Dorsoduro

High art and good bars

Talk of the town: This is where you'll find the Ponte dei Pugni ('Boxing Bridge'), where rival factions would come to fight each other in the 16th century.
Located in the southeast of the city, Dorsoduro is where many visitors to Venice choose to stay. It's a large district, close to everything, but because it has a higher concentration of narrow, windy streets, it appears less busy than other areas.

Dorsoduro means 'hard ridge' in Italian and is known for its high ground, so you'll get some great photos here. While some parts are very grand, others have a lively, relaxed vibe, thanks to the Santa Margherita university.
If art-lovers had to choose just one sestiere to be confined to during their Venice trip, it'd probably be this one: the wealth of masterpieces on offer ranges from Renaissance show-stoppers at the Gallerie dell'Accademia to stunning modern art at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. There's also Giudecca Island, famous for the female penitentiary, and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, where Venice's annual festival of thanksgiving takes place.