With its 150 canals, 400 bridges and magnificent 16th- and 17th-century palaces and piazzas, it is no surprise that Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Gloriously romantic in spring, triumphant in summer, noble in autumn and seductive in winter, it is a popular city break destination year round.

ALBERGO SAN SAMUELE
Salizzada San Samuele, San Marco 3358 (00 39 041 5205165; fax: 5228045; www.hotelsansamuele.com). Not only one of the cheapest hotels in central Venice, but also one of the best-placed, right in the heart of art-gallery-land. It's basic but the pared-down decor has a certain minimalist charm. £

AL CAMPANIEL
Calle del Campaniel, San Polo 2889 (tel/fax: 00 39 041 2750749; www.alcampaniel.com). The four rooms in this B&B next to the belltower of San Tomà are pretty basic, but they're bright and cheerful, and rates are among the lowest in the city. There's also a ground-floor apartment, with cooking facilities, sleeping four. £

AL PONTE MOCENIGO
Fondamenta Rimpetto Mocenigo, Santa Croce 2063 (00 39 041 5244797; fax: 2759420; www.alpontemocenigo.com). It only opened at the end of 2004, but already this delightful 10-room palazzo-hotel near the church of San Stae has built a solid reputation by word of mouth. The reason is simple: it's incredibly good value for money, with spacious rooms done out in Venetian brocade and a colonnaded courtyard, where breakfast is served in summer. Book well in advance. £

BAUER IL PALAZZO
San Marco 1413/d (00 39 041 5207022; fax: 5207557; www.ilpalazzovenezia.com). The creation of dynamic young hotelier Francesca Bortolotto Possati, who inherited the hotel from her grandfather, Il Palazzo has become a serious option for the discreet rich. Its dEcor is restrained, but its quiet sense of antique style grows on one after the ubiquitous Venetian gilt-and-brocade experience. Cocooning couples should opt for room number 846, a bright, mansard room with views over the rooftops on two sides. ££££

B&B SAN MARCO
Fondamenta San Giorgio dei Schiavoni, Castello 3385/L (tel/fax: 00 39 041 5227589; www.realvenice.it). In a lovely part of Castello, just around the corner from Carpaccio's vibrant frescoes in the Scuola di San Giorgio, is Marco Scurati's charming bed and breakfast. Of the three rooms (which all share a bathroom), our favourite is the mid-sized Nonni, which has a lovely view over the rooftops. £

CA MARIA ADELE
Ca Maria Adele, Dorsoduro 111 (00 39 041 5203078; fax: 5289013; www.camariaadele.it). This newcomer by the Santa Maria della Salute church has only been open since April 2004, but it has already hosted the actors and crew of Lasse Hallstrom's Casanova biopic. Ca Maria Adele is the first hotel in Venice to attempt a fusion between modern design and Venetian settecento style and it almost works. In the reception area downstairs, two Byzantine columns rise from a Carlo Scarpa-like channel of water, while the Costes-like ambient music and perfume set the global-design tone. The breakfast area upstairs combines lounge-bar modernity with antique splendour. There are nine 'conventional' rooms and five camped-up themed rooms. It's worth the extra expense to stay in the latter. Our favourites are the blue-tinted Sala dei Mori, with its antique Morrish lampstands and tiny balcony overlooking the side of the church; and the over-the-top Sala Nera, with its purple-and-chocolate colour scheme and huge black chandelier, it's perfect for an utterly decadent dirty weekend. ££

CA'PISANI
Dorsoduro 979 (00 39 041 2401411; fax: 2771061; www.capisanihotel.it). Located in the centre of Venice, Hotel Ca' Pisani is housed in a palazzo built in the late 1500s. The 29-room hotel is a mix of minimalist Art Deco inspired by the cool graphics of the 1920s Futurist painters, and eclectic 1930s and 1940s furniture. Each room has a bed from a different period, offset by funky metallic-silver desks and comfy leather armchairs. Just off the sleek lobby, there is a bar and restaurant, La Rivista, which attracts a fashionable crowd of local Venetians. The Ca'Pisani Hotel was featured in The Hot List 2001. ££

DD.724
Dorsoduro 724 (00 39 041 2770262; fax: 2960633; www.dd724.it). We were unsure about this designer B&B when it opened in August 2003. But, after the 2,437th brocade-draped bedroom, a touch of designer rigour is refreshing; and the DD.724, which recently added a seventh bedroom, seems more confident now. Lines are geometric, tones run the gamut of brown. The only splashes of colour are provided by the armchairs, covered in Frigerio chequerboard fabrics; and the works by contemporary Italian artists on the walls. The tiny breakfast room calls for a little marmalade-and-croissant choreography, especially if everyone gets hungry at the same time. Fellow guests are likely to be visiting curators at the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which is just along the canal. The DD.724 was featured in The Hot List 2004. ££

GRITTI PALACE
Campo Santa Maria del Giglio, San Marco 2467 (00 39 041 794611; fax: 5200942; www.gritti.hotelinvenice.com). Commissioned in 1525 as the residence of the Doge of Venice, Andrea Gritti, the Gritti Palace was later used as the official residence of the Vatican's ambassadors to Venice. Today the opulent, old-world palace hotel offers 82 rooms and nine sumptuous suites, as well as a stunning position on the Grand Canal. £££

HOTEL CIPRIANI
Giudecca 10 (00 39 041 5207744; fax: 5203930; www.hotelcipriani.com). If you've got it, spend it and there are few more effective ways of spending it than by staying at the Hotel Cipriani, Italy's most expensive hotel. Any visiting celebrity worth their paparazzi has checked into the Cipriani. This hotel epitomises cosseted luxury. If the beautifully decorated rooms, Olympic-size swimming pool and free hotel motorboat service all strike you as a tad downmarket, check into one of the suites at the Cipriani's two nearby dependencies, the Palazzo Vendramin and the Palazzetto Nani-Barbaro, which come complete with private butler service. The Hotel Cipriani was featured in the Gold List 2005. ££££

HOTEL MONACO & GRAND CANAL
San Marco 1332 (00 39 041 5200211; fax: 5200501; www.hotelmonaco.it). The long awaited renovation of one of Venice's most prestigious hotels has revealed a hybrid of designer hotel and traditional Grand Canal damask-and-gilt four-star. The party piece of the new-look Monaco - acquired by the Benetton group in 1992 - is the restored Teatro del Ridotto, a 17th-century gaming room where Casanova was a habitué. Book one of the new bedrooms in the Palazzo Selvadego, an annexe occupying a former insurance office a minute's walk from the main hotel. The warm colours, funky fabrics and stylish lighting more than compensate for the lack of a lagoon view and the short walk to breakfast. The Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal was featured in The Hot List 2004. ££

LA CALCINA
Le Zattere, Dorsoduro 780 (00 39 041 5206466; fax: 5227045; www.lacalcina.com). At the pensione where John Ruskin stayed in 1877, old-fashioned Room With A View charm meets modern standards of service (and one of the city's best breakfast buffets). This is one of those places where rates can vary wildly according to season and room. £

LA RESIDENZA
Campo Bandiera e Moro 3608 (00 39 041 5285315; fax: 5238859; www.venicelaresidenza.com). Your own stately home for less than the price of a gondola ride. There's no lift and it's a little frayed at the edges; but for sheer aristocratic atmosphere it has no rivals in this price bracket. Try for rooms 221 or 228, which overlook the pretty campo of San Giovanni. £

LOCANDA ORSEOLO
Corte Zorzi, San Marco 1083 (00 39 041 5204827; fax: 5235586; www.locandaorseolo.com). The secret to the success of the Orseolo is not so much in the rooms, which are pleasantly and inoffensively Venetian. It is the location and service that really do it for the Orseolo, together with the doll's-house charm of the downstairs breakfast room and salotto. Young owner Matteo Peruch, his wife Barbara, brother Bruno and friend Francesco are keen to make sure guests are happy; they lay on one of the most sumptuous hotel breakfasts in Venice, with fresh fruit, home-made cakes and eggs every which way. One of the best things about the Orseolo (and the worst when you're looking for it) is that the unmarked entrance is via a private, gated courtyard: one's own secret Venetian campo two minutes' walk from piazza San Marco. ££

NOVECENTO
Calle del Dose, Campo San Maurizio, San Marco 2683/84 (00 39 041 2413765; fax: 5212145; www.novecento.biz). The Novocento is what every townhouse boutique hotel should be: homely, eclectic and a little scuffed at the edges. Downstairs, the oak-beamed breakfast room, which occasionally hosts photography or glassware exhibitions, opens onto a delightful patio where the morning spread of croissants, fruit, coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice is served when the weather is good enough. The nine bedrooms are all a little different, decorated with furniture from Bali, India and (occasionally) Venice, a mix that reflects the maritime republic's Eastern horizons. Beds have firm mattresses, and mod-cons fit snugly into the ethno-antique scheme, including air-conditioning, satellite TV and even Wi-Fi Internet access. Service is willing and attentive, with none of the snooty, world-weary attitude that is so often on parade at many of the city's more expensive hotels. £

OLTRE IL GIARDINO
Fondamenta Contarini, San Polo 2542 (00 39 041 2750015; fax: 795452; www.oltreilgiardino-venezia.com). This place is really special. First opened in October 2004, Oltre Il Giardino is a country-house hotel in the centre of Venice. Alma Mahler, the composer's widow, lived here in the 1920s, and her bucolic Venetian abode has now been turned into an exclusive but homely six-bedroom retreat by Franco-Venetian Alessandra Arduini Zambelli and her son Lorenzo. Inside, it's a home-from-home mix of antique furniture, contemporary rugs, designer objets and Edwardian portraits, with mod cons (LCD TVs, Jacuzzis) hidden amid the tasteful clutter. The rooms vary in size, style and price; the two largest (the Turquoise and Green rooms) are the most expensive. £

PALAZZO ABADESSA
Calle Priuli, Cannaregio 4011 (00 39 041 2413784; fax: 5212236; www.abadessa.com). Strategically placed between the station and San Marco, this is probably the best compromise in Venice between grand old palazzo atmosphere and hotel amenities, unless you can afford the Bauer Il Palazzo. Fronted by one of Venice's many secret walled gardens, this is a venerable 16th-century pile with the feel of a stately home. Stay in one of the two suites and four junior suites that open on to the magnificent old first-floor salone, with its chandeliers and ancient threadbare sofas. But whichever room you book, you get to enjoy the extensive communal spaces with their chandeliers, magnificent marble double staircase, and school-of-Tintoretto paintings. Owner Marisa Rossi likes to play the society hostess, and guests at the Palazzo, which was her home until 2002, are treated as if they're invitees at a house party. ££

PALAZZO SODERINI
Campo Bandiera e Moro, Castello 3611 (00 39 041 2960823; fax: 2417989; www.palazzosoderini.it). Design hotels don't get much more minimalist than this. Palazzo Soderini was briefly home to the Bandiera brothers, whose doomed Calabrian uprising in 1844 turned them into instant Italian nationalist heroes. The closest this tiny three-room hotel comes to revolutionary fervour is the bright blue sofa in the living room, the only splash of colour in a white and beige landscape. It's popular with architects and designers, and always booked up months in advance for the art and architecture Biennales. A major draw is its charming, raised Venetian garden with a turtle pond, giant cherry tree, and patio area for summer breakfasts. For a private view of the garden, go for room 01; for maximum space, plump for 02, which overlooks a neighbour's garden. £

PALAZZO VENDRAMIN
Giudecca 10 (00 39 041 520 7744; www.hotelcipriani.com). An ultra-exclusive annexe of the already swanky Giudecca mothership, which would probably qualify as Venice's first six-star, if such a category existed in Italy. The 11 rooms are lovely and the private-butler service really is a private-butler service rather than a front desk under another name. But the prices are punishing, even for Venice. £££££

SAN CLEMENTE PALACE
Isola di San Clemente 1, San Marco (00 39 041 2445001; fax: 2445800; www.sanclemente.thi.it). A 200-room giant with traditional Venetian décor which stands on its own private island in the southern lagoon. This makes it great for conventions and weddings, and families with kids will make full use of the swimming pool, but despite the regular shuttle boat to and from Saint Mark's, this is not a hotel for independent travellers who want to be in the thick of things. ££

PALAZZO AND APARTMENT RENTALS
The lagoon city has more non-resident property owners than anywhere else in Italy. The consequence, for visitors, is that there are huge numbers of holiday rental properties on offer, from opulent Grand palazzos to modest ground-floor student flats.
At the top of the range are properties such as Palazzetto Academia (rent through Lanza & Baucina, 020 7738 2222; www.lanzabaucina.com), a 16th-century Grand Canal palazzo near the Accademia bridge. Just as Casanova-esque, but without the Grand Canal view, Palazzetto Salvioni (rent through Bellini Travel, 020 7602 7602; www.bellinitravel.com) has a magnificent chandelier-decked salone and space for up to three couples. Palazzo Grandiben is one of the most luxurious of the many properties on the books of Anne-Marie Doyle's Venetian Apartments (020 8878 1130; www.venice-rentals.com). Owned by English aristocrats, the huge apartment is grand but homely. Another Venetian Apartments property just five minutes' walk from St Mark's Square, the Casa dell'Alboro is a Dickensian, antique-stuffed warren, full of steps and low doorways. Far more modest than any of the above, and a good deal cheaper, Casa Tre Archi and its sister apartment Casa Battello are rented directly by the English owners via their website (www.visitvenice.co.uk). Of the two, opt for Casa Tre Archi, a quaint little doll's house of a palazzo on the busy Cannaregio canal. The space, which sleeps five, is well-organised, with a phone, a proper kitchen and washing machine. But don't expect luxury or cutting edge design.

The best local dishes include the classic Venetian starter bigoli in salsa, home-made spaghetti served with a sauce made of anchovies and Chioggia onions. Another good, fishy first course that puts waiters' translation skills to the test is risotto al gò, a risotto with goby, a bizarre-looking fish which the Turks taught Venetians to appreciate in the Serene Republic years. In spring, you may be lucky enough to find castraure, very young baby artichokes, served raw with thin slices of Parmesan and a thread of olive oil.

ALLA BOTTE
Calle della Bissa, San Marco 5482 (00 39 041 520 9775; www.osteriaallabotte.it). Campo San Bartolomeo, at the foot of the Rialto Bridge, is a buzzing open-air meeting place. Duck into Calle della Bissa and the crowds disappear - until you open the door of tiny Alla Botte. Push through the packed bar to the rustic dining room behind, where dishes such as tagliatelle con capesante (with scallops) and seppie in nero (cuttlefish baked in its own ink) are served by brisk but friendly waiters. The kitchen stays open until 10pm, sometimes later, Fri-Wed.

ALL'ARCO
Calle dell'Occhiale, San Polo 436 (00 39 041 5205666). There's standing room only in this tiny, lunch-only bacaro just around the corner from the more famous Do Mori - except in summer, when a few chairs and tables edge the narrow street. The gruff market traders who pile in here are discerning gourmands, and owners Francesco and Matteo Pinto keep them happy with a spread of cicheti bar snacks, which range from 'fusion' creations such as asparagus and courgette-flower rolls stuffed with ricotta and ham, to the Venetian rumegal (veal gut) and fegato alla veneziana (calf's liver with parsley and onion).

BANDIERETTE
Barbaria delle Tole, Castello 6671 (00 39 041 5220619). In the tourist-free area between the churches of Santi Giovanni e Paolo and San Francesco della Vigna, this family-run restaurant wins no prizes for decor or atmosphere; but if you're prepare to put romantic ambience aside, it offers one of the best-value seafood meals in Venice.

CAFFE DEL DOGE
San Polo 608 (00 39 041 5227787; www.caffedeldoge.it). A local coffee company, located near the Rialto Bridge, offering various blends and fantastic cappuccinos.

CAFFE FLORIAN
Piazza San Marco (00 39 041 5205641; www.caffeflorian.com). Florians? The elegant, historic piazza San Marco bar, rivalled only by Quadri and Harry's Bar as the most expensive place for a cappuccino in Venice? Ah, but if you head past the séparés where fur-coated dowagers sit, you'll come to the bar itself: four stools and two tiny alcove tables with velvet seats, where you can watch barmen Maurizio and Roberto in action and pay exactly half what you would at a 'proper' table. Here, a Bellini (fresh peach juice and sparkling wine) will be considerably cheaper.

CAFFE LAVENA
Piazza San Marco 133-4 (00 39 041 522 4070; www.lavena.it). The tourists, plus a few well-heeled Venetians, follow Goethe to the Caffè Florian or Proust to the Gran Caffè Quadri, and very elegant they both are, too. But for what the locals claim is the best espresso in the piazza San Marco, be different and drop in at the Caffè Lavena. The decor here is hardly less sumptuous than that of its more famous rivals, with gilded mirrors, strawberry-ripple marble floors and Murano chandeliers. Lavena has musical associations: Wagner would come here for refreshment with his father-in-law, Liszt, and Rostropovich was a regular. But it was also at one time the meeting place of the gondoliers' union, which is the best coffee testimonial you could ask for.

CANTINA DO MORI
San Polo 429 (00 39 041 5225401). At the Cantina do Mori you can buy tramezzini, white-bread sandwiches cut in triangles which come generously filled with all manner of fillings, from radicchio, gorgonzola and speck to onions marinated with anchovies and stuffed vegetables. Open Mon-Sat.

CANTINONE DEL VINO 'GIA SCHIAVI' or AL BOTTEGON
Fondamenta Nani 992, Dorsoduro (00 39 041 5230034). This serves another Venetian speciality: baccala or salt cod. Baccala mantecato is salt cod whipped to a creamy paste with olive oil and eaten with bread. A good accompaniment is a glass of sweet white wine such as fragolino bianco.

CHIOGGIA ISLAND
If you'd like to venture even further afield, head to Chioggia, famed for its superlative fish market. Two restaurants to try after a morning's shopping are:
Al Buon Pesce, ponte Caneva 625 (00 39 041 400861), open Thurs-Tues, and Al Bersagliere, via C Battisti 293 (00 39 041 401044), open Wed-Mon. Have tea at Pasticceria Bruno, ponte Caneva or Ruggero on calle Olivotti, keeping space for a slice of sweet torta al radicchio e acrote or the very Venetian sounding biscuits, favetta dei morti. If you want to stay in Chioggia, check in at the Hotel Grande Italia, rione Sant' Andrea 597, piazetta Vigo (00 39 041 400515; www.hotelgrandeitalia.com). Ask for a room overlooking the lagoon.

DA FIORE
Calle del Scaleter, San Polo 2002 (00 39 041 721308; www.dafiore.net). It used to be a neighbourhood wine bar, and locals still have the sacrosanct right to perch at the bar and order una ombra ('a shadow', the Venetian term for a glass of wine). But Da Fiore is now the city's best restaurant. It's also one of the more serious, the decor is sober and the emphasis firmly on quality, rather than hooking passing tourists. As usual in Venice, fish is a speciality, with starters like misto crudo (a sort of Venetian sushi, with marinated raw fish) and pennette con capesante e broccoli (short pasta with scallops and broccoli) designed to get you up to speed for the superb tagliata di tonno al rosmarino (tuna steak with rosemary). Open Tues-Sat.

DAL PAMPO
Calle Generale Chinotto 24, Sant'Elena (00 39 041 5208419). Sant'Elena is the leafy residential suburb at the far eastern end of island Venice. Just back from the lagoon-side park stands Dal Pampo, one of the city's cheapest and most down home trattorias, where tourists are a rare sight. Don't expect anything fancy: just a simple tasty pasta course such as spaghetti alla busara (with tomato and scampi) followed by a mixed seafood grill or fry-up. Be sure to book one of the outside tables, and come early by Italian standards: dinner is served 7.30-9pm.

ENOTECA AL VOLTO
Calle Cavalli 4081, San Marco (00 39 041 5228945). This has been a Missoni family favourite for years and Elton John, a more-recent Venetian home-owner, has taken to hanging out here too. Don't leave without trying the pescetti alla Greca (fresh anchovy fillets cooked in olive oil with vinegar and capers) and bigoli in salsa, fat spaghetti in an anchovy and onion sauce.

GATTO NERO
Via Giudecca 88, Burano (00 39 041 730120; www.gattonero.com). This wonderful restaurant is on the island of Burano, which is easy to get to if you have your own water transport. Try the fegato alla Veneziana (calf's liver with Venice's special white polenta). The seafood is also very good and a mixed plate could include all manner of goodies from granseola (spider crab) and baby octopus to canocchia (a delicious, flat, prawn-like crustacean).

LA TERRAZZA
Danieli Hotel, Castello 4196 (00 39 041 5226480; fax: 5200208). Go for the fantastic Bellinis and wonderful views from the top-floor terrace. Order a fritto misto of fish caught from the lagoon, and gaze out at San Giorgio and Il Redentore. La Terrazza was featured in Alfresco Dining.

LOCANDA CIPRIANI
Piazza Santa Fosca 29, Torcello (00 39 041 730150; www.locandacipriani.com). Located on the island of Torcello, this is an annex of the fabulous and famous Cipriani Hotel. It is an unassuming-looking restaurant with the relaxed ambiance of a country-house hotel. The traditional food includes pappardelle con fegato and turkey with chestnuts at Christmas.

OSTERIA AL PONTE
Ponte San Polo, San Polo 2741 (00 39 041 5237238; www.lapatatina.it). For the best snacks in Venice head to Osteria al Ponte, which is more commonly known (after its speciality) as La Patatina and order the huge roast potato chips. Generations of students have kept the wolf from the door by diving in here between lectures to devour some of these no-nonsense chunky-cut chips, roasted with rosemary. Note that, like many bacari, this place closes for a few hours in the afternoon and is tucked up in bed by 9pm. Open Mon-Sat.

OSTERIA ALL'ARCO
Calle de L'Ochialer 436, San Polo (00 39 041 520 5666). This is the place to go for sarde in saor, sardines marinated in vinegar and cooked with pine nuts and onions. The dish is unexpectedly sweet. If your courage fails you, try the excellent salumi or cured meats. Open Mon-Sat.

OSTERIA ANTICO DOLO
Ruga Rialto 778, San Polo (00 39 041 522 6546; www.anticodolo.it). There has been a restaurant on this site since 1434. House specialities include seppie in nero (squid in ink) and halibut vincentina. The restaurant also bakes delicious bread.

OSTERIA VINI DA PINTO
Rialto Pescheria, San Polo 367 (00 39 041 5224599). This serves cicheti - Venetian tapas - at the end of the spectacular Rialto fish market. The owner, Giovanni Locorotondo, serves cicheti specialities of the fish variety, such as baby octopus or masanelle (tiny green crabs, eaten shell and all).

ROSA SALVA
Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Castello 6779 (00 39 041 5227949). This is one of the city's best cake shops, where you can assemble a breakfast of cappuccino and local specialities such as zaleti (maize flour and sultana cakes) while sitting at a pavement table in the square. You could of course do the same thing in the Caffè Florian in piazza San Marco - but check with the bank manager first.

SORA AL PONTE
Ponte delle Beccarie, San Polo 1588 (00 39 041 718208). Sora al Ponte, on the far side of the bridge that leads out of campo delle Beccarie, is the place to go for the true bacaro (a traditional Venice wine bar) experience. Perch at the bar, order a glass of white Tocai or red Raboso and tuck into the cicheti (tapas-style snacks). There are usually a few pasta and main courses as well, though you pay extra for the luxury of table, chair and cutlery.

UN MONDO DIVINO
Cannaregio 5984/a (00 39 041 5211093). This recently opened bacaro near the church of San Canciano, north of the Rialto Bridge, has some of the best cicheti in Venice. Perch at the counter and point to whichever bite-sized treats take your fancy: specialities of the house include marinaded sea bass and museto (a local pig's head sausage). Wine is served from a selection of more than 40 by-the-glass options. Open Tues-Sun.

Venice was once the party capital of the world; today the consensus is that it has no nightlife at all. This is not strictly true, though places that pass for discos in Venice would be called padded cells anywhere else. The local youth, deaf to the charms of Vivaldi, head off to mainland Mestre in the winter and beach-resort Jesolo in the summer for a shot of techno.

To drink like a local, walk into a neighbourhood bar and ask for a spritz, the archetypal Venetian aperitivo, concocted from white wine, Campari and soda water. The spritz is one of the cheapest and quickest routes to alcoholic oblivion known to man; you'll be under the table after three. The classic spritz al bitter (with Campari) has two more recherché; variations, the spritz al Aperol (tastes like medicine) and the spritz al Select (tastes like sweet medicine).

CENTRALE
San Marco 1659 (00 39 041 2960664; www.centrale-lounge.com). A trendy late night restaurant and lounge bar where a hip crowd hangs out.

DA BONIFACIO
Calle degli Albanesi, Castello 4237 (00 39 041 5227507). The best spritz of all is served not in bars but in cake shops such as Bonifacio.

HARRY'S BAR
Calle Vallaresso, San Marco 1323 (00 39 041 528 5777). Well, yes, there is always Harry's Bar, where the Bellinis are hard to beat.

LA MASCARETA
Calle lunga Santa Maria Formosa, Castello 5183 (00 39 041 5230744). The hugely popular bacaro-turned-restaurant Al Mascaron has spawned La Mascareta, a serious wine bar just a few doors away which is a great place to explore the wines of the Veneto.

MARGARET DUCHAMP
Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3019 (00 39 041 5286255). Over in the young, buzzing campo Santa Margherita (if there is anything at all going down in Venice, you'll hear about it here) is the Margaret Duchamp (open till 2am), a sharp designer bar where people meet up before moving on, or move on to after meeting up - or, if all else fails, just perch at the bar and pose.

BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
Piazza San Marco (00 39 041 5225205; www.basilicasanmarco.it). For sheer sensory overload, the mosaic-encrusted interior of the Basilica di San Marco is difficult to match. Ruskin saw it as a 'vast cave', and its wall-to-ceiling glitter sent him into raptures: 'Waves of marble heave and fall in a thousand colours on the floor underfoot and overhead, a continual succession of crowded imagery, one picture passing into another, as in a dream.'

GALLERIA DELL'ACCADEMIA
Campo della Carità, Dorsoduro 1050 (00 39 041 5222247; fax: 5212709; www.gallerieaccademia.org). The one-stop shop for Venetian painting. Its 24 rooms take the visitor on a tour of the city's distinctive, light-filled pictorial tradition, from the glittering Byzantine altarpieces of Paolo Veneziano to the soft-focus portraits of bewigged 18th-century noblemen by Rosalba Carriera. Open Mon, 8.15am-2pm; Tues-Sun, 8.15am-7.15pm.

MUSEO STORICO NAVALE
Riva S Biasio, Castello 2148 (00 39 041 2441399). An old-style museum on four floors in a former granary near the Arsenale. There are no hands-on displays or interactive video terminals, just plenty of boats, from manned torpedoes to a model of the Bucintoro, the richly decorated state barge. The museum continues the tradition of naval model-building begun in the Arsenale shipyards; it also has some full-sized vessels, including a selection of gondolas. Open Mon-Sat, 8.45am-1.30pm.

MUSEO QUERINI STAMPALIA
Santa Maria Formosa, Castello 5252 (00 39 041 2711411; fax: 2711445; www.querinistampalia.it). A high-quality private collection that not only has some of the best Renaissance paintings in Venice, including Giovanni Bellini's exquisite Presentation at the Temple, but also a fascinating series of minor works, such as Gabriele Bella's 18th-century paintings of Venetian festivals, ceremonies and customs. Among them is La festa del 2 febbraio a Santa Maria Formosa, which depicts such light-hearted carnival sports as head-butting cats and shinning up a greasy pole to wring the necks of two ducks. The ground floor and gardens, redesigned in the early 1960s by Carlo Scarpa, offer one of Venice's few successful examples of modern architecture. Open Tues-Sun.

PEGGY GUGGENHEIM COLLECTION
Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Dorsoduro 701 (00 39 041 2405411; fax: 5206885; www.guggenheim-venice.it). The city's other great art gallery makes no claims to completeness: the Peggy Guggenheim Collection reflects the extravagant character of the woman who put together this collection of European and US art from the 1920s to the 1950s. The display case, a truncated palazzo on the Grand Canal, is part of the experience. There is a charming garden with a terrace bar, just the place for lunch after a hard morning's culture. Open Wed-Mon.

VIEWS
There are two contenders for the best views of the city, both of them soaring bell towers, both with lifts installed. By far the most popular is the Campanile di San Marco. The present structure is a replica, recreated brick for brick after the original collapsed in 1902 (killing the custodian's cat in the process). From the top, the view stretches across Venice's rooftops to the Lido on one side and the Lagoon and the Dolomites on the other. There are even public payphones at the top, ideal for making gloating calls to hard-working colleagues back home. But many old Venice hands prefer the view from the Campanile di San Giorgio on the island of the same name, facing the quay of St Mark's. Its lagoon position offers a much better overview of the watery element Venice is built on; and you get to go up in the lift with a jovial monk.

CAMPO SANTA MARIA FORMOSA
One of Venice's most characterful open spaces is the campo Santa Maria Formosa: literally, 'the Square of Buxom Saint Mary'. Locals hurry through (it is located halfway between the ferry hubs of San Zaccaria and Fondamenta Nuove) while unfocused tourists dawdle and look up at the charmingly uneven architecture of the palazzi that line the square, ranging from the grand to the homely. This is the place to come for people-watching: sit at a pavement table outside the Bar Orologio, order a spritz (see Nightlife) and enjoy the show.

GIARDINI PUBBLICI
Park? In Venice? It's not really what you come for, but those who are desperate for a blade of grass should head to the Giardini Pubblici at the far-eastern end of island Venice, just across the water from the Lido (take vaporetto lines 1, 51, 61 or 82 from the station or San Zaccaria). Dusty gravel walks, a few swings and climbing frames, mothers giving their toddlers a workout on their way back from the shops - as an antidote to the dreamlike unreality of historic Venice, it's hard to beat. Unless, that is, you happen to come here when the Biennale of modern art is on (in summer), which takes over a normally closed section of the Giardini. Then, the real world can seem even further away.

GONDOLA RIDES
Crossing the Grand Canal in a gondola traghetto is a great way of doing the obligatory tourist thing. At certain times of day (varying widely from route to route) traghetti - large, unadorned gondolas in which passengers ride standing up - cross the Grand Canal at fixed points between the bridges. The most useful are the services between Santa Sofia and the Pescheria, between Ca' Garzoni and San Tomà, and between San Marco and Punto della Dogana.

FESTA DEL REDENTORE
The Festa del Redentore, on the third weekend in July, is the oldest continuously celebrated holiday on the Venetian calendar. It commemorates the city's delivery from an outbreak of plague in 1575. On the Saturday, a procession crosses the wide Canale della Giudecca on a bridge of boats that stretches from the Zattere, the southern quayside of the Dorsoduro, to Andrea Palladio's thanksgiving church of Il Redentore. Venetian families take to their boats, which are stocked with food and wine and illuminated by little coloured lanterns. At midnight, fireworks light up the sky; traditionally, revellers then make their way to the Lido to watch the sun rise. If you don't have a boat, bring a picnic and watch the show from Zattere quay.

SESTIERI
The sestieri are the six districts into which the main part of Venice is divided. Each has its own character: San Marco and San Polo are the busiest, Dorsoduro (which overlooks the island of Giudecca) the most elegant and expatriate, Santa Croce and eastern Castello the most working-class. Cannaregio is one of the largest, but also, in parts, one of the least known. The Ghetto (the term was coined in Venice) is a fascinating enclave of tall houses around a central square, with five synagogues, a good museum and a growing sense of vitality as the local Jewish community rediscovers its roots. Nearby is the church of Madonna dell'Orto, packed to the gills with Tintorettos.

STREET LIFE
By day, via Giuseppe Garibaldi, a wide thoroughfare at the eastern end of the Castello district, is one of the few places in town where tourists are outnumbered by locals. It is a busy street full of restaurants, food shops and bacari wine bars; at the top end, past the entrance to the Giardini Pubblici, a colourful morning market spills over onto a couple of moored barges. In the evening, the bars of campo Santa Margherita fill up with students from the nearby university. Another lively, pocket-sized area of bars, clubs and ethnic restaurants is the inaptly named fondamenta della Misericordia in Cannaregio.

TORCELLO ISLAND
Together with the marshy islands that surround it, frequented only by the occasional clam-gatherer or duck-hunter, the island of Torcello gives a real feel of the lagoon's pre-urban state. Torcello was the first island to be settled, in the fifth century; by the 15th it was mostly abandoned, as malaria and the rivalry of Venice led to a mass exodus. Its glory days are represented by two remarkable churches, little Santa Fosca and the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, with its glorious medieval mosaics and frescoes. The Locanda Cipriani, where Hemingway stayed in 1949 while writing Across the River and into the Trees, is still here. The Locanda's restaurant (see Where to Eat) is no longer near the top of the culinary ladder, though its prices might suggest otherwise. But for a tête-à-tête meal, it's still undeniably romantic. To get there take a motonave number 12 which serves Burano and Torcello, leaving from Fondamenta Nuove, Venice's northern ferry quay; the journey takes 45 minutes.

VENICE BIENNALE
(www.labiennale.org). The prestigious Venice Biennale has attracted and promoted a plethora of international artistic talents, both upcoming and established, since it was founded in 1895. The world-renowned event, which takes place every two years, includes the annual International Film Festival (August/September), the International Art Exhibition (from June to November) and the International Architecture Exhibition (from September to November), plus the Festival of Contemporary Music (September/October) and Theatre (September), more recently joined by the Festival of Contemporary Dance (June/July).

BEST-KEPT SECRET

LA CASA DEL TINTORETTO
Fondamenta dei Mori, Cannaregio 3399/a (tel/fax: 00 39 041 722081; www.tintorettovenezia.it). Tintoretto's house in Cannaregio is now the site of a printmaking studio, La Bottega del Tintoretto, which uses restored presses and timeworn techniques to produce woodprints, copperplates and other types of engraving. Artists come from all over the world to have their work reproduced by master engraver Roberto Mazzetto.

BOOKS

FILIPPI EDITORE
Calle della Casselleria, Castello 5284 (00 39 041 5236916). Filippi is the oldest surviving publishing house in the city, specialising in Venetian history, culture, cuisine and dialect. If you're looking for a book of recipes from the world's oldest Jewish ghetto, or a Venetian-Italian dictionary, this is the place to come. A small selection of foreign-language titles includes Venice and its Lagoon, the English translation of Giulio Lorenzetti's venerable guide to the city, which lists every Madonna and Child and crumbling palazzo worthy of note (and quite a few that aren't).

FASHION
The main designer boutiques - Armani, Prada, Gucci and the rest - cluster just west of piazza San Marco in a network of adjoining streets: salizada San Moisè; calle Vallaresso; calle Goldoni; and the Frezzeria.

DITTURA
San Vio 871, Dorsoduro (00 39 041 5231163). This sells furlane, traditional gondoliers' velvet shoes, which are very chic alternatives to slippers for both men and women.

FOOD

DROGHERIA MASCARI
Ruga dei Speziali, San Polo 381 (00 39 041 5229762). Tray upon tray of dried goods fill the Drogheria Mascari with the smells and colours of the empire Venice once possessed. This is the only speziale (spice merchant) left on the street that bears their name. Contribute to its survival by buying something, anything: freshly ground coffee, a twist of cumin or some natural liquorice.

MARKETS
For the best Venetian market, head to the Rialto on the San Polo (western) side of the bridge. There has been a market on this site for the best part of a millennium, and it's still going strong. Come early in the morning for local atmosphere and the freshest produce. The fish market is a riot of writhing marine life.

GLASS

GALLERIA SAN NICOLO
Fondamenta Traghetto, Dorsoduro (00 39 041 522 1535). There are very few fields in which Venice is a world leader; contemporary glass is one. A good place to start is the Galleria San Nicolò, on the Grand Canal next to Ca' Rezzonico. Run by American Louise Berndt, who knows the Venetian glass scene inside out, this gallery specialises in works by international artists such as Monica Guggisberg and Philip Baldwin.

GALLERIA MARINA BAROVIER
Salizada San Samuele, San Marco 3216 (00 39 041 5236748; www.barovier.it). For 1950s and 1960s Murano glass, head for the Galleria Marina Barovier, which also organises contemporary glass exhibitions.

BERENGO FINE ARTS
Fondamenta Vetrai 109/a, Murano (00 39 041 527 6364; www.berengo.com). Adriano Berengo specialises in limited-edition glass by artists such as Riccardo Licata and Kiki Kogelnik.

VITTORIO COSTANTINI
Calle del Fumo, Cannaregio 5311 (00 39 041 522 2265). Vittorio Costantini specialises in delicate lamp-work creatures such as ladybirds and beetles, which make inexpensive souvenirs.

PERLE E DINTORNI
Calle della Mandola, San Marco 3740 (00 39 041 520 5068). Glass beads are sold loose or made into jewellery at Perle e Dintorni, between campo Sant Angelo and campo Manin.

L'ISOLA
Campo San Moisè 1468, San Marco (00 39 041 5231973; www.lisola.com). This sells stunning modern glass pieces by Carlo Moretti.

JEWELLERY

CODOGNATO
Calle Ascensione 1295, San Marco (00 39 041 5225042). Codognato sells macabre skull rings and serpent necklaces and three generations of the same family have designed the jewellery.

MASKS

MONDO NOVO
Rio Terà Canal, campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro 3063 (00 39 041 528 7344; www.mondonovomaschere.it). When he needed masks for that cheesy orgy scene in Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick went to Mondo Novo. Even if you're not planning an orgy, the emporium of this mask-maker is a fascinating place to browse.

SOUVENIRS

GILBERTO PENZO
Calle Seconda dei Saoneri, San Polo 2681 (00 39 041 719372; www.veniceboats.com). Gilberto Penzo makes detailed wooden models of gondolas and other traditional boats.

TEXTILES

GAGGIO
Calle delle Botteghe, San Marco 3441-3451(00 39 041 5228574; www.gaggio.it). For rich velvets and damasks rare, head for Gaggio, a cave of wonders that makes interior designers hyperventilate. Emma Gaggio's speciality fabrics are thin silk velvets with hand-printed wooden block motifs superimposed in different colours. You can buy them ready made up into cushions, bags, hats and jackets, or order them by the metre.

TROIS
Campo San Maurizio, San Marco 2666 (00 39 041 5222905). Trois is the only place in Venice where you can find original Fortuny fabrics - the kind that make dresses you can hold in a squeezed fist - at a considerable saving on UK or US prices.

AIRPORT
Scheduled flights arrive at Marco Polo airport (www.veniceairport.it) located 9km from the centre on the mainland, while charter flights fly to Treviso (www.trevisoairport.it), 25km from the centre.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK
bmi (0870 6070 555; www.flybmi.com)
British Airways (0870 850 9850; www.ba.com)
Easyjet (www.easyjet.com)
Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com)

The best way to arrive is by water from the airport. There are two options. A water taxi seats six, it is common practice for passengers to form themselves into groups. Alternatively, the hourly ACTV motor launch goes to San Marco, stopping off at Murano and the Lido. Failing that, the train offers a marvellous approach to the city, trundling over the lagoon on a narrow causeway from Mestre.

ACTV (www.actv.it) runs the vaporetti (ferries) and other public transport services.

The Consorzio Motoscafi Venezia (00 39 041 5222303; www.motoscafivenezia.it) represents Venice's licensed water-taxi drivers. NB Although all official taxis (look for the black-on-yellow number on the side) have metres, drivers have the right to fix a price beforehand with the client.

The glare of the sun takes the edge off the lagoon city's magic; to see it at its emptiest and most atmospheric, come in November, season of mists and acqua alta (tidal flooding: bring or buy a pair of wellies). January is another good month, between the mini-peak of Christmas and the tourist-oriented revelry of Carnevale in late February or early March.

DO:
Come prepared. Venice can be cold and damp in winter. In summer, bring mosquito repellent and a sun hat. At any time of year bring good flat shoes for hopping on and off boats. The number of bridges means that pushchairs need picking up every few yards; invest in a baby backpack instead.

Read up before you travel. From a literary point of view, the self-styled Baron Corvo's The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole, if you can find it, is a fascinating study of what Venice can do to a man. This vitriolic, extravagant novel was written by the paranoid author (who ended his days in penury, kipping in a gondola) to settle a few scores with Venice's English community. Another, no less twisted view of the city is offered by Nicolas Roeg's thriller Don't Look Now, which makes perfect pre-trip viewing for honeymooners.

Save on travel by taking the traghetto, which ferries locals across the Grand Canal.

Walk down to campo San Trovaso where you will find one of the last remaining gondola workshops.

Keep away from tourist areas and get lost in the streets of the city.

DON'T:

Book a hotel in Mestre, the city's characterless mainland offshoot, which take the overflow from Venice at peak times.

Choose restaurants with the sign menu turistico or smooth-talking waiters stationed outside, whose job it is to lure tourists into their overpriced den in six languages.

Visit the Lido during the film festival at the beginning of September (unless you're in it).

Try to swim the Grand Canal (if the vaporetti don't get you, the pollution will).

Take the main, northern pedestrian route between the station and San Marco (take the far quieter southern route by way of San Giacomo dell'Orio and the Rialto).

Book a table at Harry's Bar, the bill will spoil your trip, but make sure you visit the bar for a Bellini.

Restrict yourself to sight seeing in the city, cross the lagoon to the other islands that surround La Serenissima.

The Azienda di Promozione Turistica (www.turismovenezia.it) near St Mark's (00 39 041 5298711) is helpful, but can get overrun in the summer months. Here you can pick up free (but undetailed) maps of the city, and the bilingual monthly guide Un Ospite di Venezia/A Guest in Venice, with details of concerts, exhibitions and other events. Other tourist offices are at Giardini Reali, by San Marco vaporetto stop, Santa Lucia train station and Marco Polo airport (00 39 041 5415887).