How crowded is Venice at Christmas and New Year's?

Posted by Denny (Seattle, WA) on 05/17/25 10:46 PM

I am thinking of spending the Christmas holidays in Venice but I am concerned about the number of holiday tourists. I spent the same period last year in Florence and it was very crowded, with many Italian tourists, as it was the winter break for students. So there were many families. And still way too many Americans and Chinese tourists roaming around.

In the remoter sestiere (outside of St. Marks/Rialto), am I likely to get some tranquility? I know that Joseph Brodsky loved coming here every winter in the 90s, but so much, obviously, has changed, with the flood of tourists reaching 30 million every year.

Also, I don't want to be stuck inside just because it is cold (40 degrees) and/or rainy/windy and/or dark. I wonder if people still enjoy taking walks, which, besides, is my favorite form of exercise, in the winter, with proper clothing (puffer jacket, gloves, hat, thermal underwear...).

The winters in Seattle, where i live, are pretty dreary, so I'm actually used to gray, cold, wet, windy months that seem to go on and on (November through May), so almost anything might be an improvement. Just having more sunlight, for instance.

Posted by nancys8

Saint Paul, Minnesota

05/18/25 01:18 AM

1750 posts

We were in Venice for the 10 days before Christmas 2023. It was not crowded (except in the obvious places) or what we would call cold, we waited in line to go into San Marco for maybe 15 minutes, we were often alone or almost alone in many places, and the vaporetti were pretty full after about 9:30am but all six of us always got seats. You’ll have to wade through a bunch of stuff about our two grandchildren on that trip, but here is my trip report for more details: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/bologna-ferrara-venice-rome-in-december-with-kids

Posted by Denny OP

Seattle, WA

05/18/25 03:26 AM

522 posts

Thank you, Nancy, for sharing the link. So you didn't notice large crowds of Italian families, other than local ones?

I just assumed from my Florence experience last year at the same time of year that Venice would be flooded my merry Italian revelers--families with kids on winter break.

Everything is relative. I find the following still too "busy" and crowded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adak5HEu4G0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyby6fGhv9I

Seattle is nowhere as cold as Minnesota, so I think I would find it cold, which Florence really was not, especially as it was sunny much of the time and in the fifties. I'm still terribly torn about whether to wait until spring. But I've already seen Venice at that time of year, so it would be nice to see it in a different season, especially with fewer tourists.

Posted by nancys8

Saint Paul, Minnesota

05/18/25 11:44 AM

1750 posts

Interesting video, Denny --- the first half of it I would describe as a busy but not crowded street. Not my cup of tea, either, but not obnoxious at all. People are walking freely, not having to stop all the time. At about the halfway point, looks perfectly fine. At about the 2/3 point the person is all by themself for a while. Compared to Venice in high tourist season, this looks great to me!

I wouldn't be able to tell an Italian tourist from a Venetian resident, and I guess that as long as I don't hear loud English-speaking voices, I don't mind where other tourists come from. Unlike Rick Steves, I have only a slight desire to chat with "locals," either at home or abroad. My husband speaks Italian, so he likes to talk with people.

Cold. It is damp in Venice, so it does feel colder. You would have to dress for that, obviously, but for me, any amount of cold is better than even a little heat.

On our December trip 2023, we did purposely leave Venice to go to Bologna on Christmas Eve because we were told that Venice gets a lot busier tourist-wise between Christmas and New Years, and we figured that in Bologna we'd find more grocery stores and restaurants open on the actual holidays. Generally speaking, we prefer to visit Italy before Christmas and before Easter (but Florence in 2024 for all of November and into December was really unpleasantly packed with people in the usual places!).

Since you have been to Venice before, I bet you can avoid most of the busy/crowded spots. We enjoy the eastern part of Castello --- the via Garibaldi is nice and wide because it is a filled-in canal, and sort of gives you a breather from the narrow streets, even when there are pre-Christmas numbers of people. And, of course, it helps if you are an early-riser and can get out and walk before about 9:30am.