Visit Venice

Things to Do

From Byzantine mosaics to blown glass, Venice layers a thousand years of art, craft, and spectacle across 118 islands. These are the experiences worth your time.

All Attractions

50 listed
Arsenale di VeneziaDawid Tkocz / Unsplash
landmark

Arsenale di Venezia

The Arsenale is Venice's state shipyard, 32 hectares behind crenellated walls, once worked by 16,000 arsenalotti and now the Biennale's main venue.

Bridge of SighsAlessio Furlan / Unsplash
bridge

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs in Venice is an enclosed Baroque bridge connecting the Doge's Palace to the New Prisons, built in 1614.

Visiting Burano IslandYoonsuh Park / Unsplash
island

Visiting Burano Island

Burano is 41 minutes from Venice on ACTV line 12 from Fondamente Nove, and a single ticket costs 9.50 EUR. The Lace Museum charges 7 EUR and shuts on Mondays.

History of Burano Lace-MakingMarialaura Gionfriddo / Unsplash
historical-heritage

History of Burano Lace-Making

Burano lace is punto in aria, stitched with a needle alone and no backing fabric. It flourished from the 1500s and was revived in 1872 after near collapse.

Burano IslandDaniela Becerra / Unsplash
island

Burano Island

Burano island near Venice is famous for its rainbow-coloured houses and centuries-old lace, 40 minutes across the lagoon.

Ca' d'OroNastya Dulhiier / Unsplash
palace

Ca' d'Oro

Ca' d'Oro is Venice's finest Gothic palace, housing the Franchetti Gallery with Mantegna and Bellini on the Grand Canal.

Ca' RezzonicoTom Keighley / Unsplash
museum

Ca' Rezzonico

Ca' Rezzonico is Venice's museum of 18th-century art and life, set in a Grand Canal palazzo with a Tiepolo ballroom ceiling and a period pharmacy.

Clock Tower VeniceBrandon Style / Unsplash
landmark

Clock Tower Venice

The Clock Tower Venice (Torre dell'Orologio) features an astronomical clock, mechanical Magi, and rooftop bronze Moors on Piazza San Marco.

Doge's PalaceIsmael Lima / Unsplash
palace

Doge's Palace

Doge's Palace 2026: 35 EUR at the door or 30 EUR booked 30 days ahead, open 09:00 to 19:00 in summer. Secret Itineraries tour 40 EUR, booking required.

Gallerie dell'AccademiaDenis Denis / Unsplash
museum

Gallerie dell'Accademia

The Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice holds the world's finest collection of Venetian painting, from Bellini and Titian to Tintoretto and Veronese.

Gondola RidesVladan Raznatovic / Unsplash
experience

Gondola Rides

Iconic Venetian canal experience by traditional gondola, with official 2026 rates from 90 EUR per boat.

Jewish Ghetto VeniceMattia Agustoni / Unsplash
landmark

Jewish Ghetto Venice

The Jewish Ghetto in Venice is Europe's original ghetto (est. 1516), with five historic synagogues, a museum, and guided tours.

Libreria Acqua AltaOscar Chevillard / Unsplash
landmark

Libreria Acqua Alta

Libreria Acqua Alta opens daily 09.00 to 19.10, entry is free, and its books sit in a gondola and boats clear of the acqua alta. Castello, Venice.

Murano Glass TechniquesMorteza Mohammadi / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

Murano Glass Techniques

A guide to Murano glass techniques: millefiori, filigrana, lattimo, aventurine, and sommerso. How master glassblowers work at 1,100C with centuries-old tools. How to spot authentic pieces.

Murano Glass: How to Buy the Real ThingDeirdre Boys / Unsplash
craft

Murano Glass: How to Buy the Real Thing

Only 36 licensed Murano firms may apply the Vetro Artistico Murano seal. How to check it, what a furnace visit costs, and the Glass Museum at 15 EUR in 2026.

Avventurina Murano GlassGuilbert Bottaro / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

Avventurina Murano Glass

Murano avventurina sparkles from metallic copper crystals over 40 micrometres wide, not gold, and one batch still takes about a week to make.

Murano IslandMatej Pribanic / Unsplash
island

Murano Island

Murano island near Venice is the lagoon's glassmaking hub, with centuries-old furnaces, artisan showrooms, and a Byzantine basilica.

Palazzo Contarini del BovoloLex Brogan / Unsplash
palace

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo

Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a Gothic palazzo famed for its spiral staircase, hidden in a quiet Venice courtyard.

Palazzo GrassiTimothy Abraham / Unsplash
museum

Palazzo Grassi

Palazzo Grassi in Venice hosts Pinault Collection exhibitions in a Tadao Ando-renovated Grand Canal palazzo. Tickets, hours, and current shows.

Peggy Guggenheim CollectionJean Giroux / Unsplash
museum

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice features Picasso, Pollock, and Ernst in a Grand Canal palazzo. Tickets, hours, and visitor tips.

Punta della Doganamitchell nijman / Unsplash
museum

Punta della Dogana

Punta della Dogana is Venice's former customs house, rebuilt by Tadao Ando as a contemporary art museum for the Pinault Collection. Entry is 15 EUR.

Rialto BridgeSeongil Park / Unsplash
bridge

Rialto Bridge

The Rialto Bridge is Venice's oldest Grand Canal crossing, a 1591 stone arch lined with shops at the heart of the historic market district.

San Giorgio MaggioreJonathan Vinial / Unsplash
church

San Giorgio Maggiore

San Giorgio Maggiore is a Palladio-designed church on its own Venice island, with Tintoretto masterpieces and the city's best bell tower views.

St. Mark's CampanileAnton Volnuhin / Unsplash
landmark

St. Mark's Campanile

The Campanile di San Marco is Venice's tallest bell tower at 98.6 meters, with a panoramic observation deck over the lagoon.

Santa Maria della SaluteSheila C / Unsplash
church

Santa Maria della Salute

The main rotunda of Santa Maria della Salute is free to enter. The Baroque basilica was built on a 1630 plague vow and holds Titian and Tintoretto works.

Scala Contarini del BovoloYiwen / Unsplash
landmark

Scala Contarini del Bovolo

The Scala Contarini del Bovolo is a hidden spiral staircase in Venice rising 26 meters to panoramic rooftop views.

Scuola Grande di San RoccoTom Keighley / Unsplash
museum

Scuola Grande di San Rocco

The Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice holds over sixty Tintoretto masterpieces spanning two decades. Tickets, hours, and visiting tips.

St Mark's Basilica Mosaics: 8,500 Square Metres of GoldSuraj Tomer / Unsplash
art

St Mark's Basilica Mosaics: 8,500 Square Metres of Gold

Mosaic covers about 8,500 square metres of St Mark's Basilica, worked from the late 11th century to the 19th. The atrium Genesis cycle has 110 panels.

St. Mark's BasilicaNathalie Lays / Unsplash
church

St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark's Basilica in Venice features 8,000 sqm of golden mosaics, the Pala d'Oro altarpiece, and the original bronze horses from Constantinople.

The Lion of St Mark on the Piazzetta ColumnTaras Terletskyy / Unsplash
historical-heritage

The Lion of St Mark on the Piazzetta Column

The bronze lion on the Piazzetta column is about 4 m long. A 2025 study argues it began as a Tang Dynasty bronze, with horns sawn off under a fitted wig.

Teatro La FeniceValeriia Ruban / Unsplash
theater

Teatro La Fenice

Venice's legendary opera house, rebuilt twice from fire, hosting world premieres by Verdi and Rossini in a gilded five-tier auditorium dating to 1792.

Santa Maria Assunta on TorcelloAna Pimenta / Unsplash
historical-heritage

Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello

Torcello's basilica was begun in 639 under the exarch of Ravenna. Its mosaics are Latin-labelled at the east end and Greek at the west wall.

Torcello IslandMarialaura Gionfriddo / Unsplash
island

Torcello Island

Torcello island is the lagoon's oldest settlement, with a 7th-century basilica, Byzantine mosaics, and an atmosphere of deep antiquity.

History of the Venice ArsenaleVlad Hilitanu / Unsplash
historical-heritage

History of the Venice Arsenale

The Venice Arsenale covers 478,000 square metres, about a fifth of Castello, and employed some 16,000 people at its early sixteenth-century peak.

Venice Biennale: History and Visitor GuideHasmik Ghazaryan Olson / Unsplash
cultural-event

Venice Biennale: History and Visitor Guide

The Venice Biennale, founded in 1895, is the world's oldest international art exhibition. National pavilions in the Giardini since 1907, with the Arsenale as second venue. Art Biennale in odd years, Architecture in even years, April to November.

Before Venice: the Lagoon in the Bronze Age and Roman PeriodMartin Katler / Unsplash
historical-heritage

Before Venice: the Lagoon in the Bronze Age and Roman Period

The lagoon began forming around 6000 BP, but the mud under Venice is at most 4,670 years old and no Bronze Age settlement has been excavated on the islands.

Venice Carnival: History, Rituals and DatesStephen McFadden / Unsplash
festival

Venice Carnival: History, Rituals and Dates

Venice Carnival ends on Shrove Tuesday, 9 February 2027. The festival is documented from a 1094 edict, stopped in 1797 and restarted on Burano in 1967.

Venice's Crenellated Walls and MerlonsIvars Utināns / Unsplash
historical-heritage

Venice's Crenellated Walls and Merlons

Venice is full of merlons from the Middle Ages to the 1800s, and only the Arsenale's ever defended anything. What to look up at, and how to date it.

How the Doge of Venice Was ElectedSahana Kulur / Unsplash
historical-heritage

How the Doge of Venice Was Elected

Venice chose its Doge in 10 rounds alternating lot and vote from 1268 to 1797, ending with 41 electors and a threshold of 25 votes. How and why it worked.

Venetian Forcola and Voga alla Veneta RowingJoshua Hummell / Unsplash
craft

Venetian Forcola and Voga alla Veneta Rowing

The Venetian forcola is a hand-carved walnut oarlock with 8 positions for the oar. Voga alla veneta rowing is done standing, facing forward, enabling navigation in water as shallow as 30cm.

Giardini della Biennale: Venice's Pavilion GardensSasha Matveeva / Unsplash
park

Giardini della Biennale: Venice's Pavilion Gardens

The Giardini della Biennale, created by Napoleon in 1807, house 30 national pavilions built between 1907 and 2018. Free to walk through between Biennale seasons; full ticket required during exhibitions.

Where Venetian Glass Began: San Pietro di CastelloFlorin Gorgan / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

Where Venetian Glass Began: San Pietro di Castello

Venetian glass starts at San Pietro di Castello, five centuries before Murano: 957 early medieval fragments, 45 analysed, plant-ash glass from the 8th century.

History of the Venetian GondolaAlessio Bachetti / Unsplash
history

History of the Venetian Gondola

First recorded in 1094, the gondola grew from a marsh boat to today's 11 m hull. Venice had about 10,000 in the 1500s and has 400 to 500 now.

The Grand CanalDaniel Seßler / Unsplash
landmark

The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal runs 3,800 m under four bridges. Vaporetto line 1 covers it in 44 minutes and line 2 in 33, both on the same 9.50 EUR ticket.

The Great Council ChamberSOHAM BANERJEE / Unsplash
historical-heritage

The Great Council Chamber

The Great Council Chamber in the Doge's Palace holds Tintoretto's Paradise, the largest canvas oil painting in the world, 22 metres by 7 metres.

History of the Venice Jewish GhettoJorge Salazar / Unsplash
historical-heritage

History of the Venice Jewish Ghetto

The Venetian Senate confined the city's Jews here on 29 March 1516 and the gates stayed shut until 1797: three enclosures, five hidden synagogues.

Lesser-Known Islands of the Venice Lagoonantonio molinari / Unsplash
island

Lesser-Known Islands of the Venice Lagoon

Beyond Murano, Burano, and Torcello: the Venice Lagoon's 118 islands include the cemetery island of San Michele, the Armenian monastery of San Lazzaro, the garden island of Sant'Erasmo, and the quarantine island of Lazzaretto Nuovo.

Venetian Mask Types: Bauta, Volto, Moretta and the Plague DoctorSarim K / Unsplash
craft

Venetian Mask Types: Bauta, Volto, Moretta and the Plague Doctor

Four masks matter: the bauta, the volto, the moretta and the beaked plague doctor. Only the first three are Venetian, and the makers had a guild by 1436.

History of Murano GlassNick Fewings / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

History of Murano Glass

Venice moved its glass furnaces to Murano by decree in 1291 and they have stayed. Worked glass in the lagoon dates to the 8th century. Museum entry 15 EUR.

Festa del Redentore: Venice's Festival of the RedeemerLevi van Leeuwen / Unsplash
festival

Festa del Redentore: Venice's Festival of the Redeemer

Festa del Redentore falls on the third Sunday of July, 18 July in 2027. Fireworks from about 11.30pm for forty minutes, reached by a 334 metre bridge of boats.