Deep-dive

Visiting Venice

San Marco with the Basilica and Palazzo Ducale, Rialto, the Accademia, the Guggenheim, the islands, the Biennale. The municipality charges day visitors an access fee on days set year by year (official portal, many exemptions): the dates must be checked. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; Carnival, Redentore, the Film Festival and the Regata Storica the peaks.

Sections: Attractions · Museums · Nature · Itineraries · Excursions · Accessible visits

San Marco: the Basilica (paid entry, online booking advised, Pala d'Oro and museum with the horses), the Campanile, Palazzo Ducale and Museo Correr (Civic Museums, single ticket for the St Mark's Square museums), the Clock Tower.
Museums: Gallerie dell'Accademia (Venetian painting, state-run), Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi (Pinault), Ca' Rezzonico, Ca' Pesaro, Natural History Museum, Palazzo Fortuny, Scuola Grande di San Rocco with the Tintorettos, Jewish Museum in the Ghetto.
City: Rialto with the bridge and market, the Zattere, Fondamente Nove, the Ghetto, the Arsenale, the Giardini, Sant'Elena, the Giudecca with the Redentore church, San Giorgio Maggiore with the view from its bell tower, La Fenice (audio-guided visits).
Islands: Murano (glass, Glass Museum), Burano (lace, coloured houses), Torcello (basilica with mosaics), Lido (beaches, Film Festival), San Servolo and San Lazzaro degli Armeni.
Nearby: Padua, Treviso, Vicenza and Verona by train; Chioggia; the Brenta villas; the Prosecco hills and the Dolomites in a day.

Access fee and how to visit

The Comune di Venezia charges an access fee to day visitors of the old city on days set year by year. In 2026 it was due mostly on weekends and holidays, from 8:30 to 16:30, at a reduced amount for those booking at least four days ahead and the full amount for later payment; payment is made on the official portal cda.ve.it, which issues a QR code to show at checks. Exempt are residents and people born in the municipality, Veneto residents, children under fourteen, overnight guests of accommodation (who pay the tourist tax), students and workers of the old city, people with disabilities and other categories; the minor islands and the Lido are not affected. Application in each year depends on new resolutions: check the portal before travelling.

The Venezia Unica City Pass combines transport and museums. The conduct rules of the #EnjoyRespectVenezia campaign (no sitting on monument steps, no swimming in canals, no picnics in the square) are enforced by the urban police regulation. Spring and autumn are the best periods; July and August the muggiest and most crowded; November and December bring acqua alta and fog but are quieter.

Events

Carnival (the two weeks before Shrove Tuesday) and the Redentore (third Sunday of July, with Saturday night fireworks in St Mark's basin) fill the city. The Biennale alternates Art (even years) and Architecture (odd years) from May to November at the Giardini and the Arsenale, with collateral events across the city; the International Film Festival is held on the Lido between late August and early September; the Regata Storica is on the first Sunday of September, the Vogalonga in spring, the Venicemarathon in October, the Festa della Salute on 21 November, the Boat Show at the Arsenale in late spring.