Venice top sights
Venice holiday guide - TravelSavvy guide to top sights in Venice
The trio of San Marco Basilica, the Rialto bridge and the Accademia gallery are the three must-see sights for any Venice visitor. The Rialto and San Marco are connected by the Mercerie, the main Venice shopping street. Shops vary from the swanky to the tacky, with crowds often so thick that a one-way system sometimes prevails.
The street joins the Piazza San Marco through an archway at Bacino Orseleo, where tourists queue in droves for the gondola rides. The Accademia gallery lies across the Grand Canal and you can walk over the footbridge or hop on a vaporetto.
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The Piazza
The magnificent Piazza del San Marco lies at the heart of Venice. It dates from the 12th century, though most of the buildings are 15th century. Once packed with Mediterranean merchants, the 20th century finds it swamped with tourists, tour groups, pedlars and several thousand well fed pigeons.
Tables front the elegant cafes while swanky shops line the surrounding arcades. Apart from the main attractions of the Basilica and Palazzo Ducale there is the Campanile tower which was started in the 10th century and finished in 1515 (it collapsed in 1902 and was rebuilt in 1912) and the 1506 Torre dell Orologio clock tower.
San Marco Basilica
When two Venetian merchants stole the corpse of St Mark from Alexandria, work started on a shrine to house the relic. The result is the Basilica San Marco; the most beautiful or the ugliest building in Venice, depending on your point of view. It's certainly a mishmash of styles, with Gothic arches perched on Byzantine columns and some extravagant ornamentation. The golden vaulted walls are plastered with 4,000 sq ms of mosaic. Breathtakingly tacky - it's a little like a pre-electric Las Vegas.
To the right of the main door is the Marciano Museum and the famed Roman bronze Horses of San Marco, looted from Constantinople in 1204. Steps from the south transept lead to the fabulous gold altar screen, the Pala d'Oro, studded with nearly 2,000 jewels. More gold and silver relics can be found in the Treasury nearby. Barriers channel the shuffling hordes and there are no seats for the weary, so the wise will get there early.
Palazzo Ducale
Rebuilt many times, the Palazzo Ducale, or Doges' Palace, is one of Europe's most magnificent buildings. It was begun in 1340 and renovated in the 19th century. The walls heave with magnificent paintings. The main apartments are up the gilded Scala d'Oro staircase. The first room, Sala degli Scarlatti, is considered the finest, but attractions include splendid ceiling frescoes by Tintoretto and Veronese.
The Rialto Bridge marks the geographical centre of Venice and is such a magnet for tourists you may have to queue to cross it. The original wooden bridge collapsed in 1444 and the splendid stone bridge was built about 1590.
Just west of the bridge is the famed Rialto Market and stalls selling all manner of goods. Not the gold, silks, jewels and spices of 400 years ago though; now it is mainly tourist trinkets, DVDs and T-shirts - but it's still a lively spot to visit.
Across the bridge on the Dorsodura district waterfront is The Accademia Gallery and some of Europe's finest art treasures. Admission is restricted, so get there early or at lunchtimes when the crowds thin out.
The list of artists is mind blowing - Bellini, Carpaccio, Mantegna, Bellini, Giogione, Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese, Tiepolo - and the works are some of their finest. All the best paintings and sculptures are on a single floor divided into 24 rooms, although some rooms may be closed for restoration work.
Michelangelo's designs for the Rialto Bridge were turned down in 1587
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