Category: Blog

The Torre dell’Orologio: A Clock Built for an EmpireIn 1493, Venice’s Senate decided the city needed a clock worthy of

Most visitors look at a Venetian palace facade and see, at best, “pretty stone.” What they’re actually looking at is

There’s a square in Castello I bring nearly every guest to at some point, and it’s rarely on their radar

Guests often ask me whether they should splurge on a private water taxi, hop in a gondola, or just walk

The first time an American guest looks down at a scrap of paper with their hotel address — something like

1. The Horses on the Facade Aren’t the Real OnesThe four bronze horses above the main entrance are what everyone

I’ve walked American visitors past these three symbols hundreds of times, and I’ve noticed something: most people see them without

Most visitors leave Venice having seen St. Mark’s, ridden a gondola down the Grand Canal, and photographed the Bridge of

1. The patron saint smuggled home in a barrel of porkEvery great city needs a patron saint, and in the

Most visitors’ first encounter with a Venice water taxi is standing at the airport with their bags, slightly overwhelmed, watching

I’ve walked the Ghetto with hundreds of visitors over the years, and it never fails — even people who’ve read

1. The Twin Doorways of Scuola Grande di San MarcoNow the entrance to Venice’s civil hospital, this Renaissance facade hides

Venice has more than a hundred campanili — bell towers — rising out of the rooftops, and after thirty years

You don’t need a reservation to experience some of Venice’s grandest interiors. Several of the city’s historic hotels occupy genuine