In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Venice Carnival 2027 runs from Saturday 23 January to Tuesday 9 February, with Fat Thursday on 4 February and Martedì Grasso on 9 February. The Carnival is free in the streets. The ticketed events are the Official Dinner Show at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi (premium tables from €650, over-18s, period costume compulsory) and Il Ballo del Doge on Saturday 6 February. Mask workshops are from €49.50. Book your room as soon as your dates are fixed. Or book a workshop: the Carnival Mask Workshopad is from €77 for about an hour.
⚠️ The streets are free; the balls are not. Period costume is compulsory at the Official Dinner Show and the Ballo del Doge, and evening gowns and tuxedos are refused at the dinner show.
The dates
The Carnival’s own site and Venezia Unica, the city’s tourism portal, give 23 January to 9 February 2027. Easter Sunday follows on 28 March.
| Day | Date | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 23 January | The Carnival opens |
| Saturday and Sunday | 30 and 31 January | The first Official Dinner Show nights, from 21:00 |
| Thursday | 4 February | Fat Thursday, and the start of the fat week with its nightly dinner shows |
| Saturday | 6 February | Il Ballo del Doge |
| Tuesday | 9 February | Martedì Grasso, the last day |
| Wednesday | 10 February | Ash Wednesday |
The Official Dinner Show also runs every night from Thursday 4 to Tuesday 9 February. The nights of 1 to 3 February are for corporate bookings.
What is free
A pair in Carnival costume and masks near St Mark’s Square. Photo: Monica Rondoni, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A visitor can walk the calli, the campi and Piazza San Marco without a ticket. Venezia Unica lists the Carnival’s pieces:
- The Festa Veneziana sull’Acqua opens the programme: a procession of decorated rowing boats. In 2026 it ran on the first Sunday at 11:00, with about a hundred boats rowed by costumed oarsmen from Punta della Dogana to Rialto, and vaporetto lines 1 and 2 were diverted that morning. Its date for 2027 is in the programme.
- The Corteo Storico delle Marie, the historical procession of the twelve Marie, is on the second weekend.
- The Venice Carnival Street Show puts performers in the campi and squares throughout.
- Piazza San Marco has its own programme of events. In 2026 the opening Saturday was a free Gran Ballo di Carnevale in the Square from 17:00.
- The Arsenale Water Show is on the programme, and the Taglio della Testa del Toro, a historical re-enactment, falls in the fat week.
- Mestre has float parades and events in Piazza Ferretto.
The Carnival site publishes the 2027 theme and programme at carnevale.venezia.it. The 2026 theme was announced on 24 October 2025.
The paid events
Official Dinner Show
Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, Grand Canal · 30 and 31 January, 4 to 9 February 2027 · from 21:00 · premium tables from €650
The Carnival’s own dinner and show, in the halls of the palace, with a menu by the chefs of the Wagner restaurant, live music, dancers, acrobats and a DJ set. A period costume is compulsory, and evening gowns and tuxedos are not allowed. Entry is for over-18s, and tickets are personal, non-transferable, non-refundable and non-changeable. They are sold online and at the Venezia Unica points of sale at Piazza San Marco, Rialto, the station, Piazzale Roma and Mestre, among others.
The palace is a 10-minute walk from Santa Lucia station and 15 from Piazzale Roma. A free water shuttle runs from Piazzale Roma, and vaporetto line 1 stops at San Marcuola. Four ateliers give a discount on costumes to holders of a dinner-show voucher: Atelier La Bauta, Atelier Antonia Sautter, Le Boudoir and Atelier Nicolao.
Il Ballo del Doge
A Venetian palace · Saturday 6 February 2027 · the 34th edition · ilballodeldoge.com
A costume ball produced by the Venetian designer Antonia Sautter since 1994, held on the one night, Shrove Saturday. The organiser sells it in sections that all include the full evening: a welcome show with a cocktail, a gala dinner, the show and an after-party, in full period costume. Two tickets cover only the late evening: access to the after-party from midnight, and access from 23:00 with a reserved seat in the Midnight Lounge. The organiser sets the prices and says they may change.
Mask workshops
Masks in a shop window in Venice. Photo: GabrielleMerk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
A decorated papier-mâché mask is the usual souvenir. The Carnival’s site names Ca’ Macana, Atelier Antonia Sautter, Atelier Nicolao, Mater Domini and Blue Moon Venice among the mask makers. These GetYourGuide workshops run all season.
| Workshop | Operator | From | Length | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnival Mask Workshopad | City Tours Co | €77 | 1 hour to 75 minutes | 2,082 |
| Venetian Masks Workshop: Craft a Mask to Take Homead | Carta Alta | €60 | 1.5 hours | 500 |
| Artist-Led Workshop to Paint Your Own Venetian Maskad | Gray Line Venice - Park Viaggi | €57 | 1 hour | 406 |
| Carnival Mask Decoration Class at Casanova Prisonsad | City Tours Co | €49.50 | 75 minutes | 309 |
Carta Alta’s workshop is limited to 8 people and takes place at its studio, which says it made masks for films. The Gray Line workshop meets at La Bauta in San Polo, with over 50 papier-mâché models to choose from, and the Casanova Prisons class is at the Palazzo delle Prigioni beside the Square.
What to eat
Frittelle, the fried dough balls of Carnival, dusted with sugar. Photo: Simone Coletta, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Carnival’s sweets are frittelle, fried dough balls that come plain, with raisins and pine nuts, or filled with cream or zabaglione, and galani, thin fried pastry dusted with sugar. Bakeries sell them from the start of the season. Gambero Rosso’s breakfast list names Pasticceria Tonolo for its Carnival fritters, and Rizzardini’s frìtole filled with zabaglione are the ones Great Italian Chefs picks out. The shops are in where to eat in Venice.
The weather, the water and the rules
January’s mean daily high at Venezia Tessera is 7.7°C and February’s 9.3°C, with about 15 frost nights in January. Sunset on Martedì Grasso is at about 17:27. Rain falls on 4.2 days in January and 5.1 in February.
Acqua alta is a winter risk. In the 2025 to 2026 season the MOSE barrier was raised 49 times, and 30 of those closures fell between 28 January and 20 February 2026, the weeks of that year’s Carnival: see acqua alta in Venice.
The Comune’s Enjoy Respect rules ban sitting or eating on bridges, church steps, wells and quaysides, especially round St Mark’s Square, with fines of €25 to €500. Bicycles are banned in the historic centre, even when pushed, and walking in swimwear or shirtless is not allowed.
Carnival costumes in St Mark’s Square. Photo: Shesmax, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to stay
Hotels set their own terms for Carnival, so check the cancellation rules before you book. The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. Where to stay in Venice compares the areas.
Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal
San Marco 1332 · four stars · Hotels.comad
In Palazzo Dandolo, where the Ridotto gambling rooms opened for Carnival until the Council of Ten closed them in 1774, on the Grand Canal about 230 m from the Square and its programme. The entrance is from the water.
Ca’ di Dio
Riva Ca’ di Dio 2181 · 66 rooms · one Michelin Key · Hotels.comad
In the Arsenale district, the neighbourhood of the Carnival’s Arsenale Water Show, away from the Square crowds.
Hotel Abbazia
Calle Priuli dei Cavalletti, Cannaregio 68 · three stars · Hotels.comad
In a former monastery, 120 m from Santa Lucia station, which the Carnival’s site puts a 10-minute walk from Ca’ Vendramin Calergi.
Next
The best time to visit Venice gives the weather and the crowds by month, and hotels near St Mark’s Square lists the hotels beside the Square’s programme. Venice in one or two days fits the sights round the closed days, and what to book before you go to Venice has the hours of the Basilica and the Doge’s Palace.
Common questions
When is the Venice Carnival in 2027?
From Saturday 23 January to Tuesday 9 February 2027. Fat Thursday is 4 February, Martedì Grasso, the last day, is 9 February and Ash Wednesday is 10 February. Some travel sites print 30 January or 24 January as the start; the Carnival's own site and Venezia Unica give 23 January.
Is the Venice Carnival free?
Yes. You can walk the calli, the campi and Piazza San Marco without paying. The ticketed events are the Official Dinner Show, the Ballo del Doge and other dinners and balls, and the mask workshops.
What is the Official Dinner Show?
A dinner and show at Ca' Vendramin Calergi on the Grand Canal, on 30 and 31 January and from 4 to 9 February 2027, starting at 21:00. Period costume is compulsory and evening gowns and tuxedos are not allowed. Entry is for over-18s, and premium tables start at €650.
What is the Ballo del Doge?
A costume ball produced by Antonia Sautter since 1994, held on a single night, Saturday 6 February 2027, in a Venetian palace. The full evening has a welcome show, a gala dinner, a performance and an after-party, and full period costume is compulsory.
Do I have to wear a costume at the Carnival?
Not in the streets. Period costume is compulsory at the Official Dinner Show and the Ballo del Doge, and four ateliers give a discount on dinner-show vouchers: Atelier La Bauta, Atelier Antonia Sautter, Le Boudoir and Atelier Nicolao.
Is there a theme for the 2027 Carnival?
The theme and programme are published on carnevale.venezia.it. The theme of the 2026 edition, Olympus, was announced on 24 October 2025.
