Visit Harry's Bar, A Venetian Institution

An unassuming and rather unflashy building both inside and out, Harry's Bar in Venice has, however, housed and birthed some famous names; Hemingway was a regular and it is the birthplace of the world-famous Bellini cocktail. Despite a lack of obvious signs of greatness, there are touches that let you know that you're somewhere special. The waiters still dress sharply in dinner jackets, the simple décor retains early twentieth century charm and, above all, the food and drink is legendary. An institution of the city, it was named a national landmark by the Italian government in 2001. Find yourself a vacation rental in Venice and you can walk in the footsteps of some of the greatest writers and figures in history, all while enjoying a bite to eat and a good drink.

The bar was founded by Giuseppe Cipriani who was a barman at the Hotel Europa when he had the idea of starting his own bar. However, he was entirely lacking the funds to do so. It happened that one of his most regular customers at the hotel was a young American man named Harry Pickering who had been sent to live with his aunt in Venice in hopes of curing his alcoholism. Clearly, the plan failed and he spent a great amount of time talking to Cipriani. When he fell out of favour with his aunt and was left penniless, Cipriani loaned him some money. After a long time had passed, and expecting never to be paid back, Cipriani was surprised when Pickering returned with more than he had borrowed and a name, Harry's Bar.

The bar opened in 1931 and quickly became popular. Over the years it has be frequented by the international and refined clientele that habitually come to Venice on holiday. People such as King Alfonso XIII of Spain, Queen Wilhelmina of Holland, King Paul of Greece, King Peter of Yugoslavia, Arturo Toscanini, Guglielmo Marconi, Somerset Maughan, Noel Coward, Charlie Chaplin, Barbara Hutton, Valentina Schlee, Orson Welles, Truman Capote, Georges Braque, Peggy Guggenheim and countless others have spent time at Harry's. The most famous regular was probably Hemingway, however, who very much made himself at home in the establishment.

Today, you can still sit in the same spaces that occupied these great times and people and try the drinks that made the bar famous all over the world. It's one of the bars that always features on Best Bars in the World lists and should certainly be visited at least once while in Venice.