Venice Carnival 2014

The Best Events of Venice Carnival!

Carnival is almost here! This year Fat Tuesday falls on March 4th, and Carnevale celebrations will take place all over Italy during the weeks prior. The most famous and extravagant place to spend Carnival is unquestionably Venice. This year the Carnival of Venice is themed "The Wonder and Fantasy of Nature."

When to go to Venice for Carnival

The carnival events and festivities will run from February 15th to March 4th, but the celebrations definitely build up as the weeks go on. The closer to "Martedì Grasso" you get, the more crowds, events and excitement there will be. For the most excitement plan to visit on the weekends, especially the last weekend from Friday February 28th until Fat Tuesday - March 4th.

Event Highlights:

The Zombie Walk

Carnival will kick off on Saturday February 15th at 4pm in a very non-traditional way. The halloween-imported Zombie Walk comes to Venice this year as the living dead will make their way from Zattere to Pescheria, near the Rialto bridge. Ay zombies in need of a ride from the parking-lots of Tronchetto can can contact: zombiewalkvenezia@outlook.it

Best Costume Contest

In St Marks’ Square there will be twice daily competitions at 11am and 3pm for the best Carnivale "maschera" every day starting Saturday February 22nd. Each day one costume will win for the day, and a special Grand Finale contest will be held on Sunday March 2nd for the best costume of the entire festival. Visit the event website for more information about how to partipate.

Volo dell’Angelo

The "Flight of the Angel" will take place on February 23rd, when last year’s winner of the "Festa delle Marie" beauty pageant will ride a zipline from the Belltower in Piazza San Marco. Visit the Festa delle Marie official website for more information about the pageant.

Nightly Events at the Arsenale

The Arsenale is Venice’s historic shipyard. This year for the very first time, Carnival events starting at 7pm will be held from Thursday February 27th. Don’t miss the shows, re-enactments and music that will fill this magnificent space, sure to be a unique addition to the festivities. Free boats will run from St Mark’s Square to reach the Arsenale.

Parties

While there is plenty to see in the streets and piazzas of Venice during Carnival, the elite frequent expensive parties. Tickets to these parties start at about €500/person. The best of the best is the "Gran Ballo della Cavalchina" on March 1st in the Teatro la Fenice opera house. See the Official Venice of Carnival website for more information.

If you’re planning on visiting Venice during Carnival this year, download our free PDF schedule of events! Every performance, movie-screening and art exhibition is included to help you plan your fantastic Venice Carnival experience.

For the 2017 edition of the Carnival click here !