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Dorsoduro

  • Overview

    Just across the Grand Canal from St Mark’s and the San Marco district, wandering the quiet streets and squares of Dorsoduro, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in a completely different city. Dorsoduro, meaning the ‘backbone’, is shaped like a peninsula and surrounded on three sides by the Grand Canal and the wide Giudecca Canal. Two of Venice’s biggest attractions, the Galleria dell’Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, combine to make this district a draw for art and culture lovers.

  • Know your neighbours

    With an abundance of impressive art galleries and the University of Venice centred here, the upscale neighbourhoods of Dorsoduro are home to many artists, writers and academics.

  • Shopping options

    You’ll want to make your way to Campo Santa Margherita in the mornings to do your daily marketing. The largest square in the city and certainly the hub of Dorsoduro, this campo boasts fresh fish vendors, fruit and vegetable stalls, a butcher, freshly baked bread, pastries, cheese and wine shops. Twice a week there’s also a fresh flower stall in the campo. Nearby at Ponte dei Pugni you’ll find the old vegetable boat moored on the canal. Shopping here is a local tradition you will definitely want to adopt as one of your own. Billa, a large grocery chain, is located along the Zattere, the wide promenade running along the Giudecca Canal side of Dorsoduro. Some of the city’s best small art galleries, antique shops and specialty glass jewellery artists can be found along Fondamenta Venier between the Accademia and La Salute church. If you’re a lover of literature, head to La Toletta, one of the city’s best book shops.

  • Getting around

    Dorsoduro is one of the city’s smaller districts, which makes it very walkable. If you fancy a stroll or even jog, try the Zattere, a long promenade running the entire length of Dorsoduro from Dogana Point to the Stazione Maritime along the Giudecca Canal. Like the rest of Venice, transportation options are limited to walking, or using the public boat (the vaporetto). Vaporetto stops for the #1 and #2 lines along the Grand Canal side of Dorsoduro include La Salute, Accademia, and Ca’Rezzonico. Along the Zattere, the number two line can be used to access Giudecca Island as well as the smaller lines 4.1 /4.2 , 5.1/5.2 and 6 to travel around the perimeter of Venice.

  • See and Do

    Dorsoduro has no shortage of must-see sights to explore, starting with the Accademia Bridge. Don’t miss taking in the breath-taking views from atop this famous wooden bridge, one of only four spanning the Grand Canal. Located at the foot of the Accademia Bridge, Venice’s premier art gallery, the Galleria dell’Accademia, houses masterpieces by Venetian painters. Modern art lovers will want to be sure to put a visit to Peggy Guggenheim’s collection on their to-do list. This patron of the arts resided in the unfinished palazzo (only one storey high) from 1949 to 1979. Her personal collection includes works by Picasso, Jackson Pollack, and Max Ernst, among many other notables. Her grave is located in the garden alongside many of her cherished dogs. Santa Maria della Salute church, built by the Venetians as a thank you for the plague of the 1630s coming to an end, is one of Venice’s architectural splendours. The church is octagonal in shape with eight altars inside, supported by a foundation of over one million wooden pilings. Ca’Rezzonico, a restored palazzo on the Grand Canal, is open to the public as a museum of 18th -century life. It’s here that you get a good dose of what living as a wealthy Venetian of the time might have been like. The last remaining gondola boatyard, the squero of San Trovaso, is tucked along Rio di San Trovaso. Today new gondolas are still built by hand using traditional methods, and you can catch a glimpse of gondolas in the boatyard lying over on their sides while the hulls are being scraped and repainted. The chalet style house and workshop were built in a style similar to the architecture of the Italian Alps, where these boat builders originated. Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro’s main neighbourhood square and the largest campo in all of Venice, is bustling with locals shopping every morning, children playing and families gathering in the late afternoons, and students from the nearby university in the evenings. The campo is home to some of the city’s most popular cafés, bars and restaurants. The Zattere, the long sidewalk along the Giudecca Canal is a favourite place for locals to stroll and enjoy the scenery. Several cafés and restaurants with tables and umbrellas on pontoons jutting out into the canal are the perfect place to stop for coffee or a quiet meal.

  • Eating out

    Quattro Feri, just off Campo San Barnaba, has a well-earned reputation for serving some of the best traditional fish dishes in Venice. It’s tiny, and loved by the locals, so be sure to book ahead. La Piscina, along the Zattere, is a good choice for a special occasion, not only for its location but also for its creative menu. With two locations near the Accademia Bridge, Ristorante San Trovaso is a good choice for sampling some local traditional pasta and fish dishes. Save time for stopping at Campo Santa Margherita’s many cafés and osterias, perfect for soaking up some of the local atmosphere while enjoying a glass of wine, coffee or Venetians’ favourite drink, the spritz. If you want to feel like a local in no time, make regular visits to Imagina Café in the campo on Rio Tera Canal. The gelateria Il Doge in Campo Santa Margherita serves some of the city’s finest gelato. Made on the premises daily, gelato here is a local treat you won’t want to miss.

  • Nightlife

    The Venice Jazz Club, near Ponte dei Pugni, is a lively spot which regularly hosts live music. One of the only late-night dance clubs in the city is Piccolo Mondo, just around the corner from the Accademia Bridge.

24 apartments in Dorsoduro

 
 

  • Opening Hours:
    11am-8pm (CET) – Monday to Friday
    11am-4.30pm (CET) - Saturdays
    Sundays closed
    Please call us if you would like to make a booking or if you have any questions
    We speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
    • Australia
      +61 (0) 2 8003 6732
    • Austria
      +43 7 207 75 982
    • Belgium
      +32 23 420 830
    • Canada
      + 1 613 288 92 30
    • Germany
      +49 30 590 024 935
    • Denmark
      +45 78 737 458
    • Spain
      +34 93 467 37 79
    • France
      +33 (0) 185 73 14 11
    • Ireland
      +353 19 069 240
    • Italy
      +39 066 810 00 74
    • Netherlands
      +31 202 170 298
    • Russia
      +7 499 609 5498
    • Switzerland
      +41 225 017 503
    • United Kingdom
      +44 (0) 203 769 74 11
    • United States
      +1 516 243 1689

    Your country not listed? Please call: +34 93 467 3780

  • OPEN
  • Opening Hours:
    11am-8pm (CET) – Monday to Friday
    11am-4.30pm (CET) - Saturdays
    Sundays closed
    Please call us if you would like to make a booking or if you have any questions
    We speak English, French, German, Spanish and Italian
    • Australia
      +61 (0) 2 8003 6732
    • Austria
      +43 7 207 75 982
    • Belgium
      +32 23 420 830
    • Canada
      + 1 613 288 92 30
    • Germany
      +49 30 590 024 935
    • Denmark
      +45 78 737 458
    • Spain
      +34 93 467 37 79
    • France
      +33 (0) 185 73 14 11
    • Ireland
      +353 19 069 240
    • Italy
      +39 066 810 00 74
    • Netherlands
      +31 202 170 298
    • Russia
      +7 499 609 5498
    • Switzerland
      +41 225 017 503
    • United Kingdom
      +44 (0) 203 769 74 11
    • United States
      +1 516 243 1689

    Your country not listed? Please call: +34 93 467 3780

  • OPEN