Hotel Metropole Venice

Steeped in rich history, Hotel Metropole Venice is every inch a baroque ideal of the Italian city and its famous grand canals. Once an orphanage and church, the hotel now has an acclaimed restaurant, a series of art and curiosity collections, and a historic chapel-turned-Oriental-tearoom where Antonio Vivaldi once gave music lessons to orphans in the 1700s. In 1895, Sigmund Freud stayed at Casa Kirsch, the former name of Hotel Metropole Venice. Renaissance painter and engraver Jacopo de ‘Barbari painted a map of the city and includes the site of this famous structure. Today, the Metropole is undetectable as a former convent, and treasures may be discovered on every floor — the family who owns the hotel has stuffed it with innumerable artworks and endlessly quirky items. It’s a Venetian dream come to life — there’s even a private water entrance for those arriving by taxi.