Venice Carnival

How the Carnival works

Venice Carnival 2027 runs from 23 January to 9 February, according to the official site. It ends on Martedi Grasso, 9 February, and Giovedi Grasso, Fat Thursday, is 4 February. The official site gives 1094 for the first evidence of the Carnival, and after almost two centuries without it, the city revived it in 1979. The organizers call the narrow streets an open-air stage, and most of what you see is people in costume on the calli, in the squares and on the bridges.

The 2026 edition was themed on the Milan-Cortina Olympics, "Olympus". The historic Festa delle Marie commemorates 973, when twelve Venetian girls were kidnapped by Dalmatian pirates during a ceremony at San Pietro di Castello and brought back by a chase organized by Doge Pietro Candiano III. Bruno Tosi revived it in 1999, and each year twelve women are chosen as the Marie, with the Maria of the Year elected at La Fenice theater.

The Official Dinner Show

The ticketed event on the official site is the Official Dinner Show at Ca' Vendramin Calergi, a palace on the Grand Canal. In 2027 it runs on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January, then nightly from Fat Thursday, 4 February, to Fat Tuesday, 9 February. Dinners start at 9pm. Rates start from €650, quoted for Premium tables, and the page does not say what the base ticket covers.

The rules are strict. A period costume is mandatory, and evening gowns and tuxedos are not allowed. Masks are worn. Entry is closed to anyone under 18, and tickets are personal, non-transferable, non-refundable and cannot be changed. Four ateliers sell discounted costumes to ticket holders, who need a booking voucher number. Tickets are sold on the Vivaticket link of the official site and at Venezia Unica points of sale.

The palace is about a 10-minute walk from the train station, or 15 minutes from Piazzale Roma. A free water shuttle leaves from Piazzale Roma, and vaporetto line 1 stops at San Marcuola.

Masks and costumes

The official site describes four traditional looks. The bauta is the best-known mask, plain and unadorned, worn with the tabarro, a large black cloak. The moretta is an oval black velvet mask that was once reserved for women and had no straps: a button gripped in the teeth held it on, which kept the wearer quiet. The gnaga is a costume in which men dressed as women and wore a cat mask, a joke on social convention. The custom for greeting a masked stranger on the street was "Buongiorno Siora Maschera".

The sweets are part of the season. The official site names the fritole, fried dough balls that in their oldest form hold only raisins and pine nuts, and the galani, thin fried pastries dusted with powdered sugar that are called chiacchiere or crostoli in the rest of Italy.

Getting there

Venice has no roads in its historic core. Arrivals by train end at Venezia Santa Lucia and arrivals by bus or car end at Piazzale Roma, both with yellow signs pointing the way. From there the vaporetto, run by ACTV, is the only motor transport. Tickets are sold on the Venezia Unica website and the AVM app. Four gondola ferries, the traghetti, cross the Grand Canal for 2 euros for visitors.

The day-visitor access fee applied on 60 selected days in 2026, from 3 April to 26 July, and was 5 or 10 euros. The city sets the calendar each year at cda.ve.it. Read the Venice access fee guide before you plan a day trip in the season.

Where to sleep

Cannaregio is the sestiere of the train station and of Ca' Vendramin Calergi, which is about 10 minutes on foot from Santa Lucia. San Marco is the square itself. Piazzale Roma is the bus and car terminal, about 15 minutes on foot from the dinner show. See Venice without the day-fee crowds for the lagoon towns if the historic center is full.

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Rules for visitors

The city's Enjoy Respect Venezia rules apply during Carnival, and fines run from 25 to 500 euros. The historic center is pedestrian, and bicycles are banned, even when pushed. Do not sit or eat on monuments, church steps, bridges, wells or quaysides, and especially not in Piazza San Marco. Camping and overnight stays in the open are banned, and so are littering, graffiti, padlocks on monuments, feeding pigeons, walking around in swimwear or shirtless, and swimming or wading in canals and in the basin of St Mark's. Keep right on the narrow calli and do not linger in groups on bridges.

What to skip

Do not leave your costume until you arrive. The dinner show requires a period costume, and only four ateliers offer discounts, so settle the rental before the day.

Do not choose the last evening for its reputation. Europe for Visitors calls Fat Tuesday evening probably the worst time to attend, with heavy drinking and a night boat parade on the Grand Canal.