book point, to help maintain the bookstore, we recommend you go out in the two areas that you have outdoors to take the typical photo that will be filled with I like your instagram or just leave your phone and read some pages of a book.
As a curiosity, in addition to thousands of books you will see several cats hanging around inside the store or sleeping between literature.
Visiting hours: every day from 9: 15h to 19: 45h.

Aqua Alta bookshop

5. Viewpoints to visit in Venice

Another of the best things to do in Venice It is to climb its spectacular viewpoints, located on terraces or ancient towers, to contemplate from the heights the great beauty of this city.
Between our viewpoints to see in Venice Favorites are found:

T Fondaco dei Tedeschi: From the terrace of this shopping center, located next to the Rialto Bridge, you have fantastic views of the Grand Canal and the center. Admission is free and you just have to book it in advance through this page.
Scala Contarini del Bovolo: one of the most beautiful viewpoints to be located on a beautiful spiral staircase outside a Venetian palace. From the top of the stairs you will have magnificent views of the orange roofs and some downtown churches.
St Mark's Campanile: This 98-meter-high tower, located in St. Mark's Square, offers the best views of the historic center.
Campanile of San Giorgio Maggiore: Located on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, from this tower you will have panoramic views of the entire Venetian lagoon and the island of Venice.

Mirador T fondaco Dei Tedeschi

Our recommended hotel in Venice
To find a good hotel in Venice At an affordable price it is essential to book well in advance, especially if you want to stay downtown. On our last trip we stayed at the Antica Locanda al Gambero hotel, located 5 minutes walk from San Marcos Square and the Rialto Bridge.
In addition to its excellent location, the hotel has a beautiful Venetian decoration, a quality breakfast and one of the best quality / price ratios in the city.

6. St. Mark's Square

The Plaza de San Marcos Square is so beautiful that when Napoleon Bonaparte entered with his troops he was so amazed that he nicknamed him "The Most Beautiful Salon in Europe".
In addition to its beauty, this 9th century square has some of the most important buildings to visit Venice such as the Ducal Palace, the Basilica of San Marcos, the Clock Tower and the Campanile.
After seeing the square day and night, it is worth entering one of its historic cafés such as Café Florian or Café Quadri, to try its expensive coffee surrounded by luxurious Venetian decoration.
Keep in mind that the Plaza de San Marcos is one of the lowest places in the city and is always one of the first areas to flood when Acqua Alta occurs, so according to the time in which you are going to travel , it is worth getting informed.

A good option to learn more about the history of this square and all the important buildings to visit in Venice is to book this free tour of Venice with a guide in Spanish Free! or this free tour of the legends of Venice, which goes through less common places to visit in Venice.

St. Mark's Square

7. Dorsoduro Neighborhood

The university district of Dorsoduro is one of the most authentic areas with fewer tourists to visit in Venice.
We recommend you start the route through the neighborhood crossing the wooden bridge of the Academy, which will take you to the Accademia Gallery, which has the largest collection of Venetian art in the world.
After seeing magnificent paintings of great masters, you can head to the Church of San Barnaba, which became famous for being a library in the famous film of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Next to the church is El Ponte dei Pugni, with a curious history of fights between rival gangs.
A few meters from the church is Ca 'Rezzonico, one of the most beautiful Renaissance palaces to see in Venice. This 17th century building stands out for its striking facade and for the decoration of its interior rooms.
This area is one of the most photogenic in the neighborhood with colorful facade buildings and beautiful canals that also has cheaper restaurants than in the center as Volo Pizza Y Pasta and Sugo.
Following the route through the neighborhood you will reach the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, one of the best decorated buildings in Venice and right next door, the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, which has the work inside "The assumption"of Titian, who will leave you speechless.
To finish the itinerary you can wander through the neighborhood until you reach the Rialto Bridge, which is another place to visit in Venice.

Dorsoduro, one of the neighborhoods to see in Venice

8. St. Mark's Basilica

The Basilica of San Marcos is one of the emblems of the city and another of the essential places to visit in Venice.
This religious temple, built in 828 to house the San Marcos relics, is the most important in the city and is located at one end of the San Marcos square.
Considered a masterpiece of the Byzantine style, in this impressive church, the gold and the magnificent mosaics of the dome of the 13th century stand out and on the upper floor the museum where the originals of the Horses of San Marcos are, some bronze statues that were stolen from the Constantinople Racecourse. From this area you can access the terrace of the church where the copies of the horses are and from where you can enjoy the excellent views of the Plaza de San Marcos.
Remember that this exterior point is the only place where you can take pictures of the entire basilica.

Long queues are formed to enter the church, one way to avoid them and learn about the history of the basilica is to book this guided tour in Spanish or this offer that also includes a guided tour of Venice in Spanish and the Doge's Palace.
Visiting hours: every day from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sundays from 2pm to 4pm.

St Mark's Basilica

Recommended travel cards
Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

9. Other churches

In addition to St. Mark's Basilica, there are other interesting churches to see in Venice:

Santa Maria della Salute: It was built after the plague epidemic that killed more than 80,000 Venetians and stands out for its dome and an interior sober with works by Titian and Tintoretto.
Saint Mary Glorious dei Frari: its sober exterior contrasts with its interior decoration in which the painting of "The assumption" of Titian and the mausoleums of Antonio Canova and of Titian himself.
San Giorgio Maggiore: Located on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, it has Tinttoreto's masterpieces inside, such as The Last Supper, The Deposition and Collection of Manna.
Santi Giovanni e Paolo: the biggest church to visit in Venice and one of the most beautiful. Inside are the tombs of 27 bulldogs (dukes) and works by great artists of the time.

Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore

10. Murano and Burano

The visit to the islands of Murano and Burano, located in the archipelago of the Venetian Lagoon, is our latest recommendation from the list of places to visit in Venice.
To go from Venice to Burano and Murano, you will have to take a vaporetto at the S. Zaccaria stop, located in front of the Doge's Palace, which will take you in 40 minutes to Murano and in half an hour more to Burano.
The first island you will visit will be Murano, famous throughout the world for its glass, where you can see how glassmakers work by hand. In addition to entering a store, we recommend walking through the Grand Canal, visiting the Church of Santa María de los Ángeles, the Basilica of Saints Mary and Donato and reaching the lighthouse.

The visit to Burano Island, another one of the best things to do in Venice, is our favorite. Burano surprises with its façade houses of perfectly painted colors and the tradition of making lace by hand.
If you do not have much time and want to know better the history of these two islands with the company of a guide in Spanish you can book this excursion to Murano and Burano or this one that includes the island of Torcello, located 5 minutes by boat from Burano.
Both tours are located among the best excursions in Venice.

You can find more information about these two islands in this specific post of the excursion to Murano and Burano from Venice.