Venice crowds weekdays vs weekends

You can check out the webcams for various sites in Venice during various days and times and see what you think.
http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia.html

I've been there in both the summer months and the month of October...October was noticeably less crowded but there were still plenty of people. Weekends or weekdays seem to make little difference.

The day of the week in mid-September will make little difference. Of course early mornings and late evenings are always less crowded, and the arrival of cruise ships can create large crowds in the most touristed areas. But to discover the "uncrowded" Venice, away from the tourists and cruise ship passengers, explore Cannaregio and Castello. These districts or sestieri are just a few minutes walk away from the hubbub of the main tourist attractions, and are full of interesting shops, restaurants, and osterie that are owned and frequented by locals.

To avoid crowds:
1) Travel in the off season (non-summer)
2) Stay on Venice Island so you'll be there early and late, before and after the daytrippers are there
3) Explore away from San Marco

Been there 4 times generally mid-Sept. I rem our first trip (2008) we were on the Rialto talking to a merchant and we commented about how crowded it was - his reply - 'this is nothing, you should see it in August'...ugh!

It was trip 3 before I realized how lucky we were to be staying on Venice proper, because that meant that I could go out at 7am and hop the vaporetto or walk to Rialto and San Marco without having to fight thru the crowds. I didn't have to wade thru a phalanx of selfie sticks to see the Bridge of Sighs - I could stand there and gaze upon it with nary another soul around (only a few die-hard photographers like me). And during the busy parts of the day (I would say SM square starts filling up by 10am) we could wander off the beaten track - which is usually about 5 min in almost any direction away from Rialto or SM - and really enjoy Venice a lot more. And the evening is just as nice - day trippers are gone, light reflecting off the water, listening to the dueling orchestras in SM Sq. I don't think it matters the day of the week - maybe weekends are more crowded because you get people in Europe doing weekend trips, but I don't know how you could even TELL if it was more crowded!

Agreed, if you can....go in the off-season. Mid-September might still be cutting it close to the summer tourist rush, but maybe you will luck out. Either way, it will always be crowded. Make the best of the experience you can, because it is absolutely amazing to see. Getting jostled is a small price to pay I think. But as was already suggested, early morning and late evening are your friends.

Also keep in mind that food in Venice is hella expensive! (a little off-topic, but nonetheless true)

Check out Cruisett.com it will tell you how many cruise ships are there on a given day

Thanks everyone! I'll really enjoy the webcams!

I have visited Venice in the months of October and November twice - once day tripping into Venice (mid October to early November) and once as a 5 day visit in early October. Each time, the crowds weren't a whole lot different regardless of the day of the week. When we landed at Marco Polo last October 4th, there were 6 cruise ships docked in Venice...

I think your main scheduling concern will be the days your tours are offered or the days the venues you wish to visit are open.

If you have enough time, a visit to Vicenza and Padova (Padua) makes a really nice day trip you can do on your own. Vicenza is only 30 minutes by fast train (55 minutes by regional) and you can hit Padova for a half day on the way back.

cruise ships seem to unload and people hit the main walks about 10am. they leave around 5pm. I use that time to explore the uncrowded areas - which means avoiding San Marco and Rialto. there is so much more to Venice!

Do a lot of cruise ships dock on Sundays in November?

@Traveling Woman - I looked it up on cruisett.com (as pointed out in a previous post). I like that it tells you how many passengers are on the ship/s although a few will stay on the ship and not visit - I don't understand that but I found that on my cruises that there are always some.

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Italy/733-Venice/November_2016/

It looks like no ships dock there on Sundays in November. At least according to the current schedule.

As I always do when this subject come up, I will quote Rick's sage words on this subject:

"While 80 percent of Venice is, in fact, not touristy, 80 percent of the tourists never notice. Hit the back streets."

This is 100% correct. If you go to Piazza San Marco, the Rialto, the train station, and the most direct pedestrian routes connecting these, you'll find the vast majority of the tourists. If you go elsewhere, you won't. The Ghetto, Dorsoduro, Castello, San Polo - all will be much less crowded, even at the height of midday and even with cruise ships crowds in town.

It is also true, as stated above, that if you go early in the morning, you will miss most of the tourists even in the places that will be mobbed a few hours later. Even if it's just one day, it's worth getting up really early, going out and sightseeing, then coming back for breakfast. An early vaporetto is also fun - they're nearly empty and most of the other passengers will be Venetians on the way to work.

Susan,

I made a return visit to Venice on September 21 (Monday) and found that it can be absolutely packed with tour and cruise ship groups even then. As previous replies have indicated, be prepared to spend some time in the back streets as Piazza San Marco and other popular locations will be packed during the main part of the day.

If you haven't been to Venice before, it's NOT a good idea to sit down for a coffee to listen to the high brow musicians playing in the posh restaurants around Piazza San Marco, as that cup of coffee will cost you about €20!!! Some of the cocktails were priced at ~€50!!! I had a look at the price lists while I was browsing my way around the Piazza, and those were the listed prices at some places.

One thing I remember about our early morning ride back to our room after going out at 7am (it was prob 8-8:30 am) - we shared the vaporetto with the kids on their way to school and the parents accompanying them...

More great input - thanks to all! Love the idea of being able to ride with the schoolkids!

@Ken, as Rick says in his videos, you're not paying $20 for a coffee, you're paying $20 for a table and live music and a show and an experience, and it even comes with a coffee.