Venice

Where to shoot

• Piazza San Marco & Basilica — marvel at golden mosaics, the soaring Campanile bell tower, and Doge's Palace.
• Grand Canal Vaporetto Cruise — glide past centuries of noble palazzi on the public waterbus between Santa Lucia and San Marco.
• Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) — take in classic postcard panoramas over gondolas and busy canal traffic.
• Cannaregio Fondamenta Walk — wander the quiet northern waterways and historic Jewish Ghetto away from tour crowds.
• Venetian Bacaro Tour — hop between cozy wine bars to sample seasonal cicchetti paired with a glass of crisp Ombra wine.
• St. Mark's Square — the city's grand civic space framed by the basilica, palace and bell tower
• Grand Canal — the main waterway lined with historic palazzos, best from the Rialto and Accademia bridges
• Burano — a lagoon island known for rows of vividly painted houses along its canals
• Doge's Palace — a Venetian Gothic palace facing the waterfront, its tracery catching the morning light

When to go

April to May or September to October, when temperatures are mild, light over the lagoon is golden, and peak summer cruise crowds subside. Winter brings atmospheric morning mists and quiet canals.

What to eat

Cicchetti (Venetian-style tapas like baccalà mantecato whipped salt cod on grilled polenta, sarde in saor sweet-and-sour sardines, and polpette meatballs) paired with a Select Aperitivo spritz.

Where to stay

Stay in Cannaregio or Santa Croce for easy flat walking from Venezia Santa Lucia railway station without lugging heavy bags across numerous bridges, or in Dorsoduro for peaceful art-filled surroundings near the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.