Teatro La Fenice

La Fenice means the phoenix, and no theatre in Europe has earned its name more honestly. Opened in 1792 as the Republic's grand new opera house, in its final years of independence, it burned in 1836 and was rebuilt within a year; then in January 1996 it burned again, gutted by a fire later proved to have been set deliberately, and Venice spent the next seven years rebuilding it exactly as it had been, following the motto com'era, dov'era, as it was and where it was. Craftsmen recreated the gilded stucco, the painted ceilings and the plush, from photographs, archive drawings and, famously, frames of film shot inside the old house, and the theatre reopened at the end of 2003. What you see today is therefore both new and utterly historic: a horseshoe of five tiers of boxes in cream, gold and pale green, a sky-blue ceiling, and at the centre the great royal box, facing the stage across the whole house. The musical history is formidable. Rossini and Bellini wrote for this stage; Verdi premiered five operas here, including Rigoletto and La Traviata, the latter famously a flop on its first night; and in the twentieth century Stravinsky and Britten brought world premieres. It is still one of Italy's leading opera houses, with a full season of opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, and its New Year's Day concert is broadcast across Italy. During the day the theatre opens for visits: a self-guided audio tour takes you through the foyers, the auditorium and, when it is free, the royal box, with guided tours also available.

How to visit: a skip-the-line ticket with a self-guided audio tour is the simplest option, sold on Tiqets with an entry window and also at the box office; a live guided tour of about an hour adds context and the stories of the fires and the reconstruction. The daytime visit takes about 45 minutes. Because this is a working theatre, routes change when rehearsals, set builds or matinees are underway, and parts of the house (sometimes the auditorium itself, viewed then only from the boxes) can close at short notice; the tour price does not change, so check the notes on your booking date if seeing the stage matters to you. Tours are also suspended during exceptional high water.

Seeing a show: nothing beats an evening performance. The season runs through most of the year, with opera at the heart of it, and the theatre also hosts ballet and concerts. Tickets range from expensive stalls and front-of-box seats down to affordable side and upper boxes, where sightlines can be partial (you may see half the stage, but you hear everything and sit inside the gilded horseshoe). Book on the theatre's own site as soon as dates are published for popular productions, dress smartly rather than formally, and arrive early enough to explore the foyers and the Sale Apollinee, the elegant reception rooms on the first floor. A daytime tour plus an inexpensive box seat for a later evening is a lovely way to do both.

Location: the theatre stands on Campo San Fantin, a short walk west of Piazza San Marco along the Calle Larga XXII Marzo and the lanes behind it, and a few minutes from the Scala Contarini del Bovolo. Combine a morning visit with the Bovolo staircase and lunch in the San Marco back streets, or follow an evening performance with a late drink near Campo Santo Stefano. Families with older children who like music or theatre history enjoy the tour; younger ones may find the audio guide long.