Best Landmarks in Venice
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From the classic Ponte di Rialto and St Mark's Campanile, to lesser-known spots worth adding to your trip.
★ 4.7 · 198,138 reviews
Walk across the Rialto Bridge, the grand stone arch that has spanned the Grand Canal since the 16th century. Browse the small shops on the bridge and watch boat traffic pass below.
★ 4.7 · 10,845 reviews
Rise above Piazza San Marco on the St Mark's Campanile. Ride the lift to the belfry and look out over rooftops, canals, and the lagoon from Venice's highest viewpoint.
★ 4.6 · 27,914 reviews
See the Bridge of Sighs, Venice's most photographed prison passage beside the Doge's Palace. Take in its white stone and barred windows from the canal bridge and watch the gondolas glide beneath.
★ 4.7 · 197,059 reviews
Stand in Piazza San Marco, the heart of Venice and the point where the city's main sights converge. Walk the arcades, take in the basilica's facade and watch the square shift from busy daytime to evening calm.
★ 4.7 · 30,569 reviews
Step inside St Mark's Basilica, the gilded centrepiece of Venice's main square. Look up at the mosaics, and if you take the museum ticket, climb higher for a closer view.
★ 4.2 · 26,522 reviews
Step aboard the Grand Canal Gondola Ride for a classic view of Venice from the water. Hear the craft's story at the Gondola Gallery, then glide past the Salute church and palaces along the canal.
★ 4.7 · 14,247 reviews
Step inside Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, Venice's great domed church on the Grand Canal. Admire the octagonal interior, then look for the sacristy with its twelve Titian paintings and linger by the canal outside.
★ 4.8 · 6,107 reviews
Step inside the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Tintoretto's great canvas-covered brotherhood hall. Spend an hour tracing biblical scenes across ceilings and walls, with mirrors to help you look up in comfort.
★ 4.2 · 18,135 reviews
Island-hop through the Venetian lagoon, from glassblowing on Murano to lace and coloured houses on Burano. Add Torcello for a quieter stop.
★ 4.7 · 2,181 reviews
Go inside the Torre dell'Orologio, the Renaissance clock tower guarding Piazza San Marco. See the astronomical clock's mechanism up close, then step onto the terrace for views over the square.
★ 3.7 · 5,318 reviews
Hire a boat for your own group on the Private Gondola Cruise from San Marco Giardinetti. Ride along part of the Grand Canal and into quieter side canals, with the gondola to yourselves.
★ 4.7 · 13,045 reviews
Explore the Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, a vast Gothic church that doubles as an art gallery. Find Titian's paintings and tomb, then admire the choir and the artists' monuments.
★ 4.7 · 605 reviews
Cross the water to San Giorgio Maggiore, a quiet island opposite Piazza San Marco. Visit the Palladian church, then climb the bell tower for sweeping views over Venice and the Grand Canal.
★ 4.7 · 4,928 reviews
Wander into Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, a Gothic giant with far fewer visitors than St Mark's. Walk past the tombs of doges and look up to the Veronese ceiling.
Cross Ponte dell'Accademia, one of the few places to walk over the Grand Canal. Stop at the centre for views down the canal toward Santa Maria della Salute, then continue into Dorsoduro.
★ 4.3 · 1,161 reviews
Choose your own route on the Off the Beaten Path Private Gondola Ride. Slip through quiet San Polo canals, or pick a longer ride that adds the Grand Canal, Rialto and the St. Mark's area.
★ 4.5 · 7,233 reviews
Walk into the Jewish Quarter, the Venetian district where the word "ghetto" began. Cross its main campo, look up at the tall tenements and pass the synagogues, kosher shops and the Jewish Museum.
★ 4.6 · 1,019 reviews
Cross to the Giudecca to see Il Redentore, Palladio's plague-memorial church. Take in its white marble facade and dome, then spend twenty minutes inside its clean, classical interior.
Hunt down Calle Contarini del Bovolo, a hidden lane in the heart of San Marco. Squeeze through the alley to reach the palace and its famous snail-shaped spiral staircase.
★ 4.6 · 11,851 reviews
Discover the Arsenale di Venezia, the shipyard that powered the Republic's fleet. Walk to the lion-flanked gateway, follow the canals and shipyard buildings, and see what exhibition currently fills the old halls.
★ 4.6 · 2,198 reviews
Visit Santa Maria dei Miracoli, the marble jewel box of Cannaregio. Step inside, sit beneath its painted barrel vault, and take in a calm corner of Venice in about fifteen minutes.
★ 4.7 · 413 reviews
Pause at the Scuola Grande di San Marco, a Renaissance landmark on Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Admire the marble facade, then step inside to see the carved ceiling and small museum.
★ 4.4 · 2,889 reviews
Cross Campo Santo Stefano, a spacious square between St Mark's and the Accademia. Look at the Tommaseo monument, step into the Gothic church and pause at a cafe among the shops.
★ 4.6 · 463 reviews
Watch Venice's gondola tradition at the Squero di San Trovaso, a working boatyard in Dorsoduro. Look across the canal at the timber sheds and gondolas under repair, a rare window into a vanishing craft.
★ 4.7 · 1,433 reviews
Step into Chiesa della Pietà, the waterfront church where Vivaldi once taught. Admire the frescoed interior, then stay for a classical concert in one of Venice's best-loved music venues.
★ 4.6 · 1,697 reviews
Visit Madonna dell'Orto, the Gothic church Venetians call Tintoretto's own. Spend half an hour among his canvases and the calm of a neighbourhood far from the main sightseeing routes.
★ 4.5 · 428 reviews
Slip into the Scuola Grande dei Carmini, a gilded brotherhood hall in Dorsoduro. Spend half an hour among carved wood, gold-leaf stucco, paintings, and restored ceilings away from the busiest crowds.
★ 4.7 · 2,707 reviews
Step into Santa Maria Zobenigo, a Baroque church just off the Grand Canal. Study the sculpted facade with its relief city maps, then slip inside to see the sacred paintings and the small treasury.
Settle into Campo Santa Margherita, Dorsoduro's easygoing square where locals and students gather. Grab a table at a cafe or bar, watch the evening crowd arrive and soak up a less touristy Venice.
★ 4.7 · 1,846 reviews
Walk into San Pantalon and let its enormous ceiling painting do the work. Put a coin in the light box, sit in the nave, and spend a quarter of an hour looking up.
Venice · 🏛️ Landmark
Ponte di Rialto
20 min
St Mark's Campanile
45 min
Bridge of Sighs
15 min
Piazza San Marco
Saint Mark's Basilica
1h
Venice · 🎭 Entertainment
Grand Canal Gondola Ride
30 min
Basilica Santa Maria della Salute
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Venice · 🧭 Tours
Murano, Burano & Torcello: Half-Day Boat Tour in Venice
4h
Torre dell'Orologio
Private Gondola Cruise
Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
San Giorgio Maggiore
Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Ponte dell'Accademia
Off the Beaten Path Private Gondola Ride
Jewish Quarter
Church of the Most Holy Redeemer
Calle Contarini del Bovolo
Arsenale di Venezia
Church of St Mary of Miracles
Scuola Grande di San Marco
Campo Santo Stefano
Squero di San Trovaso
Chiesa della Pietà - Santa Maria della Visitazione
Church of Madonna dell'Orto
Scuola Grande dei Carmini
Santa Maria Zobenigo
Campo Santa Margherita
Church of San Pantalon