October 21–25, 2026: Venice Cocktail Week meets Radar Venezia as cocktail bars, ateliers and professionals tell the story of contemporary Venice.
There are many ways to discover Venice. One of the most compelling is to step into the places where people meet: historic cafés, cocktail bars, hotel bars, as happens during Venice Cocktail Week 2026, scheduled for October 21–25.
An aperitif, a conversation at the bar, a bartender’s story: during the festival, attention to hospitality, the choice of ingredients and mixing techniques become opportunities to discover the skills and narratives of contemporary Venice.
The fifth edition of Venice Cocktail Week, conceived and directed by Paola Mencarelli, brings together 31 Selected Bars including hotel bars and cocktail bars, with Italian and international guests, tastings, masterclasses, workshops and cultural experiences.
The festival has the partnership of Radar Venezia and the media support of Venezia da Vivere.
Venetian bartenders and three cocktails to discover each bar
At the heart of Venice Cocktail Week are the resident bartenders, the soul of Venice’s venues. The Barkeeper initiative dedicates sessions to them in which they share the choices, ingredients and ideas behind the Cocktail List VCW26.
Each participating bar offers three drinks created for the event: a Signature Cocktail that expresses its identity; L’Aperitivo di Mezzogiorno, low-alcohol or non-alcoholic, also designed to accompany a cicchetto; and a Classic Cocktail, chosen from the mixology repertoire.
Among the participating venues worth exploring are Caffè Florian, Grancaffè Quadri, Il Mercante and Time Social Bar, alongside the bars of Aman Venice, The St. Regis Venice, Ca’ di Dio and Violino d’Oro.
The 2026 roster also welcomes three new stars: the newly reopened Bar Dandolo at Danieli and the new Palladio Bar at Airelles Palladio Venice and Wagon Bar at Orient Express Venezia.
International guests, training and non-alcoholic offerings
The guest shifts are sessions in which a visiting bartender works behind the bar of a Venetian venue. Among the announced guests are Lorenzo Antinori from Bar Leone in Hong Kong, Giorgio Bargiani from The Connaught Bar in London and Orlando Marzo from Loro in Melbourne. Salvatore Calabrese participates in this strand of events as guest of honor.
Training is a vital element of Venice Cocktail Week: the event offers, among other things, Martini Fitting with Fabio Bacchi at The St. Regis Venice and a session with ALMA dedicated to pairings with gelato, featuring Stefano Guizzetti from Ciacco and Ciro Fontanesi.
Dining with the Spirits and the new Pastry with the Spirits involve chefs and pastry chefs in using spirits as ingredients.
Non-alcoholic offerings occupy a space in the program that grows year after year. At Glam at Palazzo Venart, an entirely non-alcoholic evening is announced: Donato Ascani’s cuisine meets Giulia Caffiero’s juice pairing, from Geranium in Copenhagen.
At Ca’ di Dio hotel, the guide “100 Esperienze Analcoliche da Vivere in Italia. Dolce Vita 0.0” is presented, dedicated to the culture of non-alcoholic aperitifs.
Venice Cocktail Week, Radar Venezia and the Lunardelli workshops
Venice Cocktail Week and Radar Venezia, the evolution of Venice Fashion Week, unite mixology, design and high craftsmanship. Preparing a cocktail, working a material, designing an object or constructing a garment all require knowledge, technique, research and experience. The dialogue between these professions takes shape in a shared event.
A creative workshop with MEMO bartools, in collaboration with Radar Venezia, will be hosted in the high-craftsmanship atelier Lunardelli Venezia and accompanied by a drink from Matteo Gambaro, an opportunity to meet Venetian artisans and mixology professionals in the space where design objects are conceived and created.
Workshops, visits and encounters in Venice’s venues
The relationship between cocktail culture and creativity runs through other festival events: at Rivoire, workshops dedicated to painting and ceramics are scheduled, while Santa Cocktail Club hosts a glass-engraving workshop with Salviati.
At San Servolo, a visit to the Pieces of Venice Gallery is announced, the social design project that works with reclaimed Venetian materials and for this edition creates a series of coasters dedicated to VCW.
The Tell me a Story Venice guides lead the public through itineraries among historic cafés, cocktail bars and bacari.
A visit to the photography exhibition dedicated to Alfred Eisenstaedt at the Padiglione delle Navi of the Museo Storico Navale.
Café Joséphine is a performance by Compagnia ADARTE at the Orient Express hotel, with concept, direction and choreography by Francesca Lettieri.
Program and information
Venice Cocktail Week takes place in Venice Wednesday, October 21 through Sunday, October 25, 2026. Five days to meet Venetian bartenders and Italian and international guests, discover the Cocktail Lists and participate in tastings, masterclasses, aperitifs, guest shifts, creative workshops and experiences.
The event calendar will be available from October 12 on the official website: venicecocktailweek.it
Venezia da Vivere is media partner of Venice Cocktail Week; Radar Venezia is main partner of the event.
The photographs were kindly provided by the Venice Cocktail Week press office.
