Take your (admittedly expensive) espresso with a heaping of history at this atmospheric cafe, established in 1870, with its Tiffany-style lamps and elegant mezzanine. At night it closes and adopts a different mask, reopening as Il Mercante.
Caffè dei Frari
San Polo & Santa Croce
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.64 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…
0.68 MILES
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…
21.84 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…
0.41 MILES
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…
0.55 MILES
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
0.59 MILES
Baldassare Longhena's magnificent basilica is prominently positioned near the entrance to the Grand Canal, its white stones, exuberant statuary and high…
0.27 MILES
Baroque dreams come true at this Baldassare Longhena–designed Grand Canal palazzo (mansion), where a marble staircase leads to a vast gilded ballroom and…
0.49 MILES
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 San Polo & Santa Croce attractions
0.07 MILES
A soaring Gothic church, the Friary's assets include marquetry choir stalls, Canova's pyramid mausoleum, Bellini's achingly sweet Madonna with Child…
2. Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista
0.09 MILES
One of Venice's five main religious confraternities, the lay brothers of St John the Evangelist performed works of charity but also supported the arts by…
0.1 MILES
Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707–93) mastered second and third acts: he was a doctor’s apprentice before switching to law, which proved handy when…
0.1 MILES
Built by Bartolomeo Bon between 1489 and 1508 to house the remains of its titular saint, beautiful St Roch's Church received a baroque facelift between…
0.1 MILES
Everyone wanted the commission to paint this building dedicated to St Roch, patron saint of the plague-stricken, so Tintoretto cheated: instead of…
0.12 MILES
Travellers pass modest St Paul's Church (founded in the 9th century) without guessing that major dramas unfold inside. Under the carena di nave (ship's…
0.18 MILES
It's not the prettiest from the outside, but the bald brick facade of this 17th-century church (rent by a concerning crack), doesn't give any indication…
8. Chiesa di San Giacomo dall’Orio
0.19 MILES
Romanesque St James' Church was founded in the 9th century and completed in Latin-cross form in 1225, with chapels bubbling along the edges. Within the…