Fabulous one-day itineraries designed exclusively for SilverKris readers.
Paris
Milan
Find flights or check-in online at www.singaporeair.com
Content accurate at time of publication
01 Sep 2011
The artsy crowd is out in full force at Venice’s world famous Biennale, which is at its biggest and brightest this year. But this beautiful city, with its lovely meandering canals, is home to other smaller, less touristy gems too. Discover them on foot with GILLIAN PRICE.
the background.
Alluring and unique yet crowded and expensive, boiling hot in summer yet foggy and cool in winter. However you experience it, there is no doubt that the beautiful northern Italian city of Venice is a magnet for travellers. Built entirely on linked islands in a vast coastal lagoon, its palazzi (Italian for magnificent buildings), canals and squares receive over 20 million visitors each year. Most flock to the justifiably must-see sights of Piazza San Marco with its glittering Byzantine mosaics and Basilica, as well as the lively Rialto market on the banks of the Grand Canal.
However, beyond the spectacular facades, this is also a city where people live and work. When you’re ready for some peace and quiet, be adventurous. Visit the city’s back streets where you’ll rub shoulders with the locals and get a peek into the real Venice.
Here are five streets – naturally traffic-free – in different districts of Venice that are worth getting lost in.
Fondamenta degli Ormesini
Cannaregio district
In Venice, a fondamenta indicates a street that runs alongside a canal, and this particular one is remembered for the silk fabric that was once traded here in the 15th century. The Venetian government at the time had allowed merchants to import it from ancient Persia as demand for the fabric was high and local production could not keep up with increasing orders.
These days, the fondamenta is lined with hardware shops, grocery stores and a bakery that does a delicious ciabatta. For a wonderful souvenir, step into the simple studio of Nelson Takahiro Kishi who sells exquisitely original drawings and prints of Venice. Then, plonk yourself down at a table at Al Timon (Fondamenta Ormesini 2754, Tel: 39 041 524 6066) a few doors away and enjoy a glass of wine from the Veneto region. Be sure to order cicchetti, or bar snacks, which include crusty French bread smothered in creamy stracchino cheese or salami, or a toothpick of anchovies. The bar, and the entire street in fact, are especially animated late on weekend afternoons as Venetian families return by boat after a day out.
dining area.
