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Best Attractions in Venice (2026)

Venice's essential sights cluster around Piazza San Marco, where St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace and the Campanile stand within a few steps of each other. This is the busiest part of the city, so timing matters. Book a timed slot for the basilica through its official ticket store, and buy the St Mark's Square Museums ticket online for the Doge's Palace, which also covers the Museo Correr. Early morning and evening visits are far calmer than the middle of the day, and the Campanile's lift makes its view easy for all ages.

Across the Grand Canal, Dorsoduro holds the city's great art collections. The Gallerie dell'Accademia covers Venetian painting from Bellini to Tiepolo, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection shows twentieth-century art in a canal-side palace, and Ca' Rezzonico recreates eighteenth-century aristocratic life. Santa Maria della Salute, at the tip of the district, is free to enter. In San Polo, the Basilica dei Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco face each other across a small square, so Titian's Assumption and Tintoretto's great cycle make a natural pairing. The Rialto Bridge links the two halves of the city and is best crossed early or after dark. Allow two full days for the main sights, and check opening days, as several museums close one day a week.

10 places · Updated November 12, 2026

Our top 3 attractions in Venice

  1. St Mark’s Basilica Byzantine cathedral, San MarcoVenice's cathedral on Piazza San Marco, a Byzantine-influenced church consecrated in 1094 with gold-ground mosaics, the Pala d'Oro altarpiece and the original bronze horses.
  2. Doge’s Palace Palace museum, San MarcoThe Gothic seat of the Venetian Republic's government, with the Great Council Chamber, Tintoretto's Paradise, the old prisons and the walk across the Bridge of Sighs.
  3. Gallerie dell’Accademia Art museum, DorsoduroVenice's great collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries, with works by Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Carpaccio.

Attraction

2. Doge’s Palace

Palace museumSan Marco

The Gothic seat of the Venetian Republic's government, with the Great Council Chamber, Tintoretto's Paradise, the old prisons and the walk across the Bridge of Sighs.

View details — Doge’s Palace

Attraction

5. Rialto Bridge

Historic bridgeSan Polo / San Marco

The oldest crossing of the Grand Canal, a single-span stone arch completed in 1591 to a design by Antonio da Ponte, lined with shops on both ramps.

View details — Rialto Bridge

Attraction

9. Ca’ Rezzonico

Museum of 18th-century VeniceDorsoduro

A Baroque palace on the Grand Canal housing the museum of 18th-century Venice, with Tiepolo ceilings, a vast ballroom and paintings by Longhi, Guardi and Canaletto.

View details — Ca’ Rezzonico