Grand canals and singing gondoliers provide the backdrop to the romantic city of Venice. Leave your Venice flight and enter a world where cars are banned and bridges keep the city connected. In Venice, everyone travels by boat. Hop on board for an experience of a lifetime that will have you booking flights to Venice year after year.
Along the narrow canals are small wine bars and intimate restaurants packed with locals and tourists. Venice’s historic center is dividing into six quarters – San Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo, Santa Croce, Cannaregio and Castello. Visitors can explore each quarter by hopping on a gondola and traveling down the Grand Canal, which intersects each district. Because of its location on the Mediterranean, many travelers book flights to Venice during the off-season when the heat has simmered down and there is a slight chill in the air.
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Summers are hot and sticky with daytime temperatures in the 80s (Fahrenheit) and higher. The pollution limits the view, and the sirocco winds bring in more heat from the south. Late afternoon thunderstorms often hit briefly in summer. Winter starts with heavy rains, and the best chance of flooding is in November and December. January and February are the coldest months with temperatures ranging from the low 30s to mid-40s. Spring is clear and crisp with lots of rain into June.
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Peak Season:
Venice has visitors year-round but most Venice flights and hotels are packed from April to October, especially the periods from Easter to June and September through October. Christmas, New Year, and Carnevale (February) are also very busy. If you plan on visiting during these times, make Venice flights and hotel reservations in advance.
Early spring may be the best time to visit. September has the next best weather, but October has fewer crowds.
Off Season:
The rain in November and December often causes flooding, and you may end up walking in water. With the dampness the winters can also be cool and sometimes the city is blanketed in snow, but this is also a great time to find cheap flights to Venice and discounted hotel rates.
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A waterboat service and water taxis run from the airport to Venice. Taxis are also available. A bus service runs every 20 minutes to Venice-Mestre railway station.
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Venice’s unique geography limits transportation to two methods: walking and boating. Cars and bicycles are banned in the city, but you can take water buses/ferries, water taxis and gondolas. The water buses (vaporetti) mainly serve the Grand Canal and you’ll have to wrestle with crowds in the summer. Water taxis aren’t cheap, and they’ll cost extra if you have large bags or are traveling at night, on Sundays or holidays. While gondolas may be the quintessential Venetian form of transport, they’re also very costly. Walking is the most enjoyable way to get around the city. Embrace getting lost. The city isn’t very big and wandering through unknown streets and squares is part of the its charm.
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- The bridges are instantly recognizable - Rialto Bridge, Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs) and Ponte degli Scalzi (Bridge of the Barefoot). Ponte dell'Accademia gets its name from the Accademia di Belle Arti, Venice’s school of art, which has a magnificent collection of paintings by artists including brothers Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, Canaletto, Tintoretto and Titian.
- The 90-minute Secret Itineraries tour of the Doge (the residence of the ruler of Venice) includes the administrative offices, torture chambers and the prison cell from which Casanova, the famous adventurer, writer and lover, escaped.
- While touring the Grand Canal (the main street) by vaporetto (waterbus) or gondola, feast your eyes on the palaces. The most sublime are the Doge’s Palace, Palazzo Grassi, Ca' d'Oro (Palazzo Santa Sofia) and Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.
- The Piazza San Marco is dominated by Saint Mark's Basilica, which was built in the 11th century. The remains of Saint Mark the Evangelist, Venice’s patron saint, lie in the basilica.
- The Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Basilica of St Mary of Health/Salvation) is known as the Salute, and is one of the largest – and most beautiful – churches in Venice. It owes its existence to the plague, or more correctly, in 1630 with the city ravaged by plague, the Senate decreed that if Venice was spared further deaths, they would build a new church and dedicate it to the Virgin Mary.
- Take a day trip from Venice to the outlying islands in the lagoon; Murano, for its glass work, or Burano for its lace. Torcello, meanwhile, has a 7th-century cathedral. And there is also the beach of Lido di Venezia.
- For a taste of “local” Venice, head to the Rialto Market. That’s where Venetians go to buy fish and vegetables.
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