Google Map the list: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ERvw4zJ1pZUgPoEs7

Canneregio

FOOD & DRINK

• Vino Vero — fantastic wine bar on a favorite canal
• Al Timon — dinner, drinks, cichetti; known for steak platters
• Ristorante Levante — great dinner; great canal
• Estro — another great restaurant on this canal
• Ital India — if you are craving Indian, this is very good
• Pizzeria Zorma — take-out pizza only
• Gelato Artigenale — good gelato on favorite canal
• Osteria Al Tappo — fantastic wine bar in ghetto; garden
• Majer — amazing bakery; also foccacia/sandwiches
• Osteria Pan e Ogio — excellent food canal-side; great sunset view
• Trattoria Alla Fontana — so friendly; great food; canalside
• Osteria al Ponte — great cichetti; take outside to bridge for beautiful view of Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo
• Estate ai crociferi— lovely bar inside beautiful courtyard next to gorgeous church Santa Maria Assunta. Combo Hostel
• Il Caffe Gelato — good gelato near boats to islands

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Misericordia — usually wonderful exhibits or concerts here
• Ghetto — the original ghetto; can tour the still active synagogues
• Despar Teatro — beautiful supermarket inside a former theater
• Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta Gesuiti — GORGEOUS!!!
• Campo dei Mori — statues of 3 Moors with legend they were cursed and petrified.
• Church of Madonna dell’Orto — gothic church with Tintoretto works
• Calzature Zanon Alessandro — good shoe store, good prices

Castello

FOOD & DRINK

• Osteria alle Testiere — amazing food; highly recommend
• Oliva Nera — owned by friend Isabella; great food
• Al Covo — excellent 
• Local — not a go-to but if wanting inventive tasting menu
• Nevodi — wonderful restaurant on a favorite street
• Rosa Salva — coffee and pastries on a favorite campo
• Aciugheta — decent pizza place open late near Piazza SM
• Le Tole Spaghetteria Pizzeria — recommended to me

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Campo Santa Maria Formosa — beautiful square and church; look for the “squishy face” relief on the back of the church and take a selfie with it please.
• Libreria Acqua — Alta cool bookstore with gondola inside, staircases made from books, and many cats. Incredibly touristy as of late but still so much fun to peruse
• Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo — AMAZING church. Bigger and dare I say more impressive than the SM basilico. I shall.
• Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo — gorgeous campo; sometimes they have a flea market here on weekends.
• Ospedale SS giovanni e paolo — GORGEOUS hospital. Exterior alone amazing but go inside for a peek too
• Campo Santa Maria Nova — small but picturesque campo.
• Libreria Miracoli — small used bookstore in above campo; vintage postcards  
• Biennale — A MUST VISIT when open
• Giardini — pleasant park filled with locals near Via Garibaldi
• Via Garibaldi — “wide lanes”, canal paved over. A favorite street
• Arsenale di Venezia — if you have a history interest. Venice Republic was known for its powerful navy “Armada”; interesting lion statues

DORSODURO

FOOD & DRINK

• Al Squero — the best cichetti! LOVE for lunch/apertivo. Beware the seagulls.
• Al Profeta — super yummy pizza & more; beautiful garden. 
• Antica Locanda Montin — gorgeous garden; refined food
• Majer — amazing bakery plus foccacia & sandwiches; packaged gifts too
• Imagina Cafe — great coffee and breakfast; my mid-morning go to at school
• Panini e Vini da Babbo — where I procure coffee before school
• Gelateria il Doge — wonderful gelato on Campo Margherita
• Osteria Ai Pugni — great for lunch/aperitivo hour; non-Italian options too
• La Bitta — small, very good NON-fish restaurant
• Venice Jazz Club — live music, recommended
• Corner Pub — great for a drink or cichetti; near Peggy Guggenheim
• Luganegher — good gelato across from Corner Pub
• Al Chioschetto — outdoor bar on Giudecca Canal
• Ristorante Riviera — upscale restaurant on Giudecca Canal

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Peggy Guggenheim Museum — filled with wonderful art plus special GC view
• Basilica Santa Maria della Salute — beautiful church at the tip of island, built in 1600s to express gratitude after the plague; Titian and Tintoretto artworks
• Zattere — perfect for long stroll along the water
• Campo Margherita — lively; good place to stop for a coffee or spritz and people-watch.
• Campo San Barnaba — nice campo, where Katherine Hepburn falls in canal in Summertime. Also featured in Indiana Jones film. Great produce market boat too
• Church Parrocchiale di Pantalon — church with unassuming exterior, interior a mesmerizing ceiling painting on canvas, largest in world. Free entry 
• Ca’ Rezzonico — beautiful palace museum
• Gallerie dell’Accademia — 13th-18th C Venetian art; top museum
• Accademia Bridge — beautiful views down the Grand Canal
• Living in the Past — small but good vinyl store
• Palazzo Dario — beautiful but haunted palace. not open for visits.

SAN MARCO

FOOD & DRINK

• Cafe Lavena — our go-to; beautiful historic cafe in P. San Marco; inside standing normal pricing; or outside, but expensive due orchestra and service
• Cafe Florian — P.S.M. oldest cafe in Europe; yummy sandwiches
• Caffe Quadri — beautiful cafe in PSM; Phillipe Starck restored the interior
• Harry’s Bar — historic restaurant with a beautiful story; expensive but very good food; the bar itself is very small, fyi, if you are just coming for a drink.
• Bar Dandola — lounge bar inside the beautiful historic Hotel Danieli
• Bar Terrazza Danieli — rooftop bar of Danieli; also a restaurant up there
• Bar Longhi — historic bar, with canal-side seats, at the Gritti hotel. Where Hemingway wrote Across the River and into the Trees.
• Al Giardinetto da Severino — super yummy and pretty garden

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Fortuny Museum — my FAVORITE museum. Incredibly gorgeous palazzo of Mariano and Henriette Fortuny. Mariano was an impressive fashion designer, artist, and inventor. Everyone should find something inspirational here.
• Piazza San Marco — come early morning to have to yourself. Get a coffee inside Cafe Lavena, pretend you are local. Or spring for a negroni in the golden hour while the orchestra serenades. Just please PLEASE don’t come during midday/afternoon and complain later… ugh, as if!
• San Marco Basilica & museum — buy tickets ahead of time to skip line
• San Marco clock tower — buy tickets ahead of time
• San Marco Campanile — buy tickets ahead of time
• Doge’s Palace — book the secret itinerary tour; very good
• Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo — beautiful palazzo, exterior spiral staircase
• La Fenice — historic opera house; beautiful
• Campo San Stefano — large campo lined with restaurants/cafes
• Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti — gorgeous palazzo by Accademia bridge with art exhibits
• San Vidal Church — usually daily Vivaldi chamber music concerts
• T Fondaco shopping center — nice gifts main floor; rooftop terrace with great views
• Silvia Pelletterie — small & fabulous shoe store. Third generation owner.

San Polo

FOOD & DRINK

• Naranzaria — perfect place for a spritz on the Grand Canal
• Bancogiro — good for spritz/cicheetti or lunch/dinner, right on the GC
• Bar All’Arco — great historic bar near Rialto Market for wine and cichetti
• Cantina Do Mori — another great historic bar; Bar crawl in the Rialto!
• Il Mercante Cocktail Bar — great cocktail bar across from Frari church
• Ostaria dai Zemei — a favorite wine bar of ours. Owned by twin brothers. We put a photo of the Salazar twins on wall. Wonderful cichettti too
• Bacarretto Bistrot Il Siciliano — small simple place with good Sicilian food. 

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari — important gothic cathedral with Titian works and his tomb
• Chiesa di San Paolo — some amazing art in here. Tintoretto, Tiepolo. Side room ceiling frescoes are gorgeous too
• Tintoretto Scuola Grande di San Rocco — ornate Renaissance museum
• Farmacia San Polo — beautiful pharmacy dates back to 1576. Lovely Italian made skin care and soaps.
• 2091 Venezia — my favorite boutique. Really well made clothing reasonably priced for the quality. Known for their jackets and skirts. Shoes are curated for comfort and style.
• Rialto Market — historic morning market for the best fish and produce. Notice the horse-meat butcher shop as well.

Santa Croce

FOOD & DRINK

• Cantina Arnaldi — upscalish wine bar; great wine/cichetti
• Bacaro de Lele — cheap and good vino & cichetti; a scene
• La Zucca — good food; vegetarian options
• Majer — amazing bakery; also foccacia/sandwiches; great items to take home or gifts
• Al Prosecco — good wine bar on a favorite square
• Il Refolo — good pizza/pasta small campo & canal
• Bar Barbari — fun wine bar; friendly Turkish woman
• Trattoria Pizzeria All’Anfora — great pizzeria; mostly locals
• Osteria Antico Giardinetto di Virgillio e Larisa — fantastic. Owned by friend Lara. Very small, reservations necessary
• Glam — Michelin ** restaurant. Amazing.

MUSEUMS, CHURCHES, SHOPS, & WORTHY SITES

• Natural History Museum — not huge but good with kids
• Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista — ornate museum; often offers concerts by candlelight

LAGOON ISLANDS: restaurants and sites

Torcello

• Locanda Cipriani — beautiful choice for refined, memorable lunch in garden
• Osteria Al Ponte del Diavolo — good food in nice garden
• Taverna Tipica Veneziana — simple, cheap, good for lunch; order at counter 

burano

• Trattoria Al Gatto Nero — well known, Anthony Bourdain visited, excellent

mazzorba

• Trattoria alla Maddalena — mostly locals, great food, lovely garden canal-side; next to Venissa. The crab gnocchi OMG yum
• Venissa — wine or lunch/dinner in beautiful vineyard; refined but slow service

murano

• Ristorante La Fornace — pretty restaurant with views of lagoon

giudecca

• Cips Club — Cipriani hotel; great view of S Marco
• La Palanca — beautiful views, good food, on the water
• Harry’s Dolci — sister to Harry’s bar; eats, drinks, sweets
• Skyline Rooftop Bar —in Hilton Stucky Hotel, amazing views
• Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore — beautiful Palladio-designed church

SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE

• Campanile — wonderful view across lagoon to Piazza San Marco
• Church of SGM — beautiful Palladio designed church
• Borges Labyrinth — beautiful hedge maze garden

lido

• Hotel Excelsior — rent a cabana at the beach club for the day; we stayed here when the boys were young… such a wonderful historic hotel
• Alberoni beach — wild/natural beach
• Malamocco — ancient village
• Bike the island
• Aeroporto Nicelli — beautiful historic art deco-design airport still in use for private planes; there is a restaurant open to everyone as well.