From the time of year to food and accommodation, here’s a round-up of all my top recommendations for visiting Venice.
Venice is one of the most magical places I have ever been to and I think I have winter to thank for that. When preparing for my last European holiday, I was told to expect the biggest crowds and flood of tourists in the city of Venice. We arrived in Venice on the 8th January and school had just gone back for the locals. The city was deserted. We absolutely could not have believed our luck! For three days we roamed the streets of Venice in a quiet haze, letting the winter chill and fog take us to a side of Venice people rarely get to see. So here are my top tips and recommendations from my time in Venice, the city that has left the longest lasting impression on me.
Pick the right season for you
Venice is renowned for its Carnivale, an annual two-week festival marked by lavish costumes, masquerade balls, parades and parties, all as a last celebration before Lent. As you can imagine, this would be a very popular time to travel. On top of this, summer is usually another peak time to visit the city as this is when a lot of people holiday to Europe. I wasn’t fussed to travel over these times because I wanted to be in Europe for New Years. This meant that we travelled to Venice in the off season, especially since we arrived the day school and work went back.
I personally couldn’t recommend this time period of early January enough because the main tourist spots like Piazza San Marco (St Marks Square) and Rialto Bridge were way less crowded than they would have been in peak seasons. Everyone who saw our pictures and videos couldn’t believe how quiet it looked! This meant we were able to see things a lot quicker and without constantly bumping into other tourists. The cold weather was also great as it meant the canals never smelt (we were told that this sometimes happens in the hotter weather) and we were able to experience a day of thick fog, something that added to the magical experience. Whilst there are obvious bonuses to travelling in peak seasons, it was pretty special to have the city all to ourselves in a quieter time of the year.
Hotel recommendation: Hotel Bucintoro
I found this 4-star hotel on Booking.com and instantly fell in love from the pictures (the rave reviews also helped). When applying my travel dates for January, I found out that the same room I wanted was double the price in Summer and peak seasons! If that’s not a bargain I don’t know what is. This meant that we were able to experience this lavish and beautifully appointed hotel at a price we could afford.
We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Bucintoro and it was up there as our favourite accommodation from the trip. The hotel gives off cosy cabin vibes and provides amazing views of the canal, I really recommend getting a room with a ‘lagoon view’. The hotel was within walking distance of Piazza San Marco (around 5 minutes) and a water taxi stop, something that came in handy when travelling with our bags. We also had breakfast included and it was such a lovely way to start our day, eating pastries while looking out to the canal. I would easily stay here again.
Restaurant recommendation: Nevodi
This restaurant was recommended to us by the staff at our hotel as it was only about a 5-minute walk away. The restaurant is run by two cousins (‘nevodi’ means cousins in the Venetian dialect) and had a really tasty selection of local dishes. We ended up eating here twice and on our last night the owner ended our meal with complimentary lemoncello. This was such a cosy restaurant that made us feel like locals.
Shopping recommendation: Fanny Gloves and Accessories
Before my holiday, my Nonna asked if I could find her a pair of leather gloves, as they’re made so well in Europe. I made this my mission throughout the trip and found the perfect pair in this Venetian shop, Fanny Gloves and Accessories (we’ve all shared a little chuckle at the name). We stumbled across this beautiful store on our last night and everything inside was either made in Venice or in other regions of Italy. I ended up buying myself a soft brown leather bag that I now use on a daily basis. Fanny is a fantastic boutique to buy some high-quality souvenirs from Venice.
A Venice Must: La Bussola Venice Free Tours
For me, walking tours are a must in every new city I travel to. We found exceptional tours with La Bussola Venice Free Tours and ended up doing both of the tours they offered. Our tour guides were amazing and took us to places in Venice we wouldn’t have been able to find ourselves. I love doing these tours on the first day in a new place, as they set me up for the rest of my stay. It is recommended you tip your tour guide at the end of the trip, but the amount is totally up to you.
Don’t skip these neighbouring islands: Murano, Burano and Torcello
I highly recommend you venture away from the main land of Venice to these three neighbouring islands. We were able to visit all three in one day and it was a great day trip, the water taxi trip alone was amazing as you got to be on the water gazing out for ages. Murano is the go-to place for glass blowing (since we went in winter we had a glass blowing demonstration all to ourselves), Burano is where you will find the iconic multi-coloured houses and Torcello is the smallest of them all, offering a basilica, a bridge and a few eateries (we only stopped for the bridge, everything else we only looked at briefly). If you could only go to one island, I would recommend Burano, as the bright coloured houses were unlike anything I’d seen before and put a massive smile on our faces.
Those are all of my recommendations from my trip to Venice. I hope you are able to visit one day, as it unlike any other place I have been to in my life.