Church in Venice

Byzantine rather than Italian in feel, and the interior is eight thousand square metres of gold mosaic — go on a bright day, when the light through the upper windows sets the whole ceiling alight. Short free visits, paid skip-the-line slots, and separate tickets for the Pala d'Oro and the loggia with the bronze horses. Large bags are refused at the door.

A huge brick Gothic church in San Polo holding Titian's Assumption above the high altar — painted for this building, still in it, and worth the crossing on its own. Also Titian's tomb, and a Bellini triptych in the sacristy. Calm, and a useful anchor for a walk away from San Marco.

The domed church at the mouth of the Grand Canal, built as a thank-offering after the plague of 1630, and the shape that closes every photograph taken from the Accademia bridge. Free to enter, rarely busy, with Titians in the sacristy. Ten minutes by vaporetto or a walk through Dorsoduro.