12 Best museums in Venice

Among the things to see and do in Venice you can't miss a gondola ride to visit the jewels of this unique city. But then it is worth taking the time to appreciate its renowned museums such as the Doge's Palace, the Palazzo Ca D'Oro, the Peggy Guggenheim or the proposed Palazzo Grassi.

In this publication you will find the ranking with the best museums in Venice updated, according to the opinion of regular travelers and specialists of Traveler, National Geographic and TimeOut.

Without a doubt, buying a ticket to the Doge's Palace is a must for anyone visiting Venice. It was the seat of government and the residence of the Doge between the 14th and 18th centuries, when Venice was one of the most powerful and richest cities in Europe.

After hundreds of years of restorations, today the palace has become a conglomerate of buildings such as the institutional Chamber, the courtyard and loggias or the Armory rooms. There are plenty of things to see inside the Doge's Palace which, in its opulence, shows the glamour and style of every era, while portraying the political and social history of Venice.

You can combine your visit to the Doge's Palace with the entrance to St. Mark's Basilica and the Bridge of Sighs, as well as with the visit to St. Mark's Square, as they are all located in the same area.

Interesting details

• Address: Piazza San Marco, 1, 30124.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Price: from 30€ with skip-the-line access, as well as other rooms.

This museum makes the list of things to do in Venice with kids. Located 2 minutes from the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Frari, it houses perhaps the most complete collection of works by the renowned Renaissance genius.

When you buy your tickets to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum you will have access to the 500 m2 of the museum, divided into six environments where the impact of Da Vinci is represented in all its facets. The intention of the Leonardo museum is to arouse curiosity by allowing you to interact with the machines.

This could be the best Da Vinci museum to date, as in addition to digital replicas of the master's great paintings, there are also his plans, sketches and a collection with 60 machines of his invention built to scale and perfectly functional.

Interesting details

• Address: Campo S. Rocco, 3052.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 6:00 pm.
• Price: from 10€ with skip-the-line access.

Another of the impressive buildings that can be seen when taking a cruise on the Grand Canal is the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, where the museum dedicated to the successful gallery owner Peggy Guggenheim is located.

Buy tickets to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is to enjoy an important collection of modern and contemporary art. Visitors can enjoy works by artists such as Jackson Pollock, Vasili Kandinski, Max Ernst, Constantin Brâncuși and Alberto Giacometti.

The museum retains the air of a private home although it lets you see the secrets of the family and its impact on the emergence of several of the best exponents of art in the twentieth century. And it is that, as the Guggenheim heiress herself stated in her autobiographical book, she was an "Art Addict".

Details of interest

• Address: Dorsoduro, 701-704.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, except Tuesdays when it is closed.
• Price: from 22€.

Palazzo Ca' d'Oro is one of the most beautiful buildings in Venice. It is located just after the Rialto Bridge, on the Cannaregio side of the Grand Canal, which means that if you decide to go by gondola, vaporetto, water cab or any other boat, this will be one of your fixed views.

The facade is painted in vibrant shades of yellow and green, in a Venetian Gothic style, and looks like something out of a fairy tale.

The interior has undergone several renovations since its construction in 1428 to restore it to its original splendor. It now houses the Giorgio Franchetti Art Gallery where exquisite works by artists such as Titian, Jan Van Eyck, Mantegna and Van Dyck cover its walls.

Details of interest

• Address: Cannaregio 3932.
• Hours: Monday between 08:15 am and 2:00 pm. From Tuesday to Saturday between 08:15 am and 7:00 pm. Sundays and holidays between 09:00 and 19:00.
• Price: from 6 €.

It is a confraternity transformed into a gallery to exhibit 24 years of the works of Jacopo Comin, known to all as Tintoretto, an innovative painter between two eras who had to take refuge in art between 1564 and 1588, until the plague ended his life.

The San Rocco School is one of the emblematic buildings of the city where "Tintorettos" such as the St. Roch cures the plague-stricken (1549) or the famous works following the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, as well as the decoration of the Sala dell'Albergo, denote the drama of one of the best decorated museums in Venice.

On the two floors of this building, three rooms open their doors to the public, and what is found there is so valuable that it is considered the Sistine Chapel of Venetian painting.

Details of interest

• Address: San Polo, 3054, a, 30125.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.
• Price: admission is free.

Before visiting St. Mark's Basilica in the heart of Venice, it's worth stopping by Palazzo Pesaro Orfei, better known today as the Fortuny Museum or Fortuny Palace.

During your visit to this former residence of the eclectic Spanish designer and artist Mariano Fortuny, you'll find many styles of art represented: ornamental, naturalism, symbolism and, of course, Venetian Gothic art. The collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Marc Chagall and Modigliani, all friends of the family.

The foundations of this palace date back to the 15th century. However, the Fortuny Museum opened its doors to the public in 1975, twenty years after the widow of the great Catalan painter donated it to the capital of Veneto. Visitors can admire Fortuny's designs as well as his personal art collection.

Details of interest

• Address: San Marco, 3958, 30124.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, except Tuesdays when it is closed.
• Price: from 10€.

The Correr Museum is not just a museum, it is a place of inspiration and learning where the origin of the city that conquered the Mediterranean is told. It houses large art collections to portray its history from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries and different rooms:

• The Napoleonic Wing: it served as the abode and office of some Austrian sovereigns, as well as of the Procurators of St. Mark, the highest ranking office during the Republic of Venice.
• The Neoclassical Rooms: exhibit works by the famous sculptor Antonio Canova.
• The Imperial Apartments of the Royal Palace: where the lifestyle of the Venetian empresses is exposed.
• Finally, the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi portrayed the life of the Venetian nobility in the "Procuratie Nuove".

Visitors will be amazed by this remarkable building which, located in St. Mark's Square in Venice, has a vast collection of art, coins and historical objects.

Details of interest

• Address: Piazza San Marco, 52.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• Price: from 25€.

We continue with the ideal stops to share with the family in Venice, now with a museum dedicated to the pioneer of the Venetian comedy revolution in the Middle Ages: Carlo Goldoni.

The Casa Goldoni museum offers a fascinating insight into the life and work of the famous playwright, as well as the opportunity to explore the theaters and social life of eighteenth-century Venice.

Meet Brighella, Balanzone, Colombina and Pantaleon, the puppets of Arlecchino Servitore di Due Padroni. And for those who wish to personalize their experience and take home a souvenir, you will have the opportunity to make your own Venetian puppet or mask in the museum's atelier.

Details of interest

• Address: Rio Terà dei Nomboli, 2794.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, except Wednesdays when it is closed.
• Price: from 5€.

The 18th century was the richest period in the history of Venice, as well as a time of great extravagance. An example of this is the Ca' Rezzonico.

The palace took over 100 years to build and was finally completed in 1735. It is now home to the Venetian Museo del Settecento, which houses some of the art city's most exquisite works.

The museum's collection includes works by Giambattista Tiepolo and Pietro Longhi, whose frescoes are part of the construction of the building itself. In the middle, its spacious ballroom was created by Iginio Massari and the chandelier comes directly from Giuseppe Briati's Murano and Burano glass workshop.

Details of interest

• Address: Sestiere Dorsoduro, 3136.
• Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, except Tuesdays when it is closed.
• Price: from 10€.

The Galleria del l'Accademia is one of the must-see stops for art lovers on the Grand Canal. Its collection of paintings spans the 13th to 17th centuries with works from the Byzantine, landscape and Gothic periods.

Its collection pieces are mainly composed of works by Venetian masters such as Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Paolo Veronese, Bosch, Titian, Giovanni Bellini and Canaletto.

The oil paintings focused on religious expressions stand out in this gallery that has been restoring and exhibiting them since 1784. One of its main attractions is the contrasts between chaos, religion and the social vision of royalty and progeny during the buoyant Veneto.

Details of interest

• Address: Calle della Carità, 1050.
• Hours: Monday between 08:15 am and 2:00 pm. From Tuesday to Sunday between 08:15 am and 7:15 pm.
• Price: from 12€.

Going to the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute you will be amazed by the huge sculptures in front of the majestic Palazzo Grassi.

Built in 1772 for the Bolognese nobles of the Grassi family, this neoclassical palace houses a provocative art collection of business magnate François Pinault, husband of Salma Hayek. This palazzo-museum connects to one of Venice' s finest bridges and Punta Della Dogana, the former customs house at the tip of Dorsoduro.

Rotating temporary exhibitions are one of its hallmarks and often feature a selection of contemporary and modern art with internationally renowned artists, making it one of the must-see museums in Venice according to Traveler.

Details of interest

• Address: Campo San Samuele, 3231.
• Hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
• Price: from 18 €.

The International Gallery of Modern Art Ca' Pesaro is an imposing seventeenth-century Baroque building that stands in front of the Grand Canal, where it retains its original frescoes, so its architecture is worth the visit.

The Pesaros shared the same hobby as Peggy Guggenheim, were great art collectors, and commissioned works by Titian, Gustav Klimt, Auguste Rodin, Tintoretto, Medardo Rosso and many other prominent Italian artists.

Its central hall displays works by Giorgio de Chirico, Joan Mirò and Kandinsky, collector's pieces that the city has acquired at every Venice Biennale since 1950. It is more than 100 years of modern art spread over three floors with large windows to appreciate the works in natural light.

Details of interest

• Address: Santa Croce, 2076.
• Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Closed on Mondays.
• Price: from 14€.