Peaceful squares, quiet restaurants, cheap luxury hotels… and you won’t be trampled by tour companies: why Venice is popular out of season
Summer is long gone. The temperatures are dropping. The nights are coming. There is rain in the air. What better time to plan a trip to Venice?
It may seem perverse to visit one of Europe’s most beautiful cities when the sky is cloudy and there is a chance that the streets will be flooded. But in Venice, which is filled to the point of saturation with tourists in the summer, the normal rules do not apply.
At no other holiday destination is it more important to do the opposite of what the world and its wife do.
Visiting Venice in August is a schoolboy mistake made by people who think that because they are in Venice they have to take a gondola ride. They do not. The only time I was stupid enough to take a gondola, the gondolier spent the time bitching about Nottingham council tax. Never again.
I’ve visited the city in every month of the year and while October remains my favorite, I also cherish the period between November and February, when ghostly mists hang over the lagoon, the squares are deserted and you can eat like a king in cozy spaces . small trattorias where the waiters are not overwhelmed.
“I have never seen Venice as beautiful as the time I was lucky enough to find it in a snowstorm,” says Max Davidson of the Daily Mail. Above you see Venice covered in snow
“There is real artistry in the windows and you will find charming, affordable gifts for the whole family,” reveals Max
“After the madness of the summer, Venice suddenly feels like a fairly normal city in the winter,” says Max about his off-season stay
I have never seen Venice as beautiful as the time I was lucky enough to see it in a snowstorm. As snowflakes swirled around the dome of St. Mark’s Basilica, a great peace descended.
After the madness of the summer, Venice suddenly feels like a fairly normal city in the winter. Visitor numbers are manageable and locals go about their business without the risk of being trampled by tour groups from Munich or Tokyo.
Even if you’re a party animal and worry that Venice is a ghost town during the off-season, have no fear. Throughout the winter there are special events, culminating in the Carnival, which falls in early February next year. Lavish New Year’s balls, with spectacular fireworks displays, are a long-standing Venetian tradition.
I can also recommend the Festa Della Salute at the end of November, when locals cross the Grand Canal on a pontoon with boats to celebrate the city’s liberation from the plague in 1630. It is one of the quieter festivals, but all the better for that.
Do you, like me, reach for the proverbial revolver when you hear the words “Christmas shopping”? Then why not do what I’ve done in the past: get a head start and buy your presents in Venice before you’ve even hung up the Advent calendar?
Max says: ‘It’s better to keep trips to Venice short and sweet. Three or four nights is perfect.’ Above you see a woman wearing a mask and a colorful costume on the Grand Canal in Venice
In some cities you will find the same run-down tourist souvenirs everywhere. Not Venice. Real art is incorporated into the window displays, and you’ll find charming, affordable gifts for the whole family, from jewelry to glassware, from leather goods to old maps and prints, from exotic foods to unusual wooden toys.
If you have children who love to cook, they will love the personalized chef hats and aprons you will find in the stalls around the Rialto.
And because hotel prices are remarkably reasonable after the excesses of the high season, your trip doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. Continue for a week and your credit card may start growling in protest.
It’s better to keep trips to Venice short and sweet. Three or four nights is perfect.
But unless you’re very unlucky with the weather, which can happen anywhere these days, you’ll enjoy every second of it. Enjoy the morning mist. Enjoy the iconic buildings. Enjoy the vaporetti chugging up and down the Grand Canal, past centuries-old palazzos. Enjoy wandering and getting lost and the new surprises around every corner.
Enjoy the scent of hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts. Enjoy the brightly lit shop windows and small bars nearby, hidden in side streets. Enjoy the humor and resilience of ordinary Venetians as they retreat into winter. Enjoy your fellow tourists and the look of wonder on their faces as they become captivated by this special city. Just enjoy.