Destinations / Europe / Italy

4 Ideas to Avoid the Crowds in Venice, Italy

by

This post contains affiliate links, for which I may earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase.

Venice is the Italian destination that everyone loves to hate. People complain that it’s hot, it’s crowded and if feels like the “Disney version” of what Venice once was. Candidly, none of those feelings are wrong.

But there’s still a magic to Venice, the city of gondoliers in striped shirts and a thousand-year rule by someone other than the Pope. Everyone should visit Venice at least once, and when you do you’ll want to abide by these Venice travel tips to avoid the crowds. And before you get too skeptical, at no point in this article will I tell you to start your day at 6am – that’s not a vacation, and it’s certainly not how our family likes to travel if we can avoid it.

Be flexible on your timing

Having flexibility in when you go to Venice can have a huge impact on your experience.

Venice is so over-crowded that the municipality has trialed an access fee to visit the historic center during the busiest period from mid-April to late July. That should tell you some important information: visiting outside that window won’t be as busy.

A big factor in Venice crowds is whether or not cruise ships are in port. Be sure to check cruise schedules before your plan your visit – there are a few ports, including Marghera and Fusina (used by small-medium ships) as well as Ravenna (used by 3000+ passenger ships as well as smaller ones). Those cruise ships can flood the city with day trippers and make it feel even more crowded than usual!

Thankfully from around mid-November to mid-April the larger ships aren’t cruising through Venice and you’ll rarely see more than a thousand cruisers visiting for the day. Compare that to the total visitor numbers of approximately 50,000 per day in January versus more than 100,000 per day during the peak summer season.

The moral of the story? Visit Venice in spring or fall. November through March are the least busy times but September through November also bring heavy rains. We found October to be very pleasant, and would consider returning in March when we our school district has its fairly early spring break.

Stay on an outer island

If you’ve never been to Venice or have only been on a very brief visit, you may not realize that the “main island” (actually 118 tiny interconnected islands) called Centro Storico isn’t alone in the Venice Lagoon. There are 40 more islands and some of them have plenty to offer on their own.

While there’s something to be said for staying in the center of the action, in a place like Venice that can be pretty unpleasant. I’d much rather stay away from the crowds, and sometimes that means staying on an outer island!

We opted to stay at Hyatt Centric Murano for this visit. The island of Murano is popular for day trippers thanks to its history as the center of Venetian glass making. We had a wonderful stay at the hotel and I strongly recommend it, especially for families since there are dozens of family-sized suites at an affordable price. The hotel is housed in an old glass factory and there are amazing installations by local artists all throughout! It’s one of the neatest hotels we’ve stayed in.

There’s a vaporetto (water bus) stop right in front of the hotel that can quickly bring you to the main island, and with a ten minute walk you can access other boats to take you to the airport or nearby Burano.

Pro tip: You can book the Hyatt Centric Murano for free like we did by transferring points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. It’s a great value on points, even for a suite!

The biggest downsides are that there are no night vaporettos directly from piazza San Marco – you have to walk back to the north end of the main island – and some restaurants on Murano aren’t open for dinner. But on balance we appreciated the quiet evening walks and intimate conversations with glass artists after all the daytrippers left.

If you want to be closer to the action but away from the crowds, check out Hilton Molino Stucky on Giudecca island. The location can’t be beat in terms of views and convenience, and it even has its own free shuttle boat from the main island. We walked by this hotel on the way to our mask making workshop and it looks just as lovely as the photos. Don’t miss the Skyline Rooftop Bar for an amazing panorama of Venice’s most famous sites.

Unfortunately it’s twice as expensive as the Hyatt (especially for family rooms)! But if you wanted to stay here you could book it with points or free night certificates from the Hilton Honors Surpass card, and the gold status you get with the card gives you complimentary breakfast too.

Personally I would not stay on Burano – one island past Murano. While it’s just an 18 minute ferry from Murano to the Fondamente Nove on the main island, it would take you 40 minutes from Burano due to the distance. If you wanted to take a vaporetto directly to the area of Piazza San Marco, from Murano it’s an easy 35 minutes while Burano would be more than an hour.

Get away from the main sites

While you’re probably in Venice because you want to see its most famous sites like the Basilica di San Marco and the Rialto bridge, so is everyone else. Those sites are special and worth visiting but you’ll breathe a sigh of relief once you walk even 5-10 minutes away. There you’ll find quiet alleys and charming small canals – you could even take a gondola ride in one of these areas without the same “traffic” as you’ll find on the Grand Canal.

Spend a half-day exploring the northern parts of the main island like Canereggio. I definitely recommend a tour of the Venice Ghetto, which was the first Jewish ghetto in the world – in addition to learning about the fascinating Jewish history of the area, the tour also shares the backdrop of the unique history of Venice itself.

You can also spend a day visiting the outer islands (if you aren’t already staying there). Murano is famous for its glass work and Burano is best known for its brightly colored homes and lace work. But while you’re out that way, you could also visit the Venissa Winery on Mazzorbo (one stop before Burano). Or live like a local and enjoy a day at the beach on Lido!

No matter what you do, know that there’s more to Venice than just a handful of sites to check off on your list.

Look for evening hours at top attractions

Here’s a final tip that I can’t believe more people don’t know about: one of the best ways to avoid the crowds in Venice is to tour the major attractions in the evening! This Venice travel tip primarily applies in the summer, but that’s when you need it most.

We were thrilled to learn that the Doge’s Palace is open Friday and Saturday in summer until 10pm. After a delicious early dinner at 1000 Gourmet Venezia, we strolled over to the Palace and it was totally empty! We had not pre-booked tickets but it didn’t matter because there was just one person who walked in ahead of us. We had most rooms of this incredible palace completely to ourselves and only encountered a single tour group in some of the later rooms. The golden hour light glinting off of the gilded ceilings and walls was incredible too.

Want to visit St. Mark’s Basilica and have a quiet, contemplative visit? Sign up for an incredible night tour, which is only offered for very small groups. The church takes on a different mood after hours as the light changes. You need to book this very far in advance, as spots are limited and it sells out incredibly early.

Sometimes the St. Marks bell tower is open as late as 9pm as well. Check the schedule and try to reserve for 30 minutes before sunset if possible! That would make for epic views to cap off a perfect trip to Venice.

Planning your trip to Venice

I hope these tips have given you ideas for how to make the most of your time in Venice, even when it’s incredibly crowded. Check out these additional articles for more Italy travel inspiration:

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.