Venice
Dorsoduro
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The Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim, and the Zattere waterfront — the most pleasant sestiere to stay in, with students and great bacaro bars.
The Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim, and the Zattere waterfront promenade — the most pleasant sestiere to stay in, with students, locals, and great bacaro bars. Dorsoduro combines the finest art museums in Venice with the most liveable neighbourhood character and the Zattere's south-facing waterfront.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑The Gallerie dell'Accademia is the finest collection of Venetian painting in the world: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Bellini, and Carpaccio are all represented in a purpose-built museum on the Grand Canal — the 24-painting cycle of the Miracles of the True Cross by Carpaccio, Bellini, and others tells the story of Venice through its greatest narrative sequence
- ↑The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the finest modern art museum in Italy: housed in Guggenheim's unfinished palazzo on the Grand Canal, the collection of Surrealist, Futurist, and Abstract Expressionist works (Dalí, Picasso, Kandinsky, Pollock, Rothko) creates a visual shock against the backdrop of Baroque Venice that is genuinely arresting
- ↑The Zattere promenade along the Giudecca canal — south-facing, sunny, and lined with gelaterie and terrasse tables — is the finest waterfront walk in Venice: the view across to the Giudecca island, the passing container ships and vaporetti, and the afternoon light on the Redentore church make it the best evening walk in the city
What you sacrifice
- ↓Dorsoduro is slightly further from the main Venetian landmarks (San Marco is 15 minutes walk, the Rialto 20 minutes) than San Polo or Cannaregio: those whose priority is maximum proximity to the tourist circuit will find the walk distances add up
- ↓The student population around Campo Santa Margherita creates Friday and Saturday night noise that can be significant: the campo and its surrounding bars are the social heart of young Venice, and accommodation immediately around the campo reflects that
Best for
Avoid if
Other Venice neighbourhoods
The Basilica, the Doge's Palace, and Piazza San Marco — Venice's unmissable centre, but overpriced and saturated with day-trippers.
The Rialto Bridge sestieri — the Frari church, the fish market, and genuinely residential streets where Venetians still live.
The quietest and most local sestiere — the Jewish Ghetto, Strada Nova market street, and best-value accommodation in central Venice.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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