You will now enter Piazza San Marco. This is the true heart of Venice, which Napoleon called “the most elegant drawing-room in Europe”. Above the arch were you came from is the Museo Correr, Museum on Venetian history; At the eastern end, opposite, you will see the Basilica di San Marco. Facing the Basilica, to your immediate left are the Procuratie Vecchie, the former offices of the Republic’s administration with an arcade of shops and the Café Quadri, once patronised by the Austrian occupiers of Venice. To your right are the Procuratie Nuove, also former office buildings of the Republic, under which you will find the Café Florian, the favourite of Venetian patriots during the Austrian occupation.
