Venice at Carnevale time

Here's the official website - http://www.carnevale.venezia.it/?slang=en Costume rental is expensive - something like €400-500 per day for a basic costume. If you google it, you will easily find some places that rent costumes. There were stalls near the Piazza renting and selling some lovely things - velvet capes, hats, and even a few costumes but I didn't ask about prices.

I was there a few years ago and it was magical! We went to one of the more inexpensive balls (about $100) and it was great. It was called a 'hot chocolate ball' and we thought we would get a cup of hot chocoloate, but what we got was a concert, wonderful cookies and treats , wine and a chocolate fountain to dip the cookies in....I took a beautiful velvet cape with me as well as a long silk skirt and purchased a mask while in Venice. Lots of people have very elaborate costumes which you can rent there, but I just kept it simple. One of the best times is the dawn. If you get up very early (which I did every day) you can see all of the beautiful costumed Venetians coming out for the tourists/photographers to enjoy. There are very few people up that early so it is an incredibly unique experience. Since I am a photographer I could not pass on this opportunity, so after going out and photographing we would go back to the hotel for breakfast and by the time we would go back out the town was filling with tourists and it was a whole different experience. Have a wonderful time! I have been to Venice many times in the summer, but it was nothing like this. There is a book called Watermark that beautifully describes Venice during this cool, dreary, foggy and completely captivating time of the year. (wintertime, not Carnivale)

To get in the mood, I suggest you rent "Nudo di Donna" ("Portrait of a Woman, Nude") - it's set in Venice.

A friend of mine went. He said, if he had it to do over, he would have bought tickets for a ball. On the street it's a mass of people slowly moving in a circle up one street and down another. By going to a ball, you can at least get out of the crowd and get a view from a balcony. If I were planning a trip, that's the advice I'd go with - don't skimp, buy a ball ticket. Based on the rental rates of costumes, you might also start shopping ahead of time, at least for a cape, hat and mask. If you browse online you will see a wide variety of costumes, you don't need to have a showpiece costume, but I'd want to have something.