Gallerie dell’Accademia Venice: Tickets, Opening Hours & Highlights 2026
In brief: The Gallerie dell’Accademia in the Sestiere Dorsoduro are the central state collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to the 18th century — with principal works by Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Mantegna and Tiepolo. They are housed in the former monastery complex of Santa Maria della Carità at the foot of the Accademia bridge. Regular admission is currently around €15 (usually closed on Mondays; Tuesday to Sunday mostly 9:00 to about 19:00/19:15, ticket sales until 18:00). The route covers more than 20 rooms and takes 2–3 hours depending on pace. Check prices and times in advance on the official site gallerieaccademia.it.
Quick overview — the Accademia at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Museum | Gallerie dell’Accademia, Sestiere Dorsoduro |
| Focus | Venetian painting, 14th–18th century |
| Key artists | Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Carpaccio, Mantegna |
| Must-see works | Giorgione’s “La Tempesta”, Veronese’s “Convito in Casa di Levi”, Titian’s “Pietà”, Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula cycle |
| Visit duration | 2–3 hours, highlights route approx. 90 minutes |
| Opening hours | Usually closed Mondays; Tue–Sun mostly 9:00–approx. 19:00/19:15, ticket sales until 18:00 — check in advance |
| Admission | regular approx. €15, EU citizens 18–25 from €2, under 18 free (guide values, check in advance) |
| In the MUVE pass? | No — a state gallery with its own ticket |
| Best combination | Peggy Guggenheim, Ca’ Rezzonico, Scuola Grande di San Rocco |
| Address | Campo della Carità 1050, 30123 Venezia · Vaporetto: Accademia (line 1, line 2) |
Is the Accademia worth it for your Venice trip?
| If you … | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| … really want to understand Venetian painting | Absolutely — plan 2.5–3 hours and take the audio guide |
| … only have one museum day in Venice | Recommended — either with the Doge’s Palace (start of day) or with the Peggy Guggenheim (3 min on foot) |
| … are travelling with children under 12 | Limited — after 60 minutes it gets long; the Carpaccio room is the highlight |
| … prefer modern art | Skip — go straight to the Peggy Guggenheim or Punta della Dogana |
| … are travelling in high season | Pre-book online — can significantly reduce the wait (no firm guarantee) |
| … are visiting several museums | The Accademia is NOT in the MUVE pass — a separate ticket is needed |
| … are after architecture rather than painting | Querini Stampalia (Scarpa) is the better fit — the Accademia is primarily about the collection |
| … are visiting on a rainy or acqua alta day | Usually easy to reach — Dorsoduro lies higher; check in advance during strong high water |
What are the Gallerie dell’Accademia?
The Gallerie dell’Accademia are the national museum of Venetian painting — not a private collection but a state institution with the mission of systematically presenting Venice’s painting tradition from the 14th to the early 19th century. They are the central state collection of Venetian painting in Venice.
The collection goes back to the Accademia di Pittura, Scultura ed Architettura founded in 1750. With the Napoleonic secularisation of 1807, the collections of Venice’s dissolved monasteries and churches were brought into the new complex — hence the unusually dense concentration of religious panel paintings from the 14th to the 16th century. The museum first opened to the public in 1817; it has been comprehensively modernised and extended in several phases since 2004.
The building complex
The Accademia consists of three historically connected buildings: the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Carità (founded 1260, one of Venice’s six great scuole), the adjoining church of Santa Maria della Carità and the former Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi (remodelled by Andrea Palladio from 1561). All three parts were merged into one museum from 1810; the architectural heritage remains partly visible on the route — for instance in the former Sala dell’Albergo (room 24), for which Titian’s “Presentation of the Virgin” was created and where it can still be seen in the historical context of the Scuola Grande della Carità.
Highlights of the collection — room by room
The route follows a chronological order from the 14th into the 18th century. Room numbering can change during ongoing refurbishment — check the current hanging on site. The following works are the art-historical core pieces that belong in every visit:
Room 1: gold-ground painting of the Trecento
Paolo Veneziano (“Pala feriale”, 1345), Lorenzo Veneziano, early Byzantine-Gothic panel painting. The gold grounds mark the state of the art before the leap into the Renaissance. If you want to understand Venetian painting, do not rush through here — the severity of this pre-Renaissance is the contrast against which Bellini and Giorgione later break free.
Rooms 2 + 3: Bellini, Carpaccio (transition phase)
Giovanni Bellini is considered the artist who founded Venetian Renaissance painting — glazed oil technique, lyrical landscape backgrounds, soft flesh tones. Some of his best Sacre Conversazioni (“Madonna with saints”) hang here. In the adjoining rooms, Vittore Carpaccio with narrative painting cycles — his Saint Ursula cycle (see below) is one of the museum’s quiet highlights.
Rooms 4 + 5: Mantegna, Antonello da Messina, Giorgione
Three key paintings: Mantegna’s “Saint George” (c. 1460), Antonello da Messina’s “Madonna with saints” and — art-historically the most important picture in the entire collection — Giorgione’s “La Tempesta” (c. 1505). The painting is often interpreted as one of the earliest independent landscape paintings in Western art history; its enigmatic scene with a soldier, a nursing woman and an approaching storm has been debated iconographically for 500 years. In the same room, Giorgione’s “La Vecchia” — an unsparing portrait of old age with the inscribed scroll “COL TEMPO”.
Room 10: Veronese’s “Convito in Casa di Levi” (1573)
A giant painting more than 12 metres wide with one of the most famous scandals in art history: Veronese originally painted it as a “Last Supper” for the refectory of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The Inquisition summoned him in 1573 — he had profaned the holy meal with drinkers, animals and exoticised supporting figures. Instead of repainting the picture, he renamed it “Convito in Casa di Levi” (Feast in the House of Levi) — the biblical subject permitted the cheerful scene. The transcript of the Inquisition hearing survives and is documented in the catalogue.
Room 11: Tintoretto cycle
Several large formats by Tintoretto in his typically dramatic lighting: “The Miracle of Saint Mark” (1548) is the central reference here — the work that made Tintoretto famous in Venice. If you only know the artist from the Doge’s Palace, here you see the painter of the breakthrough before the later maturity. (Room numbers can change — check the current hanging on site.)
Room 17: Titian — late works
The most important piece: Titian’s “Pietà” (c. 1576), one of his last works, left unfinished and completed by Palma il Giovane. The painting is among the most striking late works of the Renaissance — the almost monochrome palette and the near-sketchy execution look astonishingly modern from today’s perspective.
Rooms 20–23: Bellini, Gentile + the Carpaccio cycles
Large-format painting cycles for the Venetian scuole: Gentile Bellini’s “Procession in St Mark’s Square” (1496) and “Miracle of the Cross at the Rialto Bridge” — at the same time genre scenes of everyday Venice around 1500. Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula cycle (1490–1495, originally for the Scuola di Sant’Orsola): nine panels with the legend of the Breton princess Ursula, who went on pilgrimage to Rome with her companions and was killed in Cologne. Carpaccio’s clear stage-like architecture and calm narrative pace feel astonishingly modern — a world of its own within the museum.
Room 24: Sala dell’Albergo with Titian’s “Presentation of the Virgin”
The room is the former meeting room of the Scuola Grande della Carità and one of the rare rooms where a work hangs in its original location: Titian’s “Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple” (1534–38). The painting was made for exactly this wall; you can see the commission context with the door on the right, which the painter integrated into the composition. A rare example of site-specific Renaissance commission painting that has not been estranged by museum decontextualisation.
Temporary exhibitions and special areas
Leonardo’s “Vitruvian Man” belongs to the Accademia but is rarely shown for conservation reasons — typically a few weeks every few years as part of special exhibitions. Check the official site before your visit. Tiepolo works from the 18th century are in the final rooms and close the chronological route.
Tickets 2026: prices and options
Current prices can vary by season and special exhibition — the following values are a guide (as of spring 2026) and should be checked on the official site gallerieaccademia.it before your visit. Important: the Accademia is a state gallery and is not included in the MUVE Museum Pass.
| Ticket | Price (approx.) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard ticket (adults) | approx. €15 | Full route |
| Reduced ticket (EU citizens aged 18–25) | approx. €2 | With ID |
| Children/teenagers under 18 | free | Carry ID |
| Audio guide | approx. €6 extra | multilingual incl. English |
| Skip-the-line online (third party) | from approx. €18–25 | Guaranteed time slot |
| First Sunday of the month | often free | Long queues — check in advance |
Where to book — official or third party?
The official route via the museum site gallerieaccademia.it, or the authorised ticket service named there, is usually the most transparent on price. Third parties such as GetYourGuide can be practical for free cancellation or bundled combination offers, but are often somewhat more expensive. For price-conscious travellers with a fixed date, the direct official route is usually the cheapest choice.
Important notes: outside peak days no mandatory reservation is usually needed; in high season online pre-booking is recommended. On the first Sunday of the month the state “Domenica al Museo” scheme often makes entry free, but leads to much longer queues — if you want to see the collection in peace, visit on another day.
Opening hours and the best time to visit
| Day | Opening hours | Last entry / ticket sales |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | usually closed | – |
| Tuesday – Sunday | 9:00 – approx. 19:00/19:15 | Ticket sales until 18:00 |
| Public holidays | substitute closing days possible | check in advance |
| 1 January / 25 December | closed | – |
As of spring 2026 according to the official site gallerieaccademia.it; depending on the section of the site, 19:00 or 19:15 is given. If a closing day falls near a public holiday, substitute closing days can apply — always check before your visit.
Best time of day
- Morning (9:00–11:30): noticeably quieter, ideal for engaging with individual rooms. Our recommendation.
- Midday (12:00–14:30): tour groups have passed through, individual visitors are fewer — pleasant.
- Late afternoon (from 16:30): quiet, but beware of closing around 19:00 — no full route possible if you only start at 17:00.
- Weekdays vs weekend: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are much more pleasant than Friday–Sunday.
- Beware the first Sunday of the month: free entry leads to full rooms — choose other days if you want quiet.
Best season
- Shoulder season (mid-March – mid-May): mild weather, quiet rooms, the ideal time for museum-focused trips.
- Late season (mid-September – November): the best conditions. From October occasional acqua alta — Dorsoduro lies higher, but still check the situation in advance.
- High season (June – August): online pre-booking makes sense. Warm in the rooms despite air conditioning.
- Winter (December – February, except Carnival): very quiet, often the best conditions to study the Saint Ursula cycle in peace.
Getting to the Accademia
The galleries are at Campo della Carità 1050, Sestiere Dorsoduro, directly at the southern end of the wooden Accademia bridge (Ponte dell’Accademia). Coming from San Marco, cross the bridge and you are there — the entrance is on the left of the campo. From Santa Lucia station about 25 minutes on foot through Cannaregio, San Polo and over the Accademia bridge; to avoid the bridge climbs, take the vaporetto.
| Line | Stop | Walk |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 (slow Grand Canal line) | Accademia | 2 min (right at the pier) |
| Line 2 (express) | Accademia | 2 min |
| Lines 5.1, 5.2 (ring line) | Zattere | 8 min northwards |
| Line 1, line 2 | San Samuele (opposite, Sestiere San Marco) | + Accademia bridge + 4 min |
From Marco Polo Airport: with Alilaguna (blue line) to San Marco — Vallaresso, then vaporetto line 1 or line 2 towards Piazzale Roma to Accademia. By bus to Piazzale Roma + vaporetto line 1 towards San Marco to Accademia — roughly the same journey, but cheaper.
The Accademia during acqua alta
Much of Dorsoduro lies higher than San Marco — during typical acqua alta events the Accademia usually remains easy to reach, and the main rooms are on the first floor. Nevertheless, during stronger acqua alta, routes through Dorsoduro, vaporetto access or the entrance area can be affected. Check current museum and transport information directly on the museum website or on our acqua alta page with live tide levels before your visit.
If you need to bridge a high-water half day, a sensible combination is the Accademia (morning) and the Peggy Guggenheim (afternoon) — both in Dorsoduro, 3 minutes apart on foot.
With children, and accessibility
With children
The Accademia is harder for children than the Doge’s Palace — no narrative route with “thrill spots”, but a systematic painting collection. What works:
- Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula cycle — a nine-panel story with a pilgrimage, a ship, a battle. Children from 8 enjoy following the narrative.
- Veronese’s “Convito in Casa di Levi” — a giant format with many supporting figures and animals — lots to discover. The Inquisition story as background.
- Tip: plan a maximum of 90 minutes, then a café break or a switch to the Peggy Guggenheim — sculpture garden + modern art often works better for children.
- Audio guide: no special children’s version; the adult version can help older children.
Accessibility
According to current visitor information, the museum offers low-barrier access and lifts between floors. Individual historic rooms (above all the former monastery areas) can have thresholds or restrictions. Visitors with limited mobility should check the current accessibility information directly with the museum.
Combining the Accademia — what fits into one day?
The Accademia’s greatest strength: its Dorsoduro location with neighbouring museums within walking distance. Three sensible day plans:
- “Dorsoduro classics day”: Accademia in the morning (9:00–12:00), lunch break in Dorsoduro (e.g. Pasticceria Tonolo), Peggy Guggenheim in the afternoon (3 min on foot, 13:30–16:00). Optionally Ca’ Rezzonico or Punta della Dogana in the late afternoon.
- “Renaissance painters day”: Accademia in the morning + the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in the afternoon (Tintoretto cycle, San Polo, 12 min on foot via Campo San Barnaba). If time remains: the Frari church with Titian’s Assunta.
- “First day in Venice”: morning Doge’s Palace + Correr (San Marco), lunch break, afternoon across the Accademia bridge to the Accademia (shorter programme, 90 min, highlights focus). Very ambitious, but workable as a compact first overview.
Guided tours — Dorsoduro, Renaissance, art
Dedicated Accademia-only tours are not always on offer. If you are looking for a specific tour — a Dorsoduro walk with an Accademia stop, Accademia + Peggy Guggenheim, or a Renaissance painters tour (Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese) — check daily availability at our affiliate partner GetYourGuide:
Frequently asked questions about the Accademia
How long does a visit to the Accademia take?
Depending on pace and interest, 2–3 hours. If you visit all the rooms and take time for the narrative cycles by Carpaccio and Bellini, plan 3 hours. A highlights version (principal works by Bellini, Giorgione, Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian) is doable in 90 minutes.
Is the Accademia included in the MUVE Museum Pass?
No. The Accademia is a state gallery and not part of the municipal MUVE Museum Pass. Tickets are only available individually via the official site gallerieaccademia.it (or the authorised ticket service named there) or via third parties such as GetYourGuide.
On which day is the Accademia closed?
Usually closed all day on Mondays, as well as on 1 January and 25 December. Tuesday to Sunday mostly 9:00 to about 19:00/19:15 (ticket sales until 18:00). If closing days fall near public holidays, substitute closing days can apply — check the official site before your visit.
Is skip-the-line worth it for the Accademia?
In high season (June–August, Carnival weeks, Easter, holiday weekends) and on free/special days, online pre-booking can significantly reduce the wait — though a fixed time saving cannot be guaranteed. In the shoulder seasons it is usually unnecessary, in the winter months almost never. On the first Sunday of the month (free entry) the queues are especially long.
When is the best day and time?
Tuesday to Thursday mornings between 9:00 and 11:30 are the quietest windows. Friday to Sunday and the first Sunday of the month are busier. In the winter months all times of day are quiet.
Which paintings should I not miss?
Four absolute must-sees: Giorgione’s “La Tempesta” (often interpreted as one of the earliest independent landscape paintings in Western art history), Veronese’s “Convito in Casa di Levi” (12 metres, the Inquisition scandal), Titian’s “Pietà” (one of his last works) and Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula cycle (nine panels) — one of the museum’s quiet highlights. Room numbers can change; check the current hanging on site.
Is Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” on display?
The drawing belongs to the Accademia collection but is rarely shown for conservation reasons — typically a few weeks every few years as part of special exhibitions. Check gallerieaccademia.it before your visit to see whether the work is currently on display.
Is there an audio guide in English?
Yes, the official audio guide is available in English — about €6 extra at the entrance. Worth it, because without art-historical context the route quickly becomes a mere sequence of pictures.
Is the Accademia accessible during acqua alta?
During typical acqua alta events, usually yes. Dorsoduro lies higher than San Marco and the collection is mostly on the first floor. During stronger acqua alta, individual routes through Dorsoduro, vaporetto access or the entrance area can briefly be affected; check current information directly on the museum website or on our acqua alta page with live tide levels.
Can I visit the Accademia with children?
With limits. From ages 8–10, the Saint Ursula cycle (Carpaccio, a narrative picture sequence) and Veronese’s giant painting work well. Younger children are overwhelmed by the density of the collection. Plan a maximum of 90 minutes, then switch to the Peggy Guggenheim — modern art and the sculpture garden often work better for children.
How do I combine the Accademia with other museums?
Best combination: Accademia in the morning + Peggy Guggenheim in the afternoon. Both are in Dorsoduro, 3 minutes apart on foot. Note the closing day — the Peggy Guggenheim is closed on Tuesdays, which rules out the combination on a Tuesday. To pack more in: add Punta della Dogana (15 min on foot) or Ca’ Rezzonico (10 min) — both also in Dorsoduro.
Which entrance, and where is the ticket desk?
The entrance is directly on the Campo della Carità at the foot of the Accademia bridge. Tickets are in the foyer; in high season online pre-booking helps against queues. Larger bags must go to the cloakroom — free cloakroom at the entrance.
How do I get to the Accademia?
Vaporetto line 1 (Grand Canal line, all stops) and line 2 (express) stop at Accademia — 2 minutes on foot to the entrance. From Santa Lucia station about 25 min on foot via the Accademia bridge, or vaporetto line 1 (slow) or line 2 (express) to Accademia. From Marco Polo Airport directly with Alilaguna to San Marco — Vallaresso + vaporetto to Accademia.
Related topics
- Art in Venice — Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Palladio, Bellini
- The Doges of Venice — election, residence, burials
- Museums in Venice — overview and passes
- Doge’s Palace — tickets, highlights, Secret Itineraries
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection — modern art next door
- Ca’ Rezzonico — the Settecento in Dorsoduro
- Venice sights — the 12 most important places
- Scuola Grande di San Rocco — the Tintoretto cycle
- Acqua alta — live tide levels and accessibility
- Getting to Venice + vaporetto