HOW TO AVOID CROWDS IN VENICE

NOVEMBER 2020 (Original), update: 2025

I originally wrote this blogpost in 2020, when we revisited Venice during the pandemic. Visiting during the pandemic seemed to be the way to enjoy a quiet Venice, but somehow everybody ended up in Venice that summer. It turned out to be super busy in Venice, and in 2025 it still is a very popular destination. I re-wrote my original blogpost to give you recommendations on how to visit Venice and Burano in a relaxed way, travel tips that I have accumulated over the years. If you follow my recommendations you can enjoy Venice without being annoyed by the crowds.

Where to stay

Always decide to stay in the city center of Venice. This is the only way to enjoy Venice without the crowds. In 2020 we stayed in Padua and traveled to Venice by train, but this means you are never one of the early ones exploring. Venice also becomes much more quiet at night and an after dinner walk through the old center is a lovely thing that you should not miss. During our 2017 stay in Venice we stayed at the Ruzzini Palace Hotel, in a lovely room with a big bathtub and a small window with canal views 😉 The whole hotel is decorated in a style that represents the grandeur of old times, which added something special to our Venice stay. The hotel is situated at a quintessential Venetian square in a really atmospheric neighborhood which is not overrun by tourists, I loved coming “home” to our beautiful room. The personnel of this hotel treated everyone like equals and we felt like royalty. We paid about € 200 a night and I see that in 2025 rooms go at around € 300 a night and this is well worth your money. If you have one time to splurge, make sure you splurge in Venice.

Go off the beaten path

A lot of people who daytrip Venice just go to the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark’s square. These are indeed lovely sites, but everyone agrees on that, so these places are extremely busy! The further away from theses sites you get, the more interesting and relaxing Venice becomes. I loved wandering in the less popular back alleys and still got the full Venice feeling. What was particularly funny is that places that seemed nearby on google maps, actually turned out to be a far walk, as you would bump into a canal without a bridge and had to walk all the way back. The false navigating turned out to be a fun way to discover the lesser known parts of the city. These streets also have lots of little Osterias serving delicious foods at fair prices.

Behind Hielke you can see the big crowds at Saint Mark’s Square

Popular sights that require a reservation or getting up early

There were some activities that I would have loved to do, but didn’t get to do on either of my Venice trips. Don’t make these mistakes!

Campanile di San Marco: This is the bell tower opposite the Doge’s palace. There was a queue of I don’t know how many people in the scorching sun, so we didn’t go in.

Libreria Acqua Alta: Again, an enormous queue for the famous quirky book store. It would have been impossible to take a picture, so we didn’t go in.

Scala Contarini Del Bovolo: This is a hidden gem in Venice with a beautiful spiral staircase. Apparently this place has the best views of Venice. Unfortunately we should have reserved a ticket weeks before. You can book a visit here. is ve

Rooftop bar: We wanted to watch the sunset from a rooftop bar over the Canal Grande. Unfortunately, everybody wanted to do that so we should have taken a seat at 4PM, which we didn’t do…

The always crowded Rialto bridge in the background

Getting up early

Venice is one big open air museum, so actually it doesn’t matter where you are in Venice. It just is all so beautiful! When walking around, you will be in constant awe to admire the amazing architecture and colorful canals. Everything in Venice is super walkable and when you walk away from St Mark’s square, you will have pieces of Venice to yourself. The areas close to the train station and the Vaporetto station to Burano are particularly lovely to walk around, without the crowds. But in the case you want to see an empty St Mark’s square, I would absolutely recommend to stay in the city center and get up early.

We ended our day in Venice, with a lovely sunset near the Rialto bridge.

Taking a gondola ride

The ultimate cliche: but we did a gondola ride in Venice! It is super expensive (€ 80 per half hour, it is possible to negotiate), but the most relaxed way to experience Venice. We loved listening to the sounds that came from the streets, while enjoying the incredible quietness on the water! I would advice to do some research on where you would like your route to start, the gondoliers do a standard route in 30 minutes in which you can only see a little piece of Venice. It would be handy if you know what you want to see beforehand and adjust your starting point to that. We wanted to see the canal grande and Rialto bridge, so we searched for a gondolier that would take us there.

Taking the Vaporetto to Burano

Another must do in Venice is taking the Vaporetto to the little island of Burano. You know that I have a passion for colorful houses and Burano is one of the most colorful places in the world. The Vaporetto will take you to Burano in about 45 minutes from F.te Nove at the north side of Venice. A single ticket to Burano still costs € 7,5 in 2025. The Vaporetto also stops at Murano island, which is famous for its glass blowing. I found Murano less spectacular than Burano and the glass is expensive so we didn’t visit in 2020. Burano definitely is not a hidden gem anymore, but if you venture a bit off the main road you still will find beautiful spots to enjoy to yourself. If you love photography, Burano is absolutely the place to be! The Vaporetto can be super busy, so you might have to wait to get back to Venice, but a visit is highly worth it.

Take the Vaporetto for fun

A cheap alternative to a gondola ride is taking the Vaporetto through the Grand Canal. In 2017 we had a Vaporetto ride and at the moment where it started raining I had front row seats and was able to take these pictures.

Super dark view of the Canal Grande, below you will see that the sun started shining again!

Concluding

Venice is too popular, but it is also one of the most beautiful places in the world! Cannot blame other people for wanting to visit too. I have two recommendations for visiting Venice, as you should visit Venice at least once in your life:

Visit during the off season: I would recommend to visit Venice early in spring, as it will be less crowded. Apparently, Venice is completely empty of the Christmas season…

Stay in the city center: It is best to splurge and stay in the city center. Preferably in a luxury hotel with canal views. This gives you the opportunity to walk around Venice in the morning, without having to get up too early. I can also promise you that Venice is absolutely magical at night.