This grand showpiece square beautifully encapsulates the splendour of Venice's past and its tourist-fuelled present. Flanked by the arcaded Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove, and two of the city's top sights – Basilica di San Marco and Museo Correr – it's filled for much of the day with admiring tourists. To see it in all its glory, without the crowds and souvenir stalls, get here at 6.30am when the rising sun first strikes the dome.
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
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With a profusion of domes and more than 8000 sq metres of luminous mosaics, Venice's cathedral is unforgettable. It was founded in the 9th century to…
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Holding pride of place on the waterfront, this pretty Gothic confection may be an unlikely setting for the political and administrative seat of a great…
22.36 MILES
Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto…
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Venice's historic gallery traces the development of Venetian art from the 14th to 19th centuries, with works by all of the city's artistic superstars. The…
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In medieval times this part of Cannaregio housed a getto (foundry), but it was as the designated Jewish quarter from the 16th to 19th centuries that the…
Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
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Baldassare Longhena's magnificent basilica is prominently positioned near the entrance to the Grand Canal, its white stones, exuberant statuary and high…
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Baroque dreams come true at this Baldassare Longhena–designed Grand Canal palazzo (mansion), where a marble staircase leads to a vast gilded ballroom and…
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After losing her father on the Titanic, heiress Peggy Guggenheim became one of the great collectors of the 20th century. Her palatial canalside home,…
Nearby Venice attractions
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Like a revolver pulled from a petticoat, ultramodern Negozio Olivetti was an outright provocation when it first appeared under the frilly arcades of the…
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Basilica di San Marco's 99m-tall bell tower has been rebuilt twice since its initial construction in AD 888. Galileo Galilei tested his telescope here in…
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The two hardest-working men in Venice stand duty on a rooftop around the clock, and wear no pants. The 'Do Mori' (Two Moors) exposed to the elements atop…
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Napoleon pulled down an ancient church to build his royal digs over Piazza San Marco, and then filled them with the riches of the doges while taking some…
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Accessed by a narrow staircase leading up from Basilica di San Marco's atrium, this museum transports visitors to the level of the church's rear mosaics…
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With a profusion of domes and more than 8000 sq metres of luminous mosaics, Venice's cathedral is unforgettable. It was founded in the 9th century to…
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One of two twin granite columns in the Piazzetta di San Marco, bearing the two patron saints of Venice. This column bears the image of warrior-saint…
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One of a pair of granite columns bearing the two patron saints of Venice in Piazetta di San Marco, this eastern column bears a statue representing a…