Gallerie dell’Accademia

The Gallerie dell'Accademia holds the most important collection of Venetian painting anywhere, tracing the city's art from gold-ground Gothic altarpieces to the eighteenth century. The collection grew out of the Accademia di Belle Arti, founded in 1750 and re-founded under Napoleon in 1807, and it first opened to the public in 1817. It occupies three linked historic buildings at the foot of the Accademia Bridge: the former Scuola Grande della Carità, the church of Santa Maria della Carità and a monastery begun by Andrea Palladio in 1561.

The highlights are numerous. Giorgione's small and mysterious The Tempest draws a constant crowd, and Titian's last work, the Pietà, is a moving counterpoint. Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi is more than 12 metres wide and fills an entire wall; it famously got the painter into trouble with the Inquisition. Carpaccio's cycle of the Legend of St Ursula is a vivid record of Venetian life, and Giovanni Bellini's San Giobbe Altarpiece shows why he is considered the father of Venetian Renaissance painting. Leonardo's Vitruvian Man belongs to the museum but is only shown for a few weeks every six years.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, with ticket sales ending an hour before closing; check the official site for current Monday arrangements. TicketOne is the only authorised online reseller, and buying in advance helps in spring and summer. Under-18s go free. If time is short, prioritise the rooms with Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and Carpaccio, and come shortly after opening, when it is easier to see The Tempest without a crowd around it. Backpacks and bulky bags are not allowed in the galleries, but free lockers are available.

Allow at least two hours. The gallery suits anyone with an interest in painting, and its manageable scale makes it less tiring than larger national museums. Visitors with limited mobility should use the barrier-free entrance on the right side, in Calle della Carità; lifts, lifting platforms and accessible toilets are provided.

The Accademia vaporetto stop, served by Lines 1 and 2, is right outside. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is a short walk east along the Dorsoduro side of the Grand Canal, and Ca' Rezzonico is about ten minutes' walk to the west.