San Giorgio Maggiore

San Giorgio Maggiore is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon, facing St. Mark's Square across the Bacino di San Marco, crowned by a gleaming white church designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. Its bell tower offers one of the most complete views in Venice -- looking back across the water at St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, and the Grand Canal all at once -- a vantage point the crowded square itself can never quite match.

The church is an active Benedictine foundation, not only a monument -- a small community still lives on the island, and services take precedence over visiting. The chancel closes to visitors during Mass, which is when the Tintorettos are least accessible.

Vaporetto line 2 from San Zaccaria is a two-minute crossing and the only sensible way here; the private water taxis touting at San Marco charge many times the fare for the same trip.

The island absorbs visitors well because they arrive in boatloads rather than continuously, which makes it a genuinely useful alternative on days when the Piazza is at its worst -- the same view, from the other side of the water, with a fraction of the pressure.

San Giorgio Maggiore is reached by vaporetto from San Marco or Zaccaria, a crossing of only a few minutes. The church itself is free to enter; a separate ticket covers the elevator ride up the bell tower, which is the main reason most visitors make the trip.

The campanile is the draw, and its light changes the visit entirely. Morning puts the sun behind you looking at San Marco, which is the better direction for photographs; late afternoon puts it in your eyes but lights the Giudecca and the lagoon behind.

Crowds here are a fraction of those at the Campanile across the water, because reaching the island takes a deliberate vaporetto ride rather than a walk. Queues form for the lift rather than the church, and rarely run long.

The tower closes in high winds, and can close without notice -- worth a glance at the flags on the Molo before committing to the crossing on a rough day.

Around midday the church itself is at its brightest: Palladio's interior depends entirely on daylight through clear glass, and Tintoretto's late canvases in the chancel need it.