Cannaregio is the largest of Venice's six sestieri, stretching from the train station to the northern edge of the old city. It is the most residential part of central Venice — the sestiere where Venetians actually live, shop, and eat, mostly out of earshot of the tourist circuit. The Strada Nova, running east from the station, is one of the few straight streets in Venice, a 19th-century urban cut through the medieval fabric.
Cannaregio also wraps around the Ghetto, the world's first, which is treated here as a quarter in its own right. Beyond it the sestiere holds the Ca' d'Oro, the marble jewel-box of Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the Baroque Gesuiti, and Tintoretto's parish church of Madonna dell'Orto, which has major canvases by the artist in a quiet setting. The fondamenta along the northern edge of the sestiere — particularly Fondamenta della Misericordia and Fondamenta degli Ormesini — are lined with small bars and restaurants where the clientele is mostly local. Come here for the feeling of a Venetian neighbourhood that has not been entirely given over to tourism.