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An unmissable 10-day extravaganza that takes over the city as a countdown to Lent. The streets mill with costumed and masked local “nobility” or crazily attired visitors. It gets off to a flying start with the Volo della Colombina (flight of the dove), when either an acrobat or a cardboard dove is launched from the Campanile in Piazza San Marco, showering on-lookers with confetti. The grand finale is the explosive Mardi Gras.

The word regatta originated in Venice so what better place to enjoy the year’s most spectacular event? Ornately decorated boats propelled by costumed oarsmen parade down the Grand Canal bearing passengers dressed as historical dignitaries. A series of furiously contested regattas follows.

A colourful armada of rowing craft from all over the world embarks on a 32-km (20-mile) non-competitive route around the lagoon’s scattered islands. The “Long Row” is a great experience for both participants and on-lookers, who line the Canale di Cannaregio towards midday to cheer on the breathtaking final stretch down the Grand Canal.

People crowd on to all available watercraft, decorated with paper lanterns and greenery, for a feast of roast duck and watermelon, followed by a midnight fireworks display. It all takes place near Palladio’s church on Giudecca (see Andrea Palladio) to commemorate the end of the 1576 plague. For those on foot, a temporary pontoon bridge stretches from the Zattere over the Giudecca canal.

The world’s leading international art bonanza is held on a two-yearly basis. The leafy gardens in eastern Castello are the principal venue, supplemented by the Corderie building in the Arsenale (see Arsenale).

Venetians make a pilgrimage to Longhena’s church on the Grand Canal (see Santa Maria della Salute) every winter, to give thanks for the end of the 1630 plague. The area assumes a festive atmosphere with stalls selling candy floss and balloons.

One of the world’s most beautiful marathon routes. Runners from all parts of the globe begin this classic 42-km (26-mile) race at Villa Pisani on the Brenta waterway, cross the causeway to Venice, the Zattere and San Marco, and finish near the public gardens in Castello.

Anyone can take part in this leisurely non-competitive walk or run “up and down the bridges”. A variety of official routes can be followed, and all participants receive a medal on finishing.

Head for the Riviera di San Nicolò at the Lido (see Lido: beach side) to watch this ancient ceremony of “Venice wedding the Sea”. A costumed “doge” casts a ring into the sea amid a procession of celebratory boats. Symbolizing Venice’s maritime supremacy, the Sensa has been staged since Venice took Istria and Dalmatia in AD 997.

The feast day of St Roch, the French saint adopted by the confraternity for alleviating the 1576–7 plague, is celebrated each year at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (see Scuola Grande di San Rocco). A mass and evening concert conclude the festivities.