Top 5 places to visit in Venice, Italy

There are many attractions worth every traveler’s visit in Venice. Venice is a big city of Italy consists of 6 Borough including the historic island, Lido island, and other 4 in the mainland. If you have just a few days to explore the city, try concentrating on the main historical island, as it is where most of the tourist attractions are located. Instead of rushing endlessly, it would be more fun and memorable to stay on just the Venice Island and explore it to the fullest, especially by walking.

Venice, often enough being referred to the historic island, is a relatively small but highly frequented pedestrian island consists of 6 administrative districts. One can walk from one end to reach the other in half an hour. So if you know which district is best to explore Venice, you would certainly enjoy your visit to Venice. Here are the top 5 places to visit in Venice Island, if limited time and budget is your concern.

1. San Marco – One of the 6 districts of Venice island, San Marco is definitely the most heavily touristed area of Venice with many popular attractions among tourists, or tour groups, which include the iconic St. Marco Square, St. Marco Basilica, The Bridge of Sigh, and San Giorgio Maggiore church across the Grand Canal, to name a few. No vacation travel to Venice would complete without visiting San Marco. There are too many hotels, restaurants and shops in the area to feed your soul.
   
2. San Polo – The smallest districts, San Polo is one of the oldest parts of the city, having been settled before the ninth century. It has been the site of Venice’s main market since 1097, tourists can spot numerous shops selling Venetian products from leather, bakery, gelato to Venetian masks. The prominent tourists feature of San Polo is Rialto Bridge, which connects San Polo to the eastern bank of Grand Canal and San Marco district. San Polo is also a great area to stay in Venice with much cheaper accommodation but relatively close to main attractions as well as the main St. Lucia Rail and Piazzale Roma bus station.
   
3. Santa Croce – Santa Croce is another district occupies the north west part of the Venice main island. Piazzale Roma at the North end is the last stop for any road vehicles to the island, with the only car parks and bus station found on the island. Towards the south eastern part of the island, tourists can explore the older part of the city with various historical architecture and churches that iconize the Venice. Staying in this area is near to catch your early trains to other part of Italy and is also cheaper than the rest of the island.
   
4. The Grand Canal – Being the most important access from mainland to the city centre of Venice, Grand Canal is the largest canal found on the island, stretching from the main Santa Lucia railway station at North West to the San Marco Square at South East. It is also the route of Venice water taxi and water buses connecting the various main parts of the island. Taking a water bus from one spot to the other for can let you admire the facade of those beautiful buildings lining along both sides of the canal. Visitors can also find lots of Gondola along the canal.
   
5. Cannaregio – Cannaregio is the 2nd largest district of Venice island occupying the whole Northern bank of the Grand Canal. It is also where most of the local people staying in Venice Island nowadays. Apart from the touristic route from the Santa Lucia station to the San Marco Square along the side of Grand Canal, going off the beaten track into the residential area elsewhere can let you explore the insight of the city culture where you can find and experience the local markets, shops as well as restaurants for the local people. Main attractions in the area include the second largest canal besides Grand Canal, the Cannaregio Canal, Ponte Delle Guglie, the main bridge crossing the canal, and the Venetian Ghetto, the Jews community in Cannaregio area is also worth a visit.
   

All above photos were taken with Nikon D60 attached with Tamron SP10-24mm Ultra Wide Angle lens. Click here to view more travel photos. These are actually 5 areas of interest in Venice island. I’m not targeting to any single travel attraction here as exploring the island should not be limited to landmarks or icons such as St.Mark square or Bridge of sigh only. Travelers must explore Venice by areas as a whole to appreciate the true culture and history of this City of Romance of Italy, and trying the various local foods on the island is also a must. 🙂 – Travel Feeder, your ultimate photo travel guide to Europe

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.