A walk through Venice: Piazzale Roma, Santa Margherita, Punta della Dogana

The walk starts at Piazzale Roma. This square is the terminus for several bus routes, including those arriving from Marco Polo Airport. It is also a major stop on the Vaporetto service (lines 1, 2, 3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2 and 6).

The names of the routes are written on the walls in large black letters on a white background. In the description below, the names of the routes and the main monuments are written in Italian – that is, as they appear on site – and in italics. See the list of routes in the ‘Practical Information’ section.

(S/E) Head towards the south-east corner of the square and the bank of the Rio Nuovo, past the end of the bus park and at the foot of the Hotel Arlecchino. Then take the bridge over the Canale Burchielle (which comes from the right) but do not cross the Rio Nuovo. Leave the Hotel Arlecchino on your right, follow the Fondamenta de Ca’ Bernardo and walk alongside the Rio Nuovo on your left (restaurant terraces).

(1) Ignore a bridge on the left and take the bridge opposite. Continue along the Rio dei Tre Ponti. At the end, take the bridge opposite which spans the Rio de la Cazziola. After a few metres, cross a metal bridge. At the Fork in the road that appears immediately, take the middle path, Calle de Corte Contarini. Walk past the university library on your right, then pass under two porticoes. Cross another canal, continue along Calle del Forno and emerge onto a large square, Campo de Santa Margherita.

(2) Turn right, passing a rectangular building on your left and a flagpole topped with the Lion of St Mark. Walk past a large white building on your right (Scuola Grande dei Carmini) until you reach a side entrance to the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini. Then turn left onto a narrow path (signposted‘Osteria’). After passing the apse of the church, cross a canal. Immediately after the bridge, turn left and walk alongside the canal on your left. Continue in this direction until you reach Campo San Barnaba (with the church opposite).

(3) Turn right and enter the Sotoportego del Casin dei Nopile. Cross a canal, continue straight ahead, ignoring a bridge on the left. Stay on the main street, veering first left then right. Turn left as the street narrows. Finally, cross the Ponte de le Maravegie.

(4) Walk along the right-hand side of the Rio de San Trovaso. Pass the church of the same name on the opposite bank, then a traditional gondola workshop. You’ll reach the banks of the very wide Canale della Giudecca, with the island of the same name opposite and, in the distance to the right, the ferry terminal and the commercial port.

Turn left and follow the quay with the canal on your right. Pass the churches of Santa Maria della Visitazioneand Santa Maria del Rosario in turn. At the corner of the latter, turn left and emerge onto a pretty square next to the church of Santa Agnese. Turn right, leaving the church on your left and the Swiss Consulate on your right. Just before a small canal, turn right into a passageway called Sotoportego del Pistor.

Reach the Canale della Giudecca, turn left and cross a small perpendicular canal. Continue along the quay, cross another small canal, walk past the former Ospedale degli incurabili and then a small church, and cross one final small canal.

Then turn left onto the Fondamenta de Ca’ Balà and walk alongside the small canal on your left. At numbers 336 and 337 on the opposite bank, turn right at the corner by a restaurant. You’ll come out onto a small square; turn right onto Rio Terra Ai Saloni and walk alongside the arcades on your right. Back at the edge of the Canale della Giudecca, turn left and follow the quay to the Punta della Dogana (superb view straight ahead on the left of St Mark’s bell tower and the Doge’s Palace).

(5) Turn left at the tip and walk along the Grand Canal on your right. Walk past the church of Santa Maria della Salute. Turn slightly left and then take the first bridge (wooden) on the right, just to the right of the apse of the church of San Gregorio. After the bridge, go through a passageway under a building. At the small square that follows, turn right, passing a well on your left. Follow Calle del Bastion, ignoring the side paths.

At the end, cross a bridge over a small canal and continue along a narrow path. Turn left along this path and you’ll come out onto a small square. Cross it diagonally to the right (do not take the bridge) then turn right (do not enter the Molin passage). Walk alongside a canal on your right and note the Peggy Guggenheim Museum on the opposite bank. At the end, turn right onto the Ponte del Formager. As you leave the bridge, turn left onto Calle della Chiesa (to reach the museum, turn right).

Once you reach Campo San Vio (with access to the Grand Canal on the right), head slightly left and cross the bridge over a small canal. Continue straight ahead, ignoring a path on the left and then one on the right. At the T-junction, turn right. Then turn left and head up to the right to the top of the Ponte dell’Academia over the Grand Canal (a lovely viewpoint).

(6) Retrace your steps and, as you come down from the bridge, turn right. Walk past the entrance to the Accademia, then take a path on the right towards Piazza Roma. Make a left-right zigzag and, at the end of the path, turn left. You’ll come back to the Ponte delle Maraviglie, which you crossed earlier.

(4) Cross the canal via the bridge and follow the route you took on the way there in the opposite direction: carry on straight ahead, ignore an alleyway on the right and turn right with the street, ignore further alleyways on the right, walk alongside a canal on your right, cross a bridge, pass under some arcades and emerge onto Campo San Barnaba.

(3) Walk past the Church of San Barnaba on your right and turn right onto the bridge of the same name. Continue straight ahead into Calle delle Boteghe. Ignore a path on the left, turn right and take the first left (no. 3281 on the left-hand side). Carry on straight ahead until you reach a square, cross it diagonally to the right, pass the central plane tree and continue along Calle Foscari. Cross the bridge over the river of the same name and carry on straight ahead.

Turn into the first left, towards Ferrovia, and at the junction with a very narrow path, carry on straight ahead. Ignore a path on the left and then turn into the first left, at the corner of No. 3764. Go round the Church of San Pantalon on the left and emerge onto the campo of the same name. Then turn left onto the Ponte Foscari. Carry on straight ahead to Campo Santa Margherita.

(2) At the corner of No. 2977, turn right into Calle del Forno – which you took on the way there – towards “Piazzale Roma”. Cross a canal and, at the end of the bridge, turn right and walk alongside the canal on your right. At the end, turn left. Walk alongside a canal on your right and ignore two bridges on the right in succession. At the end, cross a canal coming from the left.

(1) As you come off the bridge, turn right, follow the Rio Nuovo on your right, cross a canal running perpendicular to it, and you’ll find Piazzale Roma on your left (S/E).

Route names:
- Rio: canal.
- Canal(e): large canal (there are only three in Venice, including the famous Grand Canal).
- Ponte: a bridge over a canal.
- Fondamenta: a street running alongside a canal.
- Calle: a street lined with houses on both sides.
- Ramo: a very short street or a cul-de-sac.
- Sotoportego: a passageway under a building.
- Campo: square (literally ‘field’).
- Piazza or Piazzale: a large square.
- Corta: courtyard.
In a specific location, the same name may be given to a canal, the bridge spanning it, the street running alongside it and the adjacent square, hence the phrase ‘of the same name’ which appears frequently in this description.

The Vaporetto:
This is the most widely used form of public transport in Venice (it also offers an inexpensive way to enjoy a boat trip). Tickets can be bought at the main stops, in tobacconists’ and at some newsagents. In October 2016, a single-journey ticket cost €7.50 and a day ticket cost €20. On each journey, the ticket must be validated at the entrance to the jetty.

Accessibility:
Apart from boats of all kinds on the canals, no vehicles are allowed in Venice: pedestrians therefore have the run of the city. Opt for low-cut trainers or walking shoes rather than smart shoes. Given the countless bridges to cross, all of which have steps and only a very small number of which have a ramp without steps, the route is not accessible to wheelchair users and can be difficult with a pushchair.

Timetables, alternative routes and resources:
- The times given are walking times, excluding the many stops and numerous visits you may wish to make. Depending on the number of these visits and their duration, the time taken for this walk can vary from a few hours to a full day.
- The route alternates between sections through very busy areas and much quieter stretches. Walkers wishing to avoid the crowds should set off early in the morning… at the risk of finding some churches or museums still closed.
- When visiting churches, shorts and bare shoulders are not permitted. Churches may not be visited during services.
- The route naturally lends itself to various alternatives, depending on the sites you wish to visit or your own inspiration, provided you have a detailed map (see below).
- Along the way, there are bars and restaurants where you can have a drink or a bite to eat. The toilets in these establishments are for customers only. There are also a few public toilets (for a fee) and some drinking fountains.

Maps:
It is essential to carry a detailed map showing the street names in Italian (at the very least, the one accompanying this description). Maps of the city can be purchased locally at the main tourist attractions. It is also possible to obtain them in France from specialist bookshops (for example, the Michelin map at a scale of 1:5,500 proves very useful).

Walk undertaken by the author on 28 October 2016.

This walk forms part of a series of walking routes dedicated to Venice, each covering one or two districts of the city. None of these routes claims to be exhaustive in terms of sights to see or places to visit (exhaustiveness being out of the question in any case).

It is impossible to draw up a complete list of sights to see, as everything here is so beautiful (or almost so), right down to the smallest decorative details in the streets. On this route, however, the following points are worth noting:
- Campo Santa Margherita (2): a lively square lined with colourful houses.
- Church of San Barnaba (3).
- Church of San Trovaso (4).
- The banks of the Canale della Giudecca, between (4) and (5), with a view of the island of the same name on the opposite bank.
- The pleasant Campo Sant’Agnese.
- Punta della Dogana (5): view of the island of San Giorgio and its bell tower on the right, and St Mark’s Square and its bell tower on the left; museum of modern art, François Pinault Foundation.
- Church of Santa Maria della Salute, just past (5).
- Peggy Guggenheim Museum (modern paintings and sculptures) on the right as you leave the Ponte del Formager, after (5).
- Ponte dell’Accademia (6): a beautiful viewpoint overlooking the Grand Canal.
- Galleria dell’Accademia (6): a superb museum of paintings dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries.
- Church of San Pantalon, just before (2) on the circular leg.