The Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia occupies the Fontego dei Turchi — a 13th-century Byzantine palazzo on the Grand Canal. It holds prehistoric fossils, live aquarium specimens, Saharan dinosaur skeletons, and one of the most important natural science research collections in northern Italy.
This guide was updated in June 2026. The full admission is €15 — many older guides and aggregators still show €8 or €10. From 1 January 2026, the Audiopen audio guide is included in the ticket at no extra charge. And from 1 May to 26 September 2026, the museum opens until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays — extending well past its standard closing time. You can book through GetYourGuide in advance.
Quick facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | Salizada del Fontego dei Turchi, Santa Croce 1730, 30135 Venice |
| Summer hours (1 Jun – 30 Sep) | Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00 (last admission 17:00) |
| Winter hours (1 Oct – 31 May) | Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00 (last admission 16:00) |
| Fri/Sat extended (1 May – 26 Sep 2026) | Open until 20:00 (last admission 19:00) |
| Full price | €15 |
| Reduced (children 6–14; students 15–25; seniors 65+) | €7.50 |
| Venetian residents and citizens | Free |
| Children 0–5 | Free |
| Disabled + helper | Free |
| Museum Pass (6 months, all MUVE museums) | €50 full / €25 reduced |
| Audiopen audio guide | Included in ticket from 1 January 2026 |
| Nearest vaporetto | Riva de Biasio (Line 1) or San Stae (Line 1) |
| Typical visit | 1.5–2.5 hours |
Natural History Museum opening hours
From 1 June to 30 September: Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00 (last admission 17:00). From 1 October to 31 May: Tuesday–Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00 (last admission 16:00). The museum is closed every Monday, plus 1 January and 25 December. Closing operations begin 20 minutes before the closing time.
Extended summer hours (1 May–26 September 2026): Every Friday and Saturday the museum stays open until 20:00, with last admission at 19:00. This is a MUVE civic museums initiative for summer 2026 — confirmed on the official opening hours page — and is absent from all third-party guides.
Natural History Museum admission prices
The full price is €15, confirmed on the official tickets page (last modified 27 April 2026). Older guides and aggregators show €8 or €10 — both are significantly out of date. From 1 January 2026, the Audiopen audio guide is included in the admission ticket — previously charged separately.
| Category | Price |
|---|---|
| Full price | €15 |
| Reduced (children 6–14; students 15–25; seniors 65+; Rolling Venice Card holders; ISIC holders) | €7.50 |
| Children 0–5 | Free |
| Venetian citizens and residents | Free |
| Disabled visitors + helper | Free |
| ICOM members | Free |
| MUVE Friend Card holders | Free |
| School groups (Sept 1–Mar 15) | €4 per student |
| Museum Pass (all MUVE civic museums, 6 months) | €50 full / €25 reduced |
| Audiopen (Italian, English, French) | Included from 1/1/2026 |
Book through GetYourGuide to reserve your entry.
Why visit Venice Natural History Museum?
- 🦕 A Saharan dinosaur skeleton in a Grand Canal palazzo: The skeleton of Ouranosaurus nigeriensis — a dinosaur discovered in the Niger Sahara by Venetian explorer Giancarlo Ligabue — is displayed in the grand hall of a 13th-century Byzantine trading post. The contrast between the setting and the content is one of the most memorable in any Italian museum.
- 🎟️ Audio guide included from January 2026: The Audiopen audio guide (Italian, English, French) was previously a paid extra and is now included in the standard admission — a practical saving that most guides and aggregators have not yet updated.
- 🌿 Friday and Saturday evenings until 20:00 (May–September 2026): The museum stays open until 20:00 on summer Fridays and Saturdays, with last admission at 19:00 — confirmed on the official hours page and absent from all third-party guides.
- 📜 The Fontego dei Turchi itself: The building was the trading base for Turkish merchants in Venice from 1621 to 1838 — a rare surviving example of Byzantine commercial architecture on the Grand Canal, with a distinctive arcaded loggia directly above the water.
- 💰 Free for Venetian residents: Venice residents and citizens enter free at all times — one of the most generous local admission policies in the MUVE civic museum network.
How to get to the Natural History Museum
By vaporetto, the most convenient option. Take Line 1 (the Grand Canal route) to either Riva de Biasio or San Stae — both are directly in front of or immediately beside the Fontego dei Turchi on the Grand Canal. From the Ferrovia (Santa Lucia station), Riva de Biasio is the second stop (approximately 5 minutes). From the Rialto, San Stae is 4 stops heading towards the station (approximately 8 minutes).
On foot from Santa Lucia station, the museum is a 10-minute walk along the Grand Canal towpath or through the Santa Croce calli (lanes). From the Rialto, allow 15 minutes on foot through the Santa Croce neighbourhood.
Parking at the Natural History Museum
Venice’s historic centre has no car access for visitors. Arrive by vaporetto, on foot, or by water taxi. If arriving by car, park at Piazzale Roma (multi-storey, paid) or Tronchetto (car ferry terminal), then take a vaporetto. From Piazzale Roma, the museum is a 10-minute vaporetto ride on Line 1, or a 12-minute walk through Santa Croce.
How long to spend at the Natural History Museum
Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The museum covers four themed sections across the Fontego dei Turchi — prehistoric life, the dinosaurs and Ligabue collection, the aquarium, and the temporary exhibitions — plus the building’s own remarkable history. Families with children and visitors who use the Audiopen guide tend to need the full 2.5 hours.
Accessibility at the Natural History Museum
The museum confirms wheelchair and pushchair accessibility throughout, including lift access between levels. Disabled visitors and one helper enter free. The Fontego dei Turchi has been adapted from its historic structure; ground-floor and upper-floor rooms are all reachable without stairs. Contact the MUVE call centre (+39 041 42730892) in advance for specific requirements.
What to see at the Natural History Museum
The Dinosaurs and Giancarlo Ligabue Collection occupies the grand hall on the upper floor and is the museum’s most spectacular section. The skeleton of Ouranosaurus nigeriensis — a 110-million-year-old herbivorous dinosaur from the Sahara of Niger, discovered by Venetian explorer Giancarlo Ligabue in the 1970s — is displayed at full scale. A crocodilian skeleton (Sarcosuchus imperator) found at the same site provides an arresting companion piece. Ligabue’s expeditions across Africa, Central Asia, and the Pacific produced an extraordinary array of natural history and ethnographic material now distributed across the museum.
Prehistoric Life in the Veneto documents the geological and biological history of north-east Italy from the Jurassic to the Pleistocene. Notable exhibits include marine reptile fossils from the Dolomite limestone quarries, preserved specimens of Ice Age megafauna, and material from the lagoon sediments beneath Venice itself — a reminder that the ground under the city has its own deep natural history.
The Aquarium is the most undermentioned section in external guides. The ground floor of the Fontego holds a series of tanks with live specimens from the Venice Lagoon and the northern Adriatic — fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and invertebrates in an active marine research setting that connects the museum’s scientific programme to the living ecosystem immediately outside its Grand Canal façade.
In and Out of the Water (current exhibition, from January 2026) is a photography and scientific communication project by researchers exploring the “behind the scenes” of the Venice Lagoon — documenting the ecosystem’s dynamics through both scientific imagery and public engagement material. In a dedicated room separate from the permanent collection.
Practical tips for visiting the Natural History Museum
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Adult price is €15, not €8 or €10 | Multiple older guides and aggregators still show these out-of-date prices. The current full price is €15; the audio guide is included at no extra charge from January 2026. |
| Friday and Saturday until 20:00 in summer | From 1 May to 26 September 2026, the museum stays open until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Last admission 19:00. Not yet reflected in any external guide. |
| Vaporetto Line 1 stops directly outside | Riva de Biasio or San Stae are the two closest stops, both on the Grand Canal. The building is identifiable from the water by its arcaded Byzantine loggia. |
| Don’t miss the aquarium | The ground-floor live aquarium section with Venice Lagoon and Adriatic species is rarely highlighted in external guides but is one of the most distinctive features. |
| Book in advance | Walk-up tickets can be purchased at the museum. Booking online is recommended in July and August when visitor numbers are highest. |
Natural History Museum FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the full ticket price? | €15. Older guides and aggregators show €8 or €10 — both are significantly out of date. Reduced rate (children 6–14, students 15–25, seniors 65+) is €7.50. |
| Is the audio guide free? | Yes, from 1 January 2026. The Audiopen audio guide (Italian, English, French) is included in the standard admission — previously a paid extra. |
| Does the museum open late in summer? | Yes — every Friday and Saturday from 1 May to 26 September 2026, the museum is open until 20:00 (last admission 19:00). Weekdays and Sundays follow standard hours. |
| Is it part of the Venice Museum Pass? | Yes. The MUVE Museum Pass (€50 full / €25 reduced, valid 6 months) covers all civic museums including the Natural History Museum — good value for a multi-museum Venice visit. |
| Is the museum closed on Mondays? | Yes, every Monday. Also closed 1 January and 25 December. |
Things to do near the Natural History Museum
The San Stae church is directly adjacent to the San Stae vaporetto stop, a 2-minute walk from the museum. The early 18th-century interior holds twelve major canvases by the leading Venetian painters of the period — Tiepolo, Ricci, Piazzetta — commissioned as a set for the church’s most significant chapels.
The Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art is a 5-minute walk south on the Grand Canal (reachable on foot or by vaporetto). It holds an important collection of Klimt, Chagall, Matisse, and Kandinsky in a Baroque palazzo.
Palazzo Mocenigo is 5 minutes east and is the MUVE museum of textiles and costume, with a dedicated perfume itinerary and a significant collection of 16th–18th-century Venetian dress and fabrics.
The Rialto market is around 15 minutes on foot or a short vaporetto ride east — the fish market (Pescheria) and produce stalls (Erberia) are at their most active Tuesday to Saturday mornings. The Rialto bridge and the merchant streets behind it are the commercial core of historic Venice.
The Santa Croce neighbourhood immediately surrounds the museum and is one of the less-visited sestieri of Venice — quieter than San Marco or Dorsoduro, with independent osterie, local grocery shops, and canal-side routes free of tourist infrastructure.
Similar natural history and science museums to visit near Venice
The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Verona is around 1.5 hours west by train and holds an excellent collection of Lessini mountain fossils — eocene fish, plants, and marine invertebrates — representing one of Italy’s finest regional palaeontology collections.
The Museo di Scienze Naturali e Archeologia, Montebelluna is around 50 minutes north-west by train and holds the largest Cro-Magnon human skull ever found, alongside significant Palaeolithic and Bronze Age collections from the Veneto foothills.
The Orto Botanico, Padua is around 45 minutes west by train and is the world’s oldest university botanical garden (1545, UNESCO World Heritage Site), with significant living collections of rare and historically important plant specimens.
Museo Palladio (Palazzo Barbaran da Porto), Vicenza is not natural history but covers Palladio’s architecture — the intellectual tradition that runs through Venice’s built environment — and is part of the broader context for understanding Venice’s relationship with the surrounding landscape. Around 1 hour west by train.
More Veneto travel
Other Veneto travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Why it makes sense to do a Valpolicella wine tour from Verona.
- Plan your visit to the Doge’s Palace in Venice.
- What to expect at the Leonardo da Vinci Interactive Museum in Venice.
- Venice to Verona train times and prices.
- Bologna to Verona train times and prices.
