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Planning Your Trip to Venice, Italy
ABOVE: A gondolier and his dog pose by the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute. When to come
To our way of thinking, the best time for a trip to Venice is from late October into April (excluding Carnival, unless you crave crowds and high prices).
Air fares and hotel prices are lowest in winter--which means you can allocate your travel budget over a longer period and give Venice the time it deserves. How long to visit Venetophiles may consider this next piece of advice to be sacrilege, but here it is:
Still, it's much nicer to spend a few days in Venice--or, preferably, a week or longer. For one thing, opening times (especially out of season) can make it difficult to visit more than a sampling of museums and churches in a day or two.
Where to stay
For advice on accommodations, see "Where to Sleep in Venice" and our "Number 1 Warning!" How to arrive Don't drive to Venice unless you have to. Parking is expensive, and finding a spot in a garage or outdoor lot can be a nuisance in high season.
For getting around town after you've arrived, see our Venice local transportation and Walking in Venice articles. Planning resources
Next, click the links in the table below or consult our Venice articles index. Be sure to read Top 11 Tourist Mistakes in Venice (and how to avoid them). We also suggest browsing through our Venice Travel Blog, which has advice, news items, photos, and videos on everything from "A warning about water taxis" to "Johnny Depp's palazzo in Venice." Finally, if you're a pet aficionado, take a moment to look at our dog blog, "Maggie in Venice: The adventures of a Bearded Collie in Italy." |
If
you're pressed for time, you can grasp the essence of Venice in a single day. A
vaporetto ride up the Grand Canal, an hour in the 
There's also a lot to see beyond
the usual tourist attractions: e.g., the 
Finally, Venice is a convenient hub for day trips to cities and
towns throughout the Veneto region, such as 
Venice has hundreds of hotels, B&BS, hostels, and vacation rentals. However,
most are relatively small by mainland standards, and it can be difficult to find
a room during high season or on holiday weekends, so it pays to book early. 
Train service to Venice is frequent. Just be sure that you're booked to Venice's
Major
airlines connect London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and other European gateways to
Venice's 
If
you're planning your first trip to the city, start with