A city of 118 islands with no cars, sinking gently into a lagoon, and receiving twenty million visitors a year. Almost all of them leave in the evening — which is the single reason to stay the night.
Venice between seven in the evening and nine in the morning is a completely different city from the one in the photographs.
Cruise ships and coach tours pour tens of thousands of people into San Marco between ten and five, and then take them away again. If you stay two nights you get four quiet half-days — early mornings and evenings when the alleys are empty, the light is extraordinary and you can actually hear the water. People who do Venice as a day trip see the worst version of it and conclude it's overrated. It isn't; they just came at the wrong hour.
San Marco is unavoidable and the rest of the city is where the pleasure is.
Put the phone away and walk. Venice is an island — you cannot get seriously lost, and the back sestieri are the whole point.
Golden Byzantine mosaics covering 8,000 square metres. Book a timed slot; the free queue can run to two hours.
Gothic state rooms, the armoury, and the Bridge of Sighs from the inside. The Secret Itineraries tour is the better ticket.
Forty minutes by vaporetto. Fishermen's houses painted in violent colours, plus lace. Quieter than Murano and prettier.
Venetian masters at the Accademia, twentieth-century modernism at the Peggy Guggenheim. Both small enough for one visit.
Venetian bar snacks with a small glass of wine, standing up, around six. Cannaregio and San Polo do it best.
Six sestieri. San Marco is central and expensive; the others are cheaper and better to sleep in.
The centre, the basilica, and the highest prices in Italy. Convenient, and crowded until early evening.
The Accademia, the Guggenheim, and a student quarter with real bars. Our usual recommendation.
Northern, residential, with the old Jewish ghetto and the best cicchetti bars. Ten minutes from the station.
East of San Marco, with gardens and far fewer people. Wonderfully calm in the evenings.
April to May and October to November are the best. Summer is hot, smelly in places and extremely crowded.
July and August combine heat, crowds and the lowest canal water. Carnival in February is spectacular and the city is at its fullest and priciest. Winter is cold and often foggy, which is atmospheric and very cheap, with the acqua alta caveat. Late autumn is our pick: mild, quiet, and the light on the water is at its best.
2h 15m to Marco Polo (VCE) or Treviso (TSF), which is further out and used by budget carriers.
The Alilaguna water bus goes direct to the islands in about 75 minutes. The bus to Piazzale Roma is faster and cheaper.
Walk, and use vaporetti for the Grand Canal and the islands. A multi-day travel card pays back quickly.
No cars, and lots of stepped bridges. Pack light — you will be carrying it.
We'll come back with hotels in the right sestiere, the vaporetto pass sorted, and the payment plan written out in full.
Two, or three if you want Burano and Torcello without rushing. One night is better than none but you'll feel it.
Yes, if you stay overnight and get up early. As a day trip in August, honestly, no.
If you want to, take it in the quiet back canals rather than the Grand Canal, and go around sunset. The rate is fixed and per boat, so share it.
Verona is 70 minutes by train, Florence two hours, Bologna 90 minutes. Ask us for a two-city version with open-jaw flights.
Flights, a central hotel and transfers as one package. We book the museum and gallery slots that sell out, and tell you which ones to book yourself.
Guide prices, per person, based on two sharing, including return flights, central accommodation and airport transfers. They indicate what a break of this type has typically cost and are not an offer or a quotation. Your price depends on dates, party, departure airport and availability, and is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken.
Ready-built itineraries with flights, transfers and internal hops booked as one package, ATOL protected. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
10 nights · May–Jun, Sep–Oct · from £1,449pp
11 nights · May–Jun, Sep · from £1,149pp
10 nights · Mar–May, Sep–Nov · from £849pp
12 nights · Apr–May, Sep–Oct · from £2,399pp
11 nights · Nov–Apr · from £2,199pp
15 nights · Dec–Apr · from £2,399pp
