The Venice Biennale
01-09 June 2026
Dr Nick Gordon & dr lachlan warner
Dive into the world of contemporary art, from major retrospectives to the global cutting edge, on this 9-day tour
OVERVIEW
Every second year, more than 120 exhibitions of modern and contemporary art move into Venice’s historic spaces, from major retrospectives in palaces on the Grand Canal to shows by countries great and small dispersed throughout the city. It’s truly a feast for the eye and the mind, all set in the festive ambience of Venice.
This tour takes you to the best of the Biennale across 8 days, combining background talks with guided visits and free time to explore exhibitions at your own pace. We settle in with visits to key retrospectives and then dive into contemporary exhibitions in the Giardini and Arsenale, where countries from the United States to Tuvalu compete for honours in a global “art Olympics.”
The tour is complemented by a day trip to Arte Sella, a magnificent sculpture park nestled in the Italian Alps, and by visits to key modern art collections around the city.
TOUR LEADERS
Dr Nick Gordon is a director of Limelight Arts Travel and a well-known cultural tour leader, with over fifteen years’ experience leading tours to Western Europe, Asia and Australasia. Nick has a University Medal and PhD in History from the University of Sydney and taught history, architectural history and cultural studies at the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, and UNSW. Since 2006, he has designed and led tours to Italy, France, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Japan and China, and is particularly known for his design of successful tours to contemporary art fairs.
Dr Lachlan Warner brings his passion for and a wealth of experience in the visual arts to his tours, with 40 years of experience as an art lecturer, gallery director, study tour leader and prize-winning artist.
Lachlan completed his Master of Fine Art degree at Rutgers University in the United States in 1995 and his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2017. He was a lecturer at the University of New South Wales College of Fine Art, then Senior Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University, teaching, curating and coordinating ten of the University’s Visual Art study tours to Venice, Rome and Paris.
Details
DATES:
01-09 June 2026
ITINERARY:
Venice – 8 nights
PRICE:
TBC
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:
TBC for sole use of a double room
DEPOSIT:
$1,000pp at the time of booking
SECOND DEPOSIT:
TBC
FITNESS:
Moderate
GROUP SIZE:
Max. 16 places
GETTING THERE:
The tour starts at 3.00pm on Monday 01 June 2026, in the lobby of our hotel in Venice
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Enjoy contemporary art in historic locations, from palaces on the Grand Canal to the medieval Arsenale
Survey major retrospectives of leading modern and contemporary artists at the Palazzo Grassi and on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Appreciate a carefully-curated daily program of exhibitions throughout Venice, including a full day in both the Giardini and the Arsenale, each housing over 20 exhibitions
Take a day trip to Arte Sella, a magnificent contemporary sculpture park nestled in the Italian Alps
Discover the modern art collections of Venice and their spectacular settings, from the Prada Foundation in its baroque palace to the Japanese minimalism of the Punta della Dogana
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Nations and museums participating in the Venice Biennale will announce their 2026 exhibitions throughout 2025. The itinerary will be updated with details of specific exhibitions when these become available.
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*** This program will be updated with further information about the artists and exhibitions of the 2026 Biennale, as they are announced throughout 2025. ***
MONDAY 01 JUNE – ARRIVAL (welcome drinks)
The tour begins this afternoon when we gather at our hotel for an orientation stroll of the local area and to visit an exhibition in the San Marco district. After our visit, we enjoy welcome drinks and there is an introductory talk about the Biennale and its history by your tour leaders. First of eight nights in Venice.
TUESDAY 02 JUNE – THE GIARDINI BIENNALE (B, D)
In the early twentieth century, the Giardini – a Napoleonic greenspace built over the top of workers’ accommodation – became the Biennale’s permanent home. Today, its tree-lined avenues are punctuated by pavilions, designed for the display of art by architects such as Alvar Aalto and Carlo Scarpa. We begin the day at the Central Pavilion, whose exhibition takes in masterpieces by artists from around the world and is curated by Koyo Kouoh, the first African woman (and indeed, only the second African-born person) to be appointed artistic director of the Biennale. After a break for lunch, we visit a selection of the Giardini’s national pavilions, including those of the USA, France, Great Britain and Japan. In the evening, we enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant.
WEDNESDAY 03 JUNE – THE ARSENALE (B, aperitif)
Over the past 40 years, the Venice Biennale has sought to better reflect the international nature of contemporary art by facilitating the representation of a greater number of non-European nations. Doing this meant offering up more exhibition space, and so Venice’s historic shipyards, empty for decades, were renovated to create 40,000 square metres of additional room. Today, we discover the Arsenale and its surrounds, exploring the second part of Kouoh’s thematic exhibition before visiting a selection of national pavilions, such as those of Argentina, Mexico and New Zealand. Returning to the hotel, we meet for drinks in the evening to discuss what we have seen today.
THURSDAY 04 JUNE - ART AROUND TOWN 1 (B, aperitif)
As the Biennale has grown, it has helped transform Venice into a playground for modern and contemporary art, attracting numerous exhibitions of international standing each year. Today we visit some of these exhibitions in historic locations in Venice, including the Querini Stampalia Foundation, a sixteenth-century palace converted into a museum by Carlo Scarpa that during the Biennale displays retrospectives of key modern artists from around the globe. After a break for lunch, we visit the Olivetti showroom designed by Carlo Scarpa, and then visit a selection of smaller exhibitions in the San Marco neighbourhood, ending at the Palazzo Grassi. This eighteenth-century palace was transformed into an art gallery by FIAT magnate Gianni Agnelli, and was later sold to François Pinault. He uses it to host exhibitions of leading contemporary artists. After visiting the exhibition, we return to the hotel for a talk over aperitifs.
FRIDAY 05 JUNE – ART AROUND TOWN 2 (B)
The success of the Biennale has transformed Venice into a city of modern art, with multiple museums hosting excellent exhibitions during the event. Today we visit exhibitions across the city, including solo exhibitions by leading artists in historic locations and a curated selection of national pavilions, which are often in palaces not usually accessible to the public. After a break for lunch, we tour a selection of exhibitions in the Dorsoduro district, ending with a visit to the Punta della Dogana, a historic customs house converted into a contemporary art museum by Tadao Ando.
SATURDAY 06 JUNE – ARTE SELLA AND THE TOMBA BRION (B, L)
Today we take a day trip outside of Venice by private coach. Our first stop is at the Tomba Brion, a monumental tomb designed by Carlo Scarpa for the Brion family in the late 1960s. The tomb complex fuses Scarpa’s elegant mid-century modernism with the rich symbolism of life and death, creating a peaceful place of meditation. We then continue into the Alps, where we enjoy an early lunch in a local restaurant before visiting Arte Sella. This little-known but outstanding contemporary sculpture park hosts large-scale works and land art that take full advantage of the tranquil alpine forests and mountain views. In the late afternoon, we return to Venice.
SUNDAY 07 JUNE – CA’ PESARO AND THE PRADA FOUNDATION (B)
This morning we take a leisurely stroll through the Rialto markets to Ca’ Pesaro, Italy’s first public museum of modern art. The museum’s permanent collection grew from acquisitions during the first decades of the Biennale and places modern Italian art in its broader European and American contexts. After visiting the permanent collection, we then visit the special exhibition of modern and contemporary art that Ca’ Pesaro hosts during the Biennale. After a break for an early lunch, we visit the Prada Foundation in the restored seventeenth-century Palazzo Corner della Regina, which hosts exceptionally well-curated art exhibitions during the Biennale. The later afternoon and evening are at leisure.
MONDAY 08 JUNE –SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE (B, D)
The island of San Giorgio Maggiore, home to a Benedictine monastery for over 1,000 years, has become a key venue for exhibitions during the Venice Biennale. This morning our visit to the island includes the contemporary art on display in Palladio’s monumental Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore, the regular exhibition of glass art at the Stanze del Vetro, and the exhibition staged in the abbey complex by the Fondazione Cini. After a break for lunch, we visit the Fortuny Museum, which integrates superb contemporary art exhibitions into its permanent collection of the house, textiles and designs of Mariano Fortuny. In the evening, we share a farewell dinner together in a fine restaurant. Final night in Venice.
TUESDAY 09 JUNE - DEPARTURE (B)
The tour concludes after breakfast in the hotel this morning.
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Hotel Al Codega 4*, Venice, 8 nights
The four-star Hotel Al Codega is ideal for a long stay in Venice. It is a family-run establishment with just 21 rooms, meaning our group will occupy most of the rooms. Located in a hidden courtyard between St Mark’s and the Rialto, it is both quiet and central. Its breakfast, with pastries and other tempting delights still made in-house, is legendary.
A hotel of a similar category may be substituted.