Cicchetti Crawl

Where to go and what to see in Venice to get the most from your trip – a 3-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Nicky Swallow.

Where to go and what to see in Venice to get the most from your trip – a 5-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Nicky Swallow.

Crammed with picturesque canals, Renaissance palazzos and artistic masterpieces, this unique and alluring city is heaven-on-earth for art lovers and romantics.

Dating back almost a thousand years, this two-week estravanganza of dressing up, partying and posing in elaborate masquerade costumes attracts party-goers from around the world. Grab your mask and ticket for the unique ‘masked balls’.

Cicchetti are Venetian tapas, traditionally served in a bacaro (wine bar), and often eaten by the Venetians before lunch or dinner. Take a cicchetti tour – guided or independent –  and sample these weird and wonderful dishes.

A glittering monument to the Golden Age of Venice – ducal, divine and downright decadent. From Casanova’s rooftop escapade to the twisty tale behind Tintoretto’s enormous Paradise paintings, these walls have seen Venetian history at its most decadent and devious.

From Titian to Tiepolo, the Accademia’s world-class collection represents the Golden Age of Venetian painting. A dazzling collection of masterpieces but also a voyage through the history of Venice itself.

Magnificently located at the entrance to the Grand Canal, this vast pale – and unique – church was built in honour of St. Mary of Health in thanks for deliverance from the plague of 1630-31. The best artworks are in the Sacristy, most notably Tintoretto’s Marriage at Cana.

Of all Venice’s many churches, the huge, Franciscan barn-like Frari (1338-1469) is one of the most art-packed. It boasts the second-highest bell tower in the city and a severe exterior, but once inside, the quality of the art is extraordinary.

Although you can’t actually walk over it, the Bridge of Sighs (visible from the Ponte di Paglia) is one of Venice’s most famous sights and links the Doge’s Palace to the adjacent prisons and torture chamber. The sighs were emitted by prisoners en route knowing what awaited them.

Dedicated to the history of the Venetian Republic, the Correr museum houses an eclectic collection of documents, maps, coins, ivories, weapons and so on. Artworks include paintings by Veneziano, Tintoretto, Antonello da Messina and Carpaccio whose Two Venetian Noblewomen appears on many a postcard.