Dorsoduro
NeighborhoodsPoints of Interest & Landmarks
About
This Venetian district is home to some of the city’s most renowned art collections, including Galleria dell’Accademia—which is packed with Venetian Renaissance works—and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which houses 20th century art in a gorgeous palazzo setting.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Dorsoduro
The area
Neighborhood: Dorsoduro / Accademia
Artsy is the defining mood of this neighborhood with street artists, students, painters, sculptors, restorers, curators, historians, collectors, heirs and heiresses rubbing elbows. Peggy Guggenheim's collection, now a museum, lures chic locals for evening art aperitifs. Traditionalists and visionaries cocoon in bohemian luxury. La Salute basilica buttresses the neighborhood to the east. Gondolas bob in the morning light. The Accademia Bridge crosses the Grand Canal. A back street doubles as basketball court. Palaces house residents, or like Ca' Foscari a university, or a museum like Ca’ Rezzonico that attracts Venetians for concerts. Dorsoduro reveals its industrial roots too, in buildings converted to house university departments or exhibitions. Campo Santa Margherita bursts with youthful energy from local students. Foot traffic bustles to and from Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia train station. Evening commuters pause for an aperitivo. Neighbors exchange confidants in a campo (square) on their way to market.
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,454 reviews
Excellent
1,647
Very good
753
Average
46
Poor
4
Terrible
4

Adriana U
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
I chose this after getting a bit of advise from a seasoned Venice traveller. Definitely better than staying near the piazza. St Mark's square area is vibrant and full of amusement but it is also terribly crowded and if you want some quiet time, you are better of choosing Dorsoduro where you can have both the nice sites and busy areas but also the quiet alleys. As a plus, you get to take pictures without the intrusive tourists and visitors. There are beautiful sites everywhere and a great combination of students and people of all ages sharing the space.
Written March 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Erikdk
Ballerup, Denmark213 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
The Dorsoduro part of Venice is a very recommendable part of Venice. Cross the Ponto Accademia, and you are there.
Few tourists - many Venezians. If you can find it - rent a flat there for a week, and you will experience Venice in quite a different way, and at a lower pricelevel!
Written August 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JulesL
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
We explored this area having visited the Academia museum and Peggy Guggenheim Museum. The area is much quieter and touristy than around St Marks Square. It has fantastic cafes and shops. Well worth visiting.
Written March 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Buss Brigitte
Canton of Geneva, Switzerland13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
Guggenheim Musee was to busy and we could nt get a spot to sign in. HAs to be done next time!
We loved the walking in the arty aerea as well as in the more popular student scenerie. HAnging around in cafes on terrace, feeling not as an touriste , great moments!
Written October 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lesley F
Dubai, United Arab Emirates42 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2022
Lovely old part of town. More for the locals than tourists. More Campo's to see as in all other the areas. Buildings are amazing. We wandered through San Polo into Dosoduro acoss the bridge to the Basillica at the end of the Grand Canal
Written May 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sotms
New York City, NY283 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Friends
This was my favorite neighborhood. Cross the Accademia bridge and just stroll among very clean streets full of art galleries, shops and restaurants.
Go all the way to Santa Maria della Salute (it is under construction, but still impressive area on the outside). From there can take traghetto across to St.Marks , or vaporetto #1 back to hotel, better yet, along the entire length of Grand Canal.
Written October 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Robert-J
Chorley, UK20,688 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
I like to stay in Dorsoduro partly because it is slightly less crowded than areas closer to San Marco, partly because in general prices are slightly lower but mostly because it includes such delights as the Accademia gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum of Moden Art, Ca'Rezzonico, the Scuola dei Carmini with its collection of Tiepolo's paintings, the Galleria Cini (when it is open!) and great churches such as San Sebastiano, San Nicolo Mendicoli,, San Trovaso, Santa Maria della Salute and, along the zattere, I Gesuati and Santa Maria della Visitazione.

Lots to see and do and some great bars, cafe and restaurants around Campo Santa Margherita and elsewhere.
Written December 26, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jannerbloke
Plymouth, UK12,635 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2010
On our first trip to Venice we stayed on a late booking on a moderately priced deal in a cramped hotel close to the Rialto Bridge and selected partly because we wanted to be close to the heart of things. And so, to an extent, it was, but we now know better. You cannot escape the full on tourism bit some areas are less intense than others. Nowhere is too far from anywhere. The Dorsoduro is detached across the lower thrust of the Grand Canal but it has great character is very convenient for the Guggenheim building and the academia. There are many restaurants and osteria. Prices as mentioned below are noticeably less high and it has a relaxed feel. No disadvantages. Ample neighbourhood character.
Written March 7, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

thomasdosborneii
Los Angeles, CA198 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2013 • Solo
It was my good fortune to select a hotel (the Hotel Alla Salute, which I will review separately) in Dorsoduro, which seemed to be (and very much was) in a wonderful location...across the Grand Canal from the San Marco district, so close, yet so separate from all the touristy madness.

After 15 hours of flying from Los Angeles, I arrived at the Venice airport early in the morning and took the Alilaguna Blue ferry line, planning on getting off at the Zattere stop, where it would be an easy walk on the Fondamenta Zattere along the water's edge of the Guidecca Canal, until I got to Fondamenta Di Ca Baia, which would take me to my hotel, which was on the small canal of Rio della Fornace. The hotel had agreed to hold my luggage for me until the time I could check-in. Unfortunately, stupidly, I changed my mind at the last minute and got off at the San Marco stop, reasoning that I may as well see some of the main tourist area while making my way over to the Accademia Bridge, which I could use to cross over the canal to Dorsoduro.

But this idea threw me into the maelstrom of madness, and if anybody will look at photographs of the Grand canal, or a map of Venice, they will see that it is impossible to walk along the water's edge of the Grand Canal anywhere (all the streets are "internal"), or have a straight shot at any destination--so I had traded a clear and easy walk along the Guidecca Canal for a convoluted rat's maze, with lots of narrow passage-ways, tunnels, and dead ends...not to mention a solid horde of tourists. Of course, I got absolutely and utterly lost. Travel advice number one: do not do what I did and immediately throw yourself into that mess upon your first arrival in Venice, tugging luggage.

A big problem was that I was relying on my Google Maps map showing me the location of my hotel, which leaves off about 90% of the street and piazza names. So that is totally useless. Not much better was the free "map" that came along with my guidebook. So, after I wasted THREE HOURS trying to find my hotel (which I would have found in about ten minutes if I had gotten off at the Zattere), I wised up and bought a completely detailed map of Venice from a local kiosk (the best 3 Euros I ever spent!). THEN Venice was my oyster and I never got lost again. But until I did that, I hated Venice for my first three hours there and wished that it actually would sink into the lagoon and we all would be done with it once and for all.

That being said, with a good map in hand, I quickly found the Accademia Bridge and crossed over into pure peace and beauty. I could feel it the minute I was in Dorsoduro. In an instant I knew that I would love Dorsoduro, and I absolutely did.

Of course, I did go back over to the San Marco area on my second day in Venice, saw some of the expected sites, but really, my heart was now in Dorsoduro. Being in Italy in the height of heat-wave summer with the humidity on high and insects shrieking in the trees, I decided that Venice was Savannah with a little Charleston thrown in...and if so, then Dorsoduro was the French Quarter of New Orleans, with shutters and balconies and secret doorways and quaint intimate gardens and precious, artistic spaces, not to mention awesome local food and drinking establishments.

To me it was fantastic to be there on islands between the Grand Canal and the Guidecca Canal, and I loved watching all the boat traffic, and different kinds of boat traffic, that traveled along those two canals (including immense cruise ships, and the largest sailing yacht ever built). And when the summer heat got too unbearable (and since my hotel did not have air conditioning in the room), a perfect place to cool off was anywhere along the Guidecca Canal, where the breeze would be blowing (and there are several appealing-looking restaurants built right out over the water), but the best spot of all was the "point" at the very tip of the island near the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute that looked out into the wide, watery expanse of the Canale di San Marco. That Basilica di Santa Maria would play the most beautiful cathedral bells starting around 6:00 in the morning, playing for three minutes straight every hour on the hour. Those bells are as much a part of my wonderful memory of Venice as all the fascinating canals are.

Yes, Dorsoduro does have the outstanding Peggy Guggenheim Museum, but what I enjoyed was a complete surprise, three different current art gallery exhibitions in the "warehouses" at the corner of my hotel's Fondamenta (Di Ca Baia) and Fondamenta Zattere...in other words, along the waterfront right near my hotel. One of them was "On the Edge of Arabia" (which was free), multimedia works from Saudi Arabia about the shock of cultural changes happening in that country, another one explored the "Aftermath of Venice's Carnival", and a third one was an exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein sculptures (I had never known he had even done sculptures)--those last two had a very low admission charge. And all three galleries had docents who spoke beautiful English with whom I had some very good discussions about the art they had on display.

My only disappointment about Dorsoduro was that I wanted to see a shop that my guidebook of Venice mentioned, Il Mondo In Miniatura, where a craftsman sold hand-made miniature Venice palaces and bridges, and had made a 20 x 13 feet model of the entire city. That place proved to now be out of business. But there were many other beautiful shops there, instead--glass works, mask-makers, stationary shops, and bookstores, to name some that I went into.

Even though there was so much more in Venice that I would like to see on another visit, I nevertheless would make Dorsoduro my home base when I came again. All of Venice is an easy vaporetto-ride and an intriguing walking distance away, and even for those times when you don't even want to go anywhere, what a relaxing atmosphere Dorsoduro is to just "be".
Written September 4, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TizianaD
London57 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2012
The Rialto quarter is the most ancient, but also the most cramped, with tiny alleys overcrowded by tourists. In Dorsoduro you can admire the centuries old palaces as you walk along the canal (the 'pavements' often run along the canals, which means there's more light, more air and more space to admire the 'real' Venice). Also, Dorsoduro is home to one of the most beautiful and lively square of Venice: CAmpo Santa Margherita. It has plenty of cafes and bars with outdoor tables, stalls where the locals buy their fresh vegetables and fish, kids playing around, colourful aperitifs and people chatting ameniably around.
Written December 24, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 1,093
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Dorsoduro - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Dorsoduro