February is a good time to go to Venice. The Venice Carnival is staged from 11th to 28th February. Most of the fun takes place at the weekends, so during the week it’s nice and quiet for exploring the city and stopping now and again to enjoy coffee or a doughnut or Zabaglione. Once March arrives, it starts to get a little hectic.
Image Credit: Sergey Galyonkin
Venice comprises 118 islands crammed into six districts, cut through with the canals. The Grand Canal bisects the main part of Venice. You can cross it by either one of the four bridges, by gondola or waterbus. Venice is compact and easy to walk around, or you can buy a good-value travel card to cover the water travel.
Day 1
Cannaregio is probably the least touristy of Venice’s six districts (sestieri). The 15th-century church of Madonna dell’Orto, better known as the church of Tintoretto on account of the paintings to be found inside.
From there, walk east along the Fondamenta Contarini, turning right across the bridge when it ends, and right again when you hit the next canal, the Rio della Sensa. At the end of Campo de l’Abazia, cross the bridge to your right where you’ll find the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, the least known of Venice’s scuole or confraternities. Admission is free.
Now bear left and left again to the lagoon once more. Walk east along Fondamente Nove, past the Gesuiti church with its marble-clad interior – look to your left as you walk to see the cemetery island of San Michele and Murano behind it. Then turn right at the hospital, which surrounds the Scuola Grande San Marco, with its original gilded coffered roof well worth a look.
Lunch
A two-minute weave across bridges and through alleys takes you to Campo Santa Marina where at number 5908, Pasticceria Didovich, established for forty years, serves Venetian and Austro-Hungarian cakes and snacks. Look for the day’s specials such as their gorgeous creamy pasta dishes. Finish with a frittella, the traditional doughnut served during Carnevale. Didovich’s are the best in the city.
Afternoon
Time for a bit of shopping, perhaps? Adjacent to the Rialto bridge, you’ll spot the grand 16th-century trading hall, reopened last October as Venice’s most swish department store, T Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Go straight to the top floor. The roof terrace offers arguably the best view of Venice. You’ll see vaporettos, gondolas and private boats looping round the Grand Canal, with a bird’s-eye view of the newly refurbished Rialto and the entire city skyline, from the domes of St Mark’s to the hulking Frari church and the delicate Ca’ d’Oro palace to the slim bell tower of San Francesco delle Vigne church. On a clear day, you can see the Alps.
Back on the street, you can cross the Rialto to the famous market, which has been going strong for 700 years. There won’t be much fish left but the fruit and vegetable stalls will be piled high until nightfall.
From there, follow the signs to Frari, which take you to the neighbourhood of San Polo. Here, on Calle dei Meloni, you’ll find Il Pavone, where the proprietor Paolo Pelosin creates notebooks, journals, pencils and even wastepaper baskets from hand-marbled paper. If you ask him how he does it, he’ll very generously talk you through the process in his workshop at the back!
An aperitif
From Il Pavone, you can either retrace your steps one block and then turn right to catch the vaporetto at San Silvestro or continue down Calle dei Meloni (which takes on other names every few blocks) to reach San Tomà, where you can choose between a vaporetto or traghetto (public gondola which crosses the Grand Canal). Either way, you’re getting off at Sant’Angelo.
A short walk away, near the Palazzo Fortuny gallery, is Teamo wine bar, an upmarket take on Venice’s traditional bacaro taverns. Stand at the bar with locals or sit on the comfy banquette – there’s a good selection of local wines and the service is always friendly. Say ciao to Honey, the resident dog.
Dine with the locals
Next to the Teatro la Fenice opera house, Antico Martini is one of those rare grandes dames that even locals love. It began life in 1720 as a café and everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Richard Burton has enjoyed their top-notch seafood, posh cicchetti (a kind of Venetian tapas) and famous risottos. Its historic dining room, the Sala Cherubini, is in the process of being registered as a national historic monument.
Day two
Sunday brunch
Trentino-based pasticceria chain Majer has eight locations across Venice. The Giudecca branch, which opened in December 2015, is the biggest, and doubles as a restaurant. The waterside tables overlook the Zattere and, in the distance, St Mark’s. Enjoy something sweet with your coffee or perhaps one of the genovese focaccias stuffed with grilled vegetables.
A walk in the park
Venice’s “parks” (like the Giardini and the tree-lined stretch of Sant’Elena) aren’t really anything special. However, walking along Giudecca is a far more satisfying experience. From Majer, head east towards San Marco, straight along the waterfront. As well as the views of Zattere and the shimmering Giudecca Canal you’ll pass locals walking their dogs, get a glimpse of mysterious gardens through gateways and over walls, and pass the Redentore church, designed by Palladio.
At Zitelle, turn right, down Calle Michelangelo and follow it to the other side of the island. From this location, you’ll enjoy spectacular views of the lagoon. You’ll also get a sneaky walk through the garden at Villa Hériot, a 20th-century Neo-Gothic palazzo looking towards the Lido. The building is now home to various organisations, and you’re allowed a meander through the garden, but not indoors.
Cultural afternoon
If you bear right by the Zitelle vaporetto stop, the building that looks like a Gaudi-esque take on the Doge’s Palace is Tre Oci, built in 1913 for artist Mario de Maria. These days it focuses mainly on photography exhibitions and is one of the more forward-looking galleries in town. The current show is themed on the Arctic and runs until 2 April. However, even without the exhibits, it’s worth every cent of the €12 entry fee for the building and its astonishing views of San Marco.
Take a ride
Perhaps you’ve never taken a gondola because you wouldn’t be seen dead succumbing to a tourist trap. Well, now you’ve a reason - a moral obligation, no less - to get on board with what in fact is an unforgettable experience.
Last April, “Gondolas4all” launched the world’s first wheelchair-accessible gondola station. It’s the brainchild of two gondoliers. They’ve received no financial backing from the city and they’re paying off the €120,000 investment with crowd-funding. Non-wheelchair users can pre-book a ride (in a normal gondola) and donate €10 to the project as they do so. From Zitelle, take the number 2 vaporetto to Piazzale Roma, where they’re based.
The icing on the cake
If you’re wanting the ultimate Venice private view, book a tour with the Wigwam Club Giardini Storici Venezia. Venice is full of the kind of garden you caught glimpses of on Giudecca. Proprietor Mariagrazia Dammico and her team have access to over 80 gardens. Tell them what you like and they’ll put together a tailor-made tour for you, usually by area.
Getting there
The descent into Venice’s Marco Polo Airport is one of the most beautiful in the world, with great views across the lagoon. Airlines flying from the UK include Monarch from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester, easyJet from Bristol and Gatwick, and British Airways from Heathrow and Gatwick.
Marco Polo also offers one of the most beautiful public transport rides into town on the Alilaguna boats. There are three lines to choose from, depending on where you’re staying.
Tickets cost €15 each way and boats leave roughly every half hour, with a journey time of 1-2 hours. Water taxis are much faster - about 30 minutes - but cost at least €120 one-way.
Accomodation
There are three Bauer hotels, which are not just locally owned but have deep links to the community. For example, their organic toiletries are made at the local women’s prison. Only one is open year-round: The Bauer, a 1940s Brutalist gem (or eyesore, depending on your attitude to modern architecture) adjoining a classical 18th-century Grand Canal palazzo. These used to be sister hotels, but were merged last year – rooms are in the modern building, suites in the old one.
Unlike most Grand Canal hotels, where you’ll be charged a painfully expensive supplement for a room with a view, all the rooms at Palazzo Barbarigo sul Canal Grande have a canal view – either the Grand or the tributary running into it. The look is voluptuous Art Deco, as opposed to typical Venetian damask.
The family-owned Hotel Flora offers a taste of old Venice, with modern comforts. In a prime San Marco location with a rare garden, rooms are simple but beautifully styled with antiques.
Title Image Credit: Giorgio Minguzzi (Image Cropped)