Begin your morning at Dal Nono Colussi, a tiny, time-worn bakery in Dorsoduro that’s been kneading dough and baking Venetian sweets since 1956. The scent of butter and almonds spills out onto the calle, and locals line up for warm focaccia Veneziana, sweet brioche, or slices of their famous zaeti biscuits. Order a cappuccino, take your pastry to go, and wander toward the Zattere, where the early light dances on the water and the only sounds are church bells and seagulls.

From here, lose yourself in Dorsoduro’s quiet backstreets, where washing hangs between ochre façades and art students drift toward the Accademia. Step into the Gallerie dell’Accademia to stand before Bellini’s serene Madonnas and Tintoretto’s wild energy. 

Lunch calls for a table at Osteria alla Staffa, a tiny, unfussy spot hidden near San Zaccaria, where the day’s menu leans on whatever came in from the lagoon that morning: maybe tagliolini al nero di seppia, maybe artichokes from Sant’Erasmo. Order a glass of local white and tuck in. 

The afternoon belongs to the artisans. Cross into San Polo, where glassblowers, mask-makers, and bookbinders still shape their craft by hand. Step into Piedàterre, where traditional Venetian slippers are reimagined in jewel-toned velvets, or Legatoria Piazzesi, where exquisite marbled papers have been made since the 19th century. 

As twilight falls, settle in for aperitivo at Il Mercante, a moody, candlelit bar near Campo San Polo where cocktails are inspired by tales of travel and adventure.

Dinner is a short stroll away at Osteria Anice Stellato, one of Venice’s most loved tables, where the lighting is low, the chatter intimate, and the plates a modern Venetian ode — duck ravioli in orange reduction, cuttlefish with soft polenta, tiramisù that melts into memory. Stay late, sip another glass of Amarone, and listen to the gentle rhythm of the water outside.

Walk home slowly. Venice at night belongs to dreamers — lanterns flickering on the canals, footsteps echoing in the alleys, the city itself exhaling softly, suspended between sea and sky.