Walk through Venice: San Marco, Arsenale, San Francesco and Accademia

Start from the San Marco stop (landing stage) of the Vaporetto (lines 1 and 2).

The names of the streets are written on the walls in large black letters on a white background. In the description below, the names of the streets and main monuments are written in Italian, i.e. as they appear on site, and in italics. See the street index in the ‘Practical Information’ section.

(S) On leaving the landing stage, turn right and walk along the canal on your right-hand side. After a public garden, turn left between the two tall columns, each topped with a statue. Cross Piazzetta San Marco (Doge’s Palace on the right), pass by the base of the bell tower and emerge onto Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square).

(1) Retrace your steps back to the two columns. Then turn left and follow the quay with the Grand Canal on your right. Cross a bridge over the Rio del Palazzio and note the Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) on your left. Continue along the quay and, after a few metres, at the corner of a large building, turn left into the narrow Calle dei Albanesi. Then take the first lane on the left towards Ca’ dei Dogi. At the end, you’ll come to the canal and enjoy a unique view of the Doge’s Palace (opposite) and the Bridge of Sighs (to the left).

Retrace your steps. At the junction, turn left into Calle dei Albanesi, then immediately (at No. 4247) take a path on the right. At the T-junction, turn left and continue straight on to the end of the street. Then turn right, cross a bridge and walk along the left-hand side of Campo San Provolo. Pass under a gateway decorated with a Madonna and Child and emerge onto Campo San Zaccaria. Opposite the church of the same name, turn right, pass under a portico and rejoin the quay on the Grand Canal. Follow the quay to the left (with the canal on your right) and cross several bridges over perpendicular canals. Pass the“Arsenale” vaporetto stop and cross the Rio dell’Arsenale via the bridge of the same name.

(2) At the bottom of the bridge, turn left towards Arsenale, follow the Fondamenta dell’Arsenale with the canal of the same name on your left. At the end, take the first bridge over the canal (the second is off-limits, military zone) and you will come out onto Campo dell’Arsenale. Walk past the building on your right, adorned with two large lion statues, and continue along a small canal, leaving the bar at No. 2408 on your left. After the small bridges providing private access to the buildings on the right-hand side, take the first public bridge on the right, Ponte dei Penini.

Continue along the canal on your right, cross Campo de le Gorne and carry on along the canal flanked by the crenellated wall of the arsenal. At the end, turn left into Calle de l'Anzolo. Ignore a courtyard on the left and go under a portico (bend down well, the lintel is low). Then turn right into Calle Magno and follow this street in a right-left zigzag. At the end, turn left into Calle Dona (beautiful garden at no. 2716). Take the Ponte de la Scoazzera and emerge onto Campo Santa Ternita.

Turn right and, at the end, take the Ponte del Suffragio on the right. Turn right into Fondamenta del Cristo. Turn left, then cross diagonally to the left across Campo della Celestia. Cross Calle del Cimitero, then Calle della Celestia, and continue along the canal on your right. At the end of the canal, you’ll reach the seafront (a metal footbridge on the right offers an unobstructed view of the islands of San Michele and Murano) and turn left to the vaporetto landing stage (lines 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 and 5.2).

(3) Continue along the quay and, at the end, turn left into Calle Orti. At the end, turn left and then immediately right. Pass under a sort of covered bridge connecting two buildings, then turn right into Calle del Cimitero. Turn left, then right, and cross the square alongside the church of San Francesco della Vigna on your right (arcades on the left). At the end, turn right; you will find the entrance to the church on your right and that of the convent opposite.

Then turn left, cross Campo San Francesco and continue along the street of the same name. Go to the end of the street and turn left along a canal. Then take the first bridge over this canal and continue along Calle Zon. First turn right then left into Campo de Santa Guistina and follow Calle del Cafetier. Go straight on, ignoring the side streets. Continue along Barbaria de la Tole, passing a small church on the right, and you’ll come out onto a large square with an equestrian statue. Turn right to find the entrance to the church of Santi Giovani e Paolo and the Scuola Grande San Marco.

(4) Turn back towards the equestrian statue and walk along the canal on your right. At the end of the street (No. 6828), take the bridge on the right and continue straight ahead into Calle de le Erbe. Go to the end of this street and cross another canal. As you leave the bridge, turn left. Cross the Ponte del Cristo and continue along the street of the same name. Cross Campo Santa Marina and turn left into Calle Marcello. Cross a bridge, ignore a street on the right and a courtyard on the left, then cross the Ponte Bergolosco.

Cross Campo Santa Marina de Formasa, turn right opposite the church and leave the bell tower on your left. Then turn right into Fondamenta dei Preti with a canal on your left. Cross a perpendicular canal coming from the right and, immediately afterwards, turn left onto Ponte del Paradiso. Continue straight ahead and, at the end of the street, turn left then right to follow Calle San Antonio. At the end of this street, cross Ponte Balbi and continue straight ahead along a narrow lane. At the end, turn right then immediately left.

Enter the Sotoportego Primo Lucatello towards the Rialto. After a right-hand bend, cross a small square (well) and continue through a dark passageway under a building. At the exit, turn left along a canal and immediately turn right onto the bridge spanning it. Continue straight ahead (leaving No. 4929 on your left). Go to the end of the street and, at the west end of San Salvador Church, turn right. Then take the first left, walk past the church on your left and emerge onto Campo San Salvador.

(5) Then turn left, follow Calle del Lovo and cross the bridge of the same name. At the next junction, turn right into the narrow Calle Bembo. At the end, reach the quay on the Grand Canal (close-up view of the Rialto Bridge on the right). Turn left and walk along the canal on your right.

At the corner of a palace, turn left into Calle Cavalli. Take the first right, the Sotoportego del Volto. At the end, turn left then immediately right. At the edge of a canal, turn left and immediately right onto the Ponte del Teatro. Turn right then left into the Sotoportego delle Muneghe. First turn right then left and ignore Ramo Contarini on your right. At the T-junction (No. 3964 opposite), turn right and head towards Campo San Beneto (church on the right, Palazzo Fortuny on the left).

(6) At the junction on the corner of the palace, turn right into Calle del Traghetto. At the very end, you’ll reach a jetty offering a beautiful view of the Grand Canal. Retrace your steps.

(6) Returning from the canal, turn right onto a narrow lane, Calle Pesaro. At the end, cross the Ponte Michiel. At the next junction, continue straight ahead, cross another bridge, turn immediately right then left. After a small courtyard, turn left into Ramo Narisi and turn immediately right with a canal on your left. Ignore the bridge on the left and take the metal footbridge opposite which spans the Rio Ca' Garzoni. Turn left then take Ramo de la Piscina on the right.

At the next junction, continue straight ahead along Salizada San Samuele. At the three-way junction, turn left, passing No. 3216 on your right, then immediately right (No. 3159) and immediately left into Calle dei Tedeschi (on the map, this name is mistakenly given to a perpendicular street). Ignore a street on the left and, at the T-junction, turn left into Calle dei Orbi. At the end of this street, turn right into Calle delle Botteghe. Continue straight on to Campo Santo Stefano (church of the same name on the left).

(7) Turn right, cross the square and pass a statue and a mast topped with a lion of Saint Mark. Continue with the Church of San Vidal on your right, turn right then immediately left and cross the Campellio San Vidal. Cross the Grand Canal via the Ponte dell’Accademia. At the bottom of the bridge (with the Accademia Museum opposite), turn right and head to the vaporetto landing stage (lines 1 and 2) (E).

Route names:
- Rio: canal.
- Canal(e): large canal (there are only three in Venice, including the famous Grand Canal).
- Ponte: bridge over a canal.
- Fondamenta: street running alongside a canal.
- Calle: street lined with houses on both sides.
- Ramo: a very short street or a dead-end.
- Sotoportego: passageway under a building.
- Campo: square (literally ‘field’).
- Piazza or Piazzale: 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 popular form of public transport in Venice (it also offers a cheap boat trip). Tickets can be bought at the main stops, in tobacconists and at some newsagents. In October 2016, a single ticket cost €7.50 and a day ticket €20. On each journey, the ticket must be validated at the entrance to the pier.

Accessibility:
Apart from boats of all kinds on the canals, no vehicles are allowed in Venice: pedestrians therefore reign supreme. Opt for low-cut trainers or hiking boots rather than smart shoes. Given the countless bridges to cross, all of which have steps and only a tiny fraction of which are equipped with a ramp, the route is not accessible to wheelchair users and can be difficult with a pushchair.

Times, alternatives 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 required for this walk can vary from a few hours to a full day.
- The route alternates between busy sites and much quieter sections. Walkers wishing to avoid the crowds should set off early in the morning... at the risk of finding some churches or museums still closed.
- For church visits, shorts and bare shoulders are prohibited. No church visits during services.
- The route naturally lends itself to various variations, 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 on site 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 1:5500 proves very useful).

Hike undertaken by the author on 29 October 2016.

This walk is 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 reach 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:
- Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square) (1). An unmissable site in Venice, but so unmissable that it is usually packed with people. Don’t miss the (free) visit to St Mark’s Basilica (11th century), richly decorated with mosaics; it opens at 9.30 am. Leave luggage and rucksacks at the left-luggage office in an adjacent street, signposted on site. Also don’t miss a visit to the Gothic-style Doge’s Palace. In both cases, be prepared to wait, given the length of the queues. You can, however, skip the climb up the Campanile and opt instead for the Campanile on the island of San Giorgio (opposite, accessible via Vaporetto line 2), which is much less crowded and offers an equally superb view.
- Bridge of Sighs, followed by (1). A first viewpoint with lots of people from the bridge over the quay; a second, uncrowded viewpoint from the end of the path indicated on the itinerary.
- San Zaccaria Church.
- The Arsenale area, after (2): beautiful architecture, lovely atmosphere, and... no more crowds.
- Celestia (3): a viewpoint overlooking the lagoon, the island of San Michele (cemetery) and, further out, the island of Murano.
- The Church of San Francesco della Vigna and, above all, the adjacent cloister, a short distance further on (3).
- Church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (4). The largest church in Venice; admission fee applies.
- Church of San Salvador (5).
- Viewpoint overlooking the Grand Canal just after (6).
- Church of Santo Stefano (7).
- Ponte dell'Accademia, just before (E): beautiful view over the Grand Canal.
- Gallerie dell'Accademia (E): superb museum of paintings dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries.