Time Out Venice (time Out Guides)

In a city with a full-time population of around 60,000 and a transient population in the millions, it's not hard to understand why so many of Venice's restaurants are expensive and touristy. You can eat well in Venice without taking out a second mortgage, but you have to look around.

Venice has always been a busy commercial centre with an emphasis on luxury goods and a flare for the eccentric. The main retail areas are the Mercerie and the streets known collectively as the Frezzeria, which wind between campo San Fantin and Piazza San Marco itself. The most dense concentration of big-name fashion outlets is around the Calle Larga XXII Marzo, just west of the piazza, where you'll find Prada, Valentino and Fendi. Calle della Mandola is the street for books and glass beads. Antiques shops are around campo Santo Stefano and San Marco. You can just about find handcrafted masks and murano glass anywhere in the city but keep your eyes open for uniquely Venetian boutiques and specialty shops hidden by the tat.

Most tourists don't make it past the six main neighborhoods of Venice, but there's much to be said for a quiet afternoon on one of the other islands of the lagoon. Murano is famous for its glass; Torcello is the marshy island where Venice got its start; and Sant'Erasmo is Venice's vegetable garden. In summer most Venetians head to the Lido to lounge on the beach and escape the crowds.

Of the towns in the surrounding Veneto region, Padua is the most charming. Within its terracotta walls are stunning architecture and history galore. Don't miss the magnificent, newly restored Scrovegni chapel, frescoed by Giotto. Padua is also handy as a cheaper base from which to explore Venice - it's a mere 30 minutes away by train - and the nightlife's better.