Venice: Italy’s improbable city of otherworldly beauty

See the very cell from which legendary lover Casanova escaped on a guided tour of Il Palazzo Ducale. The Doge’s palace is full of fascinating nooks and crannies, like secret attic rooms where the most delicate civic tasks were performed and a torture chamber. Enjoy a free boat trip to the island when you sign up for a tour of the Vecchia Murano Glass Factory, where you can watch a demonstration of glass being blown into vases and figurines, and check out the showroom that contains pieces ranging in price from 20 euros to over 50,000.

Gilberto Penzo’s shop is a treasure trove of handmade model boats. Using the same materials used for the originals, he specializes in elegantly and accurately made Venetian vessels. Crafty types can bring home their very own gondola or vaporetto by purchasing a DIY model-making kit. Venice was once as renowned for its conterie, or glass beads, as it is now for its goblets, chandeliers, and hand-blown sculptures. Antichità Claudia Zaggia and Perle e Dintorniare wonderful little boutiques with an astounding variety of beads.

Opened in 1931, Harry’s Bar is probably the most famous watering hole in this watery city. A favourite of Ernest Hemmingway and frequented over the years by Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Truman Capote and Aristote Onassis, it’s the birthplace of the Bellini and carpaccio.