The 56th Venice Biennale of art, architecture, cinema, dance, music and theatre kicks off with the Arte Biennale on Saturday. The exhibition features the work of artists from around the world – even the Holy See has a pavilion – and is a fantastic opportunity to discover art you wouldn't otherwise get the chance to see.

The Arte Biennale takes place at the Giardini pavilions and the Arsenale, as well as at pop-up venues throughout the city, until 22 November. You can get round it all in a pretty exhausting couple of days, or dip in and out over a weekend. On the other hand, if you owned one of these Venetian properties you would have five months to enjoy the exhibition while you lived in your very own Venetian work of art.