Introduction
Veneto, in north-eastern Italy, is one of the country's most varied and rewarding regions — fanning out from the lagoon city of Venice across a plain of art-rich historic cities to the eastern shore of Lake Garda and up into the dramatic peaks of the Dolomites. For travellers it offers an extraordinary concentration: the canals of Venice, the Roman arena of Verona, Giotto's frescoes in Padua and Palladio's villas around Vicenza, the Prosecco hills, Adriatic beaches and alpine valleys — all within a region you can cross in a couple of hours.
Overview
Veneto is anchored by Venice, one of the world's most extraordinary cities — built across 118 islands in a lagoon, laced with canals instead of streets, and centred on the Byzantine domes of St Mark's Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal, with the glass island of Murano and the lace-and-colour of Burano nearby. But the region spreads far beyond the lagoon. Verona, in the west, is the city of Romeo and Juliet, with a magnificent Roman Arena that stages a famous summer opera season, a handsome historic centre and the gateway to Lake Garda's eastern shore. Padua (Padova) holds one of the supreme treasures of Western art in Giotto's frescoed Scrovegni Chapel, alongside one of the oldest universities in the world and the great pilgrimage Basilica of St Anthony. Vicenza is the city of Andrea Palladio, whose harmonious Renaissance palaces and the Teatro Olimpico, together with the Palladian villas scattered across the countryside (the Villa La Rotonda among them), form a UNESCO World Heritage ensemble that shaped classical architecture worldwide. To the north, Veneto rises into the Dolomites — the pale, jagged limestone peaks around the chic resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, a UNESCO natural wonder for hiking, skiing and via ferrata. Between the cities and the mountains lie the gentler pleasures: the steep, UNESCO-listed Prosecco hills around Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, the Palladian villas and the Brenta Riviera, the walled towns of the plain, the canalled charm of Treviso, and the long Adriatic beaches at Jesolo and Caorle. With Venice's airport and a fast rail spine linking the cities, Veneto is easy to travel and offers a complete Italy — art, architecture, mountains, lakes, wine and sea — in one region. Spring and autumn are loveliest for the cities; summer for the mountains, lakes and coast (and the Verona opera); winter for the Dolomite ski slopes.
Discover Veneto
Venice is unlike anywhere on earth — a city of 118 islands threaded by canals and footbridges, where boats replace cars and every view is a painting. The heart is St Mark's Square, with the golden Byzantine mosaics of St Mark's Basilica, the Gothic Doge's Palace and the soaring Campanile; the Grand Canal, best seen from a vaporetto water-bus or a gondola, sweeps past Renaissance and Gothic palaces to the Rialto Bridge and its market. Beyond the icons, Venice rewards getting lost in the quiet sestieri — Dorsoduro's galleries (the Accademia and the Guggenheim), Cannaregio's Jewish Ghetto and local bacari wine bars, the boatyards of Castello. The lagoon adds more: the glass furnaces of Murano, the rainbow fishermen's houses of Burano, and the ancient cathedral of Torcello. Venice is crowded and fragile, so come early or late in the day, stay overnight to enjoy the magical empty evenings, and travel respectfully.
Ways to Experience This Destination
The canals, St Mark's and the Grand Canal, and the islands of Murano and Burano.
Verona's Roman Arena and opera, Giotto's Padua and Palladio's Vicenza and villas.
The pale Dolomite peaks around Cortina for hiking and skiing, and the eastern shore of Lake Garda.
The UNESCO Prosecco hills, the Palladian villas of the Brenta and the walled towns of the plain.
The long sandy resorts of Jesolo, Caorle and Bibione on the Veneto coast.
Frequently asked questions
Cities in Veneto
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.