San Giorgio Maggiore

Across the basin from the Piazzetta, on its own small island, stands the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, its white classical facade and tall brick bell tower answering St Mark's across the water. It is one of the masterpieces of Andrea Palladio, the architect from nearby Vicenza whose villas and churches shaped classical architecture across Europe and America, and it was begun in the 1560s for the Benedictine monastery that had occupied the island for centuries. Inside, the church is serene and full of light, a cool, ordered space of white stucco and grey stone that feels a world away from the gold of St Mark's. Two late paintings by Tintoretto hang in the chancel: a dramatic, diagonal Last Supper lit by a smoky lamp and swirling angels, and the Gathering of the Manna opposite. Behind the high altar, a carved wooden choir fills the monks' chancel. The chief draw for many visitors, though, is the bell tower. A lift takes you to the top for a small fee, and the view is arguably the best in Venice, because it includes the city itself: St Mark's, the Doge's Palace and the Campanile directly across the water, the Salute and the Grand Canal to one side, the Giudecca and the open lagoon to the other. It is almost always quieter than the Campanile of San Marco. The former monastery belongs to the Giorgio Cini Foundation, whose cloisters and library can be seen on guided visits, and the garden holds the Borges Labyrinth, a hedge maze laid out to honour the Argentine writer, visited on guided tours.

Getting there takes minutes: vaporetto Line 2 crosses from the San Zaccaria landings near San Marco to the San Giorgio stop, right in front of the church. Because the island has no shops or souvenir stalls, it is wonderfully quiet, and even in summer you can sit on the steps of the church and watch the boats with the whole of San Marco across the water. The church is free to enter; the bell tower and the foundation's guided tours have their own tickets. Check opening times, which vary with the season and with services, since this is still a Benedictine community.

When to go: the bell tower is magnificent at any hour, but the late afternoon light falls full on the facades of the Doge's Palace and the Piazzetta opposite, and on clear winter days the snow-capped Alps appear behind the city. In the evening, the waterfront in front of the church is one of the most romantic places in Venice to watch the sun go down behind the Salute. Photographers should bring a longer lens for details across the water.

Make a half-day of it. Combine the church and tower with a guided visit to the Cini Foundation's cloisters and the Borges Labyrinth, sold through Tiqets and the foundation, then ride Line 2 on to the Giudecca, the long island next door, for a walk along its waterfront, a look at Palladio's Redentore church and lunch facing the city. During the Biennale and other major art events, the island often hosts exhibitions, so check what is on. One more reason to join a Cini Foundation tour: the monastery's Palladian refectory once held Paolo Veronese's Wedding at Cana, which Napoleon's troops removed in 1797 and which now hangs in the Louvre opposite the Mona Lisa. In 2007 a full-size, high-precision facsimile was installed in its original place, so you can see the vast painting in the room Palladio designed, at the height and in the light the monks knew. The foundation's guided visits also take in the cloisters and the long library, a rare chance to see a working Venetian monastery complex from the inside.