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Venice Tours
Venice Carnival Mask-Making Class in Venice, Italy
4.5

Venice Carnival Mask-Making Class in Venice, Italy

By Venice Tours Srl
Recommended by 94% of travellers
94% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
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Venice is known for its beautiful decorative masks, and this hands-on experience gives you the opportunity to make your own. The lesson is led by a master artisan, so you learn about the Venetian Carnival traditions and special techniques that have been perfected in Venice over many years. Then, fire up your artistic skills to create your own mask to take home.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 0-99, max of 4 per group
Duration: 1h 15m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English, Italian, French, Spanish
More

Highlights
  • Enjoy a Venice Carnival mask-making class with a master artisan
  • Remember your Venice trip with a special souvenir—take the mask home
  • No need to bring anything with you—all materials are provided
  • A small group means more attention from your instructor

  • Course of decoration (you will keep the decorated mask)
  • All necessary paints and supplies
  • Live commentary
  • Entry/Admission - Piazza San Marco
What's not included
  • Hotel pickup


Start:Multiple meeting point options.
  • Option 1
    San Marco 596 Venetian Masks, P.za San Marco, 598, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
    Facing the Church of San Zulian, pass its façade on the left and you have reached “Campiello San Zulian”. The laboratory is in the opposite corner on your left.
  • Option 2
    Circolo Artistico - Palazzo Delle Prigioni, Riva degli Schiavoni, 4209, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
    Prison Palace is close to San Marco Square beside Doge's Palace. Do not go to the entrance of Doge's Palace, to get to the Prisons Palace cross the bridge on the right side of the entrance of the Doge's Palace.
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    • Not wheelchair accessible
    • Near public transportation
    If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 21441P34

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Not recommended for travellers with back problems
    • Not recommended for pregnant travellers
    • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
    • Most travellers can participate
    • Tour does not operate in case of exceptional high tide (in these cases it can be postponed the days after otherwise it will be refunded)
    • On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 4 travellers

    • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

    If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 21441P34

    From
    £58.33
    per adult
    Select date and travellers
    Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

    Similar experiences

    Itinerary
    • 1
      A Venetian master artisan will explain you the ancient technique of decorating a Venetian papier-mâché mask providing information about the use of masks in Venice during past centuries. At the end of the course, you will keep the mask as a very special souvenir to bring back home.
    About the operator
    Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
    • Venice Tours Srl
      5,323
      Venice, Veneto, Italy
      Joined in May 2017
    • Hoicng
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Excellent Gondola Trip
      Elizabeth is very nice and humorous. Very happy to know about venice from her. The gondola trip is gorgeous. The VR experience is fun!
      Written 7 December 2024
    • Fearless66002672091
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Nice tour guide!
      Elizabeth is our tour guide and she’s very nice. She’s smily and genuinely kind. The gondola trip is a bit too short but had a chance to look at the beautiful view.
      Written 7 December 2024
    • 308sergeil
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Gondola ride + VR tour
      Great experience with Elizabeth! Highly recommend! We will definitely join for a more detailed tour next time! And the VR tour in the end was a nice touch.
      Written 7 December 2024
    • minat2021
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Elisabeth is amazing
      Great Tour and great commentary. was super friendly and nice. can recommend. The boat tour was nice and we had a great view. great for couples and family
      Written 7 December 2024
    • XeniaDel
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      A very nice experience.
      This was a great experience and we loved Elisabetta! She’s very welcoming and warm! It was worth it! The virtual tour is also nice! Well done!
      Written 7 December 2024
    • Curious15032200422
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Nice experience
      Such a great idea to take this tour! Many thanks to our guide and to our gondolier! Is a nice experience you have to do . It is a must ❤️
      Written 4 December 2024
    • michellezW4461CB
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great gondola experience
      Great for families. Our guide Ricardo is very friendly and made an effort to talk to every person. The tour itself to the gondola boat is very short, so don't expect much from that. There wasn't much mention for the virtual experience so we forgot we had that included until we saw Ricardo randomly on the street and he reminded us about it. We also sadly did not use the other offerings as we were on a tight schedule but if you are planning to visit the offered places, this may be worth your money.
      Written 3 December 2024
    • suzannecY7382IE
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      Good your- LOTS OF STAIRS!!
      My sister and I visited Venice for the first time and we were only there for 2 and a half days. So, we took the 3-part tour because we thought it would be perfect for seeing the bigger sites in a shorter period of time. We were right because this tour was organized, timely and interesting! The English speaking tour guide was just ok- sometimes hard to understand and not always speaking directly into the microphone. But we got the gist of what he was saying! However, the part of the tour that came as a surprise to us was the 200+ stairs that were not addressed in the description of the tour. The Doge was especially demanding with about a 2-mile walk in all, including the prison and dungeon tour at the end. I am not used to walking this much and it really took a lot of the joy out of the experience for me. My sister is more fit than I am but even she was tired and her feet/legs worn out near the end. Buyer beware! There are a lot of steep, concrete stairs and a lot of walking on this tour!
      Written 3 December 2024
    • angusl743
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Don’t miss it
      Friendly tour guide. Amazing trip. Enjoy the gondola ride with a relatively cheaper price. The VR experience is also worth mentioning.
      Written 2 December 2024
    • britton10
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Excellent
      Excellent organisation, excellent guide, beautiful.calm, relaxing gondola experience- something I’ve been dreaming of doing in Venice for a long time! Would definitely recommend
      Written 2 December 2024
    • Passenger60671948259
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      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great
      Riccardo was a great guide. Sympathic, Venetian and acquinated. Also our gondolier gave answers to all of our curiosities, he was very nice.
      Written 2 December 2024
    • 83haydene
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      Relaxing time
      It was a great ride and our guide was very informative and excited to teach the group about venice! The gondola ride was incredible
      Written 2 December 2024
    • liaglio
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great experience with VR ending
      Beautiful experience and very knowledgeable and kind staff. Reccomend 100%. The Virtual reality part in the end is of great added value.
      Written 2 December 2024
    • kaeleighn2024
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Ricardo the guide
      Our guide was wonderful, very enthusiastic and informative, he answered the questions that were asked in a timely manner and ensured that the questioner was not embarrassed for their queries. Overall, he was lovely. If I may add though, there was a lack of guiding on the water, which was unexpected at best, and drew somewhat away from the touristic part of the journey. Although it did make for a peaceful ride and allowed questions to be posed towards the gondolier. Our gondolier was also very knowledgeable and answered questions nicely as well.
      Written 1 December 2024
    • Holland2612
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great 2 night visit!
      Expected it to be cold.......how wrong we were ! Lovely weather , people, food - thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Stayed at Delfino hotel & caught the bus that stopped outside the hotel to the .island. Worth purchasing a 24 hr ticket for the water bus ( also covers bus service). November was a great time to visit , no crowds or heat.
      Written 1 December 2024
    See all 5,323 reviews
    These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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    4.5
    4.5 of 5 bubbles142 reviews
    Excellent
    118
    Very good
    16
    Average
    2
    Poor
    2
    Terrible
    4

    Karolyn M
    37 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Feb 2020 • Friends
    It was a nice small group with a good selection of mask types and paints to choose from. We learned a little bit about the history of the masks. The work shop also sold masks so was busy with customers too impacting a bit on the amount of help we were able to get. However we were pleased with the customised end result, lovely souvenir.
    Written 17 February 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Dear, thank you for the review, we will take note about your suggestion. Best regards
    Written 18 February 2020
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    jsrefugee
    Nashville, TN12 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    We booked the Mask painting workshop through Venice tours and received an email confirmation. When we arrived at the appointed time, the owners told us the time Venus tours booked us for was not available and they had notified Venus that the tour was cancelled. We tried messaging and calling but we're told they could not help us because "Dotravel" made the booking. Dotravel does not list a telephone number and subsequent messages and phone calls to Venus tours went unanswered. We had to dispute the charge with our credit card company. We only had a couple of days in Venus with 12 year old children and this was one of the few things they wanted to do. Venus Tours ruined our last day in Venice. Would never recommend them to anyone.
    Written 12 October 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Dear Client, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. After checking, I inform you that unfortunately, Do Travel booked an activity we (Venice tours, local provider) closed a few months ago, in fact, when we noted the reservation, we immediately contacted Do travel in order to cancel it for free and refund you. Probably Do Travel didn't cancel it and the reservation has been kept anyway even if for us it's not working anymore.
    Written 15 October 2021
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Twomaples
    Canada489 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A family owned and run business Nicolai makes welcome a small group of about 3 budding artists into his workshop full of beautifully hand crafted masks. You have your choice from a wide variety of blank masks and 2 or 3 paint colours. He quickly sketched a grid onto your mask and instructs you how to use the paint. Every mask I saw while I was there was different and every one turned out well. Nicolai put the finishing touches on each mask at the end and they quickly dried under a small fan. A discount was offered on purchases made at the workshop and they were carefully wrapped. A relaxing activity with a positive outcome, I highly recommend this activity.
    Written 2 February 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks for your kind review
    Written 14 February 2024
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    PurpleLady28
    London, UK19 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Feb 2020
    This was the highlight of our weekend trip to Venice. An authentic shop decorating authentic paper mache masks. The class takes place in same. The instructor and his boys were super informative. I wouldn't think too much about whether to book this. Just do it!!!
    Written 17 February 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Dear, thank you very much. The mask master will be glad to hear such nice words. Best regards
    Written 18 February 2020
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Jennifer C
    West Melbourne, FL216 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This class was the highlight of our 2 week vacation for my 7 year old. She loved everything about the class and wanted to paint more masks. She would have gone back every day if I had allowed her to. The owners of the shop arrived very patient and explained the history of Carnival to us while we waited. I cannot recommend this experience highly enough!
    Written 6 July 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Dear, thank you very much for your wonderfull review. We are glad to know that you and your child enjoyed the carnival workshop! Best regards
    Written 6 July 2021
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Luac84
    Brighton, UK564 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Apr 2022
    Booked via Viatour, its a little tricky to find but hey its Venice! :)

    Once we arrived we were asked to choose a mask and asked to choose colours, we got told the history of the Venetian masks which was very interesting.

    Its nice to have a break and get away from the hustle of Venice in this small workshop, there are also some amazing masks you can purchase from the shop.

    The shop was still open to the public which at times was a little irritating as we were trying to listen to the history and had to stop while customers came in, the workshop is small so can only really fit a few people inside so its a bit awkward when the public comes in and you are sitting there on a tour.

    Overall this is a great place to visit and we were both really pleased with our masks, make sure to ask for glaze over the top for an extra 2 euros it makes all the difference! This is suitable for adults and children of all ages.
    Written 20 May 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks for the review
    Written 26 May 2022
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    clive895
    Bordon, UK2 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sept 2024 • Couples
    It is a shame that the reviews on this activity does not match the reality. We arrived at the venue near St Marks by accident. There is nothing outside the museum which encourages you to go inside, we found it eventually by accident. It would help to have a little sign .The arrival time was 11am yet we were told straight away that we have just 1 hour, instead of the 1 hr 15 minutes as stated. There was no history about venetian face masks, instead we were just encouraged to do a base coat and then just paint . That would have been ok if there was paint available. Unfortunately, there were limited colours which devalued the whole thing. The artist that took us was very pleasant but she was restricted because of what was available. At 12 0'clock on the dot we were finished. It was no different than painting a clay mug but at 3 times the cost. It was a pity that it was so under whelming.
    Written 4 September 2024
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Dear guest, we are deeply sorry about your negative feedback. However, this experience took place as indicated on the website. In any case, your review will definitely help us improve our service. We are at your disposal in case that you need further clarifications or If you have any other suggestion for us. Regards, Venice Tours
    Written 5 September 2024
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    onamauihi
    Fuquay-Varina, NC214 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Just prior to our appt time, we stopped at a cafe nearby to have breakfast ( a pastry and a drink) while there, the shopkeeper stopped in for his breakfast too.
    If you have google maps, just follow that for the address. It got us there with ease. He happened to be sitting outside in his office waiting for my hubby and me. We were the only ones in his early morning class. Cute shop and nice artist. He truly is an artist and once you as what he does with your masks you’ll understand. We were pretty happy with ours but he really makes them beautiful with his added touch. Turns out it was his 42nd wedding anniversary that day. It was our 36th. Anyway we did the photos of course but while we painted he explained a lot more about which masks were made and what they symbolized. Really interesting history too.
    We had the best time. I booked this for my husband and me and wasn’t sure how much he’d like it but as it turns out, Tony had a really good time. Made me happy to know he enjoyed it too. It’s a small shop but you can probably get about 5 people in there without a problem.
    I hope you enjoy your time non Venice. This was such a nice way to start our visit. He is highly recommended
    Written 14 October 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks for your kind review
    Written 20 October 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Josephine Y
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    May 2023 • Couples
    My husband and I loved painting masks! It was one of the highlights of our trip. Giorgio and his son Nicolò were patient, knowledgeable, and entertaining. You can save a lot of money by booking your class directly through the shop's website (just google the shop's name).
    Written 9 May 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks for your kind review
    Written 11 May 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Stefunkah
    6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Dec 2022 • Family
    I did it with my 10 year old and 5 year old siblings and it was so fun. First you choose a mask to paint (there is a good variety), then choose some colours, the man will rule the mask up for you and you paint! The people are very helpful and explain everything very well. When you have finished painting your instructor will ask if you want gold, silver or white decorations (depending on the colours you pick to paint your mask) and will paint on some beautiful little decorations. Totally recommend, do it if you can!!!
    Written 31 December 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks for your kind review
    Written 2 January 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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    *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

    Venice Carnival Mask-Making Class in Venice, Italy provided by Venice Tours Srl

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