Harry's Bar

The 1931 institution off San Marco from the Cipriani family, birthplace of the Bellini (1948) and the carpaccio (1950). Hemingway drank here, so did Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, and Aristotle Onassis. Cramped, loud, brusquely served, perfect. Best for a stand-up Bellini at the bar; sit-down dinner is for tourists.

Order: a Bellini between March and September. A martini at any other time.

Caffè Florian

Open since 1720 on Piazza San Marco, the oldest continuously operating café in the world, founded the year of Casanova's birth. The spritz at its institutional source, served at outdoor tables looking at the Basilica with the orchestra playing through the evening. Best for a late-afternoon spritz when the light is hitting the gold mosaics, or a 10pm coffee after dinner.

Order: a Spritz Florian and an espresso.

Bar Longhi at the Gritti Palace

The grand-hotel cocktail room on the Grand Canal in Dorsoduro, Pietro Longhi paintings on the walls, eighteenth-century mirrors, terrace tables right on the water. Quiet, formal, deep classic technique, the kind of room where the bartender remembers what you drank last March. Best for a sunset cocktail on the canal terrace; the light hitting the water is the room's other appeal.

Order: a Negroni on the terrace.

Il Mercante

A small contemporary cocktail bar in Cannaregio behind the Frari basilica, the modern counterpoint to the institutional rooms above. Bartenders Alessandro Zampieri and Luca Cinalli built a program around fermentation, infusions, and Venetian-merchant-route ingredients (clove, saffron, raisin, smoke). Best for a late-night drink after dinner in San Polo or Castello.

Order: whatever's on the seasonal menu's "Spice Routes" section.

Antiche Carampane

A family-run trattoria in San Polo, named for the medieval prostitutes who once worked the street, with no menu posted outside and a sign in the window that reads "No pizza, no lasagna, no menu turistico." Lagoon-sourced fish, considered Veneto wine list, locals at every table. Best for a long lunch with people who know what bigoli is and what to do with moeche when they're in season.

Osteria Alle Testiere

A 22-seat dining room in Castello with two seatings a night, the bookable Venetian dining room of record. Bruno Gavagnin's kitchen runs through what arrived from the lagoon that morning; the wine list pulls hard on small Friuli and Veneto producers. Best for a deliberate, slow dinner with someone you want to remember the meal with.

The Gritti Palace

Occupying a 15th-century palazzo in the Dorsoduro district, The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, offers an immersive masterclass in Venetian opulence. Its interiors are a living museum of frescoed walls, glittering Murano chandeliers, and rich Rubelli fabrics, while terrace suites sit directly over the Grand Canal. Guests can enjoy iconic views of the Salute Basilica from the legendary Club del Doge or refine their culinary skills at the hotel's renowned epicurean school.

Belmond Hotel Cipriani

The 1958 hotel on Giudecca island, water-shuttle from San Marco, with an Olympic-sized seawater pool, gardens running to the lagoon, and a quiet that the rest of Venice does not offer. Oro is the Michelin-starred dining room; Cip's Club bar pours a memorable spritz with a view of San Marco from the wrong side of the water. The hotel for guests who want to step off Venice while staying inside it.