Venice, Italy,
I’VE lived in Venice since I was six years old. My family moved there on a whim, the idea being to stay for a year, but somehow we never left. Venice has a way of seducing you. There is so much that is unusual and special about the city, but the thing that I love most is perhaps the most obvious: there are no cars. This means your senses are heightened: I love the soft sound of lapping water as I sit enjoying my morning coffee at a café; I love the sound of church bells ringing; I love the sweet scent of freshly baked bread that wafts through the streets first thing; I love that you regularly bump into friends when running errands.
Venice is a magical place to visit year round and has different things to offer depending on the seasons. The winters are blissfully quiet and bitterly cold: for me, they’re all about cosy long lunches in restaurants, visiting churches and galleries, going for long walks by the water and having the city to yourself. The summer is busier, but the days are long and sunny, the weather very warm: it’s dinner on the water; boat trips to the surrounding islands; fresh white-peach bellinis at the Cipriani Hotel. Whatever the weather, a pair of very comfortable shoes is a must. I would also recommend packing a copy of Joe Links’s Venice for Pleasure—the best guide book to the city.
All’arco, by the Rialto market, is a go-to for cicchetti, a glass of Prosecco or a spritzer and to catch-up on all the local gossip (00 390 41 520 5666). It’s standing only or a seat at one of the small tables. Order baccalà on slices of grilled yellow polenta, canoce (mantis shrimp) on crunchy toasted bread and bovoli (tiny sea snails) drenched in olive oil and lemon juice and dressed with verdant parsley.
I love to shop at La Casa Del Parmigiano— a tiny shop that sells every cheese your heart could desire, from whole fresh ricotta the size of your head to wheels of Parmesan, saffronscented pecorino and a heavenly concoction of gorgonzola layered with whipped mascarpone and topped with walnuts (www.casa delparmigiano.ve.it). For the chicest linens and fine glasses, I go to Chiarastella Cattana
I love the sound of church bells ringing, the sweet scent of freshly baked bread
and could happily while away an entire day inside (www.chiarastellacattana.com).
Stay at the Aman Venice for a very spoiling and grown-up weekend (www.aman.com); the Il Palazzo Experimental for something fresh, a relaxed atmosphere and beautiful views over the water and on to the Giudecca (www. palazzoexperimental.com); the Cipriani, a Belmond Hotel for old world glamour and a dose of Dolce Vita (www.belmond.com).
On a perfect day, I start with breakfast and a hot chocolate at Caffè Florian (www.caffe florian.com), then take a long rambling walk through the city. Appetite restored, lunch at Al Covo, near the Arsenale (I dream about the food there, especially the puddings), and a siesta in the afternoon, perhaps followed by a contemporary-art exhibition at the Palazzo Grassi (www.ristorantealcovo.com; www. palazzograssi.it). I’ll see out the day with an aperitivo at the Gritti Palace Hotel and dinner at Da Ivo, a cosy restaurant that hasn’t changed in the 30-odd years I’ve been going there (www. marriott.com; www.ristorantedaivo.it).
For something a bit different, visit the beach at Pellestrina. It’s an odyssey to get to (about an hour by private boat or a number of ferries and buses), but once you have you’ll only have a few locals with the picnics for company. Skye Mcalpine is a chef, food blogger and author. Her book ‘A Table for Friends’ is out now (Bloomsbury, £26)