Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Dorsoduro · Museum
One of the finest small museums in the world, housed in Peggy Guggenheim's former home directly on the Grand Canal. In winter, you will have it almost to yourself.
Venezia · An honest guide · Go in December. The city is yours.
To Do
The City is a Museum
Treat it like one. These are the experiences worth building your days around.
Doge's Palace
San Marco · Historic Site
One of the great buildings in Europe — seat of government, court of law, prison, and work of art simultaneously. The Bridge of Sighs, the Golden Staircase, Tintoretto's Paradise. Buy timed entry online.
Palazzo Fortuny
San Marco · Museum
The former home and studio of Mariano Fortuny. The palazzo feels untouched — his printing equipment, his paintings, his collections all still in place. One of the most atmospheric museum spaces in the city.
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Island · Church & View
Palladio's masterpiece on its own island. Take the elevator to the top of the campanile for the best elevated view of the city. The vaporetto from San Zaccaria takes three minutes.
Gallerie dell'Accademia
Dorsoduro · Museum
The definitive collection of Venetian painting — Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese. If you want to understand why Venice looks the way it does, spend two hours in these rooms.
Teatro La Fenice
San Marco · Opera House
Venice's legendary opera house, rebuilt after two fires and restored with obsessive fidelity. Attend a performance if the season allows. The acoustics are extraordinary.
Fondation Pinault
San Marco & Dorsoduro · Contemporary Art
François Pinault's two Venice venues — Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana — form one of the world's great contemporary art collections. Both restored by Tadao Ando. Buy a combined ticket.
Mercato di Rialto
San Polo · Market
The fish market and produce market that has supplied Venice's restaurants since the 11th century. Go at 7am on a weekday morning when the restaurateurs are buying and the city is at its most Venetian.
Fondazione Dries Van Noten
Cannaregio · Foundation
The Belgian fashion designer's recently established foundation in Venice, dedicated to the intersection of fashion, art, and craft. Rotating exhibitions connecting Van Noten's design world with Venetian artistic heritage.
Glassblowers in Murano
Murano Island · Craft
Take the vaporetto from Fondamente Nove — twenty minutes across the lagoon. The glass furnaces have been on Murano since 1291. Watch a master glassblower at a serious furnace, not a tourist operation. Buy something at Venini or Barovier & Toso if the budget allows.