The historic San Clemente Palace Hotel in Venice, Italy will rebrand as Mandarin Oriental, Venice in April 2026, after a three-phase renovation – marking the hotel brand’s debut in the popular destination.

Sea Cloud Spirit, the newest and largest ship from Sea Cloud Cruises, will homeport in Venice in European summer 2025 with the cruise line among just a handful still able to visit the lagoon city.

An expansion of this year’s pilot day-tripper tax planned for next year aims to tackle the ongoing issue of overtourism in Venice – even as critics branded the scheme a failure.

China Eastern Airlines inaugurated a new non-stop flights between Shanghai and Venice last week. The carrier will operate the new route three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Crystal has revealed a new collaboration with world-renowned chef Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo. Massimiliano, the youngest chef ever to be awarded three Michelin stars, and Raffaele, his equally talented brother and co-owner of their celebrated restaurants, will bring their unparalleled expertise to specialty dining venue Osteria d’Ovidio on Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony.

Emirates and ITA Airways have today inked an MoU for the expansion of their existing interline into a full codeshare partnership. Once activated, the codeshare will boost travel options and connection choices for customers travelling between Dubai, Italy and beyond.

European Waterways’ New and Exclusive ‘Venetian Lagoon’ Island-Hopping Cruise

Virtuoso has analysed intel from its data warehouse exceeding AU$77.9 billion in transactions and found that while upscale globetrotters continue to book eternal European favourites, Paris has risen to the top as the number one city among luxury leisure travellers.

Langham Hospitality Group has broken ground on The Langham, Venice, marking the regeneration of the historic former Casino Mocenigo building and Murano glass factory into the finest resort in Venice which will open in 2026.

“Unprecedented demand” for Oceania Cruises’ new ship, Vista, has seen a fast-tracked launch date for the 1,200-passenger ship, the cruise line has confirmed.

Azamara will resume operations to Venice in 2023 having made arrangements with local authorities to return to the canal city. This past summer season, the boutique cruise line replaced its port calls to Venice for Ravenna in response to Venice’s crackdown on large cruise ships, as flagged by LATTE in April.

Italy’s ban on ocean liners from the Venice lagoon has proven a coup for luxury cruise line Uniworld Boutique River Cruises. Ellen Bettridge, President and CEO of Uniworld, said removing big ships from Venice was having a markedly positive impact on the guest experience on river vessels.