La Serenissima
Venice architecture
Venice is built on 118 small islands separated by 150 canals and linked by over 400 bridges — there are no roads in the historic center. The entire city rests on millions of wooden piles driven into the soft lagoon seabed centuries ago. Venice has been slowly sinking at a rate of 1–2mm per year while sea levels rise, and the MOSE flood barrier system was activated for the first time in 2020 to protect the city from acqua alta (high water).
- 5Landmarks
- 1094Oldest · St Mark's Basilica
- 43 mTallest · St Mark's Basilica
- 6Architects
Before you go
- Fly intoVenice Marco Polo Airport (VCE)
Venice Marco Polo Airport is located on the mainland, and the journey into the city itself is part of the experience. Visitors arrive by water taxi or the public Alilaguna boat service, gliding across the lagoon with the skyline of Venice rising from the water before them. The airport is named after Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant and explorer who traveled to China in the 13th century.
- CurrencyEuro (€)
- LanguageItalian
Venetian (Veneto) is a distinct Romance language spoken alongside Italian in the Veneto region, with roots that predate the influence of Tuscan Italian. Venice was the center of a Mediterranean trading empire for centuries, and its dialect contains traces of Greek, Arabic, and other languages absorbed through commerce. In the tourist-heavy center, English is widely spoken.
- Getting aroundVaporetto Water Buses
Venice has no roads — all public transport is water-based. The ACTV vaporetto (water bus) network operates routes along the Grand Canal and between the outer islands of Murano, Burano, and the Lido. The iconic private gondolas, steered by licensed gondoliers, are primarily a tourist experience today; residents use traghetti (gondola ferries) for quick canal crossings and private water taxis for speed.
5 landmarks in Venice
-
Photo: Zairon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons St Mark's Basilica
Piazza San Marco, 30100 Venezia VE, Italy
One of Europe's greatest examples of Byzantine architecture, serving as the seat of the Patriarch of Venice with its glittering golden mosaics.
- Built
- 1094
- Architect
- Various Byzantine architects
- Style
- Italo-Byzantine
- Height
- 43 m (141 ft)
- Stories
- 2
- Today
- Cathedral (active)
-
Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Doge's Palace
Piazza San Marco 1, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
The former seat of Venetian power, a Gothic masterpiece housing priceless Tintoretto paintings and connected to the prisons by the Bridge of Sighs.
- Built
- 1340
- Architect
- Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon
- Style
- Venetian Gothic
- Height
- 21 m (69 ft)
- Stories
- 3
- Today
- Museum
-
Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Rialto Bridge
Ponte di Rialto, 30125 Venezia VE, Italy
The oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal, completed in 1591 and still one of Venice's most recognizable landmarks.
- Built
- 1591
- Architect
- Antonio da Ponte
- Style
- Late Renaissance
- Height
- 8 m (25 ft)
- Stories
- 1
- Today
- Bridge / shops
-
Grand Canal (Venice)
Canal Grande, Venice, Italy
The main water-traffic corridor of Venice, 3.8 km long and lined with more than 170 buildings from the 13th to the 18th century.
- Built
- 1200
- Architect
- Natural waterway / city planning
- Style
- Various
- Stories
- 1
- Today
- Water highway / tourist route
-
Bridge of Sighs
Ponte dei Sospiri, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
The enclosed limestone bridge connecting the Doge's Palace to the prison, named for the sighs prisoners made as they took their last view of Venice.
- Built
- 1600
- Architect
- Antonio Contino
- Style
- Baroque
- Height
- 11 m (36 ft)
- Stories
- 1
- Today
- Landmark / tourist site
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