The 27 best things to do in Venice in 2025

All that glitters probably is gold, if the Venetians are anything to go by. They looted left right and centre, down the Adriatic and across to Constantinople to make this, their main church, as spectacular as possible. From the intricate Byzantine-style mosaics on the floor (don’t miss the rhinoceros) to the glowing golden roof and wall mosaics, whose saints and martyrs sparkle, it’s deliciously outré. For a small extra fee you can visit the museum upstairs, and walk outside for views of the Piazza. 

🤫 Insider tip: Pay the small supplement to see the Pala d’Oro, the huge altarpiece made entirely from gold and jazzed up with precious jewels snaffled by the Venetians on their travels.

Few buildings on the planet are as gloriously camp as the pink-tinged, candy-striped Doge’s Palace, dandling on the water’s edge. It’s certainly seen some action – the political heart of the Venetian Republic, which lasted for over 1000 years until 1797, this is where doges were ‘crowned’ (and the naughty ones executed), while prisoners were tried and marched to their deaths over the Bridge of Sighs. Some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance came to slather its walls in paintings, and even Casanova was imprisoned here, although he swiftly escaped over the rooftops to slay another day. Leave enough time to see it properly – highlights include the one of the largest canvas paintings in the world (‘Paradise’ by Tintoretto in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio), the seriously creepy prisons, and the Bridge of Sighs, where you can recreate your own death walk. The regular exhibitions, including contemporary art installations, are always worth a look. 

🤫 Insider tip: Book the official Secret Itineraries tour and you’ll get a guided visit of places not normally open to the public, from the infamous piombi prison area to the torture room and Casanova’s cell.

Napoleon called this ‘the drawing room of Europe’, and even with today’s crowds and thickets of selfie sticks, St Mark’s Square is as refined as ever. Ride the elevator to the top of the campanile (bell tower) for drone-style views, watch high tides bubble up through the drains (note: that’s why you shouldn’t be splashing through the water barefoot), and visit the famous Correr Museum, located above the famous porticos. Most importantly, have a drink at one of the famous cafes, some of which have been going strong for hundreds of years. 

🤫 Insider tip: Nothing feels as good as having a sun-drenched drink in the Piazza so time your café break according to the light. Florian has been serving eager Venice tourists since 1720 (and is sunniest in the morning), but our tip is for Quadri, on the opposite side of the square – it’s owned by the local Alajmo brothers, who have a Michelin-starred restaurant upstairs and gourmet bar snacks downstairs. This spot gets the last of the daylight, and it’s perfect for aperitivo.

This is exactly what it sounds like: a slow walk through Venice with a professional photographer to catch the unknown angles and best lights of this most photographed of cities. Renowned Venetian photojournalists Stefano Mazzola and Simone Padovani are used to sniffing out the best views and quietest streets of the city. An early-morning tour with them will show you how to photograph the real Venice, not the one with 2,000 other tourists in the background. 

🤫 Insider tip: For the best view of the famous campanile (bell tower), follow Stefano to the Ponte del Lovo near the Rialto, where it rises up from behind a canal and San Marco mansions. 

This is one of the world’s greatest waterways for good reason – splitting Venice neatly into two, lined with palazzos each fancier than the next, and crossed by just four bridges, including the Rialto (below). Luckily in this most expensive of cities, public transport plies exactly the same route around its legendary bends as you’d take in a taxi or a gondola – you just have to make sure you bag a decent seat. Hop on the number 1 boat at Piazzale Roma, and it’ll take you on a 45-minute leisurely cruise, past churches (including the iconic domed Salute church) mindblowingly beautiful palazzos like the gothic wedding cake that is Ca’ d’Oro, fancy hotels like the Aman (where you might get a glimpse of Clooney and his ilk), and gliding under the Rialto. 

🤫 Insider tip: To see the top half of the canal, it’s usually easier to take the number ‘2/’ vaporetto which runs between Rialto and Piazzale Roma – it makes fewer stops and is generally less crowded. Don’t confuse it with the regular 2 which loops around the city, skipping the Grand Canal.

Only in Venice can a bridge be a tourist attraction, a work of art… and a shopping mall. The marble-clad affair, linking the San Marco and San Polo districts via the Grand Canal since 1591, is second only to Piazza San Marco when it comes to visitor numbers. Fight for a space to get a prime view of the Grand Canal, check out the shops that line it (but be aware they’re mostly tourist traps), and most importantly cross it (if you’re coming from the San Marco side) to reach the market that’s been going strong for over 1,000 years. Today, the market itself may be of slightly less interest to visitors, since it’s mainly fruit, veg and fish, but the bars that have fuelled market workers for centuries are some of the best in the city for both atmosphere and cicchetti (see below).

🤫 Insider tip: To avoid the ever-present crowds on the vaporetto around here, instead of getting on or off at Rialto itself, aim for Rialto Mercato on the other side of the canal.

People often slate Venice as expensive – with bad food. These people haven’t eaten cicchetti, the legendary Venetian bar snacks, which started as bitesize fodder for gondoliers and workers on the run. Today, they usually come in the form of slices of baguette bread topped with anything from seafood to meat and cheese – you’ll find some of the best in town at Schiavi in Dorsoduro, where gourmet toppings include egg dusted with tiny flowers and tuna tartare with a sprinkling of cacao. The more traditional cicchetti, though, don’t involve bread – they’re anything from a boiled egg with anchovies, to sarde in saor, sweet-sour-style sardines marinated with onion, raisins and pine nuts. Pair it with an ombra – the Venetian term for a small glass of house wine. The bars around the Rialto market are a good place to start a cicchetti crawl. 

🍝 Discover the best restaurants in Venice

Hitching a gondola ride is one of those things that you’ll probably do once, take the photo, get the metaphorical t-shirt and never do again. But if it’s your first time in the city, this is a bucket list-worthy experience – and it doesn’t really get more quintissentially Venetian. Choose from guided rides, ‘hidden-gem’ rides, private or in groups (groups works out cheaper) – the possibilities are quite literally endless. Just expect to pay a price for it. Why wouldn’t you?

🤫 Insider tip: Because it’s a busy waterway, seeing the Grand Canal by gondola can be pretty stressful, and you’re probably better off hopping into one at a quieter stop. What you should do here, though, is take a ride in a traghetto – essentially a public gondola, they cross the Grand Canal at five points. You get all the views, with less of the waves caused by all the boats – and all for €2 a pop.

When Napoleon conquered Venice, he swiped plenty of its best Renaissance artworks and took them back to France. Lots have been recovered, however, and are now part of this vast gallery, one of the best in Italy, sporting one of the finest collections of Renaissance art on the planet. The high-ceilinged rooms are stuffed with altarpieces by Venetian greats like Titian, Tintoretto, Bellini and Carpaccio, as well as those who hit the big time here, from Mantegna to Veronese. Look out for contemporary exhibitions, too, especially in Biennale years – a recent Anish Kapoor show was mesmerising. 

Burano might be a 40-minute Vaporetto from the main island, but it’s worth the day trip. This island is filled with homes painted in every colour of the rainbow. Stroll past the 13th-century church of Santa Caterina to check out local restaurants, like the Trattoria Al Gatto Nero, which serves fresh seafood and homemade pasta (look for the bright blue building).