Venice's Waterfront
(St. Mark's Basin)

From: Venice's Top 11 Free Sights

ABOVE: A view of St. Mark's Basin after a 15- or 20-minute stroll up the waterfront promenade, with the bell towers of San Giorgio Maggiore on the left and San Marco on the right.

As you leave the Piazza San Marco and the Piazzetta (the branch of St. Mark's Square that leads past the Doge's Palace to the water), turn left and follow the Riva degli Schiavoni, the first section of the waterfront promenade that runs continuously (with several name changes) to the Giardini Pubblici park and beyond.

Along the way, you'll pass the Zaccaria and Pieta waterbus platforms. Zaccaria is a major stop for several Actv vaporetto lines; Pieta (shown in the inset photo) is the turnaround station for double-deck pedestrian ferries that connect central Venice with suburbs on the Lido and points beyond.

If you're lucky, you may see one or more ships tied up along the waterfront: possibly a river vessel like CroisiEurope's Michelangelo (shown at right), or perhaps a yacht, a sailing ship like the Italian Naval Academy's Amerigo Vespucci, or a small ocean cruiser.

You'll also pass hotels, cafés, exhibition venues, and--after 15 or 20 minutes--the site behind the public gardens where the Biennale di Venezia art exhibition takes place during odd-numbered years.

Unless you're pressed for time, keep going until you reach Sant'Elena, a relatively modern 19th and early 20th Century residential neighborhood with parks, the city's football stadium, and a marina.

Related article:

St. Mark's Basin by the Numbers

Next page: Grand Canal

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Top photo copyright © Steve Geer.