Ca Segredo is a 15th-century palazzo that overlooks the Grand Canal. Sumptuous and refined, with some of the most photogenic interiors that Venice has to offer, it makes for a glamorous city retreat. It's something of a living monument; the ballrooms are home to important artworks, including paintings by the most representative Venetian painters of the 17th and 18th-centuries, such as of Sebastiano Ricci, Giambattista Tiepolo, Niccolò Bambini and Pietro Longhi.

The facilities

L'Alcova Restaurant was made with romantic candlelit dinners in mind. It dishes up elegant Italian cuisine, with those amazing Grand Canal views. There's also a lovely bar area, L'Incontro, that mixes a mean Bellini. The function rooms here are nigh-on unbeatable, making this luxury hotel very popular with weddings and the like.

The rooms

Each of Ca Segredo's 42 bedrooms are traditionally, but luxuriously, furnished. 18th-century masterpieces and antique furnishings abound, rich velvets drape everywhere and gold lends a a polish to every surface. Sleek marble bathrooms, views over the Grand Canal or the Rialto Market and all mod cons complete the scene.