Hoardes of tourists pass through the city on a daily basis but the only way to really discover the city is to stay here for at least a few days. Any guidebook will tell you about the Doge's Palace, Accademia Gallery and the Rialto Bridge and while you certainly must see these things, the real beauty of Venice is hidden in her inner courtyards and picturesque side-canals.

I'm going to start off by introducing you to dining - Venetian style! Forget location dining in Venice unless you are prepared to pay upwards of €100 per person for an average meal, or €200 for a good meal. Restaurants along the grand canal or offering tourist menus should be avoided like the plague, instead keep your eyes open for a family run osteria or trattoria. A great street to look out for is the Fondamenta Misericordia in the Cannaregio district, home to many great small restaurants. The district known as San Polo (near Rialto) is another great place to explore for small restaurants with a limited menu but reasonable prices. When it comes to choosing on the menu why not try some of the fabulous fish dishes which have probably been caught fresh that morning - be careful though as many places charge you by weight instead of by piece (so for €8 per 100g you will get a shock if your fish weighs 1kg). The bigoli in Salsa is a dish of large spaghetti with onions, anchovies and white wine. The Fegato alla Veneziana is veal liver delicately fried and thought to be one of best venetian delicacies available. The other main dish of Venice is Spaghetti con Seppia Nero which is spaghetti with cuttlefish ink which turns the pasta black and looks very curious. Unfortunately vegetarians arent well served in Venice, many restaurants have nothing on offer except a plate of grilled vegetables. Pizzas in Venice arent great as the wood burning ovens which makes the most fabulous italian pizzas are banned in Venice (fire risk).
Cost cutting isnt the easiest thing to do in Venice, but if you are here for a bit of a blow-out and want to live like royalty for a few days it is very easy to do in this city. The Hotel Cipriani on Giudecca has two fabulous restaurants (enough to bankrupt mere mortals but you may find yourself sitting on the same seat as Sophia Loren used to occupy, or Elizabeth Taylor or Jack Nicholson). Florian's Cafe in Piazza San Marco is the most exclusive of the cafes in the square and you can expect to spend €15 on one drink - my top tip is to go between 3pm and 6pm for afternoon tea for only €25 per person for sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, and of course a wide selection of tea. You can sit outside for a surcharge but be prepared to be visited by many pigeons, it is much nicer inside where you can look at the lovely art on the wall and let your imagination drift back to the 18th century and the decadence of Venice in those days.
The locals widely agree that Gelataria Nico has the best ice cream in town, you will find it next to the Zattere Vaporetto stop, close to the Accademia.

Venice is a great place for an evening stroll with it's empty streets and delighful canals, but even during the day it is possible to escape from the mobs of tourists heading to San Marco from the Rialto. One walk is to leave San Marco towards the canal and turn left and stroll up the road past the arsenale (where they used to make whole ships in a matter of hours) and up to the gardens (home to the Biennale when it is on). Or why not walk along the Guidecca Canal on the Dorsoduro side, cross the Accademia Bridge and walk towards the Giudecca Canal, turn right and just walk for as long as you can - it's so peaceful up here. The island of Guidecca itself is worth exploring, Elton John has his villa over here apprantly, very close to the Cipriani Hotel. In Cannaregio you can take a guided tour of the Ghetto, the world's first example of a ghetto - in fact that is where the word originated from, thanks to a foundry which was here. And watch out for a little square called Campiello Remer where you can take great photogrpahs over to the Rialto bridge and market.