Venice from above: terraces, rooftops and bell towers over the lagoon

On the eighth floor of the Hilton Molino Stucky, the former flour mill on the Giudecca. The roof terrace is open to everyone; the swimming pool is for hotel guests only. The hotel runs a free shuttle boat from the San Marco and Zattere stops for non-guests going to its bars and restaurants. Guides advise arriving before sunset.

The restaurant of the Hotel Danieli is on the top floor of Palazzo Danieli Excelsior, on the Riva degli Schiavoni. From May to October the terrace looks over the lagoon, the island of San Giorgio and the basin of San Marco. The Michelin Guide lists lunch from 12:00 to 15:00 and dinner from 19:00 to 22:30. The hotel is being rebranded as Danieli, A Four Seasons Hotel.

The rooftop bar of the H10 Palazzo Canova has an indoor lounge and an open-air terrace with views over the Venetian rooftops, the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge. One guide lists it open from noon to midnight and recommends it for sunset over the canal.

The restaurant of the Hotel Cipriani, on the eastern tip of the Giudecca, has a covered deck extending over the lagoon with a view of the San Marco skyline and the Doge's Palace. Belmond lists lunch from 12:30 to 14:30 and dinner from 19:30 to 22:30, with an elegant-casual dress code (no shorts, sleeveless shirts or flip-flops).

The terrace of the Gritti Palace is open from April to October, with tables at the water's edge on the Grand Canal and the church of Santa Maria della Salute across the water. One report has it serving a late lunch and afternoon tea and closing at 18:00; the sources disagree on how the terrace, Bar Longhi and the Riva Lounge are named, so confirm with the hotel.

The Ca' Sagredo Hotel in Campo Santa Sofia has a panoramic roof terrace, open from May to October according to The Rooftop Guide, with views over the roofs and the canal. The hotel's Bar L'Incontro has its own terrace on the Grand Canal. Access conditions for non-guests are not stated: ask the hotel.

The bell tower of the basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore is reached by lift, entering through the basilica. The view covers the Doge's Palace, the Riva degli Schiavoni, the Lido, the Giudecca and Porto Marghera, and on clear days the Euganean Hills and the Dolomites. Vaporetto line 2 stops at San Giorgio Maggiore. Sources disagree on hours and price: check on site.

The bell tower of St Mark's is about 98-99 metres tall; a lift reaches the top in around thirty seconds. From the bell chamber the city and the lagoon are in view. Guides note the ascent can be suspended for strong wind, thick fog or liturgical events; hours and prices differ between sources.

The open spiral staircase of Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, near Campo Manin. The view from the top is close-up over terracotta roofs and chimneys and a small strip of canal, not a panorama of the lagoon. The staircase holds at most 35 people at a time and is not wheelchair accessible; the open staircase may not suit those with vertigo.

The Hotel Carlton is on the Grand Canal in Santa Croce, across the water from the railway station. Its roof is a sky lounge and restaurant that the hotel calls "a sitting room in the clouds": cocktails and Venetian and Mediterranean dishes above the chimney pots. One of the few true rooftops of Venice, and the first you can reach after arriving.

The JW Marriott occupies a whole island in the southern lagoon. Sagra is its restaurant on the fourth, top floor: Italian cooking with what the hotel calls the most spectacular view of the park and of the Venetian lagoon. You arrive by the hotel's boat; the distance from San Marco is the point.

Venissa calls itself "living the native Venice": a wine estate on the island of Mazzorbo with a restaurant, a contemporary osteria and a few rooms. No rooftop here; the horizon is the lagoon itself, flat and silver. Forty minutes by vaporetto from Venice, and the reason to make a whole day of the northern islands.

Torcello is almost empty now: a cathedral with Byzantine mosaics, a canal, a handful of houses. The Locanda Cipriani has been its table for generations. The restaurant opens onto the garden; the quotation on its website, from Arrigo Cipriani, calls Torcello the soul of the Venetian lagoon. Come by vaporetto, at lunch, without hurrying.

On the Fondamente Nove, where the boats leave for the islands. A restaurant in premises dating from the early 1900s, restored in 2010, with a terrace on the water that the house describes as a splendid view over the Venetian lagoon. This is the Venice that faces away from San Marco, and the evening is quieter for it.

The hotel is a few steps from Piazza San Marco, on the last stretch of the Grand Canal. Its restaurant has an indoor room and a panoramic terrace that the hotel describes as an exclusive setting for lunch or dinner. Not a rooftop: here the view comes from the level of the gondolas, with the Salute across the water.