Venice Florida is known for its friendly, small-town feel. There is a lovely shopping district which reflects the town's Mediterranean style, shaded by giant live oaks. The beach, starting at the northern edge of the city where the Venice jetties open a passage from the Intracoastal Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico, extends for miles. Much of it is undeveloped and merges into Sarasota County’s Caspersen Beach Park.  Prehistoric sharks' teeth are found on the beaches at Venice and Caspersen. Venice has been reffered to as the “Shark’s Tooth Capital of the World.” 

In addition to the famous beach, a central park along Venice's main street, Venice Avenue, is the site of concerts, arts and craft shows, and various special events. Throughout the city are neighborhood green spaces and parks, many design features of which inspired architects and city planners working on what is called the "New Villages” concept of city planning.

The most common response of people who move here or who return each year to visit, is, “When we drove down Venice Avenue past the shops and parks and saw the beach, we knew this was where we wanted to be.”