9:30 AM · 1 h 15 min
Alilaguna from Marco Polo into Venice
Arrive by water; buy a 72-hour ACTV pass on landing
Day-by-day plan, $5
Venice Carnival
For anyone in Venice Feb 6 – 10: all 5 days planned, 27 places in order.
Get the plan · $5
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- Its places average 4.5 on Google19 rated places, 108,239 reviews
- Facts checked Nov 11, 20263 sources, listed below
Wander the Rialto market, pick a handmade mask, catch dawn at San Marco and day-trip to colorful Burano. Carnival crowds peak mid-week, so book key sights early.
The plan
5 days · 27 stops
What it's like in FebruaryExpect highs around 10°C (50°F) and lows near 3°C (37°F), with about seven rainy days. Pack a warm layer and an umbrella.
Day 1 · Sat, Feb 6
Arrival, Rialto and masks
Ferry in, market lunch, mask shopping, evening cicchetti dinner
Photo: Iris Tsang / Google2 min
Photo: Pachu Armesto Hevia / Google16 min
Photo: Albert Ribas Admetlla / Google17 min
Photo: Matthias Süßen / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.08 min
Photo: Osteria Al Portego / Google7:30 PM · 1 h 30 min
Osteria Al Portego
RestaurantHidden bacaro with sarde in saor and polenta
4.3(2,832)Google€-€€
Day 2 · Sun, Feb 7
San Marco at dawn and Burano
Early square visits, basilica and palace, then the pastel island
Photo: Giuseppe Desario / Google6:45 AM · 1 h 15 min
S. Marco-San Zaccaria "C"
Ferry terminalMaschere pose against misty lagoon before crowds arrive
4.4(116)Googlefree
14 min
Photo: Pasticceria Tonolo / Google8:15 AM · 45 min
Pasticceria Tonolo
Dessert shopVenice's benchmark Carnival frittelle, hot from the fryer.
4.6(3,069)Google€
20 min
Photo: Marina Ch / Google9:30 AM · 1 h 15 min
St. Mark's Basilica
Historical SiteByzantine gold mosaics; booked slot skips Carnival queues
4.7(21,536)Google$
2 min
Photo: Özgür Sakarya / Google11:00 AM · 1 h 45 min
Doge's Palace
Historical LandmarkGreat Council chamber and prisons; booked right after Basilica
4.7(30,375)Google$$
43 min
Photo: Carola Baer / Google41 min
Photo: Giuseppe Verdura / Google7:45 PM · 1 h 30 min
Trattoria da Remigio
Italian restaurantLocal Venetian cooking away from the crowds
4.2(870)Google$$
Day 3 · Mon, Feb 8
Dorsoduro art day
Museums, gondola boatyard, mask painting and canal-side drinks
Photo: Didier Descouens / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.010:00 AM · 1 h 30 min
Ca' Rezzonico
Art museumBaroque palazzo art museum, open Mondays, Grand Canal setting
4.5(3,550)Google$$
6 min
Photo: Didier Descouens / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.02 min
Photo: Cantine del Vino già Schiavi / Google12:30 PM · 1 h
Cantine del Vino già Schiavi
Wine barInventive crostini beside a canal
4.7(3,043)Google€-€€
7 min
Photo: G.Lanting / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.02:00 PM · 1 h 45 min
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Art museumModern masterpieces; closed Tuesday so go today
4.6(15,090)Google$$
7 min
Photo: Pina Palazzo / Google9 min
Photo: Albert Ribas Admetlla / Google3 min
Photo: Caffè Rosso Venezia / Google7:15 PM · 1 h 15 min
The Caffe Rosso
BarLocals' Select or Cynar spritz under the red awning
4.2(1,411)Google€
2 min
Photo: Osteria Alla Bifora / Google8:45 PM · 1 h 15 min
Osteria Alla Bifora
Italian restaurantLively osteria in Dorsoduro with wine and cheese plates
4.5(2,131)Google$$
Day 4 · Tue, Feb 9
Martedì Grasso finale
Cicchetti at Rialto, costumed strolls, closing ceremony in San Marco
Photo: Cantina Do Spade / Google12:00 PM · 1 h
Cantina Do Spade
RestaurantInventive crostini before the Carnival finale
4.4(4,153)Google€-€€
12 min
Photo: Didier Descouens / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.011 min
Photo: Matthias Süßen / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.013 min
Photo: Braden Hahn / Google7:45 PM · 1 h 45 min
Trattoria Antiche Carampane
Italian restaurantCelebrated Venetian seafood in quiet San Polo
4.4(1,115)Google$$$
Day 5 · Wed, Feb 10
Early departure
Early checkout and ferry to Marco Polo Airport
Pack and check out early. Allow time for water transport and bridges with luggage
6:45 AM · 1 h 15 min
Alilaguna to Marco Polo
Scenic last ride across the lagoon
Check in and depart. Arrive about 2-3 hours before an international flight
Take it with you
Every day is here to read. The app adds offline maps, the next stop and the walk to it as you go, and updates until Feb 6.
- 4-day plan to Martedì Grasso
- Mask workshops and dawn photo spots
- What to book, and the access fee
- Offline maps in the app
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Sally can plan your ownRead Day 1 freeGood to know
- The official Carnival site gives the 2027 dates as January 23 to February 9, 2027, so the last day, Martedì Grasso, is Tuesday Feb 9.carnevale.venezia.it · checked Nov 11, 2026
- As of Nov 11, 2026 the official site has not published the 2027 programme: no dates yet for the Festa delle Marie or the other main events.carnevale.venezia.it · checked Nov 11, 2026
- The official site lists a Carnival Official Dinner Show and sells the Venezia Unica City Pass for museums and transport.carnevale.venezia.it · checked Nov 11, 2026
Venice Carnival 2027: how the closing-weekend plan works
This plan is for a couple at the 2027 Venice Carnival, which runs January 23 to February 9. It takes the closing weekend, Saturday to Martedì Grasso on Tuesday February 9, on foot and by vaporetto from a base in Cannaregio or Castello. It is built around a mask from Ca' Macana, costumed regulars at San Marco at first light, Burano, a Dorsoduro art day and the closing day in Piazza San Marco.
How the four days fit together
Four full days, then a boat to the airport early on the fifth morning. If Venice is one stop on a longer trip, the 10-day Italy itinerary covers Rome, Florence and Venice.
- Day 1, arrival and masks: the Alilaguna boat from Marco Polo, a standing cicchetti lunch at Bar All'Arco by the Rialto market, a handmade mask at Ca' Macana, the masqueraders in Piazza San Marco, then sarde in saor at Osteria Al Portego.
- Day 2, San Marco and Burano: costumed regulars on the San Zaccaria waterfront at dawn, booked slots at St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, then the pastel houses of Burano.
- Day 3, Dorsoduro: Ca' Rezzonico, the gondola boatyard at Squero di San Trovaso, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a spritz on the Zattere and a mask-painting class.
- Day 4, Martedì Grasso: cicchetti at Cantina Do Spade, a costumed stroll in Campo Santo Stefano, the closing in Piazza San Marco and a farewell dinner at Trattoria Antiche Carampane.
- Day 5: an early Alilaguna back to Marco Polo.
Venice Carnival 2027 dates and the last day
The official Carnival site gives the 2027 dates as January 23 to February 9, which makes Tuesday February 9 the last day. That is the same Tuesday as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Rio Carnival parades run February 7 to 9.
As of November 11, 2026, the 2027 program wasn't published: no dates yet for the Festa delle Marie or the other main events. The plan holds Tuesday afternoon for the closing events in Piazza San Marco, with Campo San Zaccaria as its backup, and its tip is to confirm times at carnevale.venezia.it. Earlier that day, Campo Santo Stefano is its calmer place to see the masks.
Getting around Venice during Carnival
- The Alilaguna boat from Marco Polo, €15 on the plan; the Blue or Orange line depends on your hotel's stop.
- A 72-hour ACTV vaporetto pass, bought on landing.
- Line 12 from Fondamente Nove to Burano.
- On the closing day, crowd controls at San Marco: the plan enters via the Mercerie and leaves toward the Riva, and the Mercerie routes run one way at peak hours.
- On departure morning, early boats run less often, so check times the night before.
What to book ahead
- St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, back to back on Day 2; the plan's note is that a booked slot skips the Carnival queues.
- The Peggy Guggenheim Collection: a timed ticket is mandatory, and it's closed Tuesdays, which is why it falls on Monday.
- The mask-painting class at Ca' Macana, which books out weeks ahead.
- Dinner at Trattoria da Remigio, which fills on Carnival weekends, and at Trattoria Antiche Carampane.
- Registration at cda.ve.it before arrival, for the overnight exemption QR code.
How this plan was made. Sally, Highlights' AI trip planner, wrote it from a brief written for this trip. Its stops are matched to their Google Maps listings (checked Nov 12, 2026), and the ratings, hours and addresses come from Google. Each fact under Good to know links the page it came from and the day it was checked.
Questions
When is Venice Carnival 2027?
From January 23 to February 9, 2027, according to the official Carnival site, so the final day, Martedì Grasso, is Tuesday February 9. When the plan's facts were checked on November 11, 2026, the detailed 2027 program, including the Festa delle Marie, hadn't been published yet.
Do you need tickets for Venice Carnival?
Not for the open-air parts in this plan: the masqueraders in Piazza San Marco, Campo Santo Stefano and the closing day in the square are all listed as free. The official site does sell some things: it lists a Carnival Official Dinner Show and sells the Venezia Unica City Pass for museums and transport.
Where can you buy a real Venetian mask?
This plan uses Ca' Macana Original in Dorsoduro, the papier-mâché maskmakers behind the masks in Eyes Wide Shut, rated 4.7 on Google by 961 reviewers. It picks a mask there on Day 1 and comes back on Day 3 to paint one in a class. The tip is to ask about classes early, because they book out weeks ahead.
Is February a good month to visit Venice?
It's Carnival month. Typical February weather is highs around 10°C (50°F), lows near 3°C (37°F) and about seven rainy days, so the plan says to pack a warm layer and an umbrella. Its tips: the lagoon wind is bitter at dawn, Burano is quiet and moody in winter, and rain pushes the costumes under the Procuratie arcades.
What do you eat at Venice Carnival?
Frittelle, fried dough balls filled with cream, zabaione or raisins. The plan gets them at Pasticceria Tonolo in Dorsoduro, rated 4.6 on Google by 3,069 reviewers; arrive early, because they sell out. The rest is cicchetti: baccalà mantecato at Bar All'Arco, crostini at Cantine del Vino già Schiavi and Cantina Do Spade.
