Venice Attractions
Venice lies 4km (2½ miles) from terra firma, connected to the mainland town of Mestre by a long motor and rail causeway. At the end of the causeway, train passengers debark and motorists park, and everyone steps into an alternate reality where the wheel no longer holds dominion. Here the
Canal Grande (Grand Canal) is the main highway, snaking in a great S-shape for 3.2km (2 miles) past ornate bridges and palaces, and plied by everything from commuter and pleasure boats to ambulance boats and delivery barges.
Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) is the cultural hub of the city, a place where you can spend hours sitting at a cafe, people-watching, feeding the pigeons, visiting the Basilica and the Doge's Palace, shopping, and just marveling at the sheer beauty of the place. It's a trapezoid that stretches some 175m (574 ft.) from the Ala Napoleonica at the narrow end to the Basilica at the wide end, right next to the Doge's Palace and the Piazzetta San Marco, and fronted by the
Campanile di San Marco, a bell tower that, at 97m (318 ft.), is the highest spot in the city and offers spectacular views (tickets 8€/$10.50). An elevator takes visitors to the top. San Marco is a zoo most days, packed with tourists from around the world, but you just have to see it anyway. It's one of the world's most beautiful civic spaces.
The
Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), a Venetian Gothic palazzo, is Italy's grandest civic structure. While it dates back to 1309, most was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in the 16th century, and many of the greatest Venetian painters of the period helped with the restoration. Inside, you can view multiple works by Veronese and Tintoretto. The Bridge of Sighs, which links the Doge's Palace with the prisons of the Palazzo delle Prigioni, was allegedly named for the sighs of prisoners getting their last view of Venice before descending to their cells, but full credit for that goes to Lord Byron, who made up the story in the 19th century. Admission is 13€ ($17) and your ticket is also good for admission to one of the other museums run by Musei Civici Veneziani.
Next door,
St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco), the "Church of Gold," is one of the greatest and most elaborate churches in the world, and once served as the doges' private chapel. Predominantly Byzantine in style, its interior is stunning, with marbles, alabaster, pillars, and an ocean of mosaics. The treasury contains skulls and bones of ecclesiastical authorities, as well as goblets, chalices, and Gothic candelabra. In the presbytery rests the alleged sarcophagus of St. Mark, whose body was smuggled out of Alexandria in 828, hidden in a pork barrel. The museum contains sculptures, liturgical vestments, illuminated manuscripts, Persian carpets, and fragments of ancient mosaics removed during the restoration in the 19th century. Note: Shorts, short-sleeve shirts, and skirts above the knee are barred here; silence is required; and you may not take photos. Admission to the Basilica is free, but there's a 4€ ($5.25) fee for the museum.
