Venice Biennale (Olympics of Art) -- What to do, what to avoid

Hi Jim,

I haven't been to the Biennale, however, I do know there's quite a volume of youtube videos from various travelers who have attended them in the past. My understanding is each Biennale can be very different depending on the art selected for presentation that year.

The artwork can range from the very eclectic to the (in my opinion) bizarre. Both the visitors and the artwork are beautiful and unusual. It is very common to see guests in fancy high fashion outfits.

Sorry I can't offer more. Hopefully a quick youtube search will give you the additional information you need.

We spent a day at the main part of the Bienalle last month. If you like contemporary art it's well worth the 23 Euro admission. There are two main sections that are about a 10 minute walk apart, the Giordano section, which has the pavillions by country, and the Arsenale, which is a gigantic building with too many installations to count. This is a full day kind of thing.

As with most contemporary art shows, the exhibits run the gamut from head-scratching to awesomely beautiful and moving. I think I preferred the Arsenale section due to the huge variety in the art there. The national pavillions are mostly oriented around a single artist each. Funny, but I can't remember details about them now. I do know that I was blown away by the amount and variety of art that I saw.

We took the vaporetto to giordani and bought tickets right there. There were no lines. Beware the ticket is only good for one day. Another thing to note is that there are numerous free exhibits around that are connected to the Bienalle. They're located in palazzos around Venice. So, if you're not sure you want to invest a day, check those out to see if you want to go in for the big show. This was our third trip to Venice and we felt like we didn't need to revisit the popular spots we'd seen in previous trips, so the Bienalle worked out great.

We spent a month in Venice during the last Art Bienniale, and are going back this October. We did not feel the city was any more, or less, crowded because of the event--Venice is always crowded during high season, and the cruise ship passengers make it more so--but they are unlikely to attend the Bienniale.

There are two areas of the Bienniale, Giardini and Arsenale. A ticket is good for one full-day entry into each venue, and they need not be on consecutive days. you can read about ticket purchase here:

http://www.labiennale.org/en/art/tickets/index.html

There is a slight discount if you buy online, but you cannot get senior discounts that way so we went through the ticket line. It was just off Via Garibaldi if I remember, and there was basically no line.

The Giardini venue consists of a number of national pavilions (permanent buildings), each with an art installation representing that country's artists. Itis very eclectic, sometimes weird, sometimes beautiful, and often political. We spent quite a bit of time in the French, Spanish, British, Japanese, and US pavilions, and others which I do not recall. One film in the UK pavilion was absolutely amazing; We watched it several times there and then later online. I will see if I can find a link to it.

We returned another day for the Arsenale venue which was organized very differently. It is pretty amazing that they allow public access into this place and that was part of the experience. we enjoyed that more than the art.

We did not find either venue particularly crowded, but that was October.

People do not dress up in designer clothes to walk around the grounds and visit the pavilions. Just wear what is comfortable for a day in Venice ( and lots of walking). There are special events associated with Bienniale (music, theater, dance) and people probably dress up for those, but they are separate and expensive tickets. We did not go to those.

There are also some free venues scattered around town, and they are well worth visiting if you see one. They are for countries that want to create an exhibit but do not have a permanent pavilion. We found one just off a campo on our way to the Accademia Bridge, maybe Campo San Stefano or even Campo Manin, and decided to go in.. It was a small Asian Muslim country---maybe Uzbekistan? And it was truly amazing. The lower floor was carpeted with red woolen carpets on every surface ---anninteresting display of the local handcrafts. Upstairs there was a moving photographic exhibit of weddings, and then several rooms with very clever and innovative installations---metal sculptures that looked totally random but when lit from the right angle created beautiful shadows. Hard to describe, but we were captivated. my husband took lots of photos there.

On another day we found a friendly little temporary bar just off Via Garibaldi, sponsored by an African country, with a shaded courtyard, great music, and refreshing drinks. We were by far the oldest people there but were made very welcome.

Look around, keep your mind open to new things, and you will love it.

Here is the link to the UK film that we loved in 2013:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/jun/01/jeremy-deller-venice-biennale-interview

It is a protest film against the alleged shooting of a pair of protected raptors by Prince Harry. If the link does not work, just Google Jeremy Deller and English Beauty to find it. Amazing photography of the birds.

Bill and I were posting at the same time. Just note that you do not have to visit the Giardini and Arsenale venues on the same day, and I would recommend against that. The ticket is good for one entry into each venue, on different days if you so choose.

Check out the stunning newly built Australian Pavilion in the Giardini.
https://www.facebook.com/AusAtVenice

Pretty sure our tickets said one day only.

It is one day per venue (Giardini or Arsenale). It is right on the ticket website I posted above:

" Single regular tickets are valid for one entry to each of the two exhibit venues (Arsenale or Giardini) and they can be used also on non-consecutive days."

Perhaps someone in your party misunderstood the "one entry" language? We went to Giardini and Arsenale on separate days a week apart.

Thank you everyone.
Very Helpful!!