Venice — Palazzi on the Water, Gondolas & Grand Canal Sunsets 🛶

A city with no roads, only canals — Byzantine domes, backwater bridges and palaces that rise straight out of the lagoon. Hand-picked stays and must-book experiences — every link takes you straight to Trip.com to check live prices and book.

🏨 Where to Stay

• The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — a 15th-century palazzo directly on the Grand Canal in San Marco, once home to Doge Andrea Gritti. The Club del Doge terrace looks straight across the water to the Salute basilica — the best sunset table in Venice.
• Belmond Hotel Cipriani ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — a resort-like hideaway on the tip of Giudecca, reached by the hotel's own polished-wood launch. Huge saltwater pool, garden, tennis, and the Michelin-starred Oro — a world apart, yet minutes from St Mark's by boat.
• Aman Venice ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — inside Palazzo Papadopoli on the Grand Canal, all frescoed salons and Tiepolo ceilings, with one of the only water-facing private gardens in the city. The palazzo where the Clooneys held their wedding.
• The St. Regis Venice ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — a run of Grand Canal palazzi steps from St Mark's, pairing sleek contemporary rooms with signature St Regis butler service and the canal-side Gio's terrace for cocktails on the water.
• Ca' Pisani Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — attainable pick — a 500-year-old merchant's townhouse turned 29-room Art Deco boutique in the quiet, artistic Dorsoduro district, a Condé Nast Triple Crown winner, with a rooftop terrace and a short walk to the Accademia and St Mark's — a genuinely calmer, more attainable base than the Grand Canal palazzi.
• Locanda Ca' Zose ⭐⭐⭐ — attainable pick — a 12-room 17th-century guesthouse on a quiet Dorsoduro canal, rated 8.7 by guests, with exposed beams and period furniture, a five-minute walk from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection — genuinely budget-friendly, authentic Venice.

✈️ Flights

• Flights to Venice (VCE) — around 2 hours 20 direct from Manchester to Venice Marco Polo, right on the edge of the lagoon.

🎟️ Experiences

• St Mark's Basilica Tickets — the golden Byzantine cathedral on St Mark's Square, glittering with 8,000 square metres of mosaics. Book a timed entry and add the terrace for a close-up of the bronze horses and the view over the piazza.
• Doge's Palace Tickets — the pink-and-white Gothic seat of the Venetian Republic, with Tintoretto and Veronese ceilings, the gilded Golden Staircase and the covered Bridge of Sighs leading to the old prisons.
• St Mark's Campanile Tickets — ride the lift up Venice's great bell tower for the finest view in the city: the domes of the Basilica below, the lagoon and its islands all around, and on a clear day even the Dolomites on the horizon.

🚗 Car Hire & Transfers

• Car Hire — mainland & onward — Venice itself is entirely car-free, so a hire car only makes sense for arriving at Piazzale Roma or for onward road trips to Verona, Lake Garda or the Dolomites.
• Private Transfers — Marco Polo to your hotel — the unforgettable way to arrive is by private water taxi across the lagoon, gliding up the canals right to your hotel's own jetty.