DORSODURO DISCOVERY
DORSODURO DISCOVERY
This itinerary takes you into some of the solitary corners of the Dorsoduro district, Venice’s elegant “Rive Gauche.”
Across the Accademia Bridge, we can enjoy a superb view of the Grand Canal with the Salute Church as a background. We quickly reach Campo San Barnaba, a lively square bordered by a picturesque canal with strong cinematographic nuances.
We soon reach the vast Campo Santa Margherita, where university students, local Venetians, and tourists sit at the many open-air cafés, creating an easy-going, relaxed atmosphere unique to Venice.
We stroll along beautiful Rio dei Carmini to the secluded San Nicolò dei Mendicoli, once a neighborhood of seafarers and fishermen, which today retains all the liveliness of working-class area.
Not far is the Renaissance Church of San Sebastiano – one of the saints popularly invoked during the Black Plague – masterly decorated with frescoes and canvases by the great Paolo Veronese, who is buried here.
Our tour continues past “Tramontin” and “San Trovaso,” two of the last gondola yards, where the famous Venetian boats are still built following traditional rules.
Our tour continues along the Zattere (meaning the rafts on which timber arrived into the Lagoon from the mountain valleys), the sunny promenade along the Giudecca Canal, especially frequented by the Venetians in warm summer evenings, and famous for its open air ice cream parlors.
Our promenade ends at the Punta della Dogana, the old Sea Custom House, at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal. Here we’ll enjoy a spectacular view of St. Mark’s Square and St. George’s Island.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Accademia Bridge
- Campo Santa Margherita
- San Sebastiano (with paintings by Veronese)
- Gondola-making boatyards
- Stroll along the Zattere
- Wonderful view from Punta della Dogana
MORE ABOUT
THIS TOUR
Dorsoduro occupies the Southwestern part of Venice, wedged between the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Canal.
The name Dorsoduro means “the hard backbone,” as the subsoil here is more solid than in other parts of town.
The sestiere is characterized by the presence of four major museums: the Accademia Galleries, the Venetian 18th century Museum (Ca’ Rezzonico), the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the new ‘Punta della Dogana’, Francois Pinault’s private collection of modern art.
DRESS CODE AND ADVICE
- Shor sleeves and knee high skirts/pants ok
- No sleeveless garments, no shorts
- the Church of San Sebastiano is closed on Sundays.
COST
- This tour lasts three hours and costs 295 euros up to six people (not per person), only private parties. For larger parties send us an email!
- Entrance fees per person:
- Church of San Sebastiano 3 euros as an alternative or in addition, we can also enter the Salute Church, no admission fees).
