Venice for The Curious Wanderers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The gondola yard, seen from across the canal: the boats upturned, the Tyrolean-style shed, and the men planing with a glass on the wall.

One of the last makers of forcole, the walnut oarlocks carved to each gondolier's body; the workshop door is open on weekday afternoons.

Cicchetti on the quay and dinner on the moored boat, with the neighbourhood and a plate of steak if you have had enough fish.

Pick a working fornace away from the demonstration halls and watch a goblet take shape; the Museo del Vetro afterwards explains what you saw.

Books in gondolas and bathtubs against the flood, cats on the shelves, and a staircase built of waterlogged encyclopaedias for the view.

The fishmongers' trattoria near the market, white-jacketed waiters since 1954, and a seafood risotto that arrives faster than anywhere in the city.

The lace island; the Museo del Merletto has the last elderly lacemakers working on Sundays, and the houses are painted for the fishermen to find.

Hand-bound books and marbled paper in a workshop that has refused to become a souvenir shop; he will show you the press if it is quiet.

Cicchetti across from the gondola yard, with a spritz on the canal wall and the last light on the boats you saw on Friday.

The lagoon catch under the neo-gothic loggia; closed Sunday and Monday afternoons, so go early and watch the hotel chefs bargaining.

Letterpress business cards for Hugh Grant and half of Hollywood, hand-set in a Cannaregio alley; order a set and he posts them.

Cicchetti made to order by the market, standing at the bar with whatever Francesco has found that morning; then the boat to the airport.