Venice is a
beautiful old girl, but in her senior years she can be a touch contrary. You
need to be prepared to take her as you find her: in winter, when she’s
relatively free of tourists, she’s also often grey, windy and flooded; in summer,
when the sunshine sparkles off the Istrian marble of her churches and palaces,
she’s often packed to the gills with camera-toting day trippers. My advice is
to take your chances in winter (after all a little fog can add to her sense of
mystery), to stay in the grandest hotel you can afford (rates are far more
reasonable in winter) and to eat in the cheapest osterie and bars, where the
food is authentic.
Tchaikovsky wrote
his Fourth Symphony while staying at the Londra Palace, just past the end of the
Grand Canal with beautiful views over Saint Mark’s Basin to the
Palladio-designed church of San Giorgio Maggiore on the island of San Giorgio.
Turn right as you step out of the hotel and you cross the Bridge of Sighs and
are in Piazza San Marco in a couple of minutes, or turn left and wander along
the waterfront to far-from-touristy eastern Castello and the peaceful Parco
delle Rimembranze and beautiful public gardens. Sunset and sunrise are
particularly beautiful from a balcony at the Londra Palace with the colours
reflected in the water, gondolas bobbing at their moorings and people coming
and going along the length of the bustling Riva degli Schiavoni.
Do Leoni, the
hotel’s restaurant, has a terrace right on the Riva (perfect for people
watching), superbly light gnocchi, a good tiramisù and excellent pastries at
breakfast.
Riva degli
Schiavoni, 4171 Castello, +39 041 520 0533 www.hotelondra.it