Summer has long gone. Temperatures are plummeting. The nights are drawing in. There is rain in the air. What better time to plan a trip to Venice?
It may seem perverse to visit one of the most beautiful cities in Europe when the skies are murky and there is a chance the streets will be flooded. But in Venice, filled to saturation point with tourists in summer, normal rules do not apply.
With no other holiday destination is it more important to do the opposite of what the world and his wife is doing.
Visiting Venice in August is the kind of schoolboy error made by people who think that, because they are in Venice, they have to take a gondola ride. They don’t. The only time I was dumb enough to take a gondola, the gondolier spent the time moaning about council tax in Nottingham. Never again.
I have visited the city in every month of the year and, although October remains my favourite, I also treasure the period between November and February, when ghostly mists hover above the lagoon, the piazzas are deserted and you can eat like a king in snug little trattorias where the waiters are not rushed off their feet.
‘I have never seen Venice look more beautiful than the time I was lucky enough to catch it in a blizzard,’ says the Daily Mail’s Max Davidson. Pictured above is Venice dusted in snow
‘Real artistry has gone into the displays in shop windows, and you will find charming, affordable gifts for the whole family,’ Max reveals
‘After the madness of summer, Venice in winter suddenly feels like a reasonably normal city,’ Max says of his out-of-season sojourn
I have never seen Venice look more beautiful than the time I was lucky enough to catch it in a blizzard. As snowflakes swirled around the dome of St Mark’s Basilica, a great peace descended.
After the madness of summer, Venice in winter suddenly feels like a reasonably normal city. Visitor numbers are manageable, and the locals go about their business with no risk of being trampled by tour parties from Munich or Tokyo.
Even if you are a party animal, and worry that Venice off season might be a ghost town, fear not. There are special events throughout the winter, culminating in the carnival, which next year falls in early February. Lavish New Year balls, with spectacular firework displays, are a long Venetian tradition.
I can also recommend the Festa Della Salute in late November, when locals process across the Grand Canal on a pontoon of boats to celebrate the city’s deliverance from the plague in 1630. It is one of the more low-key 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 have done in the past, get ahead of the game and buy your presents in Venice before you have even put up the advent calendar?
Max says: ‘It is better to keep trips to Venice short and sweet. Three or four nights is perfect.’ Pictured above is a woman wearing a mask and colourful costume at Grand Canal in Venice
In some cities, you find the same tatty tourist souvenirs everywhere. Not Venice. Real artistry has gone into the displays in shop windows, and you will find charming, affordable gifts for the whole family, from jewellery to glassware, from leather goods to old maps and prints, from exotic foods to unusual wooden toys.
If you have children who are into cooking, they will just love the personalised chef’s hats and aprons which you will find in the stalls around the Rialto.
And with hotel prices remarkably reasonable after the excesses of high season, your trip should not cost an arm and a leg. Go for a week and your credit card may start growling in protest.
It is better to keep trips to Venice short and sweet. Three or four nights is perfect.
But unless you are very unlucky with the weather, which can happen anywhere these days, you will love every second. Enjoy the morning mists. Enjoy the iconic buildings. Enjoy the vaporetti chugging up and down the Grand Canal, past centuries-old palazzos. Enjoy the wandering and the getting lost and the fresh surprises around every corner.
Enjoy the aroma of hot chocolate and roast chestnuts. Enjoy the brightly lit shop windows, the little neighbourhood bars tucked down side alleys. Enjoy the humour and resilience of ordinary Venetians as they hunker down for winter. Enjoy your fellow tourists and the look of wonder on their faces as they fall under the spell of this extraordinary city. Just enjoy.
PLANNING YOUR WINTER TRIP
A good starting point for visiting in winter is visit-venice-italy.com, which has information about special New Year events and the 2024 Carnival in February.
Book ahead: There is plenty of affordable accommodation all over the city, but last-minute bargains are elusive.
Budget realistically: If you plan for meals and drinks to cost roughly 50 per cent more than in London, you will be pleasantly surprised. Brace yourself for the odd rip-off, but don’t let it spoil your day.
Save luggage space for shopping: Assuming you are savvy enough to steer clear of the overpriced tat, the shops in Venice are a real treat, with a wealth of unusual gifts.
Don’t over-plan: Venice is made for wandering, not ticking off visitor attractions.
Visit a lagoon island: Murano, the home of Venice’s glassware industry, and Burano, known for its brightly coloured houses, really come into their own in winter.
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