When is the 2027 Venice Carnival?

23 January to 9 February 2027, ending on Martedì Grasso, 9 February. The main crowds come for the last ten days.

Not for the streets, the piazza ceremonies or the parades. The private masked balls are ticketed and expensive, and sell out months ahead.

Is Mestre a reasonable place to stay?

Yes, if your alternative is not coming. It is ten minutes by train from Santa Lucia, and the price difference over ten days pays for the balls.

When exactly is the city at its worst?

The final Saturday, Sunday and Martedì Grasso. San Marco is managed as a one-way system and the bridges queue.

What about the costumes?

The elaborate ones belong to people who make them, and they pose happily on the quieter days. That is the argument for the first week.

Venice Carnival 2027

Name: Venice Carnival 2027
Start: 2027-01-23
End: 2027-02-09
Location: Piazza San Marco

Venice, Italy

23 Jan – 9 Feb 2027

Confirmed by organizer

The official programme runs 23 January to 9 February 2027, ending on Martedì Grasso. The crowds and the prices belong to the final ten days; the detailed programme is published later.

84days to go

Hotels for these dates

Right Weekend earns a commission when you book through links on this page. It never affects which days or districts we recommend.

Our verdict

Go: The first week, before the last two weekends take the city
Stay: Cannaregio
Book by: August 2026 for the final weekend, autumn for the rest

Carnival is nearly three weeks long and the crowd only arrives for the end of it. The last two weekends and Martedì Grasso are when San Marco becomes impassable and the hotel prices triple; the ten days before that are the same costumes in an empty city.

Illustration: a narrow canal at dawn in winter fog, a masked figure in period costume crossing a small bridge, pastel plaster facades — Illustration — a generated image of the kind of scene, not a photograph of the venue.

Which days to go

Day	What happens	Hotel price	Our call
Opening week23–29 Jan 2027	The water parade, the first masked events, and a city that still works normally	×1.4	The best version of Carnival — costumes, photographs, and room to stand
First weekend30–31 Jan 2027	The Flight of the Angel in San Marco and the first real crowds	×2.2	Worth it for the piazza ceremonies if you arrive on the Friday
Midweek1–5 Feb 2027	Masked balls, parades in the campi, and the city breathing again	×1.8	The compromise — real events, no queue at the Rialto
Final weekend and Martedì Grasso6–9 Feb 2027	The last weekend, then Fat Tuesday — the biggest days of the eighteen	×3	Book nine months out or stay in Mestre; San Marco is one-way crowd control by noon

Hotel price is what the same hotel costs on these dates against its rate four weeks before the event. Crowd and price are our estimates from how the event has run, not live rates.

Where to stay

Piazza San MarcoNorth is up. Numbers match the table.A number too close to read sits beside its dot, on a thin line.

#	District	To the venue	Price	What it is
1	San Marco	5 min walk	$$$$	The piazza is the stage; you pay for the five-minute walk and the morning quiet
2	Cannaregio	25 min walk	$$$	Near the station, where Venetians actually live and eat
3	Dorsoduro	20 min walk	$$$	The quiet southern side, student bars and the best evening walk in the city
4	Giudecca & Lido	30 min shuttle	$$$	A vaporetto ride away, which keeps the price and the crowd down
5	Mestre	45 min train	$$	The mainland — ten minutes by train, half the price, none of the romance

Hotel	What it is	Book
San Marco
Hotel Danieli	On the waterfront by the Doge's Palace; the Carnival address, at the Carnival price	Booking Expedia
Cannaregio
Hotel Ai Mori d'Oriente	Near the Jewish quarter, twenty-five minutes' walk from the piazza	Booking Expedia
Dorsoduro
Ca' Pisani Hotel	Quiet side of the Grand Canal, by the Accademia bridge	Booking Expedia
Giudecca & Lido
Hilton Molino Stucky Venice	Across the water on Giudecca with its own boat; the big-room answer	Booking Expedia
Mestre
NH Venezia Laguna Palace	Mainland Mestre, ten minutes by train and half the price	Booking Expedia

When to book

9 mo beforeApril 2026
San Marco hotels for the final weekend
Already gone
6 mo beforeJuly 2026
The rest of the islands for the last ten days
Already gone
3 mo beforeOctober 2026
Cannaregio and Dorsoduro apartments at a sane rate
Already gone
1 mo beforeDecember 2026
Venice itself; Mestre and the mainland are the fallback

Getting there

Marco Polo is 45 minutes from the centre by Alilaguna boat, or twenty by bus to Piazzale Roma and then a walk. Treviso is cheaper to fly into and an hour away by bus.

Inside Venice there is no transport but your feet and the vaporetto. Buy a multi-day vaporetto pass if you are staying on Giudecca or the Lido; the walking routes across the city close to one-way flow on the busiest Carnival days.

Late January and early February is acqua alta season. Raised walkways appear in San Marco and the city carries on; pack boots rather than cancel.

Flights to VCE Trains and buses

Tickets

Programme, balls and official events (carnevale.venezia.it)Official

Questions

When is the 2027 Venice Carnival?: 23 January to 9 February 2027, ending on Martedì Grasso, 9 February. The main crowds come for the last ten days.
Do I need a ticket?: Not for the streets, the piazza ceremonies or the parades. The private masked balls are ticketed and expensive, and sell out months ahead.
Is Mestre a reasonable place to stay?: Yes, if your alternative is not coming. It is ten minutes by train from Santa Lucia, and the price difference over ten days pays for the balls.
When exactly is the city at its worst?: The final Saturday, Sunday and Martedì Grasso. San Marco is managed as a one-way system and the bridges queue.
What about the costumes?: The elaborate ones belong to people who make them, and they pose happily on the quieter days. That is the argument for the first week.

Updated 2026-10-29 ·See every event in 2027