Originally Posted by
LarkSFO
We just returned from 6 wonderful days in Venice. Yes, in August.
The key for us:
1) A good travel planner to help organize the itinerary
2) We rented our own apartment 'embedded' in the neighborhood (Dorsoduro)
3) For the popular destinations, we had our planner arrange a guide. This way we did not have to wait in line at all.
It was hot, and muggy at times - evenings would cool some, but still short sleeved weather. We loved it.
We generally avoided the most crowded places (Rialto, San Marco, Accademia) during the day unless we had a tour / destination on the schedule.
No high water, no smell from the canals. (What time of year is worst for odors?) There are mosquitoes.
It did rain - One night was a torrential downpour with strong winds. Fortunately it had mostly blown through by morning. We bought umbrellas and carried them, but did not really use them much.
We spent an incredible day at Lido Beach.
Some stores, and even restaurants and wine bars, close down for some or all of August.
Cicchetti touring from Bacaro to Bacaro in the evening before dinner (from 6:00 - 8:00 or so) was incredibly fun. Then dinner at 8:00 or 9:00, again, still warm enough to sit outside in short sleeves.
There were cruise ships and crowds, of course. While annoying at times, we did not let this deter our enjoyment of this beautiful city!
Highly recommended: Cooking school with Enrica Rocca or one of her associates (highly ranked, easy to find on TA). Truly ended up being one of the highlights of our trip! (Thanks Marloes!)
Wonderful! I am so glad you enjoyed Venice. It sounds like you did it right. Instead of making it a day trip you stayed for six days in an apartment far enough away from Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge to see the city in a more authentic way.
Venice is hot and muggy in July and August, but anyone who lives in Texas or Florida, or who deals with the summer mugginess of Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, will find it cool enough. Mosquitos, I admit, can be a real problem; keep your windows closed all the time.
As Slaweki has said, in Venice, it's all about dealing with the crowds. You did the right thing by not staying near San Marco or the Rialto Bridge. In my opinion, Castello and Dorsoduro (as well as some outlying parts of Canareggio) are the parts of town to stay in, as they are the furthest away from the overwhelmingly depressing tourism industry.
The smell of the canals is at its worst right now, in August, and depends on the tides. As you learned first hand, it is an old myth that there is a problem with smell. It's no worse than standing next to the Hudson River at low tide during certain times of the year. Rain in Venice, walking through the narrow side streets with an umbrella, is romantic and wonderful. It's not as much fun as aqua alta, but it is good.
It is true that many places are closed in August. Italy requires every citizen to have 30 days of paid vacation. Almost all Italians take it in August because it's too hot to work, and they don't want to be around during the tourism invasion. They close shop and go to the beach, or to the cooler mountains.
The stores that are dependent on tourism only close on August 15th and stay open the rest of the month. They tend to close in December and go to the beach in some place like Cuba, where you will find many gondoliere during the winter.
There is a movement in the USA to require mandatory vacation. It wasn't too long ago that US citizens didn't even get paid for maternity leave.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-...-time-off-work
It is terrific that you stayed for six days, rented an apartment, and made sure that it was quite far away from San Marco and Rialto, even though nothing is far in Venice, and everything is in walking distance for most people. I hope you come back!