Venice during Carnivale

A friend of mine went to Venice for Carnivale. He didn't pay entry into any of the balls. He was single but traveling with another person. He said Carnivale was like being a sardine. You walk slowly up one road, over a block, and down the next in an endless circle. He said if he had to do it again he would pay for a ball ticket just to get off the street. Some of the balls are really expensive but I don't think they all are, it might be worth looking into. Verona is a great town. Hopefully you will have nice weather. I would expect cool weather and rain, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.

Hi Julie. I was there on my own this year. First of all, I hope you already have a hotel reservation. If not, start looking right away. This is THE event of the year. I was there for the first weekend. Mostly I just wandered around enjoying it. On Saturday, there were quite a few people out in costume, but the weather wasn't great. Lots of face-painting, beautiful displays in the shop windows. Sunday was wonderful. The Piazza was packed in the morning in anticipation of the opening ceremony. I decided I wasn't going to enjoy it in that crowd, so I opted to visit the Correra Museum instead - best decision of my whole trip. All the windows of the museum overlook the Piazza, at the stage-end. It was the best place to watch the whole event. Afterward, I enjoyed the museums, then went walking in the crowds. In the immediate side streets, it was truly like being a sardine - some folks next to me said (in Italian) that it was like a Sicilian funeral! But it was mostly just the crowds leaving the Piazza. I spent a good part of the day marvelling at the costumes, taking tons of photos and eating gelato. Monday was pretty quiet. There were a few people out in costumes, but otherwise, just a "regular" day in Venice. Then I headed for Ravenna - another of Italy's many WOWs.

I heard that you have to rent a costume to go to a ball. The rentals are very expensive, but if I ever go back, I'm going to do it!