Of course the main sights of Venice are worth visiting. Go visit them along with everybody else. But use the tips and strategies below to spend less time in lines and fighting crowds, even in high season.
Tip #1: Allocate a couple hours to get lost: follow your nose down the narrow streets and over small bridges. This is where you will find true Venetian atmosphere and mingle with the locals.
Tip #2: For views over Venice without climbing the hot, narrow stairs of the Campanile with the crowds: book a guided visit for the Clock Tower (Torre Dell'Orologio), or go up the tower at San Giorgio, the big church on its own island directly across from St. Mark's.
Compare the views: click here to see a photo of the view from San Giorgio; here for a view from the Campanile, and here for a view from the clock tower.
Tip #3: If you must go on a gondola ride, go at dusk. You'll see Venice at a magical time of day, after many of the tourists have left, when the water traffic has calmed down, and the city's lights start to twinkle.
Tip #4: Avoid standing in line at the Doge's Palace for hours under the hot sun: make online reservations for the Secret Itineraries tour, and skip the queue.
Tip #5: Unless you love glass, don't get off the boat at Murano. Instead, spend a few hours exploring the fabulous island of Burano.
Tip #6: Book your hotel in Venice, not in Mestre or somewhere else outside of the city. Venice is magical in the evening: more peaceful, more romantic, calmer and less crowded. Don't miss the city's evening atmosphere.
Tip #7: Visit the Rialto Market first thing in the morning, when the fruits and vegetables and fish are displayed at their finest and the locals are buzzing with energy.
Tip #8: Go inside churches you stumble upon no matter how bland the facade. There's a pretty good chance you'll see some incredible works of art inside, and it likely won't be crowded inside. The facade of San Sebastiano, for example doesn't look like much, but this is a jewel of a church with frescoes by Veronese.
Tip #9: Close to the beginning of your visit if possible, take a vaporetto ride down the entire Grand Canal. Get on at Piazzale Roma or the train station and go all the way to St. Mark's square. Sit back and enjoy a good overall view of the city's architecture and general layout before you get caught up in the narrow maze of streets and the tourist shuffle.
Tip #10: The best time to visit St. Mark's Basilica is first thing in the morning when it opens at 9.45. There are fewer crowds at this time and the mosaics are lit by natural light. If it's a dark or foggy day, consider visiting between 11.30 and 12.30, when the inside lights illuminate the mosaics.
Photo of empty street with laundry in Venice by Sanjay
Photo of canal at night by Alainf1
Photo of Sardines at the Rialto Market by David Sifry
Photo of Piazza San Marco by Jtravism
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