Venice, capital of the Veneto region in north-eastern Italy, is built on more than a hundred small islands in a shallow lagoon. Canals and hundreds of bridges link the islands, and because cars stop at the edge of the historic centre, home to around 50,000 people, every journey is made on foot or by boat.
Travellers come for St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, the palaces of the Grand Canal, centuries of Venetian painting and the quieter islands of the lagoon, which together with the city have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The municipality also takes in the mainland district of Mestre and barrier islands such as the Lido. An apartment in a residential sestiere such as Cannaregio or Castello lets you enjoy the city early in the morning and in the evening, after the day visitors have gone, and gives couples and families a kitchen and room to spread out. Murano, Burano, Padua and Verona all make easy outings.
The historic centre is divided into six sestieri. San Marco, around the great square, puts the famous sights at your door but is also the busiest. Cannaregio, the northernmost and most populous, runs from the railway station to the old Jewish Ghetto and has residential canals with a local feel. Castello, the largest, stretches east past the Arsenale to the Biennale gardens and grows quieter the farther you go. Dorsoduro, on the southern side, holds the Accademia galleries and the Zattere waterfront and suits art lovers. San Polo and Santa Croce, around the Rialto, are central and close to the station and Piazzale Roma, which helps on arrival with luggage.
Across the Giudecca Canal, the island of Giudecca is calm, with views back to the city. The Lido, a barrier island about 11 kilometres long, has sandy beaches and suits summer stays with children. On the mainland, Mestre offers more space and good rail links, with buses and trams crossing to Piazzale Roma.
Piazza San Marco is framed by St Mark's Basilica, consecrated in 1094 and covered in mosaics, and by the Gothic Doge's Palace, once the seat of the Republic's government and a museum since 1923. From there the Grand Canal curves through the city past rows of palaces. Only four bridges cross it, the Rialto, the Accademia, the Scalzi and the Ponte della Costituzione, added in 2008, and gondola ferries called traghetti carry people across at points in between.
The Gallerie dell'Accademia show Venetian painting up to the 19th century, from the Bellini family and Giorgione to Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. The Venice Biennale, with art and architecture editions in alternating years, fills the Giardini and the Arsenale, and the Venice Film Festival takes over the Lido in late August and early September. The Carnival, revived in 1979, lasts around two weeks and ends on Shrove Tuesday, and the Festa del Redentore, centred on the Giudecca church of Il Redentore, is held in mid-July.
Venice was settled by people from Roman towns of the mainland, such as Padua, Aquileia and Altinum, who took refuge in the lagoon. Tradition dates the election of the first doge to 697, and from 810 to 1797 the city was the capital of the Republic of Venice, a maritime and trading power whose shipyard, the Arsenale, built its fleets. Venetian merchants dealt in silk, grain and spices, and the city played a part in the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto.
The plague of 1629 to 1631 killed about a third of the population. Napoleon ended the Republic in May 1797, the city then passed between Austria and France, and in 1866 Venice and the Veneto joined the Kingdom of Italy. A railway causeway reached the islands in the 19th century and the Ponte della Libertà road bridge followed in the 20th. Since the Second World War many Venetians have moved to Mestre and the mainland in search of work and more affordable housing.
Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is on the mainland at Tessera, on the edge of the lagoon. Buses run to Piazzale Roma, the bus terminal at the entrance to the historic centre, and boats cross the lagoon to Venice, the Lido and Murano. Treviso Airport (TSF), about 31 kilometres away, is used mainly by low-cost airlines. Trains arrive at Venezia Santa Lucia station on the Grand Canal, beside a vaporetto stop, and Venezia Mestre on the mainland offers connections to Milan, Padua, Verona, Trieste and the rest of Italy.
Within the city, the public water buses, the vaporetti, run by the transport company ACTV, are the main way to travel, with line 1 following the Grand Canal and some routes running around the clock. Otherwise you walk, crossing many bridges with steps, so light luggage helps. Drivers must leave cars on the mainland or in the car parks at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, which a People Mover shuttle connects.
Murano, about 1.5 kilometres north of the centre, has been the home of Venetian glassmaking since 1291, when the Republic moved the furnaces there to protect the city from fire. Burano, near the northern end of the lagoon, is known for its brightly painted houses, whose colours follow an old local system, and for needle lace made since the 16th century. Quiet Torcello, settled in the 5th century, was a town with its own cathedral before St Mark's was built, and its Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the island's main sight.
On the mainland, Padua lies about 40 kilometres west, with two World Heritage listings: its botanical garden, founded in 1545, and its 14th-century frescoes, including those of the Scrovegni Chapel. Verona, a UNESCO World Heritage city since 2000, is farther west by train and is famous for its Roman Arena, which hosts an opera season. Both are easy day trips from Santa Lucia or Mestre.
Venice has a humid subtropical climate with four seasons: winters are cool and damp, and summers are warm and humid. Hard frosts that freeze the canals have become rare. From autumn to spring, exceptional high tides known as acqua alta can flood parts of the city when seasonal winds hold back the water. Since 2020 the MOSE system of mobile gates at the Lido, Malamocco and Chioggia inlets has been raised to seal off the lagoon during the highest tides, though lower tides can still reach the lowest streets.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable times to walk the city. Summer is hot and crowded, with the Lido beaches open and the Redentore festival in July, and the Film Festival brings crowds to the Lido at summer's end. Winter is quieter and atmospheric, often misty, and February brings the Carnival. Pack waterproof shoes from autumn to spring and check tide forecasts before setting out.
In Italy, every holiday rental needs a national identification code, the CIN, issued through the Ministry of Tourism's accommodation database. The CIN must be shown in each online advertisement and on a sign outside the building, so guests can verify a listing before they book.
Venice has also introduced an access fee for day visitors. On set days in recent seasons, people visiting the historic centre without staying overnight have had to pay it, while guests sleeping in accommodation in the municipality are exempt and request a free exemption QR code through the city's official portal. Whether and when the fee applies is decided each year by the city, so check the official Comune di Venezia information before you travel, along with any local rules for your apartment.
San Marco is closest to the main sights but the busiest. Cannaregio and Castello are more residential and good for apartments, Dorsoduro suits art lovers, and San Polo and Santa Croce are handy for the station. The Lido suits beach stays, and Mestre offers more space on the mainland.
Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) is on the mainland at Tessera. Buses run to Piazzale Roma, the gateway to the historic centre, and boat services cross the lagoon to Venice, the Lido and Murano. From Piazzale Roma you continue on foot or by vaporetto.
Spring and autumn are the most pleasant for walking and sightseeing. Summer is hot, humid and crowded, while winter is quieter and misty, with the Carnival in February. From autumn to spring acqua alta can flood low areas, so bring waterproof shoes and watch the tide forecasts.
Two or three days cover St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal, the Accademia and a walk through several sestieri. With four or five days you can add Murano, Burano and Torcello, an afternoon on the Lido, or a day trip to Padua or Verona.
No. The historic centre has no roads for cars; you walk or take the vaporetto. If you arrive by car, you must park on the mainland or at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto. Trains from Santa Lucia and Mestre are the easiest way to reach Padua and Verona.
Yes, with some planning. Children usually love the boats, the bridges and the glass furnaces of Murano, and the Lido has sandy beaches. Steps on the bridges make strollers awkward, so a light carrier helps. An apartment in Castello, Cannaregio or on the Lido gives space and a kitchen.
Yes. Every holiday rental in Italy must have a national identification code, the CIN, issued through the Ministry of Tourism's database. It must appear in online listings and on a sign outside the building, which lets you check a rental before booking.
Guests staying overnight in accommodation in the municipality of Venice have been exempt from the day-visitor access fee, but on the days it applies they request a free exemption QR code through the city's official portal. The city decides each year whether the fee applies, so check before you travel.
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