Completely updated, this is an essential handbook for any traveler who wants to fully understand the existence and future challenges of this unique and extraordinary city, as well as its history, art, architecture, cuisine and culture and its all-important relationship to the sea. Each of the six sestieri, or city districts, is covered in full, with major sights such as St Mark's, the Doge's Palace, the Accademia Art Gallery, the Guggenheim Museum given detailed treatment alongside a wealth of other museums, palaces, churches and monuments.

Blue Guides are the best-presented, best-researched cultural guidebooks in the English language. Some key features of Blue Guide Venice:

• In full color, with photographs, plans and illustrations, as well as detailed and accurate maps of the labyrinthine streets and canals
• Illustrations that inform as well as decorate. Each photo is chosen to explain a key point of history, architecture or to give examples of the work of a major artist or sculptor
• Find out not just what you are looking at, but why: the Blue Guide contains a wealth of background detail, explaining how things are interconnected
• Understand the part Venice played in Italian history, as an independent city state, powerhouse of Mediterranean trade, center of art and learning
• Learn to recognize the work of some of the key artists who left their mark not just on Venice but on the world: Bellini, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Palladio
• Guided walks around some of the most atmospheric corners of the city, for a visit that truly invites you to immerse yourself
• Alongside in-depth coverage of the main districts, there are also extensive chapters on the Giudecca, the Lido--home of the film festival--and the other islands of the lagoon
• Even when the Biennale is not in season, its site is worth a visit for the architecture and decoration of its pavilions
• Detailed glossaries covering specialist terms, and key artists
• Beautifully printed and laid out, a book that is a pleasure to own, and perfect either for use on the street or for armchair research at home.

See more, understand more, and enjoy more of Venice with the Blue Guide.