A Mini Guide to La Biennale, Venice

Venice is more than just a pretty face. It’s also home to some of Europe’s cultural highlights – from music and film to food and drink.

When you’ve had enough of gazing, gondolas and gelato – check out La Biennale festival.

What is La Biennale?

La Biennale di Venezia is a biannual festival, celebrating contemporary art, music theatre, dance and architecture, bringing together artists from all over the world. It’s now in its 56^th year and is running from the 9^th May to November 22^nd - so you’ve still got plenty of time to check it out!

The main exhibition is themed differently for every festival, and this year’s theme is “all the world’s futures” – which was as ambiguous and intriguing as it sounds! Regular priced tickets for the festival cost €25 each, or €15 if you’re a student.

The main exhibition takes place in Arsenale (a complex of old shipyards in central Venice) and The Giardini – a park which houses 30 pavilions, used by all of the countries taking part in La Biennale.

Why visit La Biennale?

It’s one of the most important art events in the world. I don’t pretend to be an art expert, but even if it’s not usually ‘your thing’, there is so much talent and diversity on display here that you’re bound to find something which piques your interest.

If you’ve visited Venice a number of times and are looking for a unique way to spend your time in the city, you can’t go wrong here.

Top tips

• The festival is open from 10am – 6pm daily but is closed on Mondays
• There’s a lot to get through, and a lot of walking through warm rooms. Make sure you take plenty of water and stop at the café in Arsenale.
• It’s worth picking up a map or programme at the entrance – it’s pretty easy to get lost!
• Definitely do a bit of research into the festival before you go, especially if you don’t have much time in Venice. You’d need a full week to be able to see everything, so pick and choose what interests you.
• Also, you know those handy little captions you sometimes get beside a piece of art to help you understand it? None of that here. So it’s definitely worth knowing a little about the various artists and themes up for discussion to help you make the most of it.

Have you ever visited La Biennale? What did you think?

I discovered La Biennale Festival on a trip to Venice with LG, to try out their new LGG4. All photos were taken using the G4.