Whether you’re heading to this year’s Biennale, planning a future visit, or simply daydreaming about Venice, this guide—contributed by Hamilton-based architect Bill Curran—offers insights and ideas for exploring the canal-crossed city. Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go. – Truman Capote Venice is my mystical addiction and I soon will make my 26th trip there, always for about 10 days or more. I keep getting asked why, and asked by other architects to share what to do and what to see. Only Italo Calvino could have reimagined (in ‘Invisible Cities’) such a magical, unique place, a water-born gem forged from 120 islands linked by 400 bridges and beset by a crazy-quilt medieval street and canal pattern. Abstract, dancing light forms dappling off water, the distinct automobile-less quiet. La Serenissima, The Most Serene One. Most buildings along the Grand Canal were warehouses with the family home above on the piano nobile floor above, and servant apartments above that in the attics, in a sea-faring nation state of global traders and merchants like Marco Polo. Uniquely built on a foundation of 1,000-year-old wood pilings, its uneven, wonky buildings have forged a rich place in history, literature and movies: Joseph Brodsky’s Watermark, Hemingway’s Across the River and into the Trees, Don’t Look Now starring Donald Sutherland, Mann’s Death in Venice, The Comfort of Strangers with Christopher Walken, Henry James’ The Wings of the Dove and The Aspern Papers, Kate Hepburn’s ‘Summertime. Yes, yes, Ruskin’s Stones of Venice is an option, as are Merchant of Venice and Casanova. Palazzo Querini Stampalia (Venice): Photo via Wikipedia THE MODERN ARCHITECTURE OF VENICE Much of Venetian life is lived in centuries-old buildings, with a crushing post-war recession leaving it preserved in amber for decades until the mass tourists found it. Now somewhat relieved of at least the cruise ship daytrippers, it is a reasonable place again, except maybe in peak summer. The weight of history, a conservatism for preservation and post-war anti-Americanism led to architectural stagnation. So there are few new, modern buildings, mostly on the edges, and some fine interior interventions, mostly invisible. For modern architecture enthusiasts Venice is a challenge. Carlo Scarpa (Giardini, Venise) – Photo via Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license Here is what modern architects should see: Carlo Scarpa‘s Must-See Works: Go see any of Scarpa’s interventions, demonstrating his mastery of detailing, materials, joinery and his approach to blending with existing fabric. He is Italy’s organicist, their Frank Lloyd Wright, and they even worked together (on the Masieri Foundation). Negozio Olivetti: The tiny former Olivetti typewriter showroom enfronting Piazza San Marco is perhaps the most wonderful of his works. It is open now to visit as a heritage museum. ”God is in the details”; Scarpa carefully considered every detail, material and connection. Le magasin Olivetti de Carlo Scarpa (Venise). Photo via Wikipedia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license The Fondazione Querini Stampalia is a must see, a renovated palazzo with ground floor exhibit spaces with tidewater allowed to rise up inside in one area you bridge across. The former entrance bridge is a lovely gem of exquisite detailing, rendered obsolete by a meh renovation by Mario Botta. A MUST is to have a coffee or prosecco in Scarpa’s garden and see the craft and detail of its amazing water feature. The original palazzo rooms are a lovely semi-public library inhabited by uni students; sign up as a member on-line for free. Walk up the spiral stair. The entry gate to the UIAV Architecture School in Campo Tolentini  is an unexpected wonder. A brutalist yet crisply detailed sliding concrete and steel gate, a sculpted concrete lychgate, then an ancient doorway placed on the lawn as a basin. Main Gate of the Tolentini building headquarters of Iuav university of Venice designed by Carlo Scarpa. Photo via Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license OTHER MODERN ARCHITECTURE TO SEE: Minimalist Dave Chipperfield expanded an area of suede-like concrete columbariums on the St. Michele cemetery island. Sublime. Extra points if you can find the tomb Scarpa designed nearby. The Ponte della Costituzione (English: Constitution Bridge) is the fourth bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava. (Image via: Wikipedia) Calatrava’s Ponte della Constituzione bridge is an elegant, springing gazelle over the entrance to the Grand Central. But the glass steps are slippery and are being replaced soon, and the City is suing Calatrava, oops. The barrier-free lift pod died soon after opening. It is lovely though.   Le Canal della Giudecca, la Punta della Dogana, la basilique Santa Maria della Salute de Venise et le Canal Grande à Venise (Italie). Photo via Wikipedia Tadao Ando’s Punte Della Dognana museum is large, with sublime, super-minimalist, steel and glass and velvety exposed concrete interventions, while his Palazzo Grassi Museum was more restoration. A little known fact is that Ando used Scarpa’s lovely woven basketweave metal gate design in homage. An important hidden gem is the Teatrino Grassi behind the Museum, a small but fabulous, spatially dramatic theatre that often has events, a must-see! Fondaco dei Tedeschi: At the foot of Rialto Bridge and renovated by Rem Koolhaas, this former German trading post had been transformed into a luxury shopping mall but closed last month, a financial failure. Graced with a stunning atrium and a not well know fabulous rooftop viewing terrace, its future is now uncertain. The atrium bar is by Phillipe Starck and is cool. Try it just in case. Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Photo via Wikipedia Procuratie Vecchie: This iconic 16th storey building is one of Piazza San Marco’s defining buildings, and David Chipperfield’s restoration and renovation of this building, which defines Piazza San Marco, is all about preservation with a few modern, minimalist interventions. It operates as a Biennale exhibit space. Infill housing on former industrial sites on Guidecca Island includes several interesting new developments called the Fregnans, IACP and Junghans sites (look for fine small apartments such as by Cino Zucchi that reinterpret traditional Venetian apartment language). A small site called Campo di Marte includes side-by-sides by Alvaro Siza (disappointing), Aldo Rossi and Carlo Aymonino (ho hum); some day there will be a Rafael Moneo on the empty lot.     View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Denton Corker Marshall (@dentoncorkermarshall) AT THE BIENNALE: At the Biennale grounds there is much to see, with the only recent project the Australia Pavilion by Denton Corker, a black granite box hovering along a canal. Famous buildings include the Nordic Pavilion (Sven Ferre), Venezuela Pavilion (Carlo Scarpa), Finland Pavilion (Alvar Aalto), former Ticket Booth (Carlo Scarpa), Giardino dell Sculture (Carlo Scarpa), Bookstore (James Stirling) and there are some fab modern interiors inside the old boat factory buildings. Canada’s Pavilion by the Milan firm BBPR (don’t ask why) from 1956 is awkward, weird and much loathed by artists and curators. Le pavillon des pays nordiques (Giardini, Venise). Photo via Wikipedia, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Just outside the Biennale on the Zattere waterfront is a stirring Monument to the Women Partisans of WWII, laid in the water by Augusto Maurer over a simple stepped-base designed by Scarpa. Venezia – Complesso monastico di San Giorgio Maggiore. Photo via Wikipedia,  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. BEYOND THE BIENNALE The Vatican Chapels: In 2018 the Vatican decided to participate in the Biennale for the first time for some reason and commissioned ten architects to design chapels that are located in a wooded area on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore, behind Palladio’s church. The architects include Norman Foster, Eduardo Souto de Moura, and Smiljan Radic, and includes The Asplund Pavilion, like the Woodland Chapel  that inspired it. It is intended as a “place of orientation, encounter, meditation, and salutation.” The 10 chapels each symbolize one of the Ten Commandments, and offer 10 unique interpretations of the original Woodland Chapel; many are open air. These are fab and make you think! Chiese San Giorgio Maggiore was designed by Palladio and is fine. But its bell tower offers magnificent city views and avoids the long lines, crowds and costs of Piazza San Marco’s Campanile. Next to San Giorgio you should tour the Cini Foundation, with an amazing stair by Longhera, the modern Monica Lunga Library (Michele De Lucchi) and a lovely Borges-inspired labyrinth garden. Behind San Giorgio en route to the Chapels is the Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) and the fabulous Le Stanze della Fotografia (contemporary photography gallery) featuring a Mapplethorpe retrospective this year. (If you’re visiting this year, join me in Piazza San Marco on July 7, 2025, for his ex Patti Smith’s concert.) An unknown MUST DO is a concert in the stunning Auditorium Lo Squero (Cattaruzza Millosevich), with but 200 comfy seats in an adapted boat workshop with a stage wall of glass onto the lagoon and the Venitian cityscape. La Fenice Opera House in Venice, Italy. Image via: Wikipedia La Fenice Opera House: after burning down in 1996, Aldo Rossi supervised the rebuilding, more or less ‘as it was, as it is’, the Italian heritage cop-out. There is no Rossi to see here, but it is a lovely grand hall. Book a concert with private box seats. Venice Marco Polo Airport is definitely Aldo Rossi-inspired in its language, materials and colours. The ‘Gateway Terminal’ boat bus and taxi dock is a true grand gateway (see note about Gehry having designed an unbuilt option below). Venice Marco Polo airport. Photo via Wikipedia HIDDEN GEMS Fondazione Vendova by Renzo Piano features automated displays of huge paintings by a local abstract modernist moving about a wonderful huge open warehouse and around viewers. Bizarre and fascinating. Massimo Scolari was a colleague or Rossi’s and is a brilliant, Rationalist visionary and painter, renown to those of us devotees of the Scarpa/Rossi/Scolari cult in the 1980’s. His ‘Wings’ sculpture is a large scale artwork motif from his drawings now perched on the roof of the UIAV School of Architecture, and from the 1991 Biennale. Do yourself a favour, dear reader, look up his work. Krier, Duany and the New Urbanists took note. He reminds me of the 1920s Italian Futurists. You can tour all the fine old churches you want, but only one matters to me: Santa Maria dei Miracoli, a barrel-vaulted, marble and wood-roofed confection. San Nicolo dei Mendicoli is admittedly pretty fab, and featured in ‘Don’t Look Now’.  And the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on Torcello has an amazing mosaic floor, very unusual stone slab window shutters (and is near Locanda Cipriani for a wonderful garden lunch, where Hemingway sat and wrote). For the Scarpiani: There is a courtroom, the Manilo Capitolo, inside the Venice Civic Tribunale building in the Rialto Market that was renovated by Scarpa, and is amazing in its detail, including furniture and furnishings. You have to pass security to get in, and wait until court ends if on. It is worth it! The Aula Mario Baratto is a large classroom in a Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal designed by Carlo Scarpa with amazing wood details and furniture. The room has stunning frescoes also. You can book a tour through Universite Ca’ Foscari. The view at a bend in the Grand Canal is stunning, and you can see the Fondazione Masieri (Scarpa renovation) building off to the left across the side canal (see Missed Opportunities). Within the Accademia Galleries and Correr Museum are a number of small renovations, stairs and art stands designed by Scarpa. Next to the Chiesa di San Sebastino decorated by Veronese is the Scarpa entrance to a linguistics library for the Universita Ca’ Foscari. Fondation W – Wilmotte & Associés: A French architect who is not shy and presumably rather wealthy runs his own exhibition space focused on architecture; ‘…it is both a laboratory and shop window…’,  so one of those. Worth a look. There is a recent Courthouse that is sleek, long, narrow, black and compelling on the north side of Piazzalle Roma, but I have not yet wandered in.   FOOD AND DRINKS FOR ARCHITECTS Philippe Starck’s lobby bar at the Palazzina Grassi hotel is the only cool, mod bar in town. Wow! Ask the barman to see the secret Krug Room and use the PG bar’s unique selfie washroom. I love this bar: old, new, electic. Also, Starck has a house on Burano, next to the pescheria (sorry, useless ephemera). He wants you to drop by. Restaurant Algiubagiò is the only cool, modern restaurant and it has fab food. It also has a great terrace over the water. Go! Zanze XVI is a nice clean mod interior and Michelin food. Worth it. Ristorante Lineadombra: A lovely, crisp modern interior and crisp modern Venetian food. A great terrace on the water also. Local Venice is a newer, clean, crisp resto with ‘interesting’ prices. Your call. Osteria Alla Bifora, while in a traditional workshop space, is a clean open loft, adorned modernly with a lovely array of industrial and historic relics. It is a lovely bar with charcuterie and a patio on the buzzy campo for students. Great for late night. Cicchetti are Venetian tapas, a standard lunch you must try. All’ Arco near Rialto has excellent nouveau food and 50m away is the lovely old school Do Mori. Osteria Al Squero in Dorsoduro overlooks one of the last working gondola workshops, and 100m away is the great Cantino del Vino già Schiavi. Basegò has creative, nouveau cichetti. Drinks on a patio along the Grand Canal can only be had economically at Taverna al Remer, or in Campo Erberia at Nanzaria, Bancogira, Al Pesador or Osteria Al Cichetteria. Avoid any place around Rialto Bridge except these. El Sbarlefo San Pantalon has a Scarpa vibe and a hip, young crowd. There is a Banksy 50’ away. Ristorante Venissa is a short bridge from Burano to Mazzorbo island, a Michelin-starred delight set in its own vineyard.   Since restaurant design cannot tie you up here, try some fab local joints: Trattoria Anzolo Raffaele : The owner’s wife is from Montreal, which is something. A favorite! Pietra Rossa: A fab, smart place with a hidden garden run by a hip, fun young restauranteur, Andrea. Ask for the Canadian architect discount. Oste Mauro Lorenzon : An entertaining wine and charcuterie bar run by the hip young restauranteur’s larger than life father, and nearby. Mauro is a true iconoclast. Only open evenings and I dare you to hang there late. Anice Stellato: A great family run spot, especially for fish. Excellent food always. La Colonna Ristorante: A nice, neighbourhood joint hidden in a small campo. Il Paradiso Perduto: A very lively joint with good food and, rarely in Venice, music. Buzzy and fun. Busa da Lele: Great neighbourhood joint on Murano in a lovely Campo. Trattoria Da Romano: Best local joint on Burano. Starck hangs here, as did Bourdain.   Cafes: Bacaro aea Pescaria is at the corner by Campo de la Becarie. Tiny, but run by lovely guys who cater to pescaria staff. Stand outside with a prosecco and watch the market street theatre. Extra points if you come by for a late night drink. Bar ai Artisti is my second fav café, in Campo S. Barnaba facing where Kate Hepburn splashed into the canal. Real, fab pastries, great terrace in Campo too. Café at Querini Stampalia: get a free visit to Scarpa’s garden and wander it with a coffee or prosecco. Make sure to see the bookstore also (and the Scarpa exhibition hall adjacent). Carlo Scarpa à la Fondation Querini Stampalia (Venise). Photo via Wikipedia, A lesser known place is the nice café in the Biennale Office next to Hotel Monaco, called Ombra del Leone. The café in the Galleria Internationale d’Arte Moderna Ca’ Pesaro is great with a terrace on the Grand Canal.   Cocktail bars: Retro Venezia: Cool, retro vibe. The owner’s wife dated a Canadian hockey player. You must know him. Il Mercante: A fabulous cocktail bar. Go. Time Social Bar:  Another cool cocktail bar. Vero Vino: A fab wine bar where you can sit along a canal. Many good restaurants nearby! Arts Bar Venice: If you must have a cocktail with a compelling story, and are ok with a $45 pricetag. Claims Scarpa design influence, I say no. But read the cocktail stories, they are smart and are named for artists including Scarpa. Bar Longhi in in the Gritti Hotel is a classic, although cheesey to me. Hemingway liked it. It has a Grand Canal terrace. The Hilton Stucky Hotel is a fabulous former flour factory from when they built plants to look like castles, but now has a bland, soulless Hilton interior like you are in Dayton. But it has a rooftop bar and terrace with amazing sunset views! While traditional, the stunning, ornate lobby, atrium and main stair of the Hotel Danieli are a must-see. Have a drink in the lobby bar by the piano player some evening.   STAYING MODERN Palazzina Grassi is the only modern hotel in Venice, with a really lovely, unique lobby/bar/restaurant all done by Philippe Starck. At least see the fab bar! Johnny Depp’s favourite. Generator Hostel: A hip new-age ‘design-focused’ hostel well worth a look. Not like any hostel I ever patronized, no kegs on the porch. Go visit the lobby for the design. A Euro chain. DD724 is a small boutique hotel by an Italian architect with thoughtful detailing and colours, near the Peggy Guggenheim Museum (the infamous Unfinished Palazzo), and they have a small remote outpost with fabulous apartment called iQS that is lovely. The owner’s brother is the architect. My fave! Avogaria: Not just a 5 room hotel, it is ‘a concept’, which is great, right?  But very cool. An architect is one of the owners. German minimalist architect Matteo Thun’s JW Mariott Venice Resort Hotel and Spa is an expensive convent renovation on its own lagoon island that shows how blandness is yawningly close to minimalism. The Hotel Bauer Palazzo has a really lovely mid-century modern section facing Campo San Moise, but it is shrouded in construction scaffolding for now.   SHOPPING MODERN FOR ARCHITECTS It is hard to find cool modern shopping options, but here is where you can: Libreria Acqua Alta: Used books and a lovely, unexpected, fab, alt experience. You must see and wander this experience! It has cats too. Giovanna Zanella: Shoes that are absolute works of art! At least look in her window. Bancolotto N10: Stunning women’s clothing made in the women’ prison as a job skill training program. Impeccable clothes; save a moll from a life of crime. Designs188: Giorgio Nason makes fabulous glass jewellery around the corner from the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Davide Penso: Artisan made glass jewellery on Murano. Ferrovetro Murano: Artisan made jewellery, bags, scarfs. (on Murano). Madera: All the cool designer housewares and jewellery. DECLARE: Cool, modern leathergoods in a very sweet modern shop with exquisite metal detailing. A must see! Ottica Urbani: Cool Italian eyewear and sunglasses. Paperowl: Handmade paper, products, classes. Feeling Venice: Cool design and tourist bling can be found only here. No shot glasses.   MISSED OPPORTUNITIES, MEMORIES AND B-SIDES The Masieri Foundation: Look up the tragic story of this project, a lovely, small memorial to a young architect who died in a car accident on his honeymoon en route to visit Fallingwater in 1952. Yep. His widow commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a small student residence and study centre, but it was stopped by anti-American and anti-Modernism sentiments. (Models and renderings are on-line). This may be Venice’s saddest architectural loss ever. The consolation prize is a very, very lovely Scarpa interior reno. Try to get in, ring the bell (it is used as offices by the university)! (Read Troy M. Ainsworth’s thesis on the Masieri project history). Also cancelled: Lou Kahn’s Palace of Congress set for the Arsenale, Corbusier’s New Venice Hospital which would have been sitting over the Lagoon in Cannaregio near the rail viaduct, Gehry’s Venice Gateway (the airport’s ferry/water taxi dock area). Also lost was Rossi’s temporary Teatro del Mondo, a barged small theatre that tooted around Venice and was featured in a similar installation in 1988 at the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. All available on-line. Teatro del Mondo di Aldo Rossi, Venezia 1980. Photo via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 Itches to scratch: Exercise your design skills to finish the perennial favorite ‘Unfinished Palazzo’ of the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, design a new Masieri Foundation, design the 11th Vatican Chapel or infill the derelict gasometer site next to Palladio’s Chiese San Francisco della Vigna.   FURTHER AFIELD Within an hour’s drive, you can see the simply amazing Tombe Brion in San Vito Altivole and the tiny, stunning Giptotecha Canova in Possagna (both by Scarpa), the Nardini Grappa Distillery in Bassano del Grappa by Maximillio Fuksas, and a ferry and taxi will get you to Richard Meier’s Jesolo Lido Condos on the beach. A longer drive of two hours into the mountains near Cortina will bring you to Scarpa’s lovely and little known Nostra Signore di Cadora Church. It is sublime! Check out the floor! Zaha Hadid’s stunning Messner Mountain Museum floats above Cortina, accessible by cable car. The recent M-09 Museum on mainland Mestre, a quick 10 minute train ride from Venice, by Sauerbruch + Hutton is a lovely urban museum with dynamic cladding. Castelvecchio Museum. Photo via Wikipedia The Veneto region is home to many cool things, and fab train service gets you quickly to Verona (Scarpa’s Castelvecchio Museum and Banco Populare), Vicenza (Palladio’s Villa Rotonda and Basillicata). There are Palladio villas scattered about the Veneto, and you can daytrip by canal boat from Venice to them. Go stand where Hemingway was wounded in WWI near Fossalta Di Piave (there is a plaque), which led to his famous novel, ‘A Farewell to Arms’. He never got to visit Venice until 1948, then fell in love with the city, leading to ‘Across the River and into the Trees’. He also threatened to burn down FLW’s Masieri Foundation if built (and they both came from Oak Park, Illinois. So not very neighborly).   OTHER GOOD ARCHITECTURAL REFERENCES Venice Modern Architecture Map The only guidebook to Modern Architecture in Venice   These architectural guide folks do tours geared to architects: Architecture Tour Venice – Guiding Architects Venice Architecture City Guide: 15 Historical and Contemporary Attractions to Discover in Italy’s City of Canals | ArchDaily Venice architecture, what to see: buildings by Scarpa, Chipperfield and other great architects The post An Architect’s Guide to Venice and its Modern Architecture    appeared first on Canadian Architect.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.If you’re deep into comparison shopping for fitness watches, you’ve probably come across some debate on the different display technologies. Manufacturers are moving toward AMOLED style screens (bright! Colorful! Sharp! Modern!) while some longtime users are diehards for the older MIP or LCD style screens (the general vibe is: pry them out of my cold dead hands). So where does that leave you, the shopper, wondering what to get for your first or next watch? I’m going to break down all the pros and cons. What’s the difference between MIP and AMOLED displays? I’m going to gloss over a lot of the detail you’d need to be an engineer to love and concentrate on what it’s like to use these screens. With that in mind: AMOLED displays have tiny pixels that glow to create the display, leaving black areas where the pixels are not turned on. (Your phone’s screen is probably AMOLED.) AMOLED displays are full color, and they use power any time they’re on. They’re bright and highly visible in the dark, but can potentially get washed out in extremely bright sunlight.MIP displays (memory-in-pixel), also called memory LCD, do not light up on their own. These displays reflect light, much like old-school LCD watches, so they are highly visible in sunlight but require a backlight to be seen in the dark. They can display color, but only a limited range of colors and they are not as vibrant or as high-resolution as AMOLED screens.AMOLED displays tend to be higher resolution, brighter, and sharper. MIP displays look more old-fashioned, but they always look good in bright sunlight, and they can be always-on without running down the battery life (assuming you have the backlight turned off). AMOLED displays tend to be touchscreens, but MIP displays can have touchscreens as well. For example, the Coros Pace 3 has a touchscreen, while the Garmin Forerunner 55 does not. (If you don’t want a touchscreen, you should know that you can disable the touchscreen on most sports watches.) Which watches have MIP and which have AMOLED displays? We’re currently at a transition point where most manufacturers are moving toward AMOLED if they haven’t switched already. Any fancy-looking smartwatch is likely to be AMOLED; there’s no MIP Apple Watch, for example. But among sports watches, there are plenty of models with MIP displays still being sold new. Here’s a breakdown of some of the more popular watches: AMOLED (or similar) displays: Apple WatchesSamsung Galaxy WatchesPixel WatchesFitbit Charge 5 and Charge 6Coros Pace ProGarmin Forerunners 165, 265, 965, and the new 570 and 970Garmin Instinct 3 AMOLED Garmin Vivoactive 5 and 6Garmin Venu 2 and 3Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLEDPolar Vantage, Ignite 3, Grit X2 ProSuunto Race, Suunto RunMIP (or similar) displays: Coros Pace 3, Apex 2, Apex 2 Pro, Vertix 2 (everything except the Pace Pro)Garmin Forerunners 55, 255, 955, and any other Forerunner not ending in -65 or -70Garmin Instinct, Instinct 2, Instinct E, and Instinct 3 Solar (these are actually a regular 2-color LCD rather than full color MIP)Garmin Vivoactive 4 and earlierGarmin Fenix 7 and earlierGarmin Fenix 8 Solar (and pretty much any solar watch)Polar Pacer, Pacer Pro, Grit X, Grit X ProSuunto Core, 9 Baro, 9 PeakAs this list should make clear, MIP screens are mostly found on older models—although often those models have similar functionality as their AMOLED brethren. For example, the Garmin Forerunner 255 and 265 are basically the same watch with two different displays (and very different price points). The only place I'm seeing MIP or reflective screens on new watches would be Garmin's solar offerings, since the charging panel isn't compatible with AMOLED. The Fenix 8 and the Instinct 3 both come in a MIP version with solar charging, and an AMOLED version without.MIP is always "on" This photo shows what different screens display when you're not looking at them. Left to right: Apple Watch (AMOLED) with AOD, Coros Pace 3 (MIP) with full display, Garmin Forerunner 265S displaying nothing. Credit: Beth Skwarecki The biggest argument in favor of MIP screens is that you can have an "always-on" display without draining the battery. There's a big caveat on that statement, though: MIP screens aren't actually "on" at all. They're like e-ink in that they always display something, but you may not be able to see what they're displaying without proper lighting. So in normal daytime conditions, a MIP screen is readable even without turning on its backlight. If you're typing on your computer, wrist in view, you can glance at your MIP watch and see the time even without pushing a button or turning your wrist. AMOLED watches, meanwhile, only get that feature if you turn on their "always-on display" (AOD). There are two downsides to the AOD on most watches: First, it eats battery. And second, to avoid eating too much battery, the AOD face will be a lower-energy version with less data and a dimmer display. A MIP watch, on the other hand, will display the same watch face all the time. To view a MIP screen in the dark, you can usually set the watch to turn on a backlight when you raise or turn your wrist. There's also typically a button that turns on the backlight as well. Some watches let you set the backlight gesture so that it's only available in the evening, assuming that you'll have plenty of light at other times of day. Real-world visibility testsI've happily reviewed a ton of AMOLED sports watches, with no problem viewing any of their displays in strong sunlight, but on forums like Reddit you'll find MIP devotees who say they would never consider an AMOLED watch for outdoor sports. They're afraid it wouldn't be readable in the sun. Ever since I read those posts, I’ve been paying attention to visibility, the better to form my own opinions. I got into the difference in display types in my comparison between the Coros Pace 3 (MIP) and Pace Pro (AMOLED), for example. And for today’s analysis, I’ve also borrowed a Forerunner 55 (MIP) to compare to my Forerunner 265S. So let’s take a look, using those two pairs of watches as our test subjects. In bright sunlight, at the right angle, MIP has a slight edge Left: Coros Pace 3 (MIP). Right: Coros Pace Pro (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki This is a win for MIP, with caveats (see below about shadows). When you have bright light shining directly on a MIP screen, it practically glitters. Modern AMOLEDs tend to be pretty bright as well, and it seems every new watch release claims to have "our brightest screen ever." But on the brightest of days in the directest of sunlight, AMOLEDs can indeed be a bit washed out. That said, AMOLED screens don't show up well in photos on sunny days, so I don't think the photo above quite does the AMOLED screen justice. (Those black horizontal lines on the AMOLED are an artifact of the camera taking the picture faster than the display could refresh; they're not visible in real life.) In my opinion MIP screens look great in direct sunlight, while AMOLEDs are just OK. Left: Garmin Forerunner 55 (MIP). Right: Garmin Forerunner 265S (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki I didn’t have a lot of great side-by-side photos in sunlight, so for another test I put both Forerunners directly under a bright desk lamp. A desk lamp is not the sun. However, I feel like this is a better demonstration of typical conditions—as judged by my own personal eyes and brain. Your own opinion might differ. If you're making your shopping decision based on how the displays look in sunlight, trying them out in person will tell you a lot more than any photo will. (Underrated shopping tip: show up to a running club and ask everybody about their watch. They'll be more than happy to show them off.)In shadow (even on a sunny day), AMOLED stays visible Left: Coros Pace 3 (MIP). Right: Coros Pace Pro (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki I went for a few runs on bright sunny days with both of the Coros watches, and found I actually preferred the AMOLED display even in the sun. That’s because sunny days are also days with deep shadows. You have to get the angle just right to get that bright glittery effect on a MIP screen, while an AMOLED will shine from the shadows. Most of the time, either my body or the screen’s own bezel was shading it a bit. The photo above was taken on the same day, same run, as the outdoor Coros photo in sunlight. The sun didn't go behind a cloud, I was just standing in a different position. Left: Garmin Forerunner 55 (MIP). Right: Garmin Forerunner 265S (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki And the photo here is the exact same setup with the desk lamp, but with the watches angled just a few degrees downward. Drastic difference in readability. Now, if you’re used to MIP watches, you’re used to angling them into the sun to get a good look. If you’re fine with that, great. I prefer the AMOLED in this situation.In medium-light scenarios, both are good Left: Garmin Forerunner 55 (MIP). Right: Garmin Forerunner 265S (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki Here are both watches outdoors, on an overcast day, displaying the kind of screen you'd see most often during a running or other sports activity. This is probably the most telling photo of all: they are both fine. The MIP watch makes up for its potential visibility issues by defaulting to a white background, and the AMOLED just keeps showing bright numbers on a dark screen like usual. I use the AMOLED (the 265S) in this photo for most of my runs—it's not a review unit, it's the watch I actually own—and it's always visible, always looks great, in any weather and with or without sunglasses. But the MIP? It's good too! Nobody loses points here. And here are both watches indoors, with normal ambient lighting: Indoors with normal lighting. Left: Garmin Forerunner 55 (MIP). Right: Garmin Forerunner 265S (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki In the dark, both screens light up just fine Left: Garmin Forerunner 55 (MIP). Right: Garmin Forerunner 265S (AMOLED) Credit: Beth Skwarecki You probably expected me to say that AMOLED is better in the dark. Honestly, while AMOLED is prettier in the dark (and prettier almost anytime, because AMOLED displays tend to be higher resolution and have more vivid colors), both screens are equally readable. The same gesture that wakes the AMOLED screen can wake the MIP screen’s backlight. (Please note that both watches are much sharper than the photo in real life. The blur you're seeing is just me failing to hold the camera perfectly steady in a dark room.)In actual darkness, like when you’re putting your kids to bed, your best bet is an AMOLED watch with a “sleep mode” that displays the time dimly. That way you don’t need to turn on a backlight to see the time.  So if you’re concerned about the light being too bright, you probably want AMOLED.Battery usageMIP diehards like to say that MIP screens are more battery efficient. That may be technically true, but nobody buys a watch based on the battery life of its display. We want to know about the battery life of the entire watch. And honestly, AMOLED watches tend to have just as good a battery life as their MIP counterparts. Whether it’s better battery technology, power savings elsewhere in the software or hardware, or AMOLED itself being more efficient than you’d expect, it doesn’t matter. The Forerunner 965 (AMOLED) and the Forerunner 955 (MIP) both have a battery life of 8.5 hours during an activity with multi-band GPS mode and music playing. In smartwatch mode (not tracking activities), the 965 lasts 23 days in smartwatch mode, compared to 15 days for the 955. In other words, the AMOLED watch lasts eight days longer. If battery life is your priority, in this situation you’d want the AMOLED. This will vary by model, of course. Look up the battery life specs for the specific watches you’re interested in. Maybe the MIP model will last longer, but maybe the AMOLED will. Don’t make assumptions about the battery based on the look of the screen.How to make a decisionYou've seen my photos and heard my opinions, but ultimately you need to make a decision for yourself. And of the two display types, I'll be honest: neither is unusable or terrible or has some horrific misfeature that should be a dealbreaker. I do think that most people will prefer the AMOLED style. But if you end up with a MIP display, it will be fine. So let me run through a few things to keep in mind:If always-on display is important to you, consider MIP. You get this feature for free (in terms of battery life) as long as you're OK with angling it toward the light when needed.If bright colors and high resolution are important to you, AMOLED looks sharper and prettier, and is probably what you'll be happiest with.If you currently have a MIP watch but are afraid that you wouldn’t like an AMOLED watch, don’t let that stop you from shopping AMOLED models. The downsides of AMOLED (as the internet tells them) are wildly exaggerated. If your dream watch needs to be an older MIP watch to fit in your budget, go ahead and get it. It will be fine.If you have seen both watches in person, in a wide variety of lighting conditions, and have a strong opinion, just go with your preference. If you’re new to all of this and feeling confused right now, you’ll probably like AMOLED better. All the new watches are AMOLED anyway.Often you can get an older generation of a feature-rich watch for the same price as the newest generation of a more barebones model. That’s the case right now for a lot of Garmin models, where pretty much everything released in the last year or so has an AMOLED screen, and everything before it is MIP. Personally I think the Forerunner 255 is the best value for money of any Garmin watch, since it's nearly identical to my beloved 265—the only major difference is the screen type, and you can usually find it at least $100 cheaper.

A few summers ago, when the culture was moving through micro trends as fast as they could be Instagrammed, Cottage Core was born. The trend, which came out of a Covid-influenced romanticism for living close to nature (but not ruffing it, à la gorpcore, fashion’s cousin trend), inspired an infusion of chintz and whicker-filled interiors, and, of course, lush English-style gardens.Flash forward to 2025. All those cottage gardens planted in early 2020—rustic, sophisticated, chic—are at their peak. And there really is something to an outdoor space that merges with the indoors, is there not? On a warm summer evening, when the bougainvillea is in bloom, and the grass is a bit damp, what could be more appealing than a home built to nestle into a fantastical garden.Here, we’ve collected some of our favorite cottage gardens. They range from fairy house gardens to campground landscape, historical (Anne Hathaway’s famed cottage that has inspired Shakespeare devotees the world over) to contemporary compound gardens in the woods.While we may have a specific notion of a cottage garden, but they are—and should be—as unique as the people who tend them. One lesson for planting your own? A small space is an asset rather than a limitation.Below, you’ll find 15 of our favorite cottage gardens from Marin County California to Stratford-Upon-Avon, England.William Jess LairdThis Amagansett cottage was literally designed for “summertime snoozes.” It’s also a good reminder that a delicate slate garden pathway can take you far. Designer Melissa Lee noted how “unexpected” the whole place felt, surrounded by the many mansions of the Hamptons. As she rightfully notes, the charm is in the surprise. A suggestion of mystery always adds to a cottage! Think The Secret Garden or the unexpectedly expansive Weasley Family home.Noe DewittVines climb up this 1920s English Art and Crafts style cottage in the Hamptons. The elegant and eclectic cottage was re-designed by Nick Olsen to emphasize outdoor living with comfy couches, a tiled patio and a pool.William James LairdThis pink cottage kitchen looks out over a garden in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Designer Clive Lonstein’s work is vibrant and unexpected, particularly for a modest Connecticut cottage built in the late 1800s. In a way though, the bright colors all throughout the house are a reflection of the original design for the house. The architect, Ehrick Rossiter was known for his own whimsy, and even included a turret in this design. This cottage is a great reminder to leave the door open all summer long.Stephen Kent JohnsonThis former fishing shack in Provincetown proves that a sprawling garden can fit into a small space. From Windex yellow fox gloves to arching lavender, this is a bucolic slice of heaven. A classic shingled home, complete with flower boxes and a white picket fence, it has a deeply cottage-core sequence backstory. It was used as an artist studio for William Maynard until his death in 2016, and when it was sold, prospective buyers were asked to write why they wanted to live there.Rachael SmithWe love an indoor / outdoor cottage garden. Ideally, you have a branch that grows through a window, like this one in Suzie de Rohan Willner’s English Country Garden. It is a charming marriage of dynamics: English and French, contemporary and historical, and, of course just as eclectic as a cottage should be. Willner notes, “The whole house is a collection of things from each period of my and my husband’s lives. I love to pick up bibs and bobs and it all comes together very happily.”Chronicle / Alamy Stock PhotoKate Middleton’s Adelaide Cottage conjures images of an Arthurian fantasy. The Wales family made this their Windsor home since 2023. Built in 1831 for Queen Adelaide (the German-born wife of William IV, who was the Uncle of Queen Victoria). It went through a transformative renovation in 2015 which left the historical decorations in tact. Fun fact: the Wales family pay market rent for their use of the home.Photo 12//Getty ImagesThe poet, actor, and playwright Anne Hathaway’s famed cottage and accompanying garden must have inspired her husband’s plays (that would be Shakespeare). This might be what comes to mind when you think of a cottage garden. Now open to the public daily, it was originally built more than 500 years ago, and is the site of Hathaway’s own birth in 1556.CostcoThis Costco (yes, Costco!) shed turned cottage is an ideal backdrop for your cottage garden fantasy. If you’re feeling very DIY this year, start here. Priced at $6,499, it measures 12’ x 24’ feet, a perfect amount of space for your own summer hide away or gardening shed.Richard PowersThis glass house is a reminder that a cottage garden doesn’t have to follow a prescribed style. The Amagansett cottage, originally built in 1960, is a marvel of mid-century design, an aesthetic reflected in the mod-furniture choices. Again, we love a stylistic mix in an updated cottage. Japanese Maple Trees complete the woodsy vibe.© David Hockney, Photo By Jonathan WilkinsonDavid Hockney illustrated his own cottage garden during the Pandemic. His drawing is illustrative of the benefits of an English garden: a bit wild, extremely lush, and more green than anything else. If we could, we’d jump right into this scene like Mary Poppins on a rainy day.John M. Hall for ELLE DecorHere’s a rule of thumb: trust Ina Garten. This cottage-like structure, on the grounds of the East Hampton home Garten shares with her husband Jeffrey, is perennially perfect. Note, too, the green and purple color scheme here. This is perhaps the dream cottage garden and something of a childhood playhouse. It has just enough space for a cozy chat and is a reminder that you can build your own little cottage on a very small plot of land.Photo 12//Getty ImagesMarie Antoinette’s Hamlet on the grounds of Versailles still sets the standard for the cottage garden with a thatched roof, hedges, and roses straight out of a fairy tale. During the former French Queen’s reign, her hamlet was used as a faux farm house, where she and her young daughter, Princess Marie Thérèse, would dress as idealized versions of French peasant farmers and milk cows. The interior, though, of this modest cottage, is appropriately grand with silk furnishings and canopy beds.Douglas FriedmanA garden that proves succulents and cottages are a match made in heaven. This one, in Marin County, California, adds a bit of desert flair. On the other side of this cottage is a water way and a perfect little dock for launching paddle boards. We love how the greens liven up this side of the house and create a completely different, almost modern desert-like, aesthetic. As with any great cottage garden, there is a distinctly transportive factor.Michael CliffordA light wood sauna and cold plunge on the grounds of Jenni Kayne’s Hudson Valley farmhouse are hidden behind shrubbery for a sense of privacy against a wide open landscape. We love the idea of adding a spa-like ambiance to a cottage garden as well as finding inventive ways to use the space. This is exactly where we want to be in the summer!Getty ImagesThis is sort of cheating, but Bunny Williams is a necessary inclusion! Williams’s Oak Spring Garden in Upperville, Virginia continues to inspire garden and cottage enthusiasts the world over. Rather than one cottage, the grounds of Williams’s large estate feature a guest cottage and a basket house, both of which are charming in the extreme.Dorothy ScarboroughDorothy Scarborough (she/her) is the assistant to the Editor in Chief of Town & Country and Elle Decor.