The hotel A ten-minute stroll from Piazza San Marco, at the entrance to the quiet Arsenale district, sits Ca’ di Dio, a former pilgrims’ hostel turned five-star retreat (doubles from £345, vretreats.com). The hotel overlooks the lagoon and is just 30 minutes from the airport by water taxi. All 66 rooms are dressed in sea-blue and white, with wood accents, foxed convex mirrors, Venetian fabrics and artworks, Murano pendant lamps and red marble-clad bathrooms.
The garden Venice may be famous for its canals, but the city is also home to more than 500 ‘secret’ gardens, hidden behind palazzo walls and within former monasteries. One of the most enchanting is the convent garden of Il Redentore on Giudecca (£10pp, venicegardensfoundation.org). Closed to the public for nearly 500 years, it re-opened in 2024. There are vine-covered walkways, rows of vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and a small café for a post-stroll pause.
The museum There are countless landmarks worth visiting, from Ca’ Rezzonico (a treasure trove of 18th-century Venetian art) to Palazzo Grimani (a 16th-century Renaissance palace), but if your itinerary allows for just one, make it Palazzo Ducale on Piazza San Marco (£35pp, palazzoducalevisitmuve.it). The Gothic palace is now a museum and a set route takes you through its courtyard, up the city’s most beautiful staircase, and into the grand chambers.
The restaurant For a picture-perfect setting, Venice M’Art pairs canal-front views with dishes such as burrata with radicchio (£23) and squid ink risotto (£31, venicemart.com). For something more indulgent, chef Carmine Amarante at Vero is firmly on the Michelin trail, with Japanese-inspired tasting menus (from £150, verovenetianroots.com). Highlights include red tuna tartare with caviar and an almond dessert – it’s all we could talk about afterwards.
The island Murano and Burano are among the most charming islands in the Venetian lagoon, both easily reached by vaporetto. Start in Murano, famed for its centuries-old glassmaking (a handmade tumbler can sell for £1,200), where a tour at Vetreria Venier is £150 (vetreriavenier.com). Then continue to Burano to wander its brightly coloured streets. Book lunch at Trattoria al Gatto Nero and order the tagliolini with spider crab (£28, gattonero.com).
The apéritif Six o’clock signals aperitivo hour and, in Venice, that means pre-dinner drinks paired with small bites (or cicchetti in Italian). The Bellini – created in the 1940s by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar – remains the city’s most iconic cocktail, though a table there is notoriously hard to secure. Instead, head to Osteria al Squero for a spritz (£3), another Veneto classic, with views over one of the city’s last remaining gondola workshops.
