Venetian Ghetto

The Venetian Ghetto, in the Cannaregio district, is the place that gave the world the word "ghetto." Established in 1516 as a walled, gated district where Venice's Jewish residents were required to live, it became -- and remains -- home to one of the oldest continuously present Jewish communities in Europe, with five historic synagogues still standing within a few narrow streets.

The ghetto is a functioning neighborhood and an active religious community, not solely a historical exhibit -- synagogue visits run on a tour schedule out of respect for ongoing worship, and modest dress is appropriate when entering them. Buying kosher food or crafts from shops within the ghetto supports the small community that still calls the district home.

The Venetian Ghetto is a short walk from the Guglie vaporetto stop, in the Cannaregio district away from the main San Marco-Rialto route. The Jewish Museum offers guided tours that include entry to several of the synagogues, which are not otherwise open to casual visitors.

The ghetto is a residential quarter and stays quiet in a way little of central Venice does; even in high season the campo rarely feels crowded.

The practical constraint is the Jewish calendar rather than the tourist one. The Jewish Museum and the synagogue tours close on Saturdays for Shabbat and on Jewish holidays, which catches out visitors who assume a weekend is the obvious time to come. Friday afternoons close early.

Synagogue interiors can only be seen on the museum's guided tour, which runs at fixed times with limited places -- so the visit has to be planned around a tour slot rather than dropped into. The campo itself, the memorials and the exteriors are open at any hour.