There must be a reason why Venice is one of the most visited cities in the world: is it because its attractions are something absolutely unique? Of course it is. Nowhere else will you find a city built entirely on water with a glorious centuries-long history.
Venice’s unique urban planning and the immense wealth accumulated by the Serenissima Republic during the golden centuries of its history have produced a wealth of sights of irresistible appeal. Among them, one of the most beautiful squares in the world, iconic bridges, prestigious museums and historic churches that hold art treasures so beautiful they risk Stendthal syndrome, and islands where the centuries-old craft traditions of glassmaking and lace-making are still handed down.
Below are the top 10 attractions in Venice to see on a holiday of at least two days. If you have more, you can add other museums and islands to this list, e.g. Torcello or the Lido. If, on the other hand, you have little time and want a list of attractions suitable for a short visit, you can find tailor-made recommendations on the page Things to do in Venice in 1 day.
In all cases make a travel plan that leaves time for a gondola ride, a romantic experience that will give you the chance to see the city from the best possible viewpoint: the water.
The Grand Canal is Venice’s number one tourist attraction: the most famous, the most original and the first one you will come across. And it’s free too!
It is the wide S- or snake-shaped canal that crosses the entire historic centre of Venice, dividing it in two: it is the first thing you will see as soon as you leave the train station. Just under 4 km long, the Grand Canal is Venice’s main thoroughfare: just follow its banks to get to the heart of the city and find all the other must-see attractions.
A boat trip to admire the splendid palaces overlooking the Grand Canal is a must, and to get into the spirit of the city you can take the means of transport most used by the Venetians: the vaporetto.
At the end of a walking tour or a vaporetto ride along the Grand Canal, one of the most famous squares in the world awaits you: St Mark’s Square. Seeing it half-empty is a hard task because it is the place everyone wants to see in Venice, but crowds of tourists and pigeons will never be able to undermine its charm.
This stately square by the lagoon is the city’s salon par excellence, where the most important events of the Carnival and other unmissable events take place. The square is overlooked by the city’s two iconic monuments: St Mark’s Basilica, a monumental church with Byzantine charm that is a must-see, and the Campanile, the tallest building in Venice.
Other famous attractions overlooking the square are the Clock Tower, the historic Caffè Florian and the Correr Museum.
After visiting St Mark’s Basilica move on to the building next door to discover the other great wonder of Venice: the Doge’s Palace, the sumptuous seat of the Serenissima Republic. One of the finest examples of Venetian Gothic architecture, it houses a priceless artistic heritage and many secrets.
The exterior is one of the most famous sights in Venice: splendid façades with two levels of monumental colonnades and an upper level decorated with geometric motifs in white and pink stone on which ogival windows with Byzantine charm open.
During your visit to the Doge’s Palace you can see from inside the famous Bridge of Sighs, the covered bridge that once connected the doge’s palace and the prisons of the Serenissima. At the end of the visit you must also admire it from the outside and take the classic photo of the bridge with a gondola passing under it.
There are four bridges that cross the Grand Canal, but only one name is known even to those who do not live in Venice: it is the majestic Rialto Bridge, an architectural marvel that for centuries has left everyone open-mouthed for its grandeur and beauty. Built in the late 16th century, it is a 7.5-metre-long covered bridge.
Like St Mark’s Square, it is a nerve centre of city life and sooner or later you are bound to pass by here. Don’t miss the fruit and vegetable market set up at the side of the bridge on either bank to see an authentic slice of Venetian life.
It is impossible to visit Venice and not plan a beautiful gondola ride through the city’s canals. The gondola is certainly one of the symbols of the city but also a different, and for some romantic, way to explore Venice. The gondola was once the most popular way for wealthy Venetian families to travel around the city, while now it is often the location for wedding requests or romantic moments for couples.
Although considered an expensive activity by some, a gondola tour is a way to get to know Venice from a different perspective. Tour prices are regulated by the Ente Gondola di Venezia and range between €80 and €100 for a private daytime tour of around thirty minutes. For night tours, prices rise slightly. There are also gondola tours shared with other people that are priced at around 25 euro per person.
One of the most famous Venetian traditions in the world is the murrina, an elaborate blown glass decoration from Murano, and it is no coincidence that the birthplace of this ancient art is one of the most visited attractions in Venice.
It’s really exciting to see how glass is worked to produce objects that are true artistic creations, and it’s easy too: just take a vaporetto, reach the island of Murano and visit the Glass Museum.
The other island of Venice whose name immediately evokes a centuries-old craft tradition is Burano. It is a smaller island than Murano and less visited because it is rather far from the historic centre, which also means that it is much quieter: perfect for those who want to catapult themselves into a different, slow-paced Venice.
In Burano, the ‘speciality of the house’ is lace, and there is also a historical museum dedicated to them that is worth a visit. The real attraction, however, are the lace-makers who still sit outside their houses in fine weather embroidering at the tombolo, offering visitors a unique spectacle of local life.
For art lovers, a must-see in Venice is the Gallerie dell’Accademia, a prestigious museum exhibiting the most important collection of Veneto painting in the world, with a focus on its heyday (from the 15th to the 18th century).
The 37 museum rooms are housed in the former Church of Santa Maria della Carità and the adjoining convent, once the seat of the Academy of Fine Arts.
The highlights of the collection are four works that are considered absolute masterpieces of Western art: Giorgione’s ‘The Tempest’, Titian’s ‘La Pietà’, Carpaccio’s ‘The Cycle of the Stories of St. Ursula’ and Veronese’s ‘The Banquet in the House of Levi’.
Another unmissable cultural attraction in Venice is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a historic and elegant architectural complex that was the seat of a confraternity that still exists today.
To decorate the walls of this illustrious seat, a competition was held in the 16th century in which the greatest artists of the time participated. The winner was Tintoretto, who between 1575 and 1587 created a pictorial cycle with scenes from the Old and New Testaments of extraordinary dramatic power. It will excite even those who do not know art.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the new face of Venice, a city that even after the fall of the Serenissima has always wanted to maintain a leading role on the international art scene. Among the artists and patrons who chose the Venetian capital as their city of choice was the rich and cultured American collector Peggy Guggenheim.
To her we owe one of the most important museums of modern art in Italy, housed in a stately palace overlooking the Grand Canal. On display are works by key 20th century artists including Dali, Pollock, De Chirico and Giacometti; temporary exhibitions are also organised.
The Gran Teatro La Fenice is the main opera house in Venice but also one of the most prestigious theatres in the world. The theatre was built around 1787 by the Nobile Società dei palchettisti who decided to call it ‘La Fenice’, after the mythological bird capable of rising from its own ashes. The theatre was inaugurated on 16 May 1792, on the Feast of the Sensa, with the opera ‘I giuochi d’Agrigento’ by Giovanni Paisiello to a libretto by Count Alessandro Pepoli with Giacomo David, Gaspare Pacchierotti and Brigida Banti.
Unfortunately, the theatre was twice hit by fire. A first fire occurred on 13 December 1836 and destroyed the theatre hall and part of the theatre. A second arson occurred on 29 January 1996. La Fenice was then ‘reborn’ again from its ashes, after years of restoration, in 2003. On 14 December of that year, in fact, Maestro Riccardo Muti opened the Inaugural Week in the reconstructed La Fenice Theatre with the Theatre Orchestra and Choir. Since 2004, the traditional New Year’s Concert has been held here every year on the morning of 1 January.
Leave the crowds of San Marco behind, walk 20 minutes or so and enter the sestiere of San Polo, the only district in the historic centre that does not overlook the Grand Canal.
The attraction of San Polo is the Arsenale, a complex of shipyards, warehouses and workshops that was the heart of the Venetian shipbuilding industry in the days of the Serenissima. It was here that the ships were built with which the Venetians conquered the Adriatic Sea, reaching as far as the Aegean, and which made the Serenissima’s fortune.
It is an area ignored by day-trippers, to be visited in order to enjoy Venice at a more leisurely pace but above all to dedicate some time to one of the fundamental aspects of this unique city’s identity, namely its connection with the sea.
Don’t miss the Naval History Museum with its impressive Ships Pavilion.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
City Card allow you to save on public transport and / or on the entrances to the main tourist attractions.
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