Venice: Let's Talk About The CROWDS + Where to Stay!

First, let's talk about where to stay in Venice.

The main tourist area in Venice is filled with sights, shops, and restaurants. It is about 2.5 kilometres long in either direction, making it extremely walkable. Any neighbourhood in this area will work as a home base, but we do have a few recommendations.

If you arrive via water taxi, we would suggest staying in San Marco. This is one of the most convenient locations due to its close proximity to many tourist attractions.

However, if you are arriving via taxi or train, we recommend staying in Santa Croce.

The benefit of staying in Santa Croce near the train station, as we did, is that you do not have to pay for a gondola to take your luggage to your hotel.

Trust us on this one, you do not want to walk over 1 kilometre with your suitcases in Venice. The combination of uneven cobblestone paths and bridges with stairs on every corner makes 1 kilometre feel like 3.

If you choose to stay near the train station, you will need to walk a bit further to get to places like Piazza San Marco. But the streets are so striking, and more importantly, you will be luggage-free, so I promise you won’t mind.

Next, let’s talk about the crowds…

Venice is famous for getting painfully hot and crowded, especially during the summer. This popular city gets over 4 million tourists annually, averaging over 10,000 visitors per day.

Remember when I told you that the main tourist area in Venice is only about 6 square kilometres? And remember me briefly describing the small but endearing streets? The math here is not in anyone’s favour…

If the thought of being packed like sardines in a hot and humid maze makes you rethink your trip, don’t worry! That’s our personal version of hell, too.

Here are our top tips and tricks for making the most of your time in Venice while avoiding the crowds and beating the heat.

• Do your best to visit Venice outside of July and August. This is by far the busiest season. We arrived in Venice at the beginning of October, and the crowds were much more reasonable.

• Wake up as early as you can. Even the busiest attractions never get crowded until 9 or 10 AM. We woke up for sunrise at 7 AM and had the streets to ourselves for almost 3 hours.

• When it’s really busy in the afternoon, head back to your hotel room for a siesta or sit down at a restaurant for a glass of wine.