Venice Biennale Cheat Sheet: New Hotels, Restaurants, Cultural Spaces to Check out

For nearly a millennium, Venice held sway over the entire eastern Mediterranean. Its ruling doges, propagating trade and commerce, also facilitated the flow of culture, culinary traditions, and artisanship into the city from near and far, resulting in the gorgeous and inimitable kaleidoscope of influences that is the modern-day Serenissima. “I often refer to it as Disneyland for adults,” says Nathan Clements-Gillespie, former director of Frieze Masters and a longtime Venice denizen. “You go everywhere by water taxi, and there’s so much energy and joy— and these days, so much to do.”

In recent years, a clutch of art-world players have committed to the city, including Roman dealer Lorcan O’Neill and Paris-based Almine Rech, who both opened satellites of their flagship galleries here. Collector and patron Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo is developing a cultural space and artists residency on the island of San Giacomo in Paludo; Nicoletta Fiorucci’s namesake foundation launched in Dorsoduro last year; and David Hrankovic introduced San Marco Art Centre, a contemporary powerhouse in the Procuratie in St. Mark’s Square. Perhaps most exciting of all, Dries Van Noten will debut a cultural foundation under his own name in the 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta, on the Grand Canal. Already home to designs and works by the likes of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Gaspare Diziani, the palazzo will now welcome the public to its exhibitions, discussions, and cross-disciplinary projects comprising design, fashion, architecture, food, and history.

But the real buzz this year is around where visitors will sleep. In April, Orient Express Venezia opens within a renovated 15th-century palace in Cannaregio, originally designed by Filippo Calendario, the architect of the Doge’s Palace. Lebanese designer Aline Asmar D’Amman imbued the 47 rooms, suites, and apartments with richly patinated new life: Original frescoes, historic painted ceilings, and a monumental spiral staircase are all meticulously preserved and put into dynamic dialogue with sumptuous furnishings and textiles. It’s only the second property to fly the Orient Express flag (La Minerva, in Rome, opened last April), and will pair brilliantly with La Dolce Vita, the brand’s glamorous luxury sleeper train, which calls in at Venice Santa Lucia.

“I’m excited about Orient Express, and I’m excited about Airelles Venezia, both of which are going to be great for the city,” says Emily FitzRoy, founder of Bellini Travel, planners specializing in visits to Italy. Having taken over the Bauer Palladio Hotel on Giudecca, French group Airelles is now establishing its ultra-luxe bona fides on this site. Opening April 1, the property includes extensive private gardens and three pools. The sleek but indulgent interiors are the work of Airelles “house” designer Christophe Tollemer, who oversaw the restoration of Le Grand Contrôle, the group’s hotel on the grounds of Versailles.

Giudecca’s jewel has long been Belmond’s Hotel Cipriani, which has undergone renovations both subtle and comprehensive in its more than 65 years of existence. To create its next chapter, LVMH, Belmond’s owner, brought in Peter Marino. The first stage, completed last May, revealed a reinvigorated reception area and 13 redesigned rooms and suites (two of them remade as full apartments). When the hotel reopens for the season at the end of April, Marino’s work on the new Dior spa and Michelin-starred Oro restaurant—which will serve lunch for the first time in its history—will be in the spotlight. Marino is a longtime member, and current chairman and president, of Venetian Heritage, so he knows his aesthetic history. “Peter has Venetian culture in his blood, like so many of us,” says Clements-Gillespie. “So I’ll be curious to see his final interpretation—while hoping its patina and incredible heritage continue to shine through.”

Venice’s restaurant scene is something of a solar system; smaller, newer bodies orbiting into and out of the light, surrounding a core of perennials that never go out of style. These include Antiche Carampane, tucked down a tiny lane in San Polo, where the recommended order entails the cannolicchi (razor clams) or the moeche (softshell crab; in season in spring and fall, served lightly battered and fried, and sublimely delicious). Over in Castello, Cesare Benelli and Diane Rankin have kept Al Covo at the top of everyone’s list of favorites with the freshest seafood, warm service reflective of Rankin’s Texan roots, and a superb wine cellar (thanks to their son, Lorenzo, who has lately augmented its collectible vintages with excellent local natural bottles not easily found elsewhere). Luca Di Vita’s Osteria alle Testiere in San Marco has about a dozen tables but is unquestionably worth the wait. Popular newcomers include Osteria Ai Assassini, just off Campo Sant’Angelo, which opened with energetic young owners and chefs. The menu, which changes a bit every day, is always strong on elevated versions of the classics.

But to taste, feel, and see la vera Venezia, Bellini’s FitzRoy likes to take her clients out onto the lagoon. “Because the landscapes are gorgeous, and also it’s fascinating to see what people are doing in terms of conservation,” she says. She might bring along Jane da Mosto, cofounder of We Are Here Venice, whose pioneering initiative to save the lagoon’s barene, or salt marshes, makes a great half day’s educational excursion by boat.

“The birding is amazing, too,” says FitzRoy. “And then you can zip down to Pellestrina island for lunch at da Celeste.” This waterside restaurant “has one of the prettiest terraces in the lagoon and some of its best seafood, and it is a world away from the bustle of the city. Last time I went we arrived just as the fishermen were unloading the morning’s haul of mussels, and minutes later they were on our plates.” Serene, stylish, and 100 percent authentic—the forever winning formula in Venice.

What’s on View:

1. Venice Biennale: Opening May 9, the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled “In Minor Keys,” is a poignant tribute to its curator, Koyo Kouoh, following her sudden death last year, and the central pavilion honors her theoretical framework. Must-see national pavilions include installations by Khaled Sabsabi for Australia, Yto Barrada for France, and Alma Allen for the U.S.

2. Gallerie dell’Accademia: This spring, Marina Abramović becomes the only living female artist to receive a dedicated major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia. Debuting May 6, “Transforming Energy” weaves work by Abramović throughout the museum’s permanent collection, marking the first time the institution has integrated a temporary show within its historic galleries.

3. Matthew Wong Foundation: Set within the magnificent Palazzo Tiepolo Passi, the foundation’s inaugural exhibition, premiering May 6, will unveil 35 previously unseen or rarely viewed works produced by the late Chinese Canadian artist from 2015 to 2019. Curated by influential gallerist John Cheim, “Interiors” focuses on Wong’s physical and psychological interior paintings, highlighting themes of social struggle, longing, and isolation.

4. Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana: Beginning March 29, a sweeping retrospective of Michael Armitage, whose paintings bridge East African life and Western art history, animates the grand Palazzo Grassi. The show spotlights his exploration of sensitive political narratives, migration, and sexuality. Concurrently, at the Punta della Dogana, a retrospective of Lorna Simpson’s prolific practice will fill the sprawling galleries with 50 works spanning video, sculpture, and painting.

5. Ca’ Pesaro: Celebrated Miami-based figurative painter Hernan Bas will transform Ca’ Pesaro on May 7 with a new series of contemporary paintings that depict tourists in scenarios both imagined and real, drawing inspiration from Venice.

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2026 Spring Issue under the headline “Modern Reflections.” Subscribe to the magazine.