Venice on your own: tips and secrets. When is the best time to go to Venice? When to go to Venice

Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Having been here once, your soul will return here again. This magnificent place annually attracts crowds of tourists from all over the world.

The tiny streets and narrow canals look simply magnificent at any time of the year. Friendly locals are happy to chat with tourists and answer questions about local attractions. In addition, many of them offer guide services, albeit at an inflated price.

Venice is truly a magical city with a sense of centuries of history and luxury. Here you can have an interesting time with the whole family, and the variety of excursions will not let either adults or children get bored.

History buffs will be interested in visiting ancient temples and basilicas, as well as city museums, which house various exhibits and antiquities. Tourists should know that visiting most basilicas requires a fee and you can’t just get there during the tourist influx season.

Fans of cultural recreation will not be bored either - the world famous opera house La Fenice hospitably opens its doors to art lovers all year round. This magical place constantly attracts all travelers, because it is one of the oldest theaters in Europe. This pleasure is not cheap, but it is completely worth the money spent.

Many travelers visit Venice while passing through, staying here for only one day. In such a short period of time you can see many sights. Staying in this fairy-tale town for several days, you can take a walk along the numerous bridges, as well as see the beauty of the rising sun in the lagoon.

Many restaurants and cafes will allow you to have a very tasty and satisfying lunch with a wide variety of dishes, including exquisite seafood delicacies. In Venice you can not only get a lot of positive impressions and emotions, but also very successfully update your wardrobe, especially if you decide to come during the sales season. Branded items, bags, excellent cosmetics and high-quality souvenirs will delight even the most sophisticated shopaholics.

Carnivals, which are known for their scale throughout the world, deserve special attention. The festive atmosphere of the city permeates everyone who decides to attend such a magical event. The performance will undoubtedly appeal to all family members, regardless of age.

If you have not yet decided whether it is worth visiting the fabulous city on the water, the answer is clear - it is worth it!

When planning a trip to Venice, time is of the utmost importance. Weather, festivals and, of course, the acqua alta (high water) for which Venice is so famous must be taken into account so as not to spoil the experience of visiting.

During the May holidays, Venice is especially crowded. This time is great weather for visiting the city, but at the same time it is also the worst period in terms of the huge number of tourists.

Weather in Venice and High Water

For weather reasons best time to visit Venice– this is late spring and early summer (). However, the other side of the coin is that many people know about these dates.

In turn, this determines the city’s overcrowding with tourists with all the ensuing consequences: prices are high, budget hotels are full, and there are long queues at all more or less interesting places (how to avoid the latter by buying tickets to Venice museums online).

Late autumn in Venice is usually much less touristy

The situation is similar at the end of summer, although at this time the weather can be extremely hot, the canals emit a not particularly pleasant smell, and mosquitoes act like real vampires.

In the fall, many of these factors fade into the background, but the likelihood of enriching your experience with acqua alta, or, to put it in more understandable language, with a flood, increases. From October to January in Venice the probability of floods is higher than at any time in the year, although floods can, by and large, happen at any other time.

On the other hand, flooding can be viewed philosophically. Although they can make sightseeing much more difficult, this is an unusual and exciting travel experience that you will remember for a long time later.

Also, before planning a trip, you should take into account the geographical location of Venice - its location in the north of the country on the Adriatic Sea determines a longer winter than in the southern regions of Italy.

You can be lucky with the weather in Venice even in the low season

Thus, visiting Venice in winter has its own charm for budget travelers - prices are lower and crowds are smaller. However, the piercing wind from the sea and dampness can affect even those for whom the budget of the tour is the most important factor. Fortunately, all these adversities are, as a rule, already behind us by the onset of the most important event of the year for all Venetians -.

Venice festivals

The city is famous for several events each year that are worth visiting, and Venice Carnival– one of them – is celebrated annually in February or March (2010-2020). During the two-week costume show, the city is crowded with tourists, but visiting the event is worth putting up with the possible inconveniences.

Another popular event is Easter, which in most cases is the starting point for the city's high tourist season.

Great luck getting to Venice during Carnival

In addition, every odd year Venice hosts the famous art festival - the Biennale. Having enormous prestige, the Venice Biennale is akin to the Olympic Games in art. Each time it attracts participants from all over the world to Venice, as well as tens of thousands of spectators eager to satisfy their cultural hunger.

Venice Biennale takes place between June and November, and during its years you will undoubtedly find Venice more crowded than usual.

Another summer event worth attending is Festa del Redentore(Festa del Redentore), which falls on the third weekend of July. The center of this religious festival is the Church of Il Redentore (the Savior), which is located on the island of Giudecca opposite. The festival is celebrated with a pontoon bridge across the canal, feasting, fireworks and a gondolier regatta.

However, in two weeks, so many impressions have accumulated that one story obviously won’t get rid of it. In this post I will share my thoughts on whether it’s worth going to Venice in August.

Why I decided to write a separate post on this topic. Because I have repeatedly come across the opinion that August is not the best time to travel to Venice. To be honest, in the absence of personal experience, I was inclined to agree. After all, August in Italy, even in its northern part, is a hot month. In addition, this is the time of traditional summer holidays. This has at least two consequences: 1) it’s hard to walk in the heat, and 2) there’s no crowd of tourists in this sea. Both are clearly not conducive to a pleasant pastime.

However, in reality everything turned out to be not scary at all. Now, based on my own experience, I can confidently state that with a competent approach to organizing a trip, many negative aspects can be completely avoided.

Now let's talk about everything in order. I'll start with the weather.

Heat

How we dealt with the heat.

First of all, I can't say it was that hot. We arrived in Venice on August 10th. It was a cloudy day, and towards evening it started to rain. After this, for a week the weather was mostly sunny, and the air temperature fluctuated around +25–27 degrees during the day, dropping below +20 at night. We never even turned on the air conditioner (by the way, read a detailed review of where we lived). During all the time we spent in Venice, there were only 2-3 really hot days, when the daytime temperature rose above +30. So the above-mentioned air conditioner was still useful to us. But even these days we had a great time walking around Venice.

Now is the time to make a few clarifications. And this is the second thing. The fact is that visiting Venice was just one of our goals. The essence of the whole trip was to combine walks around Venice with a beach holiday as organically as possible. Therefore, we lived in Lido, and spent part of our time on the beach (more about the beaches of this place). In addition, we went on vacation with a four-year-old child, and therefore we had a daily break for the children's sleep (from about 13:30 to 15:30), when we, the parents, often took a siesta. Thus, during the hottest hours of the day, our sleepy family basically did not stick their nose out into the street. We went for walks around the city either in the morning (from 9:00 to 12:00), or in the afternoon (from 16:00 to 18:30), or in the evening (about 20:00). At these hours, wandering through the Venetian streets and back streets (and even more so along the embankments) was quite comfortable - we did not languish from the heat. And in general, +30 by the sea is not at all the same as +30 in any “land” city: the heat is much easier to bear.

Crowds


In August there are really very, very many people in Venice. There were probably more only during the carnival. And it seems like nothing can be done about it. But it only seems so. All the negativity must go to those who come to Venice for the day from some nearby resort and wander into the thick of it along the main tourist routes - from Santa Lucia Station and Piazzale Roma to Piazza San Marco and back (and then they write reviews about how Venice disappointed them). You really can’t envy them, the poor fellows. We preferred to walk along roundabout paths and, as mentioned above, in those hours when it was not particularly hot.

As for the roundabout paths, I have already managed to tell you something. We were talking about the Castello area and its attractions. Here it only remains to add that even despite the Biennale, we did not encounter any crowds near the Giardini, much less in the vicinity of the churches of Sant'Elena and San Pietro. The eastern part of Castello, in my opinion, is generally one of the calmest and most peaceful places in all of Venice. We really like this area, and each of our visits to Venice is accompanied by an indispensable walk along the long, very long embankment leading from San Marco to the Giardini and, further, to the Parco delle Rimembranze. I think that next time we will stay somewhere nearby, since there are options (the Best Western Premier Hotel Sant'Elena, for example, plus numerous apartments like the Queen House Garden). Moreover, since the eastern part of Castello is considered the outskirts of Venice and not is very popular among tourists, the prices here are relatively low, despite the fact that the same Piazza San Marco is only 20 minutes on foot, and you can get there by vaporetto in 5 minutes (the same amount, by the way, to the Lido - the beaches are always nearby) .

Of course, we did not limit ourselves to walking only around the outskirts of Venice. We visited San Marco, took a ride along the Grand Canal (three times), and didn’t forget to walk along the Zattere embankment, and even looked into the depths of Cannaregio. In short, we managed to see quite a lot, despite the fact that we went everywhere with a child (this is a topic for a separate discussion). There were no crowds in any of these places (with the exception of San Marco, of course). There were crowds in the area of ​​Santa Lucia Station and Piazzale Roma, where we also visited. But, say, if we needed to walk from the train station to the ghetto (or in the opposite direction), then we walked around the outskirts through the park (Parco Savorgnan), where, again, there are no crowds. And so it is almost everywhere. In other words, there is always an opportunity to escape the crowds in Venice, even in August. The most difficult thing here is to learn to move freely around the city, at least with a map (or even better without it). This takes practice. So come, practice and don’t be afraid of anything - August is not as scary as it’s made out to be

TOURISTS' ANSWERS:

The holiday season in Venice lasts all year round, of course, in the summer during the holiday season the influx of tourists is much greater, and in the summer there is the opportunity to swim in the warm sea and bask in the sun, because Venice has a gorgeous sandy beach, but summer is also fraught with yourself some inconvenience. And now, comparing three days in Venice in summer and a week in Venice in winter, I can say for sure that it is better to go to Venice in the cooler season.

In principle, it is never cold in Venice like in Ukraine or Russia; during the day the temperature, even in winter, almost never drops to 0 degrees, so the canals do not freeze. In November the temperature stays around 12-15 degrees during the day, only in January it drops to 4-6 degrees during the day and sometimes to 0 at night. But winter is also not the most comfortable period, because a very cold damp wind blows from the sea, which chills to the bones, and in early December the city is often shrouded in fog and rain.

In summer there is also no hellish heat, the temperature is about 30 degrees during the day in the sun, but because of the very high humidity, the heat is quite difficult to bear, even 27 degrees seems unbearable, you are constantly drenched in sweat and just looking for shelter from the sun. Therefore, humidity is the first reason why you should go in late autumn-early winter or early spring.

Also, in the summer, when it’s hot outside, the water begins to bloom, and the wooden supports on which many buildings stand in the water begin to rot, so a specific smell appears in the city, of course, after a day you get used to it, but it’s not pleasant. This is the second reason why you should go to Venice in the cool season.

Moreover, in the summer it is vacation season and there will be a lot of tourists in the city, sometimes it is not possible to see and examine everything carefully due to the large number of people. Also, during the season of the influx of tourists, prices rise - more demand - more expensive supply, for example, in the summer an hour on a gondola during the day costs 100 euros, in the evening the price already rises to 120, but at the end of autumn an ​​hour on a gondola costs 70 euros during the day and 90 euros in the evening . In the summer, a walk around Venice will cost 25 euros per person, but there must be a group of at least 6 people, but in the fall the same walk will cost 20 euros per person. This is another argument in favor of relaxing during the cold season.

Of course, when the tourist himself chooses to relax more comfortably, some people cannot stand the heat and moisture, and for others the frost is already severe at +6, but I still advise going either in the fall (late September-early November) or in the spring, when The streets are neither cold nor hot.

Is the answer helpful?

Venice is considered one of the most beautiful places on the planet - a magical ancient city on the water. In order to get the most out of your trip, it is better to plan your vacation in advance. If possible, along with tickets, it is worth booking a hotel in advance, which will allow you to save a decent amount on your vacation.

The optimal time to travel to Venice will be a week or two before Easter; prices during this period are more than affordable and there is no huge influx of travelers. The weather allows you to walk the streets with pleasure, without haste, carefully examining all the objects of interest. The average air temperature during this period is about 15 degrees Celsius, and there are practically no rainy days. An equally important factor is the absence of mosquitoes and midges until the end of April; in the hotter seasons they attack tourists, causing some discomfort. During this period, you can buy souvenirs for yourself and your loved ones as profitably as possible, as well as attend excursions without huge queues.

The hottest holiday months are considered to be June - September. During this period, all hotels are filled with tourists and it will be problematic to visit excursions calmly, without fuss. There are huge queues near the souvenir shops, and therefore their cost increases several times. Budget hotels are booked months in advance.

The price of housing increases significantly during the Redentore festival, which takes place annually on the third Sunday of July. Local residents say that this is the main holiday of Venice, when the entire population has fun along with tourists. Decorated gondolas and boats float out in the evening, a ceremonial meal and fiery dancing begin. The fireworks display that ends the grandiose celebration lasts about an hour, and therefore attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world to this magical city on the water.

In addition to this holiday, in odd-numbered years, a contemporary art festival called the Biennale is held in Venice, which brings together a lot of celebrities.

If you decide to visit Venice in the winter months and the cold does not scare you, you should know that the average air temperature is between 10 - 14 degrees Celsius. Cold winds blow from the sea, which literally penetrate the body, and therefore, being in the fresh air for a long time, alas, will be uncomfortable. The city is almost constantly in thick fog and looks very mysterious, and you can only rarely see passers-by on the street. During this period it often rains, and there are very few clear and fine days. The water can rise even several meters and remain in this state for several days. Floods do not frighten local residents, only tourists who hear the warning siren about the approach of “high water” begin to panic. In order to be able to walk the streets, it is worth stocking up on warm outerwear, a raincoat and rubber boots. Despite all the shortcomings, there is the only advantage of holidaying in Venice in winter - very affordable prices and the absence of crowds of tourists.

Venice is a unique city in the Northern part of Italy. Every person needs to visit there at least once. After all, this city is slowly sinking under water. Of course, centuries must pass for it to completely disappear under water, but still, every year less of this city remains on the surface of the earth, and the sooner you manage to visit here, the more you will be able to see. What other reasons are there to choose Venice for your trip?

Reason 1. To visit the famous Piazza San Marco

This area is known throughout the world for the number of pigeons that gather here. To visit Venice and not take a photo surrounded by the Rainy Palace, the Bell Tower, the Grand Canal and, of course, numerous birds, means not to leave one of the most important memories of this city.

Tourists are lucky if they choose Venice hotels in the center to stay. Then St. Mark's Square will be a stone's throw away, and there will be time to get to know all its attractions.

Reason 2. To ride a gondola

This is a unique entertainment that can only be experienced when visiting Venice. Local entrepreneurs who provide rides take advantage of this. A trip of 40 minutes will cost 80 euros, that is, 2 euros per minute. But what won’t you give for the sake of a unique pleasure that you will never experience again in your life?

Reason 3. To stay in a luxury hotel

Venice has truly luxurious hotels, where your stay is surrounded by comfort, attentive service, and Italian hospitality. These are undoubtedly Venice 5 star and 4 star hotels. Staying in them while staying in this city means giving yourself a wonderful holiday in a rich environment.

Reason 4. To visit Lido Beach

Venice is not only about cultural and entertainment programs and excursions, but also about beach holidays. Lido is a resort with sandy beaches that attract both the local population and many visitors. Let us remind you that Lido is also an island where a film festival is held every year in September.

Reason 5. To get to know the churches of Venice

In the city center alone you will be able to visit more than ten ancient churches, built in distant centuries and decorated with gold, jewelry, and the greatest icons. We recommend that you definitely look into the Frari Church, the Dome without a Church, the Church of St. Moses and the Church with the relics of St. Lucia.