Italy: Venice & its lagoon
🏛️ A City Born from the Water
Venice sits at the heart of a vast, shallow lagoon on the Adriatic coast of north-east Italy, built across a cluster of 118 small islands threaded together by more than 400 bridges and some 150 canals. Founded by communities seeking refuge from mainland invasions in the fifth century, the city grew into one of the most powerful maritime republics the medieval world had ever seen. Its merchants brought extraordinary wealth home, and that wealth was poured into palaces, churches, and public spaces of breathtaking ambition. The Grand Canal — Venice’s magnificent main artery — is lined with over 200 palazzi spanning Byzantine, Gothic, and Baroque styles, forming an open-air museum that can be experienced simply by boarding a public vaporetto. The Piazza San Marco, with its golden Basilica and soaring Campanile, remains the ceremonial heart of a city that has been drawing travellers in a state of awed disbelief for over a millennium.
🚤 The Lagoon and Its Islands
Beyond the city’s famous calli and campi lies the broader lagoon — a 550-square-kilometre expanse of tidal water, marshland, and low-lying islands that forms one of the largest coastal wetlands in the Mediterranean. Each island within the lagoon carries its own distinct character. Murano has been the centre of Venetian glassmaking since the thirteenth century, and its workshops still produce extraordinary handcrafted objects using techniques passed down through generations. Burano, with its intensely coloured fishermen’s houses reflected in still green canals, is celebrated for its tradition of handmade lace and is one of the most visually striking villages in all of Italy. Torcello, the oldest settled island in the lagoon, offers a profound quietude punctuated by the glittering Byzantine mosaics of its ancient cathedral, Santa Maria Assunta. The lagoon itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised not only for its cultural monuments but for the delicate ecological balance that sustains it.
🎭 Culture, Cuisine, and the Rhythm of Venetian Life
Venetian culture runs deep and distinctive, shaped by centuries of contact with the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman world, and the trade routes of the eastern Mediterranean. The city’s artistic heritage is staggering: the Gallerie dell’Accademia houses one of the finest collections of Venetian painting in existence, with works by Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and Bellini, while the Peggy Guggenheim Collection brings world-class modern art to a palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. The Venetian calendar is punctuated by extraordinary events — most famously the Carnevale, with its elaborate masks and costumes, and the Biennale, which alternates between art and architecture and draws creative minds from across the globe. Venetian cuisine is rooted in the sea and the lagoon: soft-shell crabs, spider crab, sarde in saor, and the subtle bitterness of cicchetti — the city’s beloved bar snacks — reflect a culinary tradition quite unlike that of the Italian mainland. To spend unhurried time in Venice is to encounter a city that, despite its fame, still holds the capacity to surprise.
Two Days in Venice — A Glorious, Exhausting, Utterly Unmissable Muddle
Let’s be honest. Venice is the sort of place that makes you feel slightly inadequate. You arrive, you look around, and you think: how on earth did they build this? On water. Without modern machinery. Centuries ago. We can barely get a pothole fixed in under three years, and these people were constructing one of the greatest cities in the history of human civilisation on a swampy lagoon. Frankly, it’s showing off.
Two days is not enough for Venice. It never will be. But two days, done properly, will give you something worth remembering. Here’s how we’d suggest going about it.
- 🔔 Climb the Campanile di San Marco — the 98.6-metre bell tower offers jaw-dropping views across the entire lagoon and, on a clear day, all the way to the Dolomites.
- ⛪ Explore St Mark’s Basilica — 8,000 square metres of gold mosaic covering every available surface, which sounds excessive until you’re standing inside it.
- 🏛️ Stroll the Piazza San Marco — Napoleon called it the finest drawing room in Europe, though he then occupied it and helped himself to the artwork, so make of that what you will.
- 👑 Visit the Doge’s Palace — the seat of Venetian power for nearly a thousand years, and still impressively intimidating.
- 🖼️ Browse the Gallerie dell’Accademia — the greatest collection of Venetian painting in existence, from Bellini to Titian to Tintoretto, all under one roof.
- 🌉 Visit the Rialto Bridge and Market — the oldest bridge across the Grand Canal, completed in 1591, and still surrounded by a market that would have felt entirely familiar to a 16th-century Venetian.
🗓️ Day Two
- 🖼️ Visit the Peggy Guggenheim Museum — one of the most important collections of modern art in Europe, housed in the unfinished palazzo where Peggy herself lived until 1979.
- 🚢 Take a Grand Canal cruise to Murano, Burano and Torcello — glassblowing, absurdly colourful houses, and a cathedral that has been standing since the 7th century.
- ⛪ Visit Campo Santa Maria and the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo — the Gothic brick basilica where 25 Doges are buried, which tells you everything you need to know about its importance.
- 🛶 Take a gondola ride — expensive, slightly touristy, and absolutely worth doing at least once, ideally at dusk when the light on the canals is genuinely magical.
- 🚶 Stroll the streets — put the map away, get thoroughly lost, and discover that the best bits of Venice are always around the next corner.
Day One
🔔 Climb Up the Campanile di San Marco
The Campanile di San Marco has been towering over the Piazza San Marco since around 888 AD, when Doge Pietro Tribuno had it built as a watchtower and lighthouse for the lagoon. At 325 feet, it’s still the tallest structure in Venice. By the 12th century it had its famous belfry, housing five bells — each with its own specific civic duty, from calling the Senate to session to marking the end of the working day. Venice ran on bells the way we run on email, only with less passive aggression. Perched at the very top is the gilded Archangel Gabriel, spinning about as a weathervane and indicating which way the wind is blowing over the lagoon — a thankless sort of job, we thought. Worth knowing: the tower you’re looking at today isn’t actually the original. After a thousand years of loyal service, the whole thing collapsed without warning on the 14th of July 1902 — just came down in a heap. Nobody was hurt, miraculously. The Venetians rebuilt it exactly as it had been, and by 1912 it was back, dov’era e com’era — “where it was and how it was” — which is either deeply admirable or mildly eccentric, depending on your point of view.
We took the lift to the top — there are no stairs, which is either a modern mercy or a personal insult to people who’ve been doing the StairMaster — and the views across the piazza and lagoon were genuinely spectacular. The Doge’s Palace, the Basilica below, the islands stretching off toward the horizon, and on a clear day apparently as far as the Alps. We couldn’t quite manage the Alps, but we did feel very pleased with ourselves. They’ve kept several of the original bells up there too, and seeing them up close gives you a proper sense of the tower’s history in a way that no amount of reading quite manages. Tip: Book your skip-the-line ticket in advance — the queues at the base can be genuinely grim, especially in high summer, and life is too short to spend forty minutes staring at the back of someone else’s sun hat.
🏛️ Explore St Mark’s Basilica
A short stroll from the Campanile brought us to St Mark’s Basilica, one of the most extraordinary buildings we’d ever clapped eyes on. The original church on this site dates back to 828 AD, when two Venetian merchants smuggled the relics of St Mark the Evangelist out of Alexandria in Egypt — allegedly hiding them under layers of pork and cabbage to put off Muslim customs officials. The relics came back to Venice, a chapel was built, it burned down, was rebuilt, burned again, and was rebuilt more substantially in 1063. Over the following centuries, every time Venice conquered somewhere or signed a profitable trade deal, they’d bring back loot — marble, columns, sculptures, mosaics — and stick it on the building. The result is a glorious architectural mongrel: part Byzantine, part Romanesque, with a dash of Gothic and Islamic thrown in for good measure. It shouldn’t work. It absolutely does.
Inside, the Basilica is covered — and we mean covered — in over 8,000 square metres of mosaics, many incorporating 24-carat gold leaf, which on a sunny day makes the interior glow in a way that feels slightly unreal. Beneath the high altar lies the tomb of St Mark himself, and the famous Pala d’Oro — a golden altarpiece commissioned in Constantinople in 976 AD and encrusted with 1,927 gems — is worth every penny of the small extra charge to see it. Entry to the main Basilica is free, which, given what you’re looking at, feels slightly criminal.
Tip: The queues here can be genuinely dispiriting — easily an hour or more in high season. Do yourself a favour and book a skip-the-line guided tour to St Mark’s Basilica and its treasures. You’ll see more, understand more, and won’t spend your morning shuffling forward six inches at a time in the Venetian heat.
🏛️ A Stroll Through the Piazza San Marco
We found ourselves wandering into the Piazza San Marco, which is Venice’s main square and — let’s be honest — probably the most famous open space in Italy. It’s been the beating heart of the city for well over a thousand years, with its origins stretching back to the 9th century when the square was first laid out in front of the Basilica di San Marco, itself built in 828 AD to house the relics of St Mark the Evangelist, smuggled in from Alexandria in Egypt. Yes, smuggled. The Venetians were never ones to let ethics get in the way of a good business opportunity. For centuries this was where the great and the good of the Venetian Republic gathered to conduct their affairs — merchants, noblemen, ambassadors, the lot. When Venice was at the height of its powers as a maritime empire, roughly from the 13th to the 16th centuries, this was essentially the boardroom of one of the most powerful trading states in the known world. The Doge’s Palace, which looms magnificently along the southern edge of the square, served as the official residence of the Doge — the elected head of state — and as the seat of government, the courts, and the prison. Napoleon, when he finally rolled into Venice in 1797 and brought the Republic crashing down after over a thousand years, reportedly called it “the finest drawing room in Europe.” Hard to argue with the man, even if he was being rather smug about it.
We stood there for a good while, necks craning, just taking it all in. The square stretches about 175 metres from one end to the other, flanked on three sides by the Procuratie, those long arcaded buildings that once housed the offices of the city’s chief magistrates and now contain some very expensive shops that we naturally couldn’t afford. Scattered across the cobbles and colonnade are pigeons. Thousands of them. They’ve been here since at least the 1300s and show absolutely no signs of leaving. At some point we peeled ourselves away from the architecture and shuffled into the Gran Caffè Lavena, tucked beneath the arcades on the north side of the square. It’s been there since 1750, which makes it older than Australia and considerably more elegant. The composer Richard Wagner was apparently a devoted regular in the 1880s, which gives the place a certain weight. We settled in, ordered coffees and something sweet and pastry-based that we couldn’t quite identify but ate anyway, and sat listening to the bells of the Campanile — the tall brick bell tower that has been standing on this spot, in one form or another, since the 10th century — rolling out across the square. Across the lagoon, gondolas bobbed about in the grey-green water doing what gondolas do. It was, despite everything, rather magnificent.
🏛️ Visit the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
We made our way across the Piazzetta and through the grand archway into the Palazzo Ducale — which the locals quite rightly call it that, rather than the rather theatrical “Doge’s Palace” that appears on every tourist map. The building has been here since the 14th century, though what you see today is largely the result of a major rebuild following a catastrophic fire in 1483, and then another one in 1574 that destroyed a good chunk of the interior. The Venetians, to their credit, didn’t simply throw up something functional and move on. They rebuilt it with extraordinary Gothic architecture — all pink Veronese marble, pointed arches, and an arcade of white Istrian stone columns along the waterfront — and filled the interior with paintings by Tintoretto, Veronese, and Titian that would make most European galleries weep quietly into their catalogues. It served as the seat of the Doge — the elected head of the Venetian Republic, a political role that sounds glamorous until you learn that Doges were often imprisoned, exiled, or occasionally beheaded for their troubles — and the building functioned simultaneously as a palace, a government ministry, a law court, and a prison. Which is quite a lot to ask of one building, frankly.
What most visitors don’t realise, and what we were rather pleased to discover, is that the Palazzo Ducale offers a special “Secret Itineraries” tour (Itinerari Segreti, if you want to feel properly cultured about it) that takes you behind the official rooms and into the parts that don’t appear on the standard route. We’re talking the attic — a genuinely extraordinary timber-framed space that looks like the inside of an upturned ship — along with the hidden torture chambers, the Piombi prison cells tucked under the lead roof where temperatures in summer reportedly reached unbearable levels, and the narrow passages where the Council of Ten, Venice’s rather sinister intelligence committee, conducted their less public business. It was Giacomo Casanova, of all people, who famously escaped from the Piombi in 1756 — the only prisoner ever to do so, apparently, which tells you something about both Casanova and the prison. The standard museum route through the state rooms is well worth doing on its own, but if you’ve come all this way, the secret tour is the one that actually makes you feel like you understand the place.
💡 Tip: Like St. Mark’s Basilica next door, the Palazzo Ducale attracts queues that would make a British person feel oddly at home — except that, unlike our queues, these ones don’t move with any particular efficiency. You can buy a priority admission ticket to jump ahead, or book a skip-the-line guided tour which gets you in without the wait and comes with someone who actually knows what they’re looking at. If you’re planning to visit both St. Mark’s Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace — and you really should, as they sit about forty metres apart — then the Skip the Line 2-hour walking tour covers both and will save you a meaningful amount of both time and money. Which, at Venice prices, you’ll be very glad of.
🏛️ Browse Through the Gallerie dell’Accademia
We found the Gallerie dell’Accademia tucked away in the Dorsoduro sestiere of Venice, occupying a building with more past lives than most people manage in one. The complex began as a church — the church of Santa Maria della Carità, to be precise, founded way back in the 12th century — and later expanded to include a Franciscan convent and a Scuola Grande. By the time Napoleon marched into Venice in 1797 and started helping himself to things, the building was repurposed to house artworks confiscated from suppressed religious institutions across the region. What started as a sort of artistic lost property office eventually became one of the most important collections of Venetian painting in the world. Funny how these things turn out.
The collection itself is a proper treasure trove for anyone with even a passing interest in what Venetian artists got up to before the 19th century. You could spend a very happy couple of hours wandering past enormous canvases by the likes of Tintoretto — the great Jacopo Comin, who was born in Venice in 1518 and pretty much never left, which given Venice is fair enough — and Francesco Guardi, who came along a couple of centuries later and gave us some of the most atmospheric views of the city ever committed to paint. There’s Bellini, Carpaccio, Veronese, and Titian as well, all jostling for wall space in a way that would make any National Gallery curator quietly weep with envy. When you’ve had your fill of masterpieces, there’s a perfectly decent bookshop where you can pick up something to read on the vaporetto home and pretend you understood all of it. One important note: you’ll need a reservation to get in. This is Venice, not a garden centre — plan ahead or you’ll be standing outside in the rain looking at the door.
🌉 Visit the Rialto Bridge & Market
As our first day in Venice started to wind down — and believe me, by this point our feet were already filing a formal complaint — we made our way to one of the city’s most enduring landmarks. The Rialto Bridge, or Ponte di Rialto if you want to sound like you know what you’re doing, has been spanning the Grand Canal since 1588, which means it predates most of the things we take for granted as “old” back home by a considerable margin. It’s the oldest of just four bridges crossing the Grand Canal, and the fact that it’s still standing after more than four centuries of Venetian winters, acqua alta flooding, and an estimated 50,000 tourists a day shuffling across it is, frankly, impressive. The current stone bridge — designed by Antonio da Ponte, whose name was at least helpfully on-brand — replaced a series of earlier wooden structures that had a rather unfortunate habit of collapsing at inopportune moments. Once you’re on it, you find yourself on not just one but three separate walkways: a central covered arcade lined with jewellery and souvenir shops, flanked by two open-air paths on either side, each offering genuinely lovely views up and down the Grand Canal. We loitered far longer than strictly necessary, watching gondolas drift beneath us in that unhurried, faintly theatrical way they do, and feeling, just for a moment, almost embarrassingly pleased with ourselves.
🐟 The Rialto Market
Just on the other side of the bridge, tucked into the sestiere of San Polo where it’s been operating since 1097 — yes, really, 1097, which makes it one of the oldest markets in Europe — sits the Rialto Market, and it’s well worth a wander even if you’ve no intention of cooking anything. The market splits neatly into two sections: the Erberia, dealing in fruit and vegetables, and the Pescheria, the fish market, which occupies an open-air colonnaded hall built in 1907 in a neo-Gothic style that looks considerably older, probably by design. The fish on display were the sort that make you realise how unadventurous your local supermarket really is — whole sea bream, razor clams, spider crabs, things with tentacles that we decided not to investigate too closely. The vegetable stalls weren’t far behind, piled with artichokes, radicchio, and produce flown in from the islands of the lagoon, particularly Sant’Erasmo, which supplies much of Venice’s market garden needs. It’s all wrapped up and done by early afternoon, so timing matters — we got there just in time, which felt like an achievement given the general pace of our day.
Day Two
🎨 Explore the Peggy Guggenheim Museum
We pulled up alongside the Grand Canal in our vaporetto and there it was — the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which sounds impossibly grand but is actually one of the shortest buildings on the entire canal, earning it the nickname “the unfinished palace.” It was home to one Peggy Guggenheim, heiress, art collector, and all-round force of nature, who bought the place back in 1949 and proceeded to fill it with what became one of the most important collections of modern art in Europe. Peggy, it’s fair to say, had extremely good taste — and the money to back it up. She spent decades hoovering up works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Dalí, Pollock, and dozens of others during a period when you could actually afford to buy a Picasso without requiring a second mortgage. She died in 1979 and left the whole lot to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which has been running it as a public museum ever since.
We spent a very happy couple of hours wandering through the collection, which is beautifully presented and mercifully free of the kind of po-faced reverence that makes some art museums feel like a particularly strict church. The Sculpture Garden alone was worth the trip — a lovely outdoor space dotted with works by Henry Moore, Giacometti, and others, all sitting in the Venetian sunshine looking extremely pleased with themselves. There’s also the rather famous Angel of the City by Marino Marini, perched on the terrace overlooking the canal, which caused something of a scandal when it was unveiled — Peggy, apparently, thought this was absolutely hilarious. She was, by all accounts, our kind of woman. Click here to book your museum ticket.
🚤 Take a Grand Canal Cruise to Murano, Burano & Torcello
One of the finest things we did during our time in Venice — and trust me, given the amount of walking involved, anything that lets you sit down counts as a win — was taking a vaporetto cruise out to the lagoon islands. The vaporetto, for the uninitiated, is essentially a water bus, and it has been the workhorse of Venetian public transport since the late 19th century, first introduced in 1881 when someone had the rather sensible idea that a city built entirely on water might benefit from something other than a gondola to get around. You simply buy a ticket, find your stop, and off you go across the shimmering lagoon. Straightforward enough, even for us.
Our first stop was Murano, which has been the home of Venetian glassmaking since 1291 — yes, 1291 — when the city authorities rather cleverly decided to move all the furnaces off the main island before someone burned Venice down. The glassblowers here have been producing extraordinary work ever since, and watching a craftsman shape molten glass with nothing more than a metal pipe and a pair of tongs is genuinely mesmerising, even if you’ve seen it before. We also made a point of visiting the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato, a magnificent 12th-century church where, if you believe the locals, the bones of a slain dragon are interred behind the altar. Whether or not you take that particular claim at face value is entirely your business. From Murano, we floated on to Burano, which is famously painted in such explosively bright colours — pinks, reds, yellows, greens — that it looks like someone handed a toddler a large tin of paint and said “have at it.” The island has been a fishing community for centuries, and the tradition of painting houses in bold colours apparently started so fishermen could spot their homes through the lagoon mist. Practical, if nothing else. Burano is also famous for its lacemaking, a craft that dates back to the 16th century and remains very much alive today, and for its seafood, which is about as fresh as it gets. Finally, we made our way to Torcello, the oldest of the three islands and, frankly, the quietest — which after the crowds of Venice felt like a minor miracle. Torcello was once a thriving settlement of tens of thousands of people before malaria and the rise of Venice itself caused most of its population to decamp. What remains today is a handful of ancient structures, including the stunning Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which dates to 639 AD and contains some of the finest Byzantine mosaics you’ll find anywhere in Italy. You can find more information and book a cruise to Murano, Burano and Torcello islands here.
⛪ Visit the Campo Santa Maria Formosa to see the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Just when we thought our feet couldn’t take any more cobblestones, we found ourselves shuffling into yet another of Venice’s grand open squares — the Campo Santa Maria Formosa. To be honest, after the third or fourth campo, they do start to blur into one. But this one had something rather special lurking at the far end: the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, known locally by the rather more manageable nickname of San Zanipolo, which is essentially what happens when Venetians decide that Latin is too much effort. The church took well over a century to build — construction began in the late 1200s under the Dominicans and it was finally consecrated in 1430 — which, given the logistical nightmare of building anything on a city that’s essentially floating, seems almost reasonable. When completed, it stood as one of the largest churches in the entire city, and standing in front of it, we could well believe it.
We went inside, which is always the right decision in Venice when your shirt is sticking to you like clingfilm. The interior did not disappoint — soaring Gothic pillars, remarkable mosaics, and a series of frescos that put most things you’d see in a National Trust property firmly to shame. The basilica also serves as something of a mausoleum to the great and good of Venetian history, with the tombs of 25 doges lining the walls, which is either impressive or slightly morbid depending on your disposition. The moment that genuinely stopped us in our tracks, though, was the rather extraordinary story attached to a small urn kept within the church — said to contain the preserved skin of Marco Antonio Bragadin, a Venetian general who was flayed alive by the Ottomans in 1571 following the fall of Famagusta. It’s not the sort of thing you expect to stumble across on a Tuesday afternoon, but then that’s Venice for you.
🚣 Take a Gondola Ride
We did what every tourist in Venice is supposed to do — we took a gondola ride. And honestly, despite every cynical bone in my body telling me it was going to be an overpriced floating queue for selfie-takers, it turned out to be genuinely lovely. The gondola is, in many ways, the symbol of Venice, and that’s no accident. These elegant, flat-bottomed wooden boats have been ferrying people through the city’s labyrinthine canal network for well over a thousand years, with their design largely unchanged since around the 11th century. The gondoliers themselves are a proper institution — a licensed, regulated, fiercely traditional profession that’s been passed down through Venetian families for generations. There are roughly 400 of them working the city today, which sounds like a lot until you’re standing at the edge of a canal at 11 o’clock on a sunny morning in July and there are 300 other tourists with the same idea. We went for a private gondola rather than a shared one — because if you’re going to drift romantically through ancient waterways, you probably don’t want to do it three inches from a German couple eating sandwiches — and it lasted about 30 minutes, which was just about perfect. If you want the full theatrical experience, you can pay a bit extra to have the gondolier sing to you as you glide along, an operatic serenade echoing off the damp stone walls. We didn’t, mostly because the thought of it made one of us giggle uncontrollably, but we absolutely understand why people do. If you fancy a longer trip, that’s available too, and if you’re thinking of going at night — which does look spectacular, the city lit up and the canals reflecting everything back at you — just be aware it’ll cost a bit more. Popular activity, and all that.
The other option, if the gondola feels a bit too much like paying for a postcard to come to life, is a one-hour boat tour of the Grand Canal, which is absolutely worth doing in its own right. The Grand Canal is Venice’s main artery — a reverse-S-shaped waterway roughly four kilometres long that cuts through the heart of the city and is lined on both sides with some of the most extraordinary architecture in Europe. Byzantine palaces, Gothic churches, baroque façades, all crammed shoulder-to-shoulder along the water’s edge like they’re jostling for a better view. You’ll glide past the Rialto Bridge, which dates back to 1591 and was, for centuries, the only way to cross the canal on foot, and beneath the Bridge of Sighs, that enclosed limestone crossing built in 1600 that connected the Doge’s Palace to the prison next door — allegedly named because condemned prisoners would take one last look at Venice through its latticed windows and sigh. On the boat tour, a guide talks you through all of this, which is genuinely helpful, because without one you’d spend most of the trip squinting at buildings and wondering what they were. It’s a brilliant way to get your bearings and understand the city before you start wandering into it on foot and getting comprehensively lost, which, in Venice, is absolutely inevitable.
🚶 Stroll the Streets
We saved arguably the best bit for last — just wandering. Before you pack up and drag your suitcase back to wherever you came from, do yourself a favour and spend a good hour or two simply ambling through the streets of this city. No agenda, no map app nagging at you, just walking. The city’s streets have been winding about in their rather haphazard fashion for centuries — many of them laid down long before anyone had conceived of the motor car, or indeed anything resembling a sensible grid system — and they’re all the more charming for it. You’ll stumble across small independent shops tucked into corners, beautiful bridges arching over canals and waterways, and views of the city that most visitors completely miss because they’re too busy staring at their phones. We certainly weren’t immune to that particular modern affliction, but we did eventually manage to put the blessed things away.
What’s particularly worth doing is poking your nose into the less obvious streets — the ones that don’t appear in the top ten lists and aren’t clogged with tour groups moving in formation. Down these quieter lanes you’ll find restaurants that have been feeding locals for decades, little bakeries that smell absolutely magnificent, and, if you’re lucky, a gelato shop doing something rather special. We are British, of course, so our instinct was to have a cup of tea, but even we had to concede that the gelato was rather good. One small word of warning: the streets can be genuinely confusing to navigate, and we speak from embarrassing personal experience having walked confidently in entirely the wrong direction on more than one occasion. Pay attention to the signs dotted around — they’re there for a reason, and that reason is people like us.
Planning a visit to Venice
🗺️ Location
Venice — known in Italian as Venezia — sits in north-eastern Italy in the Veneto region, built across a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. The city is made up of 118 small islands connected by around 400 bridges, with the famous Grand Canal curving through its heart. There are no roads for motor vehicles within the historic centre; instead, a network of narrow pedestrian lanes called calli and a web of canals form the fabric of daily life. The city is further divided into six historic districts, known as sestieri: San Marco, Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Polo, and Santa Croce. Surrounding the main island are several well-known outlying islands, including Murano, famous for glassblowing; Burano, known for its brightly painted houses and lacemaking; and Torcello, a near-deserted island with some of the oldest buildings in the lagoon.
✈️ Getting There
Venice is served by Marco Polo Airport (IATA: VCE), situated on the mainland approximately 13 kilometres north of the city. It receives flights from across Europe and beyond. A smaller airport, Treviso Airport (IATA: TSF), lies around 30 kilometres away and handles some budget airline routes.
From Marco Polo Airport, the most atmospheric option is the Alilaguna water bus, which travels directly into the city across the lagoon, stopping at various points including St Mark’s Square. Journey time is roughly 70–90 minutes depending on the line. A faster, more expensive alternative is a private water taxi, which can deliver you directly to the entrance of your accommodation. Land-based options include the ATVO express coach and local ACTV buses, both of which terminate at Piazzale Roma — the gateway to the city for road vehicles — from where you proceed on foot or by water bus.
By train, Venice Santa Lucia station is the main terminus, sitting right at the entrance to the historic centre. It is well connected to cities such as Milan, Florence, Rome, and Bologna by high-speed rail, and also serves international routes. The station is a short walk or water bus ride from most key areas of the city.
Driving to Venice means parking at one of the large car parks near Piazzale Roma or on the island of Tronchetto, from where you continue into the city on foot or by public water transport. Driving into the historic centre is not possible.
🚢 Getting Around
Once inside the city, all movement is on foot or by water. The main form of public transport is the vaporetto — the public water bus — operated by ACTV. These boats run along the Grand Canal and out to the various islands, and cover the city comprehensively. Tickets can be purchased at vaporetto stops, from machines, or via the ACTV app. Day passes and multi-day travel cards offer good value if you plan to use the water buses frequently.
Traghetti are gondola ferries that cross the Grand Canal at fixed points, offering a cheap and quick alternative to walking to a bridge. Passengers typically stand during the crossing.
The gondola is the city’s most iconic vessel and is primarily a tourist experience today. Gondola rides are priced at a fixed tariff set by the city, with higher rates applying in the evenings.
Private water taxis are fast and convenient but considerably more expensive than public options. They can, however, navigate to the doorstep of many hotels.
On foot, Venice is entirely walkable, and wandering without a fixed plan is one of the great pleasures of visiting. That said, the city’s layout is notoriously confusing, and even experienced visitors get lost. Signage points towards major landmarks and districts, but a good offline map or navigation app is invaluable, particularly when carrying luggage or heading somewhere specific.
🏛️ Things to See and Do
St Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco) is the undisputed centrepiece of Venice, home to the ornate St Mark’s Basilica, the soaring Campanile, and the magnificent Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale). The Rialto Bridge, spanning the Grand Canal, is another unmissable landmark, surrounded by a lively market selling fresh produce, fish, and local goods.
Beyond the famous sights, Venice rewards those who venture into quieter districts. The Dorsoduro neighbourhood is home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Gallerie dell’Accademia, which houses an exceptional collection of Venetian art. The Cannaregio district offers a more local feel, with the historic Jewish Ghetto — one of the oldest in the world — and quieter canals away from the main tourist routes.
A trip to the outlying islands provides a different perspective on the lagoon. Murano is famous for its centuries-old tradition of glassblowing, and workshops there offer demonstrations. Burano’s candy-coloured houses are a photographer’s delight and produce distinctive handmade lace. Torcello, with its Byzantine cathedral, is the most remote feeling of the three and is easily reached by vaporetto.
Venice has a rich tradition of carnival (Carnevale), which takes place in the weeks before Lent, filling the city with elaborate masks and costumes. The Venice Film Festival, held each September on the Lido, is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious film events.
🛏️ Accommodation and Costs
Venice caters to all budgets, from luxury palazzo hotels along the Grand Canal to modest pensioni and self-catering apartments tucked into quieter streets. Accommodation within the historic centre tends to be significantly more expensive than staying on the mainland in Mestre, though the convenience and atmosphere of being in the city itself is difficult to replicate. Booking well in advance is strongly advisable, particularly for peak periods.
All overnight guests pay a tourist accommodation tax (imposta di soggiorno), which is charged per person per night and varies according to the type and category of accommodation. This tax is collected by the accommodation provider and is separate from any room rate.
🎟️ Day-Tripper Entry Fee
Since 2024, Venice has operated an access fee for day visitors entering the historic centre on designated peak days. In 2026, this fee applies on 60 days — primarily Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays — running from early April through late July, between 08:30 and 16:00. The fee is €5 per person when booked at least four days in advance, rising to €10 for late bookings. Children under 14 are exempt, as are overnight guests (who have already paid the accommodation tax), residents, students, and workers.
Visitors are required to register in advance through the official online portal and carry a QR code, which may be checked at various access points around the city including the main train station. Fines can be issued to those found without a valid QR code. Those staying overnight must also register, even though no payment is due.
🍽️ Food and Drink
Venetian cuisine leans heavily on the sea. Cicchetti — small snacks similar in spirit to Spanish tapas — are a cornerstone of local food culture and are served in traditional bacari wine bars throughout the city. These make for an affordable and convivial way to eat and sample local wines or the iconic Aperol Spritz, which has its roots in the Veneto region.
Local specialities include baccalà mantecato (creamed salt cod), sarde in saor (sardines in a sweet and sour sauce), risotto al nero di seppia (squid ink risotto), and bigoli in salsa (thick pasta with an anchovy and onion sauce). Fresh produce is plentiful at the Rialto Market.
It is worth noting that dining in Venice, especially around tourist hotspots, can be expensive compared to much of Italy. Restaurants on or immediately around St Mark’s Square charge a considerable premium. Exploring side streets and smaller campi (squares) tends to reveal better value and more authentic options. Many establishments add a cover charge (coperto) per person, and some also include a service charge.
💡 Things to Be Aware Of
Flooding (Acqua Alta) Venice is subject to periodic flooding known as acqua alta (high water), most commonly between autumn and spring when the Adriatic Sea rises and inundates the lowest-lying parts of the city, particularly Piazza San Marco. Raised walkways (passerelle) are put up during these events, and waterproof boot hire is widely available. Checking forecasts before and during a visit is advisable, and visitors should not be deterred — acqua alta is a remarkable spectacle and part of the city’s character.
Overtourism and Resident Life Venice is under considerable strain from mass tourism. Residents, whose numbers have fallen to fewer than 50,000, share the same narrow streets and bridges as millions of visitors each year. Behaving considerately towards local people going about their daily lives — not blocking pavements or bridges, keeping noise levels down, and being patient on crowded water buses — is both courteous and genuinely appreciated.
Dress Code Modest dress is required when entering any church or religious site. Shoulders and knees must be covered for both men and women; visitors who arrive inadequately dressed may be refused entry. Away from the church threshold, Venice and other Italian cities enforce rules against wearing swimwear or going bare-chested in public streets. Fines of up to €500 can apply.
Eating in Public Eating whilst walking through busy areas is frowned upon and, in some zones, is effectively banned. Sitting on steps, bridges, or shop window ledges to eat is also discouraged and can attract fines. Picnicking in public, particularly around St Mark’s Square, has long been regulated. Using one of the city’s benches in a campo or a quieter area is a far better option.
Swimming in the Canals Swimming in Venice’s canals is strictly prohibited. Beyond the legal consequences — which include substantial fines and potentially a ban from the city — the canals carry boat traffic and can be extremely hazardous.
Feeding Pigeons Feeding pigeons in Venice is illegal. The birds are considered a public health hazard, and fines apply to those caught feeding them, including in St Mark’s Square.
Graffiti and Damage to Property Defacing walls or historic buildings carries heavy penalties. The vast majority of Venice’s walls belong to ancient structures, and any marking or damage is treated seriously by the authorities.
Counterfeit Goods Purchasing counterfeit goods — fake designer items sold by street traders — is illegal and can result in fines of up to €7,000 for the buyer.
Pedestrian Conduct The streets of Venice are narrow and become extremely congested. Keeping to the right, not stopping abruptly in the middle of busy pathways, and not obstructing bridges are all matters of basic civic conduct in the city. Venetians are generally gracious but the sheer volume of tourists makes patience a valued quality in visitors.
Language Italian is the official language. While English is spoken in most tourist-facing establishments, making the effort to use even a few words of Italian — grazie (thank you), per favore (please), buongiorno (good morning) — is genuinely well received.
Currency and Payments Italy uses the Euro. Whilst card payments are increasingly accepted, carrying some cash remains useful, especially in smaller establishments, at market stalls, and for paying under €10 amounts.
Valuables and Scams Venice is broadly safe, but tourist crowds attract pickpockets, particularly in St Mark’s Square and on busy vaporetto routes. Keeping valuables secure and being alert to common street scams is sensible practice.
Medication Italy has strict rules on bringing prescription medication into the country. Only a 30-day supply is permitted, and it should be carried in its original, labelled packaging alongside a copy of the prescription. Some medicines freely available over the counter elsewhere may be restricted in Italy, so it is worth checking in advance.
Guided Tours Tour group sizes in Venice are capped at a maximum of 25 people. Licensed guides are required to display their official identification badge at all times.
Best time to visit Venice
🌸 Spring (March–May)
Spring is widely regarded as one of the finest seasons to visit Venice. As the winter chill retreats, the city awakens with a gentle warmth — temperatures climb from around 10°C in March to a comfortable 20–22°C by May. Daylight hours extend pleasingly, and the light that falls across the canals takes on the luminous quality that inspired Canaletto and Turner alike.
Visitor numbers begin to rise in April, particularly around Easter, when the city fills with Italian and European tourists. However, compared to the summer crush, spring remains relatively manageable. Outdoor dining returns to the campo squares, and the famous gondoliers begin their busiest season. Early spring can still bring acqua alta (high water flooding), so checking tidal forecasts remains advisable through March.
The city’s gardens — most notably those of the Biennale grounds — burst into bloom, and the Venetian Carnival, if you visit in late February or early March, offers an extraordinary spectacle of elaborate masks and costumes.
What to pack: Lightweight layers are essential — mornings and evenings retain a chill. Pack a waterproof jacket, comfortable walking shoes suited to uneven calli (alleyways), a light scarf, sunglasses, and a compact umbrella. Bring smart-casual clothing for evening restaurant visits and a small day bag for exploring.
☀️ Summer (June–August)
Summer in Venice is emphatically busy. The city receives the bulk of its annual visitors between June and August, with cruise ships disgorging thousands of day-trippers onto the waterfront and the main tourist routes becoming genuinely congested. Temperatures regularly reach 28–32°C, and the humidity rising from the lagoon can make the heat feel oppressive, particularly in narrow streets that offer little shade or breeze.
That said, summer has its devotees, and for good reason. Long evenings allow for magical passeggiatas along the Zattere promenade with views across the Giudecca canal. The city hosts the prestigious Venice Film Festival in late August and early September, drawing an international crowd. Outdoor cinema, concerts, and festivals enliven the evenings throughout the season.
The key strategy for summer visitors is to venture early: the city before 8am, when mist still clings to the water and the calli are virtually empty, belongs to an entirely different Venice. Equally, exploring the quieter sestieri (districts) of Dorsoduro, Cannaregio, and Castello rather than clustering around San Marco can transform the experience.
What to pack: Breathable linen or cotton clothing is a must, along with high-SPF sun cream, a wide-brimmed hat, and a reusable water bottle. Comfortable, well-worn sandals will spare your feet on cobblestones. Carry a light cardigan for air-conditioned museums and churches, and a compact fan for relief on the vaporettos. A money belt is advisable in the most crowded areas.
🍂 Autumn (September–November)
Autumn is arguably Venice’s most beguiling season. September sees the summer crowds thin noticeably while temperatures remain warm and agreeable — typically 18–24°C — making sightseeing genuinely comfortable. The light turns golden and cinematic, casting long shadows across the canal facades and illuminating the city in colours that seem to belong to an oil painting.
October deepens the drama: cooler air arrives, occasional mist drifts across the lagoon at dawn, and the city reclaims something of its introspective, mysterious character. The Venice Film Festival closes in early September, and the Regata Storica — a spectacular historical boat race along the Grand Canal — takes place in the first week of the month.
By November, acqua alta season arrives in earnest. High tides can flood the lower-lying areas of the city, most famously Piazza San Marco, sometimes to ankle or knee depth. Portable flood barriers (passerelle) are installed throughout the city, and wellington boots or waterproof footwear become a practical necessity. Far from deterring visitors, many find this atmospheric flooding adds an almost surreal beauty to Venice, lending it the melancholy grandeur it is famous for.
What to pack: A medium-weight waterproof jacket and waterproof footwear (or packable wellington boots for November) are essential. Layer with merino wool or fleece mid-layers. Include a scarf, warm hat for November evenings, and a compact umbrella. Smart layers for evenings and a waterproof day bag will serve well throughout the season.
❄️ Winter (December–February)
Winter is Venice’s best-kept secret. From December through to mid-February, the city sheds its tourist skin and reveals something closer to its authentic self. Visitor numbers drop to their annual low, prices for accommodation fall substantially, and some of the finest restaurants and wine bars — bacari — are occupied almost exclusively by Venetians.
Temperatures sit between 2°C and 8°C, and the city can feel raw and penetrating — particularly in the biting bora wind that occasionally sweeps in from the north-east. Heavy mists settle on the lagoon, sometimes reducing visibility to just a few metres, transforming familiar vistas into something dreamlike and slightly eerie. Snow, while rare, falls occasionally and when it does, it transforms Venice into a scene of extraordinary, almost improbable beauty.
The great theatrical exception is Carnival (Carnevale), which typically runs for the two weeks preceding Ash Wednesday, usually in February. The festival fills the city with costumed revellers, masked balls, street performers, and a festive energy that is entirely unique. Accommodation prices spike sharply during Carnival, so booking well ahead is essential.
The city’s museums, churches, and galleries are at their least crowded in winter, making extended visits to the Gallerie dell’Accademia, the Doge’s Palace, and the Frari church genuinely pleasurable rather than an exercise in crowd management.
What to pack: Warm, waterproof winter layers are vital — a quality insulated coat, thermal base layers, and waterproof boots with good grip on slippery calli. Pack gloves, a warm hat, and a heavyweight scarf. Waterproof trousers or over-trousers are wise for November’s acqua alta risk, and a thermos flask for warming yourself between sights is a welcome addition.
🏆 Overall Best Time to Visit
For most travellers, late September to early November and April to May represent the sweet spots for a visit to Venice. These shoulder seasons balance favourable weather with manageable crowds and more reasonable accommodation prices. Spring offers fresh, luminous days and the pleasure of watching the city reawaken; autumn brings warmth, golden light, and an atmosphere of quiet romance as the summer hordes depart. Those willing to embrace the cold, the mist, and the occasional flooding will find that January and early February — outside Carnival — offer the most intimate and atmospheric experience of all, a chance to see Venice as it genuinely is: ancient, slightly melancholy, and breathtakingly beautiful on its own uncompromising terms.
Where to stay in Venice
1. Antica Raffineria
Budget accommodation
Located in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, Antica Raffineria is a charming place to stay. The building is a refurbished sugar refinery, which makes your stay here feel very historical. The rooms all come with air-conditioning, private bathrooms, and a TV. There is a little cafe nearby that provides croissants for breakfast.
2. Agli Artisti
Mid-range accommodation
A fabulous location with the Venice Santa Lucia Sation only 659 feet away, the Agli Artisti is a very cozy and convenient place to stay in Cannaregio. Other sightseeing locations, such as the Jewish Ghetto, are just a short walk away. The rooms are comfortable, have wifi access, and some come with a balcony! Be careful when booking your room, because some of the rooms have shared bathrooms. Others, though, come with private bathrooms.
3. Alla Vite Dorata
Upscale Accommodation
Located in the Santi Apostoli neighbourhood, Alla Vite Dorata is a gorgeous Bed and Breakfast with some of the prettiest rooms you ever saw! Original wood-beamed ceilings and bright, lovely bedding come in every room, and some of them even have a four-poster bed! A continental breakfast buffet is included and served in a beautiful dining room that offers a view of the canal. The B&B is only a ten-minute walk from Rialto Bridge.
