Dorsoduro

Dorsoduro has “great museums, galleries and churches,” says Rachel Dixon in The Guardian, but with “a fraction of the crowds and costs” of tourist Venice. “Artists and designers are moving into the eastern end of the sestiere, and the north-western tip has the city’s liveliest nightlife,” she continues. And it’s home to the Accademia Museum and Guggenheim Art Collection, “two of Venice’s top museums,” adds Martha Bakerjian at TripSavvy. “Another unmissable attraction in the sestiere is the wonderful Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, built in the 17th century by the Venetian master Baldassarre Longhena … the view of this majestic church overlooking the lagoon is one of the reasons to see Venice,” notes About Venice.

Dorsoduro is a good place to get a flavour of local Venetian life -- “it is here some of the city’s ever-dwindling 60,000 or so permanent residents can been seen going about their daily business,” writes Aoife O’Riordain in the Evening Standard. “Life pulsates around the fish, fruit and vegetable stalls on the Campo Santa Margherita, while at the city’s few remaining squeros -- for instance, by the San Trovaso canal -- gondolas are still built and repaired by hand.” To see what Dorsoduro looks like, check out the picture story at Airbnb, while The Culture Trip offers a list of The Top 10 Things To Do And See In Dorsoduro.

The Gallerie dell’Academia is a regular starting point. “Spread out over 24 rooms, the gallery hosts an outstanding collection of Venetian paintings dating from the 14th to the 18th centuries,” says Venice Museum Guide, including works by Bellini, Carpaccio, Canaletto, Veronese, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Tiepolo, Titian, and Veronese. Or head over to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection which features a piece or two from most of the modern masters; Jackson Pollock has a room all to himself.

The church of San Sebastiano sits “brooding in the afternoon silence,” writes The Times, and has “a white stone facade that looks like a dozen others in Venice.” But this one was Paolo Veronese’s parish church, “and he decorated it with a ballroom-like feast of colour, pageantry and trompe-l’oeil wizardry.” Veronese’s paintings adorn the sacristy and nave ceilings, the walls, the organ shutters and around the altar.

Dorsoduro boasts lots of atmospheric bars, where small snacks are the order of the day, so a bacaro crawl is a great option for lunch. One of the best in the area is Cantina del Vino Già Schiavi -- “it’s part wine-shop, part bar and you can also order a plate of cichetti (snacks) from the array that is constantly replenished by the lady of the house, Alessandra,” says Aoife O’Riordain in the Evening Standard. “The bruschetta of light-as-a-feather, whipped baccala mantecato cod and tuna with tiny slice of leek are supremely moreish.” And the historic Osteria da Codroma “has a couple of al fresco tables squeezed on the tiny pavement along this quiet canalside … if you can bag one, this is the perfect spot for a glass of prosecco and to sample some of its tasty cichetti – grilled octopus, polpetti or sardines in saor,” recommends O’Riordain. “Dinner served on the communal tables inside is equally delicious. The short menu focuses on local ingredients: a faultless spaghetti allo scoglio with clam, mussels, prawns and a kiss of tomato, accompanied by a similarly brief but excellent choice of local wines.”