The 12 Most Beautiful Squares in Venice

Welcome to my guide to the best 12 Venice squares to visit.

In this guide I show you the most beautiful Venetian squares to seek out, from the obvious Piazza San Marco to lesser-known gems like the serene campo in Torcello in the far north of Venice’s lagoon.

I’ve chosen some because of their amazing architecture, others because they are wonderful places to sit and watch the world go by.

I’ve visited all of these squares in Venice a great many times, and found something different in each of the twelve I’ve written about in this article.

As well as describing each square, I point out what to see there and nearby, and places to eat. I also advise you on the nearest vaporetto – waterbus – stop. In most cases these are several, often up to ten, minutes’ walk away.

Enjoy!

The Italian name for Square is Piazza, and only one public space in the city of Venice is given this name. Piazza San Marco, the main square in Venice, is the only one to be so honoured.

The name of its extension, or neighbour, the Piazzetta di San Marco, means ‘little square’ or ‘little piazza’.

The rest of the Venice squares in this article are called ‘Campo’, meaning ‘field’. Centuries ago many of them would have served as fields full of vegetable crops. Eventually, over time they would have become the urban squares we see today.

Some smaller Venice squares are also called ‘campiello’. This means ‘small field’, and examples include Campiello San Zulian, a 3-minute walk north of St Mark’s Square.

Some of you may well arrive in Venice at Piazzale Roma, the city bus station.  The name ‘piazzale’ means ‘large square’, usually with at least one side open without buildings.

Piazza San Marco is also renowned for its famous cafes. Caffe Florian has been serving coffee, cakes and more since 1720. You’ll often need to book a table in advance. Though I must admit that a parsimonious part of me still resists paying €11.50 for my standard caffè doppio (double espresso) there. Especially when I know I can get it for 1/5 of the price around the corner!

The best time to visit St Mark’s Square is very early in the morning or towards dusk, when the day trippers have gone. It’s often overcrowded, it’s overpriced, overrun with tourists, it floods at high tide and is swamped with pooping pigeons, but I’ll always love the place.

Nearest vaporetto: San Marco (Vallaresso) or San Marco (San Zaccaria)   

The Piazzetta is the small square between San Marco and the Molo, Venice’s grand waterfront. It’s one of the most beautiful Venice squares, and one of the best places to see a sunrise in Venice.

It’s smaller, but every bit as grand as the Piazza. The Doge’s Palace, one of the great Gothic buildings of Europe, is on one side, and the elaborate Libreria Sansoviniana on the other. Two ceremonial pillars – one topped by a statue of St Mark, the other St Theodore – mark the entrance to the city.

Beyond there, the views from the Molo are staggering. Andrea Palladio’s serene San Giorgio Maggiore dominates the view, while gondolas bob with the tide before you. In winter, it’s one of the best places to enjoy sunset in Venice as the sun drops behind the domes of Santa Maria della Salute church. Many would suggest – I’m among them – that this is also one of the best sunsets in Europe .

Nearest vaporetto: San Marco (Vallaresso) or San Marco (San Zaccaria)   

Head northeast from San Marco to this beautiful square around the church of the same name. It’s on a great Venice walking route which also takes you to the next of our Venice squares, and is a great place to stop by for a caffe to recharge you.

The white church with its tall belltower was built by Mauro Codussi from 1492 onwards. It has a famous grotesque, or mascaron, on the wall facing the canal. The church gained its name after a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was said to be voluptuous and beautiful (‘formosa’).

After stopping by for a while, head north-east off the square along Calle Longa Santa Maria Formosa – after a short distance you’ll see a sign for Libreria Acqua Alta on your left. This chaotic bookshop has become very popular in the last 15-20 years. It’s a place to wander rather than seek out anything specific. The sight of piles of volumes stacked into a gondola is all part of the charm!

Nearest vaporetto:  Rialto or San Marco (San Zaccaria)

One of our Aussie friends once got to see behind the façade. She had overdone her walking around Venice, and got a watertaxi to the Hospital to seek treatment for exhaustion. When the taxi pulled up outside, she came out with words to the effect of, ”I asked for the bloody hospital, not a palace.” I don’t know the taxi driver’s exact response, but it was something along the lines of, ”This is Venice, madam, and this palace is the hospital.” For once, she was lost for words.  

Nearest vaporetto: Fondamente Nove (usually written F.te Nove on timetables)

This is one of our far-flung Venice squares, well off the beaten track for most visitors to Venice.  It’s in Castello sestiere, in the eastern part of the city, and this peaceful corner of Venice was once anything but.

Most of us think of the Industrial Revolution developing in the 18^th century. Not in Venice.  The Arsenale was a full-blown production line by the 14^th century. Ship parts were built separately and assembled – reputedly in as little as a day. This helped Venice became the supreme naval power in the Adriatic and Mediterranean for several centuries.

The Porta Magna – the grand entrance gate – at the Campo de l’Arsenal is all you can see of the complex, which is now owned by the Italian Navy. There’s also a café, pizzeria and wine bar on the square, a great place to reflect on what was once the might of Venice.  

Nearest vaporetto: Arsenale

This Campo – named after a deconsecrated church – is one of the largest Venice squares. It has long been a popular hangout for students and travellers on a budget, with plenty of less expensive restaurants and pizzeria to choose from.

It’s the main hub in Dorsoduro,  and I’ve always looked on it as somewhere pleasant to stop by for a while. It’s a good few minutes’ walk from most Venice sightseeing, with the church of Santa Maria del Carmine the closest sight of great note.

While there, take a walk north from the square, passing the former church. You then come to another Venice square, Campo San Pantalon, just across the canal.  Before crossing the bridge, on your left you’ll spy a Banksy mural. Then head over to the church, with what looks like an unfinished façade. Enter the church for a huge surprise – the opulent series of 44 canvas paintings on the ceiling by Giovanni Antonio Fumani.

Nearest vaporetto: San Toma’

Campo San Barnaba – named after the church dedicated to the Apostle St Barnabas – is one of my favourite Venice squares. The church has a Neoclassical façade from the late 1700s, but its campanile may date as far back as the 11^th century.

The church is now deconsecrated, and currently used as a small Leonardo da Vinci Museum. It also played a secular role in the 1989 movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when it was depicted as a library.

The reason I enjoy the area around Campo San Barnaba so much is the fruit and veg boat a few metres’ walk from the square. It’s a wonderful slice of Venetian life, and I loved shopping there every morning when we stayed close by in Dorsoduro.

The vegetable boat is next to the Ponte dei Pugni, the ‘Bridge of Fists’.  From the 14^th to early 18^th centuries, the rival Nicolotti and Castellani clans would meet there for a good old-fashioned punch-up.  

Nearest vaporetto: Ca’ Rezzonico

This wonderful Venetian square is a stop on our favourite Venice walk, described in our Weekend in Venice article.

It’s dominated by the exuberant Baroque façade of the church of Santa Maria del Giglio (St Mary of the Lily). Also known locally as Santa Maria Zobenigo, the church looks like a riotous glorification of God. Not quite.

It’s actually a riotous glorification of Venetian Admiral Antonio Barbaro, who financed the rebuilding of the church in the late 17^th century. The figures include the four Virtues and relief maps of places he served, mainly in the Adriatic region including modern Croatia.

This part of San Marco sestiere is possibly the best area to stay in Venice. It’s close to San Marco and many of the main Venice landmarks, but also offers a bit of respite from the crowds, especially in the evenings.  If you visit Venice in winter, especially January, you get some amazing low-season bargains.  One of the best Venice hotels I’ve stayed in is the Ala Venezia, right on the square a few metres from the church.

Nearest vaporetto: Giglio

This oblong square near the Ponte dell’Accademia is near the end of the same walk mentioned above. It takes its name from the Gothic church of Santo Stefano, which contains some fine works by Tintoretto (including The Last Supper) and funerary monuments, one of which is by Antonio Canova.

The Neoclassical façade of the church of San Vidal is at the opposite end of the square, close to the Grand Canal. This church is now used as a classical concert venue.

I’ve always used Campo Santo Stefano as one of my Venice pitstops. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve stopped at the two gelaterie on the square – one of which has, amazingly, been there since 1760.

While there, take the short climb up the Accademia bridge. It’s one of the best viewpoints on the Grand Canal Venice, with a stunning view down to Santa Maria della Salute.

Nearest vaporetto: Accademia

I’ve included this small Venice square in Dorsoduro for its striking architecture. The restrained (in Venetian terms!) Baroque façade of the church of St Roch (San Rocco) was built to replace an early 16^th century version. St Roch was often used in prayers against the Plague, and his relics were later housed in the church.

The (earlier) Renaissance building on the square is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, one of six scuole – confraternities – founded across the city.  The building is one of the most impressive in Venice, housing over thirty paintings by the astounding Tintoretto.

I first chanced upon this intimate square one night in the 1990s, and was blown away by the sight of the two buildings floodlit at night. I’ve often included it in my night-time Venice walks since. It’s not very difficult to find – it’s very close to one of the most famous churches in Venice, the vast Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.

Nearest vaporetto:  San Toma’

Venice gave the world many things, and one of its most shameful legacies is the word ‘ghetto’, indeed the notion of it.  In 1516 Venetian city authorities decided to give the city’s Jews their own area to live. It was in the eastern part of Cannaregio district, close to a foundry (‘geto’ or ‘gheto’ in Venetian). This was not in any way a benevolent act by the Venetians.

The Jews were confined to one small island, were subject to a strict curfew, and had very limited employment rights. They even had to pay for watchmen who would ensure they stuck to the rules laid down by the Venetian Republic.

The Ghetto is very much the centre of Jewish life in Venice. Five synagogues remain, and there are also bookshops and art galleries to visit.

One of the most noticeable facets of the Venice ghetto is the confinement and lack of space in which the city’s Jews lived. The buildings on Campo del Gheto Novo are the same height as everywhere else in the city. However, whereas residential buildings elsewhere in Venice had five storeys, those in the Ghetto had seven, sometimes eight storeys.

Nearest vaporetto:  Guglie or Sant’Alvise

One of the most beautiful Venice squares can be found far from the main city, in the quiet northern shores of the lagoon. The tiny island of Torcello is one of the most intriguing day trips from Venice, one many do in combination with nearby Burano.

The Campo di Torcello is a few minutes’ walk from the ferry jetty. It’s a gorgeous square, with two churches on one side. The Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta was founded in the 7^th century, and was the first cathedral in Venice. The present building dates from the 12^th century, including the superb apse mosaic.

Next door, the Byzantine Church of Santa Fosca was built around the same century. It is also built on the site of an earlier church, and is dedicated to a 3^rd century child martyr from Ravenna.

Outside the small Torcello Museum, there is also a stone chair believed to have been made in the 5^th century AD. It is probably the seat of a priest, perhaps a bishop, but has long been known as Attila’s Throne. It is highly unlikely it ever had any connection to the leader of the Huns.

Nearest vaporetto: Torcello

Venice Squares – Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve enjoyed my article on the best Venice squares to visit. Everyone gets to see St Mark’s Square, but some of the smaller squares in Venice are just as rewarding to visit. Visiting these squares is a great way to see some of the most captivating churches in Venice. And seeking out some of these squares is also a wonderful introduction to Venice off the beaten path. Enjoy!

Check out more of our Venice articles here:

• 3 Day Venice Itinerary – the best of Venice in 3 days
• Day Trip To Venice Itinerary – make the most of one day in Venice
• Things To Do In Burano – the most colourful village in Europe
• Is Venice Worth Visiting – 10 reasons why it definitely is
• 17 Photos That Will Make You Want To Visit Venice
• Squares in Italy – 15 of the most beautiful squares in Italy

And check out more places to visit in Italy in our Italy Travel Guide page.