your tips on where to find calm and authenticity in Venice

A former monastery, the Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli is beautifully located near the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Rooms are simple and clean — there is also a huge family room under the roof — and breakfast is served in a magnificent courtyard. It is calm and affordable. 

— Diane Segalen, executive search, France

The Fondazione Querini Stampalia’s garden, designed by the renowned architect Carlo Scarpa, is a hidden oasis in Venice. Seamlessly blending water, stone and greenery, Scarpa’s design integrates Modernist elements with traditional Venetian features. The tranquil atmosphere is enhanced by the garden’s elegant lines, reflecting pools and intricate use of materials, offering a peaceful retreat from the city. A must-visit for those seeking a unique, serene experience.

— Pietro Cusimano, analyst, London

Don’t stay in San Marco and fight the crowds day and night. Book a small family-run hotel such as Hotel Villa Mabapa or one of the many apartments on the Lido and enjoy space to walk your dogs, the beaches, local shops and restaurants — like Valentino. In the evening, you can have sunset cocktails and dinner at the Hotel Villa Laguna, looking back across the Lagoon to San Marco, and then walk across the island to one of the many bars along the Lungomare (such as Marconi) for a nightcap. Getting into the city or to the other islands could not be easier — just take a vaporetto from the Lido boat station. There is even parking on the Lido — take the car ferry from Tronchetto and enjoy a cruise along the Giudecca canal. 

— Mark Bloomfield, business consultant, Stoos, Switzerland

The church of San Nicolò dei Mendicoli in Dorsoduro is about as far away from the crowds that besiege Venice as you can get. My wife and I have been going to Venice for decades and literally stumbled upon it while taking a different path towards the Zattere along the Giudecca canal. It’s hard to think of a smaller, quieter and more soul-soothing place in Venice. Enter, sit down and finally be alone with your thoughts for a few minutes.

— Andrew Sammons, Conegliano

Campo Santa Margherita is a great place to feel like you are hanging out with people who really live in the city. After about 10pm on a Friday or Saturday, the bars are full of students and young people dancing in the square and socialising. On a warm winter’s night it is bliss.

And a final tip that most people miss — take a look at the corner of St Mark’s, by the Porta della Carta (connecting the Doge’s Palace to St Mark’s). There’s a small purple statue built into the wall of the cathedral — an extraordinary relic of the Tetrarchy from 300AD.

— Will Tomsett, investment manager, London 

On Giudecca island, the former Dreher brewery was converted into a space for galleries and artists. The place has been pretty much left as it was, with red bricks, chimneys and concrete walls. Inside, boutique galleries and artists have their own space in the silence. Worth mentioning is Michela Rizzo, one of the main contemporary-art galleries in the city.

— Leandro Gualario, investment professional, Madrid

There are things that go on each day — regular city services — that tourists don’t notice or pay attention to. I’ve been fascinated by the police boats outside the city hall and the fire boats in their fire station just off the Grand Canal. If you are up early, watch for the boats delivering fresh linens to the hotels on the Grand Canal and taking away yesterday’s laundry. There’s also the gondola boatyard Squero di San Trovaso, which has been there for centuries. It’s a chance to see authentic living history. Even after eight trips, I still find Venice a place where time travel is possible. Find a quiet campo and listen to footsteps coming and going over bridges, through narrow passages. Nowhere like it.

— Victoria Sterling, retired attorney, Chicago, US

Not a specific location, but a book: Venice’s Secret Service by Ioanna Iordanou gives a phenomenal glimpse into the secrets of the city’s history of espionage and intelligence, and how this can be seen in things like the city’s architecture.

— Lewis Sage-Passant, adjunct professor in intelligence and espionage, Sciences Po Paris, Paris 

On the north side of the island, in Cannaregio, the courtyard of Combo Venezia is another great place for a drink and to relax. A former Jesuit monastery that has since been repurposed into a hostel, the building is stunning (do try to sneak upstairs to see the main staircase and the frescoes on its walls) — it is worth visiting. The adjacent Jesuit church is stunning, too.

— Derek Lee, lawyer, London 

Vento di Scirocco is a lovely authentic shop off Piazza San Marco that sells lots of different things made by local artisans, from Murano glass necklaces and earrings to artistic clothes and candles. The owner is a local young woman who opened the shop less than two years ago.

— Beatrice Guzzardi, journalist, Venice

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