Venice in winter

Yes, it’s colder, though not unbearably so. But the rewards are more affordable prices and few tourists. Matt Gross, aka the Frugal Traveler, just experienced the mid-winter charms of Venice with his wife and young daughter. An excerpt from his report:

More important, and less quantifiable, than any of these practical factors was the pleasant aura that descends on Venice in winter. Cleared of tourists, it becomes vastly easier to explore, yet simultaneously more mysterious. The thousands of alleyways twist on without end, drawing you deeper into unknown territory, with no dim, distant roar of humankind to orient you.

Piazza San Marco was nearly deserted, its outdoor cafes’ having packed away their tables. The pigeons pecked about in ones and twos, like confused visitors expecting flocks. When Jean and I walked into St. Mark’s Basilica, it was as if I’d never visited before: without the crowds jostling me, I could relax enough to admire the stern biblical figures adorning the ceiling, and without feet obscuring the floor, I noticed the marvelous mosaics of animals — lions, birds, griffins — below. It felt, to my surprise, like a place I actually wanted to linger, rather than a requisite stop on a tourist itinerary.

In other words, winter gives you time to breathe, to experience Venice at an Italian pace.

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