Nightlife & the Arts in Venice

A Guest in Venice, a monthly bilingual booklet free at most hotels, is your most accessible, up-to-date guide to Venice happenings. It also includes information about pharmacies, vaporetto and bus lines, and the main trains and flights. You can visit their Web site, www.aguestinvenice.com, for a preview of musical, artistic, and sporting events. Venezia News, available at newsstands, has similar information but also includes in-depth articles about noteworthy events. The tourist office publishes Leo and Bussola, bimonthly brochures in Italian and English listing events and updated museum hours. Venezia da Vivere is a seasonal guide listing nightspots and live music. Several Venice Web sites allow you to scan the cultural horizon before you arrive; try www.ombra.net (which has a fantastic map function to find any address in Venice), www.veniceonline.it, and www.venicebanana.com. Last but not least, don't ignore the posters you see everywhere in the streets. They're often the most up-to-date information you can find.