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

55 listed
Arsenale di VeneziaDawid Tkocz / Unsplash
landmark

Arsenale di Venezia

The Arsenale is Venice's walled state shipyard, 478,000 square metres and a fifth of Castello. Most of it is shut; the Biennale opens part of it.

Bridge of SighsAlessio Furlan / Unsplash
bridge

Bridge of Sighs

The view from the Ponte della Paglia is free; crossing the Bridge of Sighs needs a Doge's Palace ticket at 35 EUR, or 30 EUR booked 30 days ahead.

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 needle lace had almost died out by 1872, when a lace school revived it. Its own registers show 250 pupils and 130 working lace-makers in 1878.

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 costs 15 EUR, or 20 EUR with Palazzo Mocenigo and Casa Goldoni. Open 10:00 to 18:00 in summer, closed Tuesdays, last admission 17:00.

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 Palace ArchitectureMarika Sartori / Unsplash
historical-heritage

Doge's Palace Architecture

Two open arcades under a solid wall, a hall 53 by 24 metres, four rebuilding fires and 134 merlons: how the Doge's Palace was actually built.

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

Gallerie dell'Accademia tickets cost 15 EUR in 2026, 2 EUR for EU visitors aged 18 to 25. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9am to 7pm, closed Mondays.

Gondola RidesVladan Raznatovic / Unsplash
experience

Gondola Rides

Venice fixes gondola hire at 90 EUR for 30 minutes by day and 110 EUR from 19:00, per boat for up to five passengers. Where to board and how to check.

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

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

Murano Glass TechniquesMorteza Mohammadi / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

Murano Glass Techniques

How Murano glass is made: silica, Levantine soda ash and a lead and tin opacifier, plus cristallo, lattimo, filigrana, incalmo and murrine explained.

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 had its own podesta, laws and council, held almost 30,000 people at its height, and has about 4,300 today. The island as a community, not a product.

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 costs 20 EUR full price and the same ticket also covers Palazzo Grassi. Open daily except Tuesdays, 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:00.

Rialto BridgeSeongil Park / Unsplash
bridge

Rialto Bridge

The Rialto Bridge has been a single stone arch over the Grand Canal since 1591, built after timber bridges that burned in 1310 and fell in 1444.

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

St Mark's Campanile stands about 100 metres over Piazza San Marco. The original fell on 14 July 1902; the tower there now was rebuilt by 1912.

Santa Maria della SaluteSheila C / Unsplash
church

Santa Maria della Salute

The main rotunda of Santa Maria della Salute is free, no ticket or offering. The sacristy costs from 6 euro, the dome balustrade from 8 euro.

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 entry is 10 EUR on a booked time slot and 30 EUR for the full ticket with Pala d'Oro, museum and Loggia. Prayer entry is free.

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

A daytime visit to Teatro La Fenice costs 12 EUR including the audio guide, open 9.30am to 6pm. Opera seats run from 20 EUR to 380 EUR in 2026/27.

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.

Venice's Abandoned IslandsKrzysztof / Unsplash
island

Venice's Abandoned Islands

Venice's empty lagoon islands stay public and are leased to investors for 99 years at auction. Poveglia, 7.5 hectares, is reachable only with permission.

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.

History of the Venice BiennaleHasmik Ghazaryan Olson / Unsplash
cultural-event

History of the Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale held its first edition in 1895, added national pavilions from 1907, was refounded by law in 1973 and reached the Arsenale in 1980.

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.

The Doge Tombs of VeniceDenys / Unsplash
historical-heritage

The Doge Tombs of Venice

Most of Venice's doge tombs hold no body. Where they are in San Zanipolo and the Frari, what they cost in ducats, and 2026 entry from 3.50 EUR.

The Forcola and Venetian RowingJoshua Hummell / Unsplash
craft

The Forcola and Venetian Rowing

The forcola is an open wooden rowlock with one or two notches. Standing and pushing the oar gives a load to effort ratio of about 1:3 to 1:2.

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.

Venetian Glass BeadsFaezeh Taheri / Unsplash
cultural-heritage

Venetian Glass Beads

Venetian conterie beads were Murano's most profitable product: merchant manuals priced one pound of beads at a beaver pelt, and women strung them by hand.

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 is 53 by 25 metres and held 1,200 to 2,000 noblemen. The Serrata of 1297 to 1323 made a seat hereditary.

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.

Venice Lagoon Islands by Vaporettoantonio molinari / Unsplash
island

Venice Lagoon Islands by Vaporetto

A day of lagoon island hopping costs 25.00 EUR on a 24-hour vaporetto card against 47.50 EUR on five singles. Fares, journey times and interchanges.

Venetian MarionettesAndrea Woods / Unsplash
historical-heritage

Venetian Marionettes

The word marionette may come from Venice's twelve wooden Marys. The history, and the 1720 puppet theatre at Casa di Carlo Goldoni, 7 EUR in 2026.

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.