Interior of Caffe Lavena

Caffè Lavena

Venice


Opera composer Richard Wagner had the right idea: when Venice leaves you weak at the knees, get a pick-me-up at Lavena. An espresso at the mirrored bar is a baroque bargain – never mind the questionable antique 'Moor's head' chandeliers. Spring for piazza seating to savor caffe corretto (coffee ‘corrected’ with liquor) accompanied by Lavena's nimble violinists.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Venice attractions

1. Piazza San Marco

0.03 MILES

This grand showpiece square beautifully encapsulates the splendour of Venice's past and its tourist-fuelled present. Flanked by the arcaded Procuratie…

2. Torre dell’Orologio

0.03 MILES

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…

3. Campanile

0.05 MILES

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…

4. Negozio Olivetti

0.05 MILES

Like a revolver pulled from a petticoat, ultramodern Negozio Olivetti was an outright provocation when it first appeared under the frilly arcades of the…

5. Museo di San Marco

0.06 MILES

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…

6. Basilica di San Marco

0.07 MILES

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…

7. Museo Correr

0.08 MILES

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…

8. Chiesa di San Zulian

0.09 MILES

Founded in 829, San Zulian got a Sansovino makeover funded by physician Tomasso Rangone, who made his fortune by selling syphilis cures and secrets to…