The Contemporary Art Lover's Guide to Venice, Italy
Venice is an art destination!
Venice is the epitome of a dream, surreal, like a postcard come to life. It makes me want to slip into flowy white dresses with billowy sleeves, braid flowers into my hair, don a Venetian mask, and read tragic poetry to handsome gondoliers, as their beautiful gondolas drift along the canals.
My obsession began early. When I was ten, my family spent the day here, and it left an impression so deep that Venice has starred in my daydreams for 35 years. I finally returned as an adult, and let me tell you, four days was simply not long enough.
Venice is an art destination, a city that celebrates art in all forms. You can see contemporary art in grand palaces, immersive installations in historic courtyards, and street art on ancient walls. Opera singers serenading gondola passengers fill the air, creating a soundtrack for the stunning Gothic, Renaissance, and Byzantine architecture you admire as you savor the most delicious gelato.
You can watch skilled mask makers delicately hand-paint romantic disguises, attend a performance at the world's most important opera house, and meander through sculpture gardens fragrant with blooming jasmine and roses. You can also explore quirky independent bookshops, admire the craftsmanship of the beloved gondolas that make the city truly unique, and casually stumble upon centuries-old frescos and mosaics.
What to do in Venice, Italy?
There is so much to do in Venice! Here is a curated list of must-dos for your next trip. Just click on the icons for specific details and helpful Venice travel tips. Note that some locations may have seasonal hours.
The map is organized into these categories:
•Art Experiences in Venice (black paint palette)
•Unique Places in Venice (maroon heart)
•Most Instagrammable Spots in Venice (purple camera)
•Delightful Cafes (brown coffee cup)
•Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Venice (green leaf)
•Gelato (orange ice cream)
•Iconic Tourist Sites (yellow star)
SCROLL BELOW THE MAP for a complete, comprehensive art travel guide to Venice. Use the map to explore where each spot is located and plan your perfect trip! Map link to open in new window.
Where to stay in Venice, Italy?
Cannareggio is a charming, picture-perfect residential neighborhood tucked away from crowds. Strolling along its canals, you'll find lively restaurants, Venetians walking their dogs, and neighbors catching up. When I travel, I love staying outside the city center; it makes it easier to pretend I live there. The experience feels more authentic, and the escapism that travel brings makes reality seem just a bit further away, even if only for a few days.
What are the best contemporary art experiences in Venice, Italy?
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is my absolute favorite art destination in Venice. It's a museum for art lovers, with recognizable works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, Marcel Duchamp, and Wassily Kandinsky. This sought-after art collection is displayed in the beautiful 18th-century Venetian palace, Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which overlooks the Grand Canal.
After exploring Peggy's home and admiring her impeccable art collection, take a moment to relax in the leafy green sculpture garden. Visualize living her glamorous life. WOW! Now, pinch yourself. Can you even believe you're here? This is where she hosted cultural gatherings and salons with modern artists and intellectuals who forever changed the art world.
If I could travel back in time, that is where I would go. I love that Peggy believed in and supported these visionaries, allowing us to spend time with these well-known works today.
🖤 Peggy Guggenheim Collection @guggenheim_venice
🕒 Open Wednesday - Monday, 10am to 6pm (Closed Tuesday)
🎟️ Admission: 16 Euros
🖼️ Do visit the gift shop for unique gifts!
🔥 Hot tip: The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is near Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. Visiting all three art spaces makes for a fantastic art-filled day!
Palazzo Grassi and Punta Della Dogana are two must-see contemporary art museums in Venice, Italy. Art collector Francois Pinault directs both museums, which offer cutting-edge and thought-provoking exhibitions in beautifully restored historic buildings. Luckily, you can visit both museums with the same ticket.
Palazzo Grassi is an elegant Venetian neoclassical palace from the 18th century. The rooms are luxurious with intricate details, providing the perfect backdrop for contemporary art exhibitions. It's a gorgeous space, and the contrast between art and architecture makes for great photographs! Everywhere you look, art is perfectly framed. Palazzo Grassi hosts various cultural events, film screenings, and lectures. Be sure to check their schedule during your holiday!
Punta della Dogona is a unique triangular structure in the sweet spot where the Grand Canal meets the Guidecca Canal. The views from this former customs house, built in the 17th century, are impressive and make the Venetian skyline stand out. I love this kind of space; it's minimal, with high ceilings, open rooms, concrete surfaces, and exposed brick walls. It's the perfect environment to experiment with shows like Pierre Huyghe Liminal.
🖤 Palazzo Grassi and Punta Della Dogana @palazzo_grassi
🕒 Open Tuesday - Sunday, 10am to 6:15pm (Closed Monday)
🎟️ Admission: 18 Euros (includes admission to both museums)
🔥 Hot tip: The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is nearby, making it easy to visit all three art spaces in one day!
I love looking for pieces by my favorite street artists when I travel, and finding The Migrant Child by Banksy is one of those core travel moments. This piece, completed in 2019, shows a young child holding a pink flare and wearing a protective life jacket. The soft waves from the canal gently lap against the wall, bringing awareness to the neverending refugee crisis and illustrating hope for a compassionate future where everyone is safe.
🖤 The Migrant Child @banksy
🕒 Always open
🎟️ Free
🔥 Hot tip: Chiesa di San Pantalon (Church of San Pantalon) is just across the canal near Campo Santa Margherita. Inside this church, you'll find the largest canvas in the world (using 40 canvases on the ceiling).
The exterior of Laboratorio Occupato Morion has fantastic political and social murals addressing migration, anticapitalism, and environmental issues. This open-air gallery is a focal point that transforms the neighborhood and is a collaborative effort between local and international street artists and community members. This once-abandoned building has been a center for activists and artists since the 1990s. They host numerous events, activities, workshops, and performances in a safe anti-fascist, anti-racist and trans-feminist space.
🖤 Laboratorio Occupato Morion @cso_morion
🕒 Open Friday nights, 7pm - 2am, from October to mid-May
🎟️ Free for the murals, but differs depending on the event
🔥 Hot tip: Explore the neighborhood. It was one of my favorites to get lost in.
Despar Teatro Italia is the most gorgeous supermarket in the world! Architects constructed this neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau building in 1915 as a theater and cultural venue. It first started showing silent films during World War 1 and hosted operas like Rigoletto and Goldoni. You can shop for Italian snacks while looking at timeless frescos. Look on the ceiling for the most famous piece, The Allegory of the Glory of Italy. They restored its ornate details, chandeliers, and beautiful moldings to their original charm, so you can totally feel the energy of Venetians all dressed up for a night out. It's located in Cannareggio, the neighborhood I highly recommend you stay in.
🖤 Despar Teatro Italia
🕒 Open daily, 8-9pm
🎟️ Free
🔥 Hot tip: Ca ’Macana Atelier, the oldest mask shop, is a 2-minute walk. It’s an excellent spot to buy an authentic Venetian mask and postcards (just ask for stamps and the postbox located in the shop!)
Venice Biennale
If you happen to be in Venice during the Biennale, you cannot miss it! Exhibitions occur all over the city, but Giardini and Arsenale are the main venues. I have written the ultimate art guide for the Venice Biennale. Please check it out!
Where are the best Instagram photo spots in Venice, Italy?
Use the curated art map to locate the purple camera symbols, which indicate the best spots to take selfies and other Instagram-worthy pictures in Venice. Here are my top instagrammable locations in Venice for aesthetically pleasing photographs!
If you're a solo traveler without a tripod, ask someone to take your photo, then offer to take theirs. Sometimes, you get lucky and find a talented photographer; other times, you'll have an awkward photo and a funny memory. Take the risk :)
Libreria Acqua Alta is the most instagrammable bookshop - Inside this gorgeous bookshop are TWO fun spots for Instagram photos that will make your feed stand out.
*Walk to the back to find a one-of-a-kind staircase made entirely of damaged books. Book lovers cannot miss this!
*Also, you'll find a gondola in the next room tethered to the bookshop. Step into it and make all your gondola dreams come true.
🔥 Hot tip: Just around the corner from the bookshop, you can find Palazzo Tetta, a picturesque building in the middle of two canals. It's another great spot without the tourist crowds.
Ponte dell'Accademia - The best bridge for a postcard-perfect view of Venice. Print and frame this photo because it will launch a thousand memories every time you look at it.
Gondola selfie hotspot near Hotel San Moise - This is a fantastic Instagram location for a gondola selfie just off the main walking path. Gondolas are docked and tied together, and an endless stream of gondolas glides past this semi-secluded spot.
Classic gondola photo - Located near the S. Zaccaria boat stop, gondolas rhythmically sway in the current. This is a classic spot for a gondola photo and looks completely different in the morning and evening. Go twice to capture the various moods of Venice.
Rialto Bridge - This bridge is stunning from every angle (I know because I did a recce and checked out all four corners), but I especially love how it looks from the location I marked on the map. I promise you'll love it, too!
Traghetto, Venice's affordable gondola ride - Traghetti are traditional gondola ferries that cross the Grand Canal for only 2 euros. Stumbling upon these ferries was my best discovery. I was like a kid in a stationary shop and could not stop smiling. They're excellent for clicking a selfie with a gondolier or capturing that quintessential Venice shot of you on a gondola. Stand in line wherever you see a Traghetto sign along the Grand Canal. I've marked two locations on the map.
⬇ The photos in this carousel follow the order of the places mentioned above.
Where are the best bookshops in Venice?
Libreria Acqua Alta bookshop is one of the most unique bookshops in the world. Not only will you find great titles, but the books are kept in gondolas and bathtubs to save them when the inevitable happens, and Venice floods. While you're here, pet the cat, buy some postcards, and check out every corner because there are so many hidden surprises, like the staircase of books and the docked gondola.
🖤 Libreria Acqua Alta @libreriaacquaalta
🕒 Open Monday - Sunday, 9am-7:15pm
Libreria MarcoPolo is an independent bookshop in the most charming bohemian neighborhood near the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. They have a small section of English titles with books I hadn't seen before. They also have the best souvenir you can get from Venice, a canvas bag that reads: Don't look for love, look for books. From one book lover to the next, it's a must-buy!
🖤 Libreria MarcoPolo @libreria.marcopolo
🕒 Open Monday to Saturday, 10am-1:30pm / 2:30pm-8pm
Sunday and holidays, 11am-1:30pm/2:30pm-7pm
What is the best way to pamper yourself in Venice?
The best way to pamper yourself in Venice, Italy, is with creamy gelato, delicious Italian food, and relaxing massages. And yes, consider this your vegan guide to Venice, because we deserve to eat well too.
If I lived in Venice, Torrefazione Cannaregio would be my go-to cafe. It's in Cannaregio, the neighborhood I keep suggesting, so it has that perfect local vibe that makes a cafe feel like home. Fun fact: they have been roasting their coffee since 1930. Sit outside on the canal and treat yourself to a vegan raspberry cornetto and a Caffe Remer.
🖤 Torrefazione Cannaregio @torrefazionecannaregio
🕒 Open daily, 8am-1am
Caffè La Serra (Serra dei Giardini di Castello) was built in 1894. It's a beautiful cafe set in a glass greenhouse, perfect for a morning coffee or an afternoon Aperol Spritz. It's also a great place to unwind after spending the day at the Venice Biennale (Giardini venue).🖤 Caffè La Serra @serra_dei_giardini
🕒 Open daily, 10am-8pm
Sullaluna Libreria & Bistrot is a darling bookstore and cafe that offers many delicious vegan options! Enjoy a coffee and pastry for breakfast, or watch the boats go by in the evening with a glass of wine and savory crostini.
🖤 Sullaluna Libreria & Bistrot @sullaluna_
🕒 Open daily, 9am-11pm (hours may change seasonally)
OKE Zattere pizzeria is where I had my best meal in Venice, and I can't stop dreaming about that pizza. I wish I had gone back for another. Call ahead and make a reservation to sit outside on the waterfront. They offer vegan and gluten-free options!
🖤 OKE Zattere pizzeria @okezattere
🕒 Open daily, 11:30am-11pm
La Tecia Vegana is the only vegan restaurant in Venice, and reservations are required. I devoured lasagna and tiramisu, as both were so delicious! I walked to the restaurant and discovered a quieter part of Venice, which I loved.
🖤 La Tecia Vegana @lateciavegana
🕒 Open Tuesday to Saturday, 6pm-10:30pm (Closed on Sunday and Monday) (hours may change seasonally)
Gelato Suso is the the best gelato in Venice. Try the pistachio and the cherry pistachio (both vegan), but skip the cookie on top (not vegan). And if you really love me, send me a container of each. There is nothing like pistachio gelato from Italy. NOTHING!
🖤 Gelato Suso @gelatoteca_suso
🕒 Open daily 9:30am-11pm (hours may change seasonally)
Treat yourself to a rejuvenating massage or reiki session with Rachele (+39 3779965488) for the ultimate self-care session in Venice. I highly recommend it after walking all day or flying across the ocean. Rachele was absolutely delightful and calming and had a deep understanding of the body-mind connection. Call ahead or WhatsApp to book, and please note that the location on the map is approximate; Rachele will disclose the exact address after you book your appointment. I loved it so much that I went back twice!
🖤 Punta Cometa Massaggi @puntacometamassaggi
🕒 Open daily, call ahead to book
I hope you love this art travel guide to Venice, Italy. It brought me so much joy to write it. If you have questions, let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them.
Just promise me, when you go to Venice, leave time to get lost. I had an itinerary on two afternoons but tossed it aside and wandered without a map or looking at my watch. Those two afternoons were my favorite.
Have the best time ever! When you post photos, tag me on Instagram (@in_pursuit_of_art) because I'd love to see them!
Here’s more information and photos, along with links to detailed Instagram posts:
Venice Biennale Best of Giardini U.S. Pavilion Austrian Pavilion Peggy Guggenheim Collection Street art Stickers Word on the street Gelato spots Gondolas Gondola opera singer Narrow streets Laundry hanging Libreria Acqua Alta More street art
