1. Ca’ d’Oro

Calle Ca’ d’Oro, Cannaregio 3932 • 041 520 03 45 • Open 8:15am–2pm Mon, 8:15am–7:15pm Tue–Sat, 9am–7pm Sun • Adm • www.cadoro.org

Behind the resplendent palace’s (see Ca’ d’Oro) beautiful Gothic tracery is a column-filled courtyard paved with coloured tesserae. Inside is the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti, a collection of paintings, sculptures and ceramics donated to the State by Baron Giorgio Franchetti in 1916, along with the building. One highlight is Andrea Mantegna’s painting St Sebastian (1560) pierced by arrows “like a hedgehog”, in the portico leading to a loggia overlooking the Grand Canal. An ornate 15th-century staircase leads to 16th-century Flemish tapestries on the second floor.

2. Jewish Ghetto

Museo Ebraico, Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2902/B • 041 715 359 • Open 10am–5:30pm Sun–Fri (to 7pm Jun–Sep) • Closed public and Jewish holidays • Adm

The word “ghetto” originated in Venice, derived from getto (casting) due to an old iron foundry here. As of 1492, many Jewish refugees reached Venice after expulsion from Spain and in 1516 they were obliged by law to move to this area. Subject to a curfew to prevent their fraternizing with local women, they slept behind locked gates, their island circled by an armed patrol boat. Waves of arrivals saw each language group build its own synagogue and raise the buildings to seven floors in height. Today around 30 Jews still live in the ghetto, while a further 470 reside in other parts of the city. The synagogues can be visited with a guide, and there’s the Museo Ebraico (museum of sacred objects).

Jewish Ghetto, once a closed island

3. Corte Seconda del Milion

The restructured Malibran Theatre, situated in this photogenic square, was erected in the 1790s on the site of a house, where the famous 13th-century explorer Marco Polo was born. Other early Gothic buildings remain, their timber overhangs set off by bright-red geraniums. Along with the adjoining bridge, the square was named in honour of the explorer whose stories about the Orient in Il Milione continue to inspire travellers.

4. Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Campo dei Miracoli, Cannaregio • 041 275 04 62 • Open 10:30am–4:30pm Mon–Sat • Adm • www.chorusvenezia.org

A “jewellery box” of marble slabs and exquisite bas-reliefs, this Renaissance church (see Santa Maria dei Miracoli) was named after a miracle-working icon from 1409, said to have resuscitated a drowned man and now enshrined in the main altar.

Santa Maria dei Miracoli

5. Campo dei Mori

In this odd, funnel-shaped square your attention is drawn to three statues of Arabian-style “Moors” – but neither North African nor Muslim, they hailed from Morea in Greece. Rioba, Sandi and Afani Mastelli were medieval traders who made their home in the family palace around the corner. Next to the bridge over Rio della Sensa is a doorway marked No. 3399, once the home of renowned 16th-century artist Tintoretto.

Campo dei Mori

6. Farmacia Ponci

Strada Nova, Cannaregio 2233/A

The “Casa degli Speziali”, the oldest pharmacy in Venice, carries on its business in modern premises alongside its restored 16th-century rooms. Displayed on original briarwood shelving adorned with Baroque statues in Arolla pinewood are rows of 17th-century porcelain jars used for storing medicinal ingredients; for safety reasons, poisons were kept in a rear room. Pharmacies in Venice were strictly regulated and numbered 518 in 1564, the year their guild was formed.

7. Fondamente della Misericordia and degli Ormesini

Parallel to the Strada Nova but worlds away from the tourist bustle, these adjoining quaysides have a real neighbourhood feel. There’s a good sprinkling of osterie (wine bars) alongside Mexican and Middle Eastern restaurants, a continuation of former trade links: the word “ormesini” derives from a rich fabric traded through Hormuz, now in Iran, and imitated in Florence and Venice. Ormesini leads into Misericordia and to the towering red-brick Scuola Grande building. Used as the city’s basketball team headquarters for many years, it occasionally opens for temporary exhibitions.

Fondamente della Misericordia

8. Palazzo Labia

Campo S Geremia, Cannaregio • Closed to the public

Abandoned when its wealthy merchant owners fled to Vienna at the fall of the Republic, this 17th-century palace overlooking the Canal di Cannaregio acted as a silk factory, saw-mill and primary school, but was badly damaged in 1945 when a boat loaded with munitions blew up in front of it. Luckily, the wonderful ballroom frescoed by Tiepolo has been restored. The palace belongs to RAI, the state broadcasting service.

9. Chiesa di Sant’Alvise

Campo S Alvise, Cannaregio • Open 10:30am–4pm Mon–Fri, 10:30am–4:30pm Sat & Sun • Adm • www.chorusvenezia.org

This church is said to have been commissioned by a Venetian noblewoman in 1388 to honour Saint Louis of Toulouse after the saint appeared to her in a dream. Major restoration took place in the 17th century, when the ceiling was painted with frescoes by Pietro Antonio Torri and Pietro Ricchi. Other notable works of art in the church include paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo – Ascent to Calvary, Crowning with Thorns and The Flagellation.

Ceiling fresco of Chiesa di Sant’Alvise

10. Fondamente Nuove

Opposite the cemetery island of San Michele, this lagoon-side pavement is an important jumping-off point for ferries to the northern islands and sports one of the city’s rare petrol stations. The ample quaysides were not constructed and paved until the mid-1500s; until then the waterfront reached back to Titian’s garden (No. 5113, Calle Larga dei Botteri), giving unobstructed views of the Alps on a clear day.

1. Tà Kalà

Strada Nova, Cannaregio 4391/C

Close to Campo SS Apostoli, this gift shop is a stockist of fascinating holograms, Murano glass delights, masks and chunky jewellery.

2. Mori & Bozzi

Rio Terrà della Maddalena, Cannaregio 2367

One of the best shoe shops in Venice offers an irresistible selection of women’s footwear, clothes and accessories.

3. San Leonardo Market

Rio Terrà San Leonardo • Mon–Sat

In the morning and late afternoon this area functions as a lively open-air produce market. In autumn the air is thick with the aroma of roasting chestnuts.

San Leonardo Market

4. Lili e Paolo Darin

Salizzada S Geremia, Cannaregio 317

Come here for original handmade glass beads in brilliant hues and myriad shapes, window hangings and Christmas decorations.

5. Costumi Nicolao Atelier

Fondamenta dei Ormesini, Cannaregio 2590

This is the place to go to hire a Carnival outfit. It offers a wide range of period costumes and formal evening wear. It also organizes mask-making courses.

6. Codex

Fondamenta Ormesini, Cannaregio 2778

This studio and exhibition space of resident artists Nelson Kishi and Robin Frood sells original drawings, paintings, prints and posters.

Paintings for sale at Codex

7. Miani

Salizzada S Canciano, Canareggio 5577

Handmade Murano glass beads are turned into beautiful jewellery by the family that runs this shop. Demonstrations of the crafting process are held on the premises.

8. Salmoiraghi & Viganò

Strada Nova, Cannaregio 3928–3930

Italian spectacles are stylish and good value, and this well-reputed optometrist can make up prescription glasses the same day.

9. Marco Polo Bookshop

Calle del Teatro Malibran, Cannaregio 5886/A

This friendly, well-stocked store carries English-language volumes on Venice, as well as offering a book-exchange programme.

10. Gianni Basso

Calle del Fumo, Cannaregio 5306

The marvellous handmade stationery on offer at this shop is made by a modest artisan and is popular with international VIPs.