Where to stay for the Venice Biennale: Hotel Cipriani
With a cast of legendary guests – Frank Sinatra, Sophia Loren, Brad Pitt and Yves Saint Laurent amongst – who have all supped up the swell vibes of the Hotel Cipriani one wonders if by osmosis a certain starriness seeps through to mere mortals. Does the legacy lead to a subtle form of behaviour modification? It’s sweet to ponder as I lap up and down the fabulously generous outdoor swimming pool with 270 panoramic views over the Venetian Lagoon. Taking an outdoor shower in a jasmine covered niche, watching the pool staff deliver peachy pink swim towels to vacant loungers, maybe the hotel’s soignee air becomes me.
There’s a baffling choice of over twenty natural honeys, plus a slab of honeycomb, at breakfast from which I conclude the art of pique-ing curiosity is a central tenant of contemporary luxury. Hotel Cipriani, located on Giudecca island opened in 1958 when the visionary Giuseppe Cipriani realised the potential of this quiet residential strip of land with its views towards St Marks. Having started out as a bartender, turning into an acclaimed chef, Cipriani senior distilled his wisdom and experience into a sybarite’s paradise. His son, ninety something, Arrigo Cipriani, looking pucker in blue seersucker, can be spotted at lunch outpost, Harry’s Dolci – now this must be a man with a cornucopia of tales to tell. Yet decades of potentially salacious goings on are treated with utter discretion.
Owned and run by Belmond, originally operating as Orient Express Hotels since 1976, the myth and legacy are carefully plumped like feather pillows. Interior architect Peter Marino, chairman of Venetian Heritage Foundation, was charged with the ongoing rejuvenation of the hotel's interiors that got their first reveal in 2025. “The world's great artists, actors, singers and society all mingled at this very special place and my goal is to rekindle that magic,” says Marino. There’s a gorgeous sweet and salty gorgeousness to Marino’s schemes where Dolce Vita era vintage furniture colludes with Grand Venetian rococo, peppered with huge abstract expressionist artworks, mahogany panelling and mirrors everywhere.
'Decades of potentially salacious goings on are treated with utter discretion'
Where to eat at the Venice Biennale: Oro
The Michelin starred Oro restaurant is an ode to the shimmery beauty of Venice with its giant windows that deliver a Canaletto vista from every angle, glimmering hand cast Murano glass walls and Marino designed furniture and frolicsome Murano made chandeliers. The menu conceived by head chef Vania Ghedini (who broke off her maternity leave to take up the role offered by Oro’s culinary creative director, Massimo Botturo) is interlaced with Venetian stories that give the dishes a rich educational dimension. Star of the show is a beef carpaccio that pays tribute to the dish created by Giuseppe Cipriani in 1950 in honour of the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. On the plate, tender meat is veiled by an edible portrait of the artist himself. Cut into the neck and with macabre beauty, the red flesh pops out. Rice, one of the first crops cultivated by Venetians in the 15th century, is championed in a risotto with seaweed broth and horseradish while pan fried sturgeon receives a dousing in caviar, anchovies and garlic. Ghedini delivers an operatic ending in the shape of reductionist tiramisu with gold leaf covered patisserie. Ghedini spends the off season travelling and researching new menus – culinary artistry, like painting, needs the luxury of time. Alongside the signature Carpaccio, Cipriani also delivered the Bellini (that heady concoction of Prosecco and peach puree) at Harry’s Bar in 1948, to sync with a grand retrospective of the Italian master. Now that level of cultural/social capital is world beating. The dreamy hue is dispersed throughout the hotel from the staff uniforms to the striped glass cloths that were delivered to my room at turndown. I can definitely see the splendours of Venice more clearly and appreciate gibigiana – my new favourite word which translates as the dance of light on water.
What to see at the 2026 Venice Biennale 'In Minor Keys'
The National Pavilions in the Giardini offer up a multitude of interpretations of the umbrella theme with artists exploring the vernacular, the role of memory, community and hope. It’s a pleasure to meander but with limited time head to France for Yto Barrada’s delicately hued textile works; to Austria for Florentina Holzinger’s performance installation that investigates ecological destruction and human autonomy; to Egypt for Armen Agop’s sonic, olfactory and sculptural scapes that beckon the cosmos and to Brazil where Diane Lima curates a beguiling display of figurative art and ceramics by Adriana Varejão and Rosana Paulino. Behind the neoclassical façade of Great Britain’s pavilion find Lubainia Himid’s zingy but disquieting portrayals that examine black British migrant life.
Marina Abramović: Transforming Energy at Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia.
The solo show, heralding the artist’s 80th year, bridges five centuries of art placing Abramović's ground-breaking performances (including Rhythm 0, Imponderabilia, and Balkan Baroque) directly alongside Renaissance masterpieces.
Lorna Simpson: Third Person at Pinault Collection Punta della Dogana.
The American artist delivers paintings collages and installations made in the last ten years into the serene space to explore the erosion of memory, identity and the blurring of truth and fiction.
Dries Van Noten Foundation: The Only True Protest is Beauty
The palazzo Pisani Moretta, located on the Grand Canal, in all its rococo splendour offers up a resplendent environment for Van Noten’s new art foundation that he founded with partner Patrick Vangheluwe on purchasing the palazzo from the Sammartini family in 2025. The debut show opened in April champions craft with a brilliant curation of fashion (Comme des Garcons and Christian Lacroix), ceramics, glass, sculpture, photography and furniture that examines the art of making. Don’t miss the gift shop where Van Noten’s perfumes mingle with books and limited edition pieces.
Convent Garden of Redentore
For a ruminative walk head to this secret Convent Garden on Giudecca. After restoration and replanting by the Venice Gardens Foundation, the secluded spot features over 1200 plants and views of the lagoon plus there’s a poetic show of Sarah Moon’s photography of Venice.