San Polo and Old Red Light District Walking Tour, Venice

San Polo and Old Red Light District Walking Tour (Self Guided), Venice

Within the San Polo district are some of Venice's most famous sights. Among them is the Rialto Bridge, one of four bridges that spans the Grand Canal and its oldest crossing. In fact, this is the oldest part of the city and a walk through the labyrinth of narrow lanes will reward you with ancient buildings, and cafés that have been in families for generations. Make a point of going to San Giacomo di Rialto, which some believe is the oldest church in Venice. According to local lore it was consecrated in the 5th century, although the building you see today dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Nearby is one of the most popular attractions in this part of the city, the Rialto fish market where you can purchase fresh fish and shellfish that have been plucked from the Adriatic Sea and the Venetian Lagoon. There's more shopping in the neighboring streets where you'll find bakeries, wine shops and florists among other enterprises. As you tour the area, pause to look over the Grand Canal and the many passing gondolas.

Visit some of the lesser known parts of the district, such as Carampane, often frequented by Casanova. This is the old red light district with the famous Ponte delle Tette. The name of this crossing translates as the “Bridge of Tits”. Apparently it earned the sobriquet because prostitutes used to try and drum up trade by flashing their breasts from brothel windows that overlooked the bridge. Stay in the district for a delicious meal. San Polo restaurants are renowned for serving up some of the best food in the canal city.
How it works: A discovery walk features a route using which you can explore a popular city neighborhood on your own. This walk, along with other self-guided walks in over 1,500 cities, can be found on the app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" which can be downloaded from Apple App Store or Google Play Store to your mobile phone or tablet. The app's built-in GPS navigation functions allow following this walk route with ease. The app works both online and offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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San Polo and Old Red Light District Walking Tour Map

Guide Name: San Polo and Old Red Light District Walking Tour
Guide Location: Italy » Venice
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Discovery)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles
Author: jenny
Ponte di Rialto

2) Ponte di Rialto

Calle Riva Carbon

3) Calle Riva Carbon

Campo della Pescaria

4) Campo della Pescaria

Chiesa di San Silvestro

5) Chiesa di San Silvestro

Chiesa di Sant'Aponal

7) Chiesa di Sant'Aponal

Campo San Polo

8) Campo San Polo

Chiesa di San Polo

9) Chiesa di San Polo

Basilica dei Frari

10) Basilica dei Frari

Basilica dei Frari

11) Basilica dei Frari

Basilica dei Frari

14) Basilica dei Frari

Campo San Tomà

15) Campo San Tomà

Walking Tours in Venice, Italy

Create Your Own Walk in Venice

Create Your Own Walk in Venice

Creating your own self-guided walk in Venice is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Murano Island Walking Tour

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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
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Jewish Ghetto Tour

Jewish Ghetto Tour

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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 0.4 Km or 0.2 Miles
Titian's Paintings Walk

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Equally adept with...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
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Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.1 Km or 1.3 Miles
Casanova's Venice

Casanova's Venice

One of Venice's most famous personalities, Giacomo Casanova is remembered today as a womanizer, but was much more than that. Born in a family of theater actors in 1725, he came through as highly intellectual and very sharp from his very childhood, having become in his time an erudite scholar, a diplomat and spy, and a metropolitan ‘avant la lettre’, who frequented the high society and...  view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.5 Km or 2.8 Miles
Venice Introduction Walking Tour

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Although most experts agree that the Venetian lagoon emerged nearly 6,000 years ago, the area of today's Venice remained mostly uninhabited, except for a small population of fishermen, up until the 5th century AD when the hordes of Gothic barbarians, looting their way into Rome, drove many a people away from their homes on the mainland to take refuge on the coastal Venetian islands.

Those...  view more

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 4.1 Km or 2.5 Miles

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