Venice Venice Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

Palazzo Papadopoli's 16th-century Renaissance interiors house Aman's 24-room Venetian outpost, where Giambattista Tiepolo ceiling frescoes and Murano glass chandeliers meet Jean-Michel Gathy's contemporary design. The Grand Canal's only hotel garden spans 2,800 square feet of manicured lawn for dining from April through October. Restaurant Arva serves lagoon-sourced eel, handmade chestnut-flour pasta, and venison foraged from regional farms. George and Amal Clooney held their 2014 wedding reception here.

The 15th-century palazzo of Doge Andrea Gritti commands a prime stretch of the Grand Canal, its Gothic facades facing the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. Interiors gleam with 18th-century antiques, Murano glass chandeliers, and hand-carved wooden lamps, while the seasonal Gritti Terrace sets tables mere inches from the water. The Gritti SPA, partnering with Sisley Paris, delivers Phyto-Aromatiques treatments blending global massage traditions with aromatherapy.

Tchaikovsky composed his Fourth Symphony in room 108 of this storied 1853 palazzo, drawn by lagoon vistas through 100 windows facing San Giorgio Maggiore and the Basilica della Salute. Just 52 Biedermeier-styled rooms feature antiques and pink Carrara marble baths, while Venice's highest rooftop terrace sweeps from the Dolomites to the islands. Chef Loris Indri sources Rialto market fish for Do Leoni's waterfront dining on Riva degli Schiavoni.

On the Riva degli Schiavoni, Hotel Metropole Venice channels its layered past as convent, orphanage, music school and wartime hospital into an art-filled, Silk Road-inflected interior. Many of its 67 rooms look to canal or lagoon, with a private water entrance for taxi arrivals and prized views toward St. Mark’s Square. Met Restaurant, Orientalbar & Bistrot, the Vivaldi-linked tearoom and spa suit history-minded luxury travelers.

Steps from Piazza San Marco, Violino d’Oro feels composed rather than showy: 32 compact rooms and suites unfold across three Venetian palazzi, with Italian-made interiors from Murano glass to modern artworks. Il Piccolo adds a modern Venetian restaurant-bar with a vegetarian emphasis, while suites and connecting rooms make the address workable for art-minded couples and families seeking calm near Venice’s busiest quarter.

A thirty-minute drive from Venice, this two-Michelin-starred address ranks among Italy's foremost seafood destinations. The kitchen excels at raw preparations and charcoal-grilled fish, while regional classics like cassopipa and broetto anchor the menu alongside fritto misto. Po Delta Perla Rosa oysters deserve special attention. The minimalist dining room and deep white wine list suit serious gastronomic occasions.

Accessible only by boat, this one-starred destination occupies a private island in the Venetian lagoon, where chef Lorenzo Lai—working under Emanuele Scarello's guidance—presents two distinctive tasting menus. LagunAmare highlights the day's finest catch, while Giardino delle Rose draws entirely from the property's kitchen garden, both compositions reflecting the island's biodiversity. Summer arrivals begin with aperitifs on a terrace overlooking the olive grove before moving inside for refined Venetian cuisine.

Within the Hotel Cipriani on tranquil Giudecca island, chef Vania Ghedini's Michelin-starred table marries her Moroccan culinary past with Venetian locale in a lagoon-facing round dining room. The signature Laguna showcases precision in both flavor balance and texture, while the tasting menu threads lagoon catches with lighter vegetarian plates. Finish with the cherry tart sharpened by balsamic vinegar—essential for those who favor fruit-forward finales.

On Piazza San Marco, Quadri brings a contemporary hand to Venice’s culinary repertoire under chef Sergio Preziosa. The one-Michelin-star kitchen draws its argument from the lagoon: fish from shallow waters, SantʼErasmo vegetables, shellfish and seasonal game. With a varied cellar known for less expected labels, it suits a gastronomic dinner that feels rooted in Venice rather than merely staged there.

On Mazzorbo, Venissa turns a walled lagoon vineyard and kitchen garden into the framework for one-Michelin-star Venetian dining. Chefs Chiara Pavan and Francesco Brutto call their cooking ambientale, an environmental reading of the lagoon and Upper Adriatic expressed through fish, vegetables, and almost no meat. It suits travelers seeking a serious, quiet meal away from Venice’s busiest circuits.

Behind an unmarked door in Il Palazzo Experimental's lobby lies a jewel-toned speakeasy channeling Wes Anderson whimsy. Designer Cristina Celestino crafted the space as homage to Carlo Scarpa, its bar counter layered with three marbles echoing the Basilica of San Marco. The cocktail program spotlights Italian spirits in bespoke recipes, while a collaboration with French brand JNPR delivers inventive low-ABV alternatives for mindful drinkers.

Giuseppe Cipriani mixed the first Bellini here in 1948, blending white peach purée with Prosecco to echo the pink tones of Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini's canvases. The bar still follows the original formula, using fresh peaches from late spring through early fall. Across the lagoon, St. Mark's Square shimmers in the distance—the same view that once drew Hemingway to Cipriani's legendary hospitality.