How to Visit Venice Without the Crowds  

From quaint little side streets to best times to visit, here are five ways you can experience Venice without the crowds.

Zzzziiipppp, obnoxious fluorescent spinner flies above hundreds of tourists in St. Mark’s Square.

Zzzzaaaappppp, said terrible invention falls to the ground, sputtering around in shades of red, blue and bright green.

Over and over, the scene plays out. And I — in an oblivious, careless daydream – was caught staring.

“You want?” A beaming vendor – wearing no more than 50 of these ridiculous, glowing things across his chest – asks me. “Err, I, err,” — fumbling over my words because I was obviously watching this stupid flying toy — “I have to go. For … for ice cream.”

Solid, Stephanie. Solid.

These flying, fluorescent toys aren’t exclusive to Venice. Oh no. All European travelers have the opportunity to purchase these gems — as long as they’re in a tourist-filled part of town (think Spanish Steps or Florence’s Duomo). And unfortunately, most of Venice is filled with tourists.

You can hardly walk without tripping over selfie sticks in St. Mark’s, and the lines for major attractions like the Saint Mark’s Basilica were out the door and down the street some 30-60 minutes after opening – in the off season. I’m talking early April, pre-Easter. It was insane!

But for me, despite crazy crowds and a lifetime supply of selfie sticks, Venice actually rose to the top. It’s such a unique, quirky city. And, when done right, it can also be peaceful, stunning and experienced with relatively low crowds (disclaimer: I said relatively). Here’s how to see the pretty city of Venice without the crowds.

(Repeating the disclaimer here… Venice is really, really crowded. While this guide will help you avoid crowds in Venice as much as possible, you’ll inevitably get stuck behind selfie stickers at least a couple of times.)

1. Stay in a Venetian VRBO

Our quaint little apartment rental was a perfect getaway from the main, touristy drag. We had a deck overlooking the streets and cityscape– perfect for uninterrupted appetizers, vino and rooftop gazing. (If this sounds up your alley, here’s where we stayed!) Now, during our stay I realized I don’t hate crowds entirely …as long as I’m sitting on a rooftop con vino, overlooking — not charging through — them.

2. Visit in the off season

I said it for Cinque Terre and I’ll repeat it here — don’t visit Italy during summer! Even during early April we were surrounded by flocks of tourists… I can’t even imagine summer. (More tourists and horrendous heat waves — woof.) Try to visit before Easter or after summer when the crowds start to thin out.

3. Wake up early, or stay out late

This is true for any city: The earlier you explore, the fewer tourists you’ll encounter … and ultimately, the happier you’ll be. The same can be said for staying out late (although that crowd is an entirely different fun, wild beast).

During the day, we explored Venice’s main tourist sites like the Basilica and St. Mark’s Square in the early morning, and shared the sights with street sweepers and just a handful of tourists. Late at night, we shared the cute back alley canals with a few friendly revelers and a whole lot of silence. If you want to go crowd free, don’t just go off season, go off hours!

4. Get in line for tourist sites as they open

While you may want to avoid tourist spots — and the unavoidable zapping toys {shudder} —  some sights are absolutely worth visiting. Case in point: St. Marks Clocktower. This tower sends you up to some of (possibly the) best views in all of Venice.

Worth it? Yes. But only if you get there early. We got there 15 minutes after it opened and spent 15-20 minutes waiting. Later that day, the line was at least 70 people and an hour deep. (Note: If you’re visiting the tower or basilica, you can’t bring backpacks or large camera bags, so leave those suckers at home or use their provided lockers — at your own risk.)

5. Cross the river

The heart of Venice has the bulk of tourist sites – the basilica, clocktower and the Rialto Bridge– but cross the Grand Canal (via water taxi to Ca Rezzonico) and you’ll find quite a few fun things to do with way fewer people trying to do them. Example: You can grab souvenir masks at traditional mask shop Ca’Macana, whose masks were featured in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut as well as regularly at the Venice Opera House. Other nearby attractions include the Chiesa di San Barnaba, the Ca Rezzonico museum, Palazzo Giustinian and numerous quiet canals and side streets.

So there you have it! While you will almost never be able to avoid Venice tourists all together, with some extra planning and the willingness to wake up early and stay out late, you can see this charming city without chaos, crowds and those God awful light-up zapping spinners. (You’re welcome.)

Visiting other places in Italy? Make sure to check out all of my favorite Italian spots!