Piazza San Marco, the beating heart of Venice

It is said that in the 1st century AD, Saint Mark landed in the Venetian lagoon on his way to evangelise the region. Centuries later, around 828, the destinies of Venice and the evangelist crossed again: the city, looking for a protector, managed to bring back the relics of Saint Mark from Alexandria. From then on, he would be the patron saint of the Serenissima.

Saint Mark's Square, and Venice with it, has its own identity: altered many times over the ages, the piazza San Marco remains the symbol of Venetian power through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the beating heart of Venice right up to the present day.The square itself is divided into two parts. The piazza is home to some of Venice's most famous monuments, including Saint Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Clock Tower and the Campanile. It is framed by the arcaded facades of the Procuraties and the Liberia, which originally housed the administration of Venice's buildings. At the far end, the Napoleon wing housed the palace of the French emperor and today houses the beautiful Correr Museum dedicated to Venetian civilisation.

The second part, called the "piazzetta", is open: it overlooks the mouth of the Grand Canal, Venice's main thoroughfare, where it merges with the great waters of the lagoon, with the island of San Giorgio Maggiore and the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute in the background. Two columns complete the ensemble: one of them is surmounted by the Lion of Saint Mark, the emblem of Venice, which can be found just about everywhere, right up to the award ceremony for the famous Mostra, the prestigious Venice film festival, and its golden lions!

You can bet that Saint Mark's Square will be your very first visit to Venice. The place, with its incredible architectural profusion, mesmerises its visitors... the square seems to act like a magnet on the whole city!

So it's not surprising to find so many people there. You'll have to get used to it, meander between the tourists and avoid the countless selfies, and approach the site as it is. In Saint Mark's Square, take the time to observe and appreciate the setting, ignoring the crowds as much as possible.

To fully appreciate it, stagger your visiting times: very early in the morning, when the great square awakens in a new light, late in the evening, when it empties and regains its calm, all lit up... Even without going through the visits, piazza San Marco will leave you with an indelible memory.

However, there's no shortage of things to see in Piazza San Marco: if you go into detail, you'll have enough to fill a whole week on the spot! The Basilica of San Marco, the Campanile and the Doge's Palace often take precedence, while the Correr Museum attracts Venetian history buffs...

In Piazza San Marco, you could just as easily sit back and relax on the most famous terrace in Venice: the very chic Caffè Florian has been an institution on the piazza since 1720! And to take the experience to the next level, why not treat yourself to a room with a view of piazza San Marco? Ideal for visiting the square at any time of day or night!

Acqua Alta, literally "high water" in Italian, is one of the most surprising phenomena in Venice: when the tides are at their highest, the water level rises above that of the canals, literally flooding the city!