SESTIERI
the districts of venice
The “sestieri” are the six districts of central Venice: San Marco, San Polo, Castello, Cannaregio, Dorsoduro & Santa Croce. With Venice being so small it is sometimes difficult to understand where one ends and the other begins. Most guidebooks (and Venetian addresses) use this system to categorize things in Venice and therefore it’s essential that you know the different zones. My husband has hand-drawn a lovely map for you to help out!
The sestieri were originally marked out for tax purposes. Each residence within each sestieri was givena unique number (which is why the address system is so strange as it’s is not based on the streets). Here we give you a general guide to the six “sestieri” of Venice. But don’t forget there are loads of other amazing places to visit in the lagoon (Burano, Murano, Lido, Pellstrina etc) which you can read about if you click here.
Sestiere San Marco
Probably the most visited part of Venice this is the heart of the city and includes Saint Mark’s square, basilica and clock tower, as well as Doge’s palace, the Fenice theatre, the foot of Rialto bridge, and lots of Gondola! Most tourists spend almost their entire trip here. It is wonderful but there’s so much more to see in the city so we urge you to be brave and leave to visit other Sestieri.
Sestiere San Polo
This is one of the smaller districts but probably one of the most packed. It starts at Rialto bridge and includes the Rialto fish market. This is a particualry touristy part of town but still charming.
Sestiere Cannaregio
In the northern part of the city Cannaregio covers quite a large area, including the Jewish Ghetto, Strada Nove (a long shopping street), the train station, and the main hospital. Our favourite part of Cannaregio is the Fondamenta Misericordia , where you’ll find many delightful bars and cicchetterie. Lots of families live in this area so you’re likely to see local kids scooting around or on their way to the swimming pool and sports center at Sant’ Alvise. There’s a big park here too behind Strada Nove.
Sestiere Castello
To the west you can find Castello, which includes the Arsenale, Biennale, Via Garibaldi, and Sant’ Elena. We are particularly fond of Castello because it’s great for kids with many parks, green spaces, and the long, wide walkway next to the lagoon that leads all the way from Sant’Elena to San Marco so it’s easy to navigate with prams.
Sestiere Santa Croce
Santa Croce is quite small and probably the least touristy of the districts, although it does include Piazzale Roma so there is a lot of foot traffic that passes through. You can also find the hilariously named Ponte Delle Tette (yes, it means “tits”) here.
Sestiere Dorsoduro
This includes the South-Western part of the city as well as Giudecca (see below) and San Giorgio islands. Dorsodura has many charming places such as Campo Santa Margherita and Zattere and Academia. Much of the University Campus is here so there are some areas packed with students. The main tourist attractions include Peggy Guggenheim museum, the Redentore Church, the Gondolier workshop, and Ca’Rezzonico.
Although part of Dorsoduro we would like to mention Guidecca separately. Giudecca is a fabulous place to visit if you want to capture the vibe of real Venetian life. This is an island just across the channel from Zattere and includes a few big hotels (Hilton and Cipriani) but the rest of the place is mainly just local residential areas. There’s even a women’s prison here (you can buy vegetables from their market on Thursday mornings). There’s marina with a huge indoor boat dry dock, where we get our boat fixed. You can wander round and look at all the boats, our kids love it!
Other areas of Venice
There are so many wonderful places to explore in the Venetian lagoon. We strongly encourage you to get out of the historic centre and discover some of the less touristy areas.
The island of Lido is less than 15 minutes from Saint Mark’s square and is a fantastic place for kids as it has a beach, lots of parks. There’s even a horse riding school and a golf course.
Pellestrina is a wonderous place hardly touched by tourists. It’s a fishing island in the lagoon and has lots of wild beaches and many fantastic restaurants.
Burano, Murano and Torcello are all worth a day visit and many agencies offer boat rides there,a although you can also reach them with public transport.
In summer Certosa island, Sant ‘Erasmo and Vignole are also cool to explore. They are green, peaceful islands in the lagoon with farm land and a few of our favourite restaurants.