Secret gardens combined with this year’s Art Biennale and the myriad collateral and coincidental events taking place in palazzi and unfamiliar spaces not generally open to the public allow you to ‘discover deeper’ a more intimate side of Venice.
Here is a selection of gardens and events to explore this Spring…..
Dorsoduro
Garden: Gardino di Ca’ Rezzonico – promising a charming break away from the crowds amongst wisteria and manicured greenery, and with a small play area for children (access to the garden is free of charge and is separate from the museum), before / after visiting the…
Art Event: Marina Abramović exhibition ‘Transforming Energy’ at the Accademia Galleries just beside our office, 6 May – 19 October 2026 (the first living woman artist to be honoured with a major solo exhibition at the Accademia in its 275-year history)
Cannaregio
Garden: Giardino Mistico dei Carmelitani Scalzi (Mystical Garden) to the rear of the wildly Baroque Church of the Scalzi near the train station – take a tranquil step into the past amongst vines, vegetables, and herbs including lemon balm, which has been made into melissa water by the Scalzi Carmelite friars for 300 years and is sold in their shop (guided tours by reservation – ask us for further details), before / after visiting…
Art Event: the eagerly anticipated Anish Kapoor exhibition at the 16th-century Palazzo Manfrin on the Cannaregio Canal (Fondamenta Sebastiano Venier, Cannaregio 342/43), 5 May – 9 August 2026
San Marco
Garden: Watch the world glide by from the exquisite Grand Canal-facing rose garden of Palazzo Malipiero at San Samuele (San Marco 3198), once the home of Casanova no less (!) and set to host…
Biennale Art Event: The Bosnia-Herzegovina pavilion ‘Domus Diasporica’ by artist Mladen Bundalo
Castello
Garden: Dainty and unusual walled garden with water features to the rear of the 16th-century Palazzo Querini Stampalia on Campo Maria Formosa (Castello 5252), designed in the 60s using materials such as copper, mosaic and concrete by famous Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa
Art Event: ‘Bad Habits’ by British painter Nigel Cooke at the Portego della Biblioteca within
Palazzo Querini Stampalia, 5 May – 22 November 2026
San Marco / Castello
Garden: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens)
Take a moment to catch your breath within this unexpectedly restful haven with arbour-shaded benches and illy Caffé, between the bustle of St. Mark’s Square and artist-and souvenir-lined waterfront beyond (admission is free), before / after visiting the…
Biennale Art Event: The New Zealand pavilion ‘Taharaki Skyside’ by artist Fiona Pardington at the Instituto Provinciale per I’Infanzia Santa Maria della Pietà di Venezia, on the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront (Castello 3702)
The island of Giudecca / Dorsoduro
Garden: The idyllic, otherworldly Convent Garden of the Redentore facing the southern lagoon to the rear and opened to the public in 2024 for the very first time, before / after visiting the…
Art Event: ‘Still Joy: From Ukraine Into the World’ – Pinchuk Art Centre at Palazzo Contarini Polignac close to the Zattere in Dorsoduro, and just a few-minutes’ hop across the water by vaporetto from Giudecca and the convent garden, 9 May ¬- 1 August 2026
