Best photo spots in Venice

Venice is unquestionably one of the most photographed places in the world. Just google its name and you'll see a plethora of pics. There is something wrong with most of those images, though. They are all the same. Here we give some tips on the best photo spots of the city on the water including some commonplaces and some not so common.

Piazza San Marco may look a bit more original if taken from above: you can climb to the balcony on the facade of the Basilica, for example, or higher on the Clock Tower. It stands at the beginning of the Mercerie, the itinerary linking the Piazza to Rialto, and is topped with the statues of two men called the Moors that hit the bell on the hour. From there, you’ll have the Basilica on the left, the Piazza on the right and opposite the water with San Giorgio island. Even higher is the Campanile, the bell tower, which stands out with its almost 100 meters. On the other side of the water, the shorter bell tower of San Giorgio is another great spot for your photo album.

Next to the Rialto bridge, there is a beautiful terrace on top of the Fontego dei Tedeschi, a building hosting a department store, which overlooks the surrounding edifices.

Less known is the side of the city facing north. Along the one-kilometer-long Fondamente Nove, the view over the cemetery island of San Michele and Murano is breathtaking especially when the day is crystal clear courtesy of the north-eastern wind of Bora.

For great pics of the sunset, you need to go to the fringes, to the least touristy areas. On the side facing the industrial area of Marghera of Sacca Fisola, the artificial island next to Giudecca, the view of the sunset is compelling with the riveting contrast between nature and man-made structures. You also feel like this, if you go to Baia del Re, in the district of Cannaregio, where a pleasant park on the bank of the lagoon faces the railway bridge and the view of the sunset.

Feel like extravagant? Take a helicopter flight from the nice Nicelli airfield on Lido. FlyVenice offers a few choices but even the shortest flight will give you unconventional views over our incomparable city.