If Dorsoduro is Venice’s art-and-elegance side, Castello is its working memory — the sestiere that quietly ran the Venetian Republic
Everyone who comes to Dorsoduro sees the same three names: the Guggenheim, the Accademia, Ca’ Rezzonico. They deserve their fame.
People ask me all the time which spots actually deliver that feeling — the one they came to Venice hoping
I get asked constantly for a route people can follow on their own — something specific enough to hand someone
After nearly thirty years of walking every sestiere of this city with visitors from around the world, I still find
I tell almost every guest the same thing on their first morning in Cannaregio: put the phone away, don’t open
Most of what gets written about Venice, including some of what I’ve written myself, treats a neighborhood like a checklist:
I’ve written elsewhere on this site about Venice’s bridges in general — the sheer number of them, their engineering history,
July is Venice at its most theatrical. The light stays gold until almost 9 PM, the Grand Canal fills with
Guests often ask me for a version of Cannaregio that fits into a single morning or afternoon — maybe they’ve
The Test I Actually UseAfter thirty years of guiding, I’ve stopped judging a Venetian street by how it looks and
I’ve guided guests through Venice for close to thirty years, and there’s a particular kind of satisfaction in watching someone’s
Most visitors to Venice never make it north of the Strada Nova. They arrive at Santa Lucia station, wheel their
Most cities preserve their history behind glass — in museum cases, roped-off rooms, plaques on buildings that used to be
In almost every city I’ve ever visited, walking is how you get to the thing you came to see. You
Everyone notices the Basilica. Almost nobody notices the hand-painted sign fifty feet from it, or the strange numbering on the
Guests preparing for a Venice trip often send me a spreadsheet. Hour-by-hour, museum to gondola to restaurant, every block of
I’ve had guests return to Venice three, four, even six times, and every one of them has told me the
Venice is a walking city with no shortcuts — every destination means bridges, uneven paving, and more distance on foot
Guests sometimes tell me, halfway through a day of walking, that Venice doesn’t feel like the rest of Italy they’ve
I'm Igor Scomparin. I have been a Venice graduated and licensed tour guide since 1997. I will take you through the secrets, the history and the art of one of the most beautiful cities in the World.
