Accademia Bridge
Venice, Italy
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
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Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia CommonsFit in nearby today
The essentials in 10 seconds
- Entry
- Paid; free on the first Sunday
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Opening hours
- Daily, Monday mornings only
verifyingi
From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time on site
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A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes. - 2 h
- With kids
- Fine with kids
- Highlights
- Giorgione, Veronese, Titian, Carpaccio, Bellini
- Building
- The former Scuola della Carità, church and monastery
- Time needed
- About 2 hours
- Vaporetto
- Accademia, at the door
Key facts
1817the gallery opened to the public
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English Wikipedia14th–18th c.the span of Venetian painting on show
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English WikipediaThe TempestGiorgione's enigmatic masterpiece
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English Wikipedia≈ 13 mwidth of Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi
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English WikipediaLeonardothe Vitruvian Man is kept here, rarely shown
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English WikipediaA short history
The gallery grew from Venice's 18th-century Academy of Fine Arts. Under Napoleon the academy moved into an old complex on the Grand Canal — the Scuola della Carità confraternity, the church of Santa Maria della Carità and its monastery — and filled it with paintings from closed churches and convents. It opened to the public in 1817.
That's why the rooms are full of huge altarpieces and canvases painted for the scuole: made for particular walls, they tell Venice's story through its own eyes. It's the best place to see the whole Venetian school in a single visit, from gold-ground icons to the luminous views of the 18th century.
The masterpieces
The most mysterious picture is Giorgione's The Tempest — a woman nursing a child and a young man before a stormy landscape split by lightning; scholars still argue over its meaning. Nearby are Giovanni Bellini's serene Madonnas and Carpaccio's glowing Legend of St Ursula, full of ships and teeming cities.
The largest canvas is Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi, about 13 m wide: painted as a Last Supper, it drew the Inquisition's ire for its jesters, dogs and soldiers, so the artist simply renamed it. Neighbouring rooms hold Titian and Tintoretto, including his Miracle of St Mark.
What to see
- The Tempest — Giorgione.
- Feast in the House of Levi — Veronese, 13 m wide.
- Legend of St Ursula — Carpaccio's cycle.
- Bellini's Madonnas — luminous altarpieces.
- Titian and Tintoretto — the late Renaissance.
- The gilded ceiling — in the first room, the old Scuola.
Old Venice in paint
Don't miss the Miracles of the Relic of the Cross cycle, painted for a confraternity around 1500. Carpaccio's canvas shows the old wooden Rialto Bridge with its lifting centre, alive with gondolas and traders, while Gentile Bellini's huge Procession in Piazza San Marco captures the square in the 15th century — near-documentary views of the city five hundred years ago.
How the visit works
You begin in the old Scuola hall beneath a lavish 15th-century gilded ceiling, among early gold-ground icons. The rooms then run roughly chronologically through Bellini and Giorgione to the big canvases of Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto, ending with Canaletto and Guardi's 18th-century views of Venice — fun to compare with the city outside. Book online and leave large bags in the cloakroom; two hours covers the essentials comfortably.
How to get there
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Where are you starting from?
We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.
On foot
- Accademia Bridge is about 2 min away on foot.
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection is about 6 min away on foot.
- Santa Maria della Salute is about 9 min away on foot.
More tips
- Vaporetto 1 or 2 to Accademia, at the entrance.
- From Piazza San Marco, 15 minutes on foot over the Accademia Bridge.
- From the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, 5 minutes' walk.
- From the Salute, 7 minutes' walk.
Is the Accademia worth it?
Yes, to understand Venetian painting: its masterpieces are all here, usually with fewer crowds than the Doge's Palace. Pair it with the Guggenheim and the Salute for half a day in Dorsoduro — old masters, 20th-century art and a Baroque church by the water.
Before you go
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Venice's museums: compare and choose
Museums and galleries in Venice rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.
| Doge's Palace | 50 | 2 h | Paid | 17 min walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murano | 42 | 3 h | Free | 3.5 km |
| La Fenice | 42 | 45 min | Paid | 9 min walk |
| Peggy Guggenheim Collection | 39 | 1 h 30 min | Paid | 5 min walk |
| Ca' d'Oro | 38 | 1 h | Paid | 20 min walk |
| Gallerie dell'Accademiayou are here | 37 | 2 h | Paid | — |
| Scuola Grande di San Rocco | 37 | 1 h | Paid | 11 min walk |
Dorsoduro in half a day
The Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Salute at the mouth of the Grand Canal.
- Gallerie dell'Accademiayou are here2 h · Paid
- 5 min walk from the previous stopPeggy Guggenheim Collection1 h 30 min · Paid
- 4 min walk from the previous stopSanta Maria della Salute30 min · Free
3 places · about 4 h 9 min with walks · 9 min on foot in total
Nearby and on the way
How to do it right
- Book online.
- Monday — mornings only.
- Don't miss The Tempest.
- The Guggenheim and Salute are close.
Questions
What are the highlights of the Accademia in Venice?
Giorgione's Tempest, Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi, Carpaccio's St Ursula cycle, Bellini, Titian and Tintoretto.
How long do you need?
About two hours.
Is the Vitruvian Man on display?
It's kept here but, being fragile, shown only occasionally.
How do I get there?
Vaporetto 1 or 2 to Accademia, or walk over the Accademia Bridge from San Marco.
Is this where Michelangelo's David is?
No — David is in Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia; Venice's is a separate museum.
Have you been? Was it worth your time?
1 — no, 5 — absolutely
Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.
Sources and fact-check
- English Wikipedia, Gallerie dell'Accademia
- Official site gallerieaccademia.it
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