By rail
Venezia Santa Lucia, ~2 h from Florence
Europe · Italy
Venice, Italy
Canals, gondolas and island hopping
Getting there
By air
Venice Marco Polo (VCE), ~13 km; water buses into the city
Best time to visit
April to June and September to October — mild
Don't miss
St Mark's Square and Basilica
The Doge's Palace
The Rialto Bridge
The Grand Canal
Things to do
A gondola ride
St Mark's Basilica
Getting lost in Cannaregio
Murano and Burano
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0
What to pack
Comfortable shoes (it is all bridges); check the day-visitor fee dates
A quieter corner
Burano's painted houses, a boat ride away
Questions travellers ask
When's a good time to go to Venice?
April to June and September to October, when it's mild. Wear comfortable shoes (it is all bridges), and check the day-visitor fee dates before you go.
What should I do in Venice?
See St Mark's Square and Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal, and take a gondola ride. Get lost in Cannaregio, then hop over to Murano and to Burano's painted houses, a boat ride away.
What's the local food to try in Venice?
Cicchetti in the bacari, and risotto al nero di seppia.
How do I get from the airport into Venice?
Venice Marco Polo (VCE) is about 13 km out, with water buses into the city. By rail, Venezia Santa Lucia is about 2 hours from Florence.
About Venice
- Island
- Coastal
Where it is
Venice, the capital of the Veneto region in north-east Italy, is built on more than a hundred small islands in a lagoon at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, linked by canals and hundreds of bridges and joined to the mainland by a causeway.
History
Venice was founded by people from the mainland who took refuge in the lagoon from the invasions that swept northern Italy from the 5th century, and by tradition it elected its first doge in 697. For almost a thousand years the Republic of Venice was a great maritime and trading power, until Napoleon ended it in 1797; after Austrian rule the city joined Italy in 1866.
People
Venetians speak Italian and the Venetian language. Glass-blowing on Murano, lace-making on Burano and gondola building are centuries-old crafts, and the year is marked by the Carnival, the Regata Storica boat races in September and the Festa del Redentore, when a temporary bridge is laid across the Giudecca Canal.
Known for
- St Mark's Basilica and Square
- The Doge's Palace
- The Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge
- The Carnival and its masks
- Murano glass and Burano lace
Did you know?
Much of Venice stands on wooden piles, tree trunks driven deep into the mud and sand of the lagoon, which have lasted for centuries because the waterlogged wood is sealed away from the air.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.