Take a map with you (a detailed map) but forget about it until the moment you decide you should be turning towards home - wander the streets (preferably at dusk) - explore the non-tourist areas (which are many and you'll find that, contrary to myth, Venice isn't always crowded and noisy) by 'feeling' your way.
If you want to be a little more organised then some great places to get lost are the surrounding streets of the Frari Basilica or the area behind the Cà d'Oro (fabulous museum) near the casino and leading out towards the church of the 'Madonna dell'Orto (literally the madonna of the vegtable garden - apparently her Brussel sprouts were second to none) where there is, as with many small chuches, a breathtaking collection of artworks. But the important thing in all this is the washing lines, the balconies, the kids playing football and the women in their curlers in the grocers, the tiny bars and bakery shops.
Oh, and one more tip, in Venice look upwards. And one more: for lunch look for places to eat that are full of workmen - they'll be the most economical and there you'll find the best food.
Alphonse Mucha (1860 - 1939) achieved international fame as a master of Art Nouveau, the decorative style of sensuous and opulent decoration that captured the fin-de-siecle world but was rapidly supplanted by the harsher vision of modernism. His poster art remains familiar over sixty years after his death, but the work he considered his masterpiece is sadly neglected.
The Mucha museum houses one hundred or so of his works. The 'Slav Epic' series however is now on public display in the Czech village Moravský Krumlov - for this worthwhile (90 minute) trip you'll need either a map and a hire car or a helpful train enquiries desk.
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