VeniceThe floating republic
Measured from 1,000+ plays across 5 walked routes: in Venice, you pass a place with a story every 258 metres.
Ranked #7 of 7 Italy big cities
2026 edition · scores vs all indexed cities · measured 2026-08-21 · how we measure
Depth31/100
32 places with a story
6 historical figures
Density61/100
a story every 258 m
median along a route
Character78/100
crime & dark history
typical story: 1722 · early modern
Pulse56/100
Instagrammability 46/100
peak month: Apr
Venice, measured
The scores
Ranked against
| What we measure | Venice | Score out of 100 | Rank | Global leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | ||||
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 32 | 28 | #68 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 594 |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 6 | 34 | #39 of 68 | London (United Kingdom) · 184 |
| Hours of storieshow long its stories take to read, end to end | 0.4h | 32 | #50 of 71 | London (United Kingdom) · 7h |
| Density | ||||
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next | 258 m | 61 | #29 of 71 | Williamsburg (United States) · 100 m |
| Character | ||||
| Years its stories coverfrom its oldest story to its newest | 782 yrs | 78 | #35 of 70 | London (United Kingdom) · 1025 yrs |
| Pulse | ||||
| Instagrammabilityhow often players photograph this city | 46/100 | 46 | #15 of 54 | Sydney (Australia) |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3 or more | 9 in 100 | 26 | #62 of 69 | Houston (United States) · 32 in 100 |
| International visitorsshare of player reviews written in a foreign language | 97% | 97 | #1 of 47 | leads all indexed cities |
How to read this table›
How to read it: each score is out of 100, measured against a fixed scale that is the same for every city and every edition. Venice's 32 on places with a story scores 28, and it scores 28 on any page you find it. The switch above changes who it is ranked against, not the scores: right now that is all 80 indexed cities (19 countries so far). Venice is scored on all 8 measures, and its overall score is their average. Ranks compare cities of a similar size. What a city's stories are about has no better or worse, so themes and eras aren't scored. Instagrammability is shown as a score only; how it's calculated is on the methodology page.
The medal table
What Venice wins
- Most crime & dark history among Italy's big cities· 34% of its stories
- Most instagrammable among Italy's big cities· (shared)
Won against the other big cities of Italy in the 2026 edition. See the full table on the country page.
Character
What its stories are about
- crime & dark history34%
- faith & churches31%
- royalty & nobility28%
- legends & myths25%
- arts & culture22%
- guilds & trade16%
Out of Venice's 32 places with a story, the share whose story touches each theme. One story can touch several.
Character
Which centuries you walk through
- Early modern77%
- Medieval14%
- 19th century5%
- Early 20th century5%
When Venice's stories happen (69% of them mention a year).
Pulse
When people play here
Typical share of player reviews per month (median across 4 recent years). Peak: Apr.
Pulse
Who visits, by review language
- English72%
- German15%
- French7%
- Italian3%
- Dutch1%
Language of 500+ written player reviews. A proxy for who visits; English hides several nationalities.
Depth
32 stories wait on its streets. Here are three
Teatro Goldoni opened in 1622 and is one of the oldest theaters in Venice still in use today. It was originally called…
Giorgio Baffo was a poet who lived in the 1700s. The epigraph is an ode to him by another even better-known poet…
The modern-day Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal was once home to a Ridotti that Casanova used to visit. A Ridotti was a…
Depth
Figures you meet on Venice's streets
Carlo Goldoni
at 2 places
Teatro Goldoni · Teatro La Fenice
Giacomo Casanova
at 2 places
Ponte della Paglia · Cantina do Spade Entrance
Giorgio Baffo
at 2 places
Palazzo Bellavite · Campo San Maurizio
Saint Mark
at 2 places
Carta Gate · Columns of Saint Mark and Saint Teodoro
Saint Theodore
at 2 places
Carta Gate · Columns of Saint Mark and Saint Teodoro
Guillaume Apollinaire
at 1 place
Palazzo Bellavite
Depth
Every Venice place with a story, on one map
Each pin is a place whose story a Questo route tells. Tap one for the quest that tells it. See an empty street that deserves a pin? The form at the bottom of this page adds your story to the editors' queue.
Walk Venice's stories yourself
Three of 5 routes here. See everything in Venice
Where next after Venice?
MilanThe city of art and empire244 km away · a story every 325 m
BolognaThe red city of tall tales131 km away · a story every 285 m
RomeThe city of popes and squares394 km away · a story every 287 m
GenoaThe maritime republic290 km away · a story every 220 m
FlorenceThe Renaissance cradle204 km away · a story every 222 m
PisaThe leaning republic245 km away · a story every 260 mHow does Venice compare?
Put Venice head-to-head with any city in the index, measure by measure, from real walking data.
Quick answers
- What is Venice like to explore on foot?
- Venice has 32 places with a story across 5 self-guided Questo routes, with a story every 258 metres of walking on average. Its stories lean towards crime & dark history and faith & churches.
- Which historical period defines Venice?
- 77% of Venice's dated stories come from the early modern period; its oldest dated story reaches back to 1150.
- When do people visit Venice?
- Player activity in Venice peaks in Apr, with a typical 33% of reviews arriving June to August (median across 4 recent years of Questo reviews).
- How is this measured?
- From Questo's own walked routes and player activity in Venice: 1,000+ plays and 500+ reviews. Full method on the City Stories Index methodology page, 2026 edition.
Quote any line, attributed
For press and citation
- Walking a Questo route in Venice, you pass a place with a story every 258 metres on average.
- 77% of Venice's dated stories come from the early modern period.
- Venice's typical story happens in 1722: the median year across its dated stories, which span 782 years.
- Players meet 6 historical figures in Venice's stories, from Carlo Goldoni to Giacomo Casanova.
- 97% of Venice's written player reviews are in a language other than Italian (from 500+ reviews).
- Roughly 9 of every 100 plays in Venice is a group outing of three or more people, measured from invited multi-device sessions over the last 12 months.
- Venice's play season peaks in Apr; a typical 33% of reviews arrive June to August (median across 4 recent years).
Copy any line as it stands: for an article, a post, or an argument at dinner. Attribution: Questo City Stories Index (2026 edition), with a link to this page. Method and sample sizes on the methodology page.
Venice ranks #34 of 80. Show it.
For city halls, tourism boards, local press and anyone who lives here: this badge is yours to use, free and without asking. It links back to the measurements behind it, and it updates itself when the next edition is published.
Embed code
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<img src="https://questoapp.com/api/og/city-index-badge?country=italy&slug=venice" alt="Venice ranks #34 of 80 in the Questo City Stories Index" width="320" height="100">
</a>Know a story these streets are missing?
Every place, story and figure on this page comes from routes built by people who know Venice. Add what's missing: as a Questo creator, or with a quick suggestion.