Venice is dominated by the Grand Canal and any sightseeing tour should begin with a trip down the city’s watery thoroughfare. The canal is lined with the palaces of wealthy maritime merchants, their glittering marble facades a testimony to the changing fashions in architecture – from Moorish palaces, their narrow windows picked out in gold tracery, to Renaissance facades, all curved arches and classical symmetry. The city’s main attractions include the golden domes of the Byzantine Basilica di San Marco (St Mark’s Basilica); the Palazzo Ducale (Doges’ Palace); Venice’s most important art gallery, the Galleria dell’Accademia (containing works by Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto) and the Ponte Rialto (Rialto Bridge). The glorious Gothic church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is also worth a visit – Titian, made his reputation and crowned his early years by painting the huge alter piece, The Assumption of the Virgin.