Palazzo Contarini Porta di Ferro

Make it one of your priorities to go on a ride all along Canal Grande by vaporetti - especially if you have only a few hours in the city on your first visit. Not only will it show you many of the finest palaces in the city and give you a general sense of orientation, no the best thing with this is that you are hit by the sense of uniqueness that Venice is all about. Don't miss it! You can catch a vaporetti outside the St Lucia railway station and go all the way down to San Marco which in 2005 set you back five euros. In this picture from near Accademia Bridge, you can see Palazzo Franchetti Cavalli and Palazzo Barbaro (where a painting Monet was only one famous guest).