Visible from the Adriatic, the Gothic and Renaissance style palace centralized the legislative, executive and judicial powers that were placed in the hands of the Doges. Venice did not yet exist, but the lagoon was already developing into villages with divergent interests. In 697, the Byzantine emperor Leo III brought them all under the control of a chief, or Doge in Venetian dialect. 118 Doges succeeded each other between 726 and 1797. A visit to the palace is a journey through this 1100-year era of splendour. Wander up and down the Scala d’Oro, leading to the hall of arms, the courtyards, the prisons and the Doge’s apartment where works by Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto illustrate the history of Venice. The Sala Del Maggior Consiglio, 52 meters long and 24 meters wide, houses Paradise, the largest painting by Tintoretto in the world. To reach the dungeons, walk across the famous Bridge of Sighs, so named because the condemned, on their way to their deaths, sighed as they caught their last glimpse of the lagoon.

Take a cruise to the lagoon and explore its islands. Visit the workshops of Murano, famous for glass blowing. Explore the ancient canals and narrow streets of Burano, lined with houses with multicoloured facades. Legend has it that the fishermen painted them to make them visible on foggy days. Here you can discover the art of the merletto at the lace museum. Finally you will reach Torcello, the oldest island in the lagoon, which in its heyday was more populated than Venice.

Located right on the banks of the Grand Canal in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, where Peggy Guggenheim once lived, this is one of the finest collections of modern art in Europe. Guggenheim’s eccentric personality is evident at the entrance, where The Angel of the City, a sculpture by Marino Marini, welcomes visitors with open arms, an erect penis, and an expression of ecstasy. The interior of the palazzo plunges the visitor into a world of Cubist, Surrealist, Abstract and Modern art. 200 works by some of the most famous artists of the twentieth century are on show: Picasso, Braque and Balla are displayed alongside Arp, Dali, Giacometti and Ernst. An entire room is devoted to Jackson Pollock, one of Guggenheim’s lovers. The gardens are home to Peggy Guggenheim’s grave, surrounded by sculptures by Germaine Richier, Fritz Koenig and Yoko Ono.

In 1774, the small Teatro San Benedetto in Venice burned down. Its owners at the time, the Grimani family, commissioned the architect Gian Antonio Selva to build a new theatre, La Fenice, inaugurated in 1792. The sobriety of its neo-classical façade contrasts with the interior, which is filled with of rococo flourishes. The gold and red of the five floors of boxes saw fifteen world premieres between 1813 and 2016. Born out of the ashes, the theatre, true to it name, suffered two further fires, in 1836 and 1996. In 2001, work began on rebuilding it to its former luxury. The writer Lucien d’Azay acknowledges that its acoustics have been improved, but he misses the old building’s patina from all that cigarette smoke and candlelight.

The Salita San Moisè is located in the sestiere San Marco, just off the famous piazza of the same name, right in the heart of La Serenissima. Along its narrow streets it offers a thousand and one wonders for shopping enthusiasts. The great Italian fashion houses, jewellers, and shoe designers will titillate your desire for gifts and beautiful souvenirs.