Venice | Fondaco Dei Tedeschi by DFS

THE ROOFTOP TERRACE: The view from the rooftop terrace is just spectacular, the words can not describe it. The viewing terrace is situated close to the Rialto bridge and I think that nowhere else you can see the panoramic views of the lagoon city as well as from this roof. We were blessed with the lovely weather on the day which made it even more memorable. Be aware that you need to reserve a time slot to access the viewing platform. The access is free, however be mindful that tickets get reserved well in advance, so try to plan ahead if you can. The views are absolutely wort to wait for ⭐️

Shopping centre in the centre of Venice with high end brands if you want to burn cash. Lovely architecture inside. They offer a rooftop view of the city. You can book or do a walk in. It is free but would recommend to book as it can be busy. Lovely views of the grand canal, worth a visit

What a beautiful shopping centre! Such a cool design and all the stores are set up in such a lovely way. Unfortunately we couldn’t get onto the rooftop terrace so definitely book that in advance if it’s something you’d like to see! The pictures online do make it look so beautiful.

It is essential to book 15 minute slot on the roof viewing platform. The views are amazing in every direction. The shopping centre is cool too.

One of the most ravishing department stores I’ve ever seen! The design was very well thought out especially how it integrated the old historical building with the modern, colourful, bold and luxury elements 👍🏻 Must visit even if you don’t buy anything, the building itself is just like a tourist attraction!

It’s the most beautiful and artistic department store I’ve ever seen 😍 And there is a rooftop where you can see Grand Canal in Venice at a glance! The admission is free for the rooftop, but you should make a reservation online in advance and you can stay here for 15 minutes. The view is breathtaking, It’s also majestic in department store so it’s worth visiting ✨

Beautiful mall, all of the shops flow into each other and the items categorized by floor. I did have a quick lunch at the cocktail bar in the center of the mall and was happy with the service. You can buy luxury chocolates and sweets at low prices too. Would recommend.

High end shopping destination with a nice vantage point on the roof. Do note that a reservation will be required but the visit is free. Only 15mins is allocated, and the visit might be closed during bad weather (rain) The products inside often come with brand specific discounts so ask the staff if you are looking for a certain product.

THE ROOFTOP TERRACE: The view from the rooftop terrace is just spectacular, the words can not describe it. The viewing terrace is situated close to the Rialto bridge and I think that nowhere else you can see the panoramic views of the lagoon city as well as from this roof. We were blessed with the lovely weather on the day which made it even more memorable. Be aware that you need to reserve a time slot to access the viewing platform. The access is free, however be mindful that tickets get reserved well in advance, so try to plan ahead if you can. The views are absolutely wort to wait for ⭐️

Shopping centre in the centre of Venice with high end brands if you want to burn cash. Lovely architecture inside. They offer a rooftop view of the city. You can book or do a walk in. It is free but would recommend to book as it can be busy. Lovely views of the grand canal, worth a visit

What a beautiful shopping centre! Such a cool design and all the stores are set up in such a lovely way. Unfortunately we couldn’t get onto the rooftop terrace so definitely book that in advance if it’s something you’d like to see! The pictures online do make it look so beautiful.

It is essential to book 15 minute slot on the roof viewing platform. The views are amazing in every direction. The shopping centre is cool too.

One of the most ravishing department stores I’ve ever seen! The design was very well thought out especially how it integrated the old historical building with the modern, colourful, bold and luxury elements 👍🏻 Must visit even if you don’t buy anything, the building itself is just like a tourist attraction!

It’s the most beautiful and artistic department store I’ve ever seen 😍 And there is a rooftop where you can see Grand Canal in Venice at a glance! The admission is free for the rooftop, but you should make a reservation online in advance and you can stay here for 15 minutes. The view is breathtaking, It’s also majestic in department store so it’s worth visiting ✨

Beautiful mall, all of the shops flow into each other and the items categorized by floor. I did have a quick lunch at the cocktail bar in the center of the mall and was happy with the service. You can buy luxury chocolates and sweets at low prices too. Would recommend.

High end shopping destination with a nice vantage point on the roof. Do note that a reservation will be required but the visit is free. Only 15mins is allocated, and the visit might be closed during bad weather (rain) The products inside often come with brand specific discounts so ask the staff if you are looking for a certain product.

As of August 2023 when we visited you were able to book a free 15 minute time slot on their rooftop viewing terrace which I highly recommend. Know that you will need to book about 3 weeks in advance, because it seems like all the spots go pretty quickly so you much plan ahead! But it is worth it because it is a cool place! The rooftop viewing terrace is definitely worth it, what a great view of the entirety of Venice, including the Rialto Bridge which you can see well from the top. The time slots are kind of nice as it limits the number of people out there, giving enough room for getting pictures and enjoying the view. The department store itself is also really cool. An awesome space, the big central indoor area was just a cool place to take in, and if you are looking for some typical Italian clothing, or perfume they have a lot of good options for you. In the summer it is also a nice place to beat the heat! If you can, book in advance and check out this great view of Venice!

Based on a recommendation we had booked a 15 minute window for the spectacular rooftop terrace that this store provides free of charge. We did get here early to wander around. For those of us that remember the older style inner courtyard Embassy Suites, this is the retail version. Housed in a centuries old building that used to be for trade, the store is literally in the outer walls. The inner section is this vast 4 story open space with a bar/coffee shop on in the center on the ground. It is packed to the hilt with top end brands and houses and covers the gamut. Service is top notch and to be honest it is a level that makes us (clearly not 1,-2, or even 3% comfortable) almost uncomfortable with its attentiveness. I also give them massive props for not charging and having a well organized method for accessing the roof top terrace and its spectacular views (covered in another review).

We had a reservation for the terrace, but upon arrival we were told it was closed due to the rain earlier in the day. Very disappointing. So, we strolled through the beautiful Galleria. Even if you're not buying, stop in just to see what Italians can do with a department store. 76

This is a high-end multi-level store where several large brand names can be found. The first floor has a cafe where you can purchase food and drink and they also sell several pre-packaged things. I spent most of my time on the second floor in women's jewelry and fashion. I saw some beautiful French and Italian-designed jewelry brands, as well as Tiffany and Co., Swarovski, Roberto Coin and some new ones I'd never heard of before. This store has every high-end purse and shoe and dress you can dream of. Average price for most things was between $500-1500. I noticed most places barely have anything on the racks and you have to ask for assistance from exceedingly attentive sales associates who don't even like you to touch something to look at it without swarming you to ask if you need assistance. It was fun to browse but my husband was ready to leave after a quick walk through.

Venice, Italy High end multi level department store just near Rialto bridge. Book online and reserve a time for 15 minute free access to the roof top with stunning views of the city. We learned about this from a local and were happy we visited. Lots of hats were being blown away as it is breezy on the top, hang onto your hat and get your camera ready for some great photo opportunities and panoramic views of Venice!

I was told to come here because if you go to the top floor, you can look out over Venice and see the city down below. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that when I visited, because there were hella people there already, and a long line was forming. They only allow a certain number of people at a time on the rooftop to appreciate the view, so if there are a lot of people there, you need to take a ticket and wait your turn. I didn't have the time to do that, so I just walked around the rest of the mall. This shopping center is very high end, and it was a nice air-conditioned stop along our journey through Venice. It has a bougie Louboutin-red escalator that goes through the middle of it. So fancy!

Attractively designed high-end mall, featuring an open core allowing you to view all levels from any point in the mall. The graceful curved arches are a nod to the Romanesque style inherent to ancient Italy. But for us Venice is expensive enough without dropping big cash in the designer stores here - we were here to see the rooftop view from their open terrace. We made it to the top using a combination of elevators and stairs and settled in to the back of what seemed like a modest line. But a shock awaited when we got to the front of the line: we were denied entrance to the Terrace! We could not proceed without a reservation! Perhaps this is a new thing as our hotel didn't mention, nor did the blogs that alerted us to this. Helpfully, they pointed us to some nearby computers where we could make said reservation.We easily navigated through a few screens to make the reservation but then came to a complete halt: the soonest we could get into the Terrace was an hour and a half! This didn't seem a good use of our limited amount of time in Venice, so we had to leave without seeing the view. Morale of the story: know what we didn't; make a reservation if you don't want to waste your time.

This is a big shopping mall near Rialto Bridge. The building is just gorgeous. There's even a terrace on the top floor to look at Venice. On the first floor there are many shops great for souvenirs (e.g., chocolate, wine, olive oils). The attendants were friendly and nice. However, they talk to you the moment you show any interest in their merchandize. I found it difficult to shop here because they kept talking to me.

The rooftop view is incredible!!! The staff are all super friendly and helpful. Love this mall!

Review is for terrace only.\ The view from the roof is stunning. We had a noon time slot which we booked for free online the same day. The best part about being there at that time was when all of the bell towers across Venice rang out the noon hour.

awesome. free terrace, free crafts workshops nice clean public toilets too. what's there not to like? we made masks during carnival. staff so nice.

Great view of Venezia (especially the Rialto Bridge) from the rooftop! Go during off hours and you won't need to "reserve" your time slot. When there's more people, the guards start lining people up and controlling who goes up. Gorgeous architecture inside too. Used to be an old German trading post within Venezia. Can't comment on the shopping as did not shop here.

A new shopping mall appears! Thanks to DFS, the formerly abandoned Fontego dei Tedeschi (Palace of the Germans) have now found a new purpose as Venice's newest premier shopping center. Today in perhaps Venice's most modern interior, T Fondaco houses many upscale stores that are many times more classy than its tacky counterparts in the Merceria! Sadly for us poorer folks, most of the items here are way out of our league, but fortunately, the mall has a free-to-public observation deck on its terrace! This is the tallest public viewpoint by the Grand Canal, so you can see the beautiful main canal especially during sunset and all the way to the domes and tower of San Marco in the back. Many staff there knew that we were here only for the terrace, but they were still more than courteous to us unlike many upscale mall staff that tend to be rude no matter what. I recommend stepping in this mall to marvel at Venice's modern shopping and then to the unique vista at the free terrace. --- tl;dr version: 1) Venice's newest shopping center in a historic building 2) Free-to-public viewing deck

This place is so underrated, if you're in Venice stop by for a break from doing touristy stuff and get a delicious crafted drink at the bar, enjoy their a/c and do a little high-end shopping here. This is right next to Rialto bridge. If you make a reservation ahead of time you can enjoy a spectacular view of Venice from the rooftop. I was lucky to be there during their Fornasetti exhibit and enjoyed seeing all the Lina Cavalieri pieces throughout the building.

You don't want to miss the views atop this building. It is free and the flow of people is managed well. It's right next to the Rialto with a view down both sides of the Grand Canal. On top of the amazing views, the shopping is fantastic. For me it is primarily window shopping, but they have several gift shops in a great price range. This is a must do even for locals. There's also a relaxing area in the center to grab a coffee and escape the crouds! One more very important thing..... They have amazing free restrooms with attendants. Western toilets can be hard to come by and free ones are even harder. Add clean to that and it makes this "THE" place to "GO"! :)

Review of terrace only: I read about this terrace somewhere less than a month before my trip to Italy. This store was close to where we were staying, so I made reservations. The terrace closes at 5:00p so I made my reservations for 4:45p. This store is just another duty free store, like what I've seen all over Waikiki in Hawaii. I had no intention of actually shopping here. This store is located at the foot of the Rialto bridge, so it's easy to find. Their a/c is also excellent. To get upstairs we took really cool red escalators, and then took an elevator to get to the level where we saw the area to check in for the terrace. My experience here was the people working up here were somewhat rude, but that may be because there were a lot of people there who didn't have reservations and were trying to sneak in. I presented a printout of my email confirmation and we went onto the terrace. It is a very cool view, can't complain since it's free. After spending at least 10 minutes on the far right side of the terrace we wanted to see what the other side looked like but we were told our time was up and we had to leave, and not in the friendliest manner either. They kicked everybody off of the terrace and since we had the last reservation slot of the day, they were closing up. We then used their restrooms since finding a restroom you can use for free is a huge bonus. There's no escalator down, only stairs so don't be like us wandering around looking for down escalators.

My wife got some great deals, shoes! Also go to the roof for the best view in the city! English spoken, of course. The inside is huge, perhaps annold courtyard? And you can escape into plentiful husband chairs wile the wife shops.

Really? The SAME merchandise from the same names you can find on the main shopping street...both in Venice and in pretty much any large-ish city. Prices are also comparable to what they might be back home, so I would give this place a skip. The real attraction is apparently the Roof Deck, which you must book ahead for most days in tourist season and is on everyone's must-Instagram-from list. You can see the same view from inside on the top floor of shopping ( a level below the roof ) without the hassle of reserving. There's a cafe on the ground floor that serves full meals as well as quick snacks ( and where a burger will set you back €25 ). We were very unimpressed with the shopping, though the restoration is impressive from the inside entrance- a soaring open space surrounded by arches on each level.

This is an extremely high-end mall located on the grand Canal right next to the Rialto Bridge. This is a totally prime spot. We are average ordinary people, we could never afford to purchase anything at this mall, ever. My daughter saw a backpack that she liked, we asked the price of it, it was €800. The reason we went to this mall was because of the viewing area, which was FREE. The terrace has an amazing view which is by reservation only.