Sestieri & islands

Venice is built from six sestieri and a scatter of lagoon islands, each with its own character. Start here and pick your corner of the city.

9 guides liveUpdated: 2026-08-11

🕍

The city's most residential sestiere, the historic Jewish Ghetto, and the best concentration of everyday bacari.

5 min read · 2026-05-18

⚓

Big enough to hold the tourist crowds behind San Marco and genuinely residential streets in the same district.

5 min read · 2026-08-10

🎨

Venice's quieter, artier southern district — home to two major galleries and the best evening waterfront in the city.

5 min read · 2026-05-18

🌇

Wide-open waterfront views and real distance from the main island — at the cost of one extra vaporetto ride each way.

4 min read · 2026-08-13

🏖️

A different Venice entirely — cars, wide avenues, and a Blue Flag beach, all a short ferry hop from the historic centre.

4 min read · 2026-08-14

🎨

Glass, lace and Venice's own ancient origin story — three very different islands, all reachable on the same vaporetto line.

5 min read · 2026-08-15

🏛️

The Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the highest concentration of landmark sights — and how to see them without just queueing.

6 min read · 2026-06-10

🐟

Home to the Rialto Market and some of the city's oldest, most atmospheric streets — small in area, dense in things worth seeing.

4 min read · 2026-08-12

🚪

Where most visitors arrive by car or bus without realising it — and where a short walk in reveals a calm, overlooked corner of the city.

4 min read · 2026-08-11

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