Zones of Venice

Venice neighbourhoods

Which are the zones of Venice worth visiting? Well, all of them. Every zone of Venice is rich in history and filled with treasures of art, though each of them has specific characteristics that make it unique.
To start, Venice is officially divided in six neighbourhoods, called sestieri (from the word sei, six). The sestieri of Venice are Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco, Castello, San Polo. Moreover, there are the islands, which usually belong to one of the sestieri. The closest islands are Giudecca, San Giorgio and the Lido (though this does not belog to any sestiere).
We would recommend you to not spend your time only around Saint Mark, but to have a look in the other areas of Venice, too. 
Start exploring them virtually thanks to our short guide on Venice neighbourhoods.

  • Cannaregio (sestiere)

    You may start discovering Venice neighbourhoods from Cannaregio, the first sestiere where you will find yourself if you are planning to arrive here by train: the Venice railway station is in…

  • Castello (sestiere)

    The large district of Castello is commonly considered the most popular among the sestieri of Venice. The large extension of Castello neighbourhood makes so that it is located in the…

  • Isola della Giudecca (sestiere)

     Giudecca island is the closest island to Venice; very densely populated, it has been named after an early Jewish colony or, according to another explanation, after zudegà, a Venitian word…

  • Lido di Venezia

     World famous island of Lido di Venezia is home to one of the oldest film festivals in the world: Venice Film Festival takes place every year on this long, narrow island…

  • Minor islands of Venice

    Minor islands of Venice are often a surprise for most of tourists, which have only heard about Murano and Burano islands. However, the lagoon of Venice has plenty of small,…

  • Murano, Burano and Torcello

    Murano, Burano and Torcello are undoubtedly the most famous islands of the Venetian lagoon. Murano is a world famous island where the finest glass objects are still produced with a…

  • San Giorgio Maggiore (island)

     The small island of San Giorgio Maggiore, located in front of Saint Mark basin at a short distance from Giudecca Island, has been named after the church of San Giorgio…

  • San Marco (sestiere)

     San Marco district is obvioulsy the most famous among the sestieri of Venice, and the first one to come to mind when thinking about Venice: here is located the renowned…

  • San Polo (sestiere)

    The central neighbourhood of San Polo includes the area of the Rialto bridge and market and also what it is believed to be the oldest church of Venice, the church…

  • Santa Croce (sestiere)

    The district of Santa Croce is the smallest one in Venice, its name coming from an ancient church that was later demolished. Santa Croce neighbourhood is the district of Venice…