Best places to stay:
Past guests at this 52-room long-time favourite include Tchaikovsky, Verne, Borges and Gabriele d’Annunzio; it enjoys a prime waterfront position on the busy Riva degli Schiavoni, steps from the San Marco vaporetto stop (useful if you are lugging heavy bags) and a five-minute walk from Piazza San Marco.
The Riva may be heaving with tourists, but once inside the cool, elegant lobby, all is calm. Many of the comfortable, classically-styled bedrooms and suites have magnificent views across the sparkling water to San Giorgio Maggiore; several even have small terraces.
Breakfast is served on the wide terrace at the front of the hotel where you can also enjoy cocktails, snacks or Venetian classics. There’s a fine in-house restaurant, and the secluded rooftop terrace, the highest in Venice, has showstopping city views.
Want more recommendations in this destination?
Destination Guide >Please note - we hope to one day have live prices for you, but for now, here are some useful links for you to compare prices...
Bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.3 miles]
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.
Best for ages: 18+ | £25
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.3 miles]
Surely the most exquisite, beguiling and opulent place of worship in Italy, St Mark’s cathedral was built to satisfy the wildest dreams of the Doges and is rich in glittering Byzantine mosaics, Gothic carvings and sumptuous treasures.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.4 miles]
It’s huge, and often crowded, but St. Mark’s square is one of the most emblematic spots in the city and is lined with over-priced cafés that offer live music. But out of season, on a foggy winter’s evening or at dawn, it’s undeniably atmospheric.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Venice, Veneto, Italy[1 miles]
American millionairess collector Peggy Guggenheim’s glittering display of avant-garde art is housed in her own 18th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal.
Best for ages: 18+ | £12
Other worthwhile experiences in this destination if you have the time or the interest, closest first
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.2 miles]
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.
Best for ages: 18+ | Free
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.3 miles]
The little-visited Palazzo Grimani is one of the city’s great Renaissance palazzos, now a museum housing an extraordinary collection of classical sculptures, stuccoes, elaborate frescoes and paintings by Hieronymus Bosch.
Best for ages: 18+ | £5
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.4 miles]
Dating from 1720, world-famous Florian’s is a jewel-box of a café, all mirrors, stuccoes and frescoes. Join the locals perched at the bar rather than pay way over the odds for a table seat where a simple espresso is likely to set you back €10.
Best for ages: 13+ | Free
Venice, Veneto, Italy[0.5 miles]
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.
Best for ages: 13+ | £17
Destination guides including or relevant to this place to stay
Veneto, Italy
Crammed with picturesque canals, Renaissance palazzos and artistic masterpieces, this unique and alluring city is heaven-on-earth for art lovers and romantics.
