Welcome to the heart of Venezia Insulare, where history unfolds from the grand Caffè Florian to the quiet corners of Chiesa di San Zaccaria and Chiesa di Santo Stefano. Our walk will take us from the industrial grandeur of the Arsenale past architectural gems like Ca' d'Oro, before hopping over to the colorful island of Burano. Get ready to explore the distinct character of these islands, which reveal the true breadth of Venice beyond the main canals.
Arsenale
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
Before Henry Ford, before the Industrial Revolution, before anyone else figured out assembly-line production, Venice had the Arsenale.
Burano
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
Burano looks like someone spilled a paint factory into the Venetian lagoon.
Ca' d'Oro
3932 Cannaregio, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30121, Italy
The "House of Gold" hasn't been golden for over four hundred years, but the name stuck.
Caffè Florian
57 San Marco, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30124, Italy
Caffè Florian has been serving coffee in Piazza San Marco since December 29, 1720, making it, by its own reckoning, the oldest coffeehouse in continuous operation in the world.
Chiesa di San Zaccaria
Campo San Zaccaria, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30122, Italy
Most visitors walk right past San Zaccaria on their way between St.
Chiesa di Santo Stefano
2958 San Marco, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30124, Italy
Venice has four leaning bell towers, and Santo Stefano's is the most dramatic — tilting over two metres off-centre, visible from the campo below at an angle that makes tourists instinctively step back.
Doge's Palace
1 San Marco, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30124, Italy
For over a thousand years, this was the nerve centre of one of history's most successful republics — a state that lasted longer than the Roman Empire and ran a trading network that stretched from London to China.
Frari Church
3072 San Polo, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30125, Italy
The Franciscans arrived in Venice in 1226, and being Franciscans — sworn to poverty and simplicity — they immediately set about building one of the largest churches in the city.
Gallerie dell'Accademia
Campo de la Carità, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30123, Italy
If you want to understand why Venetian painting changed the world, this is where you come.
Harry's Bar
1323 San Marco, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30124, Italy
The most famous bar in Venice was bankrolled by a drunk American.
Jewish Ghetto
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
This is where the word "ghetto" was born.
Libreria Acqua Alta
Calle Longa Santa Maria Formosa, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30122, Italy
The self-proclaimed "most beautiful bookshop in the world" stores its inventory in bathtubs, gondolas, and waterproof bins — because when your shop floods regularly with lagoon water, conventional shelving is just a slow way to make papier-mâché.
Murano
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
In 1291, the Venetian Republic ordered every glassmaker in the city to pack up their furnaces and move to the island of Murano.
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
Calle dei Cristi, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30125, Italy
Hidden down a narrow alley near Campo Manin, this palazzo has one of the most unexpected architectural flourishes in Venice: a massive external spiral staircase that corkscrews up the outside of the building like a stone snail shell.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
701 Dorsoduro, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30123, Italy
Peggy Guggenheim lived in Venice for thirty years in a palazzo that was never finished — the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni was started in 1749 but only the ground floor was ever built, making it the lowest building on the Grand Canal.
Ponte dei Pugni
Ponte San Barnaba, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30123, Italy
The marble footprints are still there, worn into the stone at each end of the bridge — the starting positions for the fighters.
Punta della Dogana
2 Dorsoduro, Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, 30123, Italy
At the very tip of the Dorsoduro district, where the Grand Canal meets the Giudecca Canal, sits one of the most dramatic meeting points of old and new in Venice.
Rialto Bridge
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
The oldest bridge across the Grand Canal was designed by a man whose surname literally means "of the Bridge.
Rialto Market
Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare), Venice, Italy
Every morning before dawn, while tourists sleep off their Spritz hangovers, boats pull up to the quay beside the Rialto Bridge and unload the night's catch directly onto stone counters.
Explore Venezia Murano Burano (Venezia Insulare) with VoiceWalks
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story.