You probably heard me say on these pages on several occasions that my traveling preferences are to explore places that I’ve never been to before. The most recent example was my sort of lament about the dearth of new discoveries on travels during the last year. And practically in the same breath, I freely admit that I only allocated about seven hours to seeing Genoa for the first time, but a full 24 hours to a city that I’ve been to repeatedly in the past. In fact, if you were able to compare my original itinerary for the November trip with the final cut, you would realize that I eliminated from the list three – three! – not-visited-in-the-past World Heritage sites in favor of a one-night stay in Venice.
If you are asking why, the answer is that I simply can never get enough of Venice. I might regret not increasing my WH count with additional entries, but I would regret it even more if I were within reach of La Serenissima and decided not to give myself a bit of time to enjoy it.
As evidenced by the collection of dedicated entries, Venice is among the best-photographed cities in my archives. No doubt, there will be perspectives in this set that are exact or close repeats of past angles and views.
Starting with what I personally consider the best perspective in the entire city: one along the Grand Canal towards Basilica Santa Maria della Salute from the top steps of Ponte dell’Accademia.
Turning around on the same spot, we get this view of the first bend of the Grand Canal.
Piazza San Marco is another sight that is nearly impossible to get enough of, no matter how many times you come to Venice. I stayed in a hotel around the corner from it, so my walking routes converged on it several times, including this early morning.
I have not managed in the past to come to the edge of Piazzetta San Marco, where Riva degli Schiavoni starts, for sunrise pictures. The oft-featured island of San Giorgio is in the background.
In the last angle above, I turned slightly to the left on practically the same spot, placing the island of Lido behind the gondolas. Turning slightly right allowed me to bring the domes of Santa Maria della Salute into the picture (and on the left in the distance, Basilica del Santissimo Redentore on the island of Giudecca).
Another view of Piazza San Marco from the arched portico of Museo Correr, taken in mid-afternoon.
The big bonus of coming to Venice in November is the undeniable fact that the visitor crowds are much thinner.
Nowadays, in order to visit San Marco Cathedral, you have to buy timed-entry tickets online – and the basic-entry fee has gone up significantly in the last few years, while not covering some of the attractions found inside (such as Pala d’Oro, the treasury, or the cathedral museum). I’ve been inside before, I am moderately sensitive to the tourist-attraction pricing, but this interior is so blindingly remarkable that I couldn’t not go in.
Another remarkable interior space that I find impossible to bypass on repeat visits is Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the most splendid of several historic charitable religious confraternities in Venice.
The sculpted figurines adorning the main row of seats are worth admiring over and over again.
Many visitors to Venice – especially those who barely venture far from the main sights along the Grand Canal – do not set foot on various majestic public spaces spread across its quarters. Campo Santa Maria Formosa is one such square – and since my last visit a few years ago, it acquired a pride of lions on its expanse.
Another one of my favorites is Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
The ornate façade seen in the shot below belongs to another of the aforementioned scuole grandi, somewhat confusingly called Scuola Grande di San Marco (it is neither on Piazza San Marco, nor even in the San Marco sestiere – this is part of the Castello district).
I love the colorful palette of houses across Rio del Mendicanti from Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
One of my favorite churches in Venice, Santa Maria dei Miracoli, does not overlook a grand square, so if you walk up to it (or approach it in a gondola on Rio dei Miracoli), it will gradually reveal itself from behind the nearby buildings.
Here is the widest possible view of the church from Campo Santa Maria Nova.
Another oft-photographed sight in Venice is Palazzo Tetta, at the tip of an island that breaks a wider canal into two smaller arms.
I drew a loosely defined circuit across the central precincts of Venice to hit my favorite highlights. Along the way, every bridge and fondamenta offered me lovely fragments of this unique city.
We are back on the Grand Canal, which obviously offers more sweeping, wider perspectives. I always recommend taking a ride on a vaporetto between Piazzale Roma and Piazza San Marco – preferably, in both directions, and positioning yourself either on the bow, whenever the boat has seats there, or on the stern, so that you can take in the entire expanse of the remarkable waterway.
Since a number of major Venetian landmarks are located directly on the Grand Canal, this waterbus ride offers the best perspectives of such iconic sights as the Rialto Bridge, Palazzo Ducale, Punta della Dogana, and many others.
And who can get enough of Santa Maria della Salute and the surrounding palazzi…
Daylight is short in November, and I came on foot to the Rialto Bridge only after the fall of darkness.
Lingering at the top steps of Rialto and observing the canal traffic below is among the most popular free activities in town. In the evening, the hustle and bustle obviously goes down, but the romantic quotient definitely goes up.
It was still pretty early in the evening, so I walked back to a few locations for nighttime shots.
The view of the Grand Canal from Ponte della Costituzione is the last perspective of Venice for those who depart it via the vehicular “terminal” of Piazzale Roma. So here is that farewell glimpse.
I’ll come back any time and every time.
This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Venice.