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Venice

Italy travel guide

What to see in Venice

A city on the water without cars: canals, islands like Murano and Burano, and corners far from St Mark’s.

Updated 19 October 2026 · How we make our guides

  • 12 must-see places
  • Best time: from March to June and from September to November
  • Stay in San Marco
  • Typical food: Sarde in saor
Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0

Venice highlights

The places you can’t miss. In the app we sort them by day and close to each other.

  1. St Mark’s Square

    The Basilica, the Campanile and the Doge’s Palace.

  2. Rialto

    The bridge and fish market on the Grand Canal.

  3. Dorsoduro · Accademia

    A gallery of Venetian art and less crowded alleys.

  4. Burano Island

    Colourful houses and a lace-making tradition; by vaporetto.

  5. Peggy Guggenheim

    A modern collection in Palazzo Venier dei Leoni.

  6. Cannaregio · Ghetto

    The historic Jewish quarter and local cicchetti.

  7. Murano Island

    Twenty minutes by vaporetto to watch glass being blown in a furnace, along a canal with far fewer people than Rialto.

  8. Torcello Island

    Twelve inhabitants, a bell tower you can climb and an 11th-century Byzantine mosaic of the Last Judgement. Absolute silence.

  9. San Giorgio Maggiore

    The bell tower has a lift and from the top you can see the whole of St Mark’s Square, without the queue for the campanile opposite.

  10. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari

    A huge Gothic brick church with Titian’s Assumption above the high altar inside. Titian himself is buried here.

  11. Santa Maria della Salute

    A white dome at the tip of the Grand Canal, built after the plague of 1630. The sacristy holds ceilings by Titian.

  12. Teatro La Fenice

    You can visit by day with an audio guide: gilded boxes rebuilt exactly as they were after the 1996 fire. A good half hour.

Where to stay in Venice

The handiest areas for getting around and going out.

  • Recommended areas

    San Marco · Dorsoduro · Cannaregio

Day trips from Venice

We take you straight to the best-rated tour on GetYourGuide, with its reviews and dates.

Some links are affiliate links: if you book through them, Bagintravel may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

When to travel to Venice

The months with the fewest warnings to travel to Venice are from March to June and from September to November.

  1. Jan with warnings
  2. Feb with warnings
  3. Mar no warnings
  4. Apr no warnings
  5. May no warnings
  6. Jun no warnings
  7. Jul with warnings
  8. Aug with warnings
  9. Sep no warnings
  10. Oct no warnings
  11. Nov no warnings
  12. Dec with warnings
  • from December to February

    Winter

    Cold and fog in the north (Milan, Verona, Bologna) and the coast in low season, with many hotels and boats out of service.

    What to do: A good time for museums and cities with fewer people; for the coast and the islands, May to October is better.

  • July, August

    Heat and high season

    In July and August it’s very hot in Rome, Florence and the south, and the art cities and the coast get packed.

    What to do: Start your visits early, book tickets and keep the middle of the day for resting.

Typical food of Venice

The dish you have to try there and how to make it at home, to whet your appetite before the trip (or to go back to Venice from your kitchen).

Sarde in saor
Photo: Benoît Prieur · CC0

Sarde in saor

Fried sardines marinated in sweet-and-sour onion with raisins and pine nuts, a Venetian sailors’ dish that kept for days without spoiling.

  • Serves 4
  • 45 min

Ingredients

  • 600 g fresh sardines, cleaned and butterflied
  • 3 white onions
  • 100 ml white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 30 g raisins
  • 30 g pine nuts
  • Flour, oil and salt

How to make it at home

  1. Soak the raisins in warm water.
  2. Dust the sardines in flour, fry them in oil until golden and salt them.
  3. Slice the onions thinly and cook them very slowly in oil for about 20 minutes.
  4. Add the vinegar and sugar and let it boil for a couple of minutes.
  5. In a dish, alternate layers of sardines and onion with the raisins and pine nuts. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

The trick: It’s served at room temperature and is better the next day.

Where and what to eat

To eat like a local: a trattoria. The dishes you can’t miss are in the Italy guide.

  • Osteria Alle Testiere

    Castello

    Lagoon fish.

  • Cantina Do Spade

    San Polo

    Cicchetti and wine.

Frequently asked questions about Venice

What to see in Venice?

St Mark’s Square, Rialto, Dorsoduro · Accademia, Burano Island, Peggy Guggenheim and Cannaregio · Ghetto.

What to see in Venice in 3 days?

Don’t miss St Mark’s Square, Rialto, Dorsoduro · Accademia, Burano Island, Peggy Guggenheim and Cannaregio · Ghetto. To split it into days and areas without crossing the city back and forth, the Bagintravel app plans your trip in a minute.

Where to stay in Venice?

The handiest areas to stay are San Marco, Dorsoduro and Cannaregio.

What’s the best time to travel to Venice?

The months with the fewest warnings to travel to Venice are from March to June and from September to November.

What day trips can you take from Venice?

Gondola ride, Murano and Burano and Doge’s Palace.

What is the typical food of Venice?

Sarde in saor. Fried sardines marinated in sweet-and-sour onion with raisins and pine nuts, a Venetian sailors’ dish that kept for days without spoiling.

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Guide reviewed 19 October 2026. Places, areas and seasons: the same data the Bagintravel app uses. Sources and method.