Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice

Outstanding Venetian art gallery, with a terrific collection of great Venetian art. An absolute MUST VISIT gallery in Venice. Friendly and informative staff and (serious) museum- photograoher friendly. (No flash, which is as it should be.) The only downside is the absence of an in-gallery eatery.

An awesome collection of art linked to Venice. If you have any interest in art from the renaissance to romantic, be prepared to spend at least three hours here, with much gasping at yet another masterpiece - longer if you use the audio guide on all of the work it covers. (You can appreciate much of it without, thanks to dual Italian / English info.) My favourite bit was the juxtaposition of the 'here's what we got back from France after Napoleon naughtily stole it' pieces with the large 'we stole St Mark from Egypt and we don't care who knows it' painting.

Don't bother with the audioguide, you're much better off just reading the information print outs in each room. One staff member told me it was better to start upstairs so you can move through the gallery chronologically which was definitely good advice. Much of the gallery is closed off for renovations at the moment but if the small portion already completed is anything to go by, it should be excellent once finished.

15€ is a bit much for what you get. Unless you are really into seeing paintings of Mary and Jesus over and over again - I wouldn’t bother. However, what is on show is beautiful and the building itself is nice to see. Maybe once all the renovations are done it’ll be the gem of Venice.

Very interesting and varied content of icons, sculpture and paintings related to Venice. Not so much as to be overwhelming but enough to occupy the interested visitor for an afternoon. My visit was a very quiet afternoon and a haven from the crowds around St Mark's just a short walk away. Unlike the Basillica you can get up close and really study the icons and early painting