We are planning a trip to Venice during the middle/end of June. How important is air-conditioning if we are looking at renting an apartment in the city?
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
It would be nice, but remember that Venice is on the sea. It does get breezes. And most buildings were built with natural A/C in mind.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Here's a prior discussion where everyone recommended AC in Venice in the summer: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/17366/air-conditioning-in-venice.htmlHere's another one where the voting was also 100% to zero in favor of AC in Venice in the summer. http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=12008 Note the 4th post down: "We returned to a room black with mosquitos, it was the most mosquitos I have ever seen in one place. Venice is mosquito heaven, all those windows with NO SCREENS and rooms with no A/C."
Posted by
Puyallup, WA, USA
881 posts
Hi, Mark. Even if not for the heat - AC just for the fact that it lowers the humidity in the room a little. Italy is bad enough, but Venice with the canals... ti can be like a warm shower. I never had any bad luck with mosquitoes though, and found opening windows in the room while leaving the curtains drawn helped.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I've been to Venice 4 or 5 times and speaking from experience I would NOT even consider going without AC in June. My first trip to Venice was in the month of June during a heatwave and it was unbearable...and I live in the humid south.
Even if not for the heat, closing the windows at night will keep out the noise and the mosquitoes. But closing the windows at night is not really an option if your room is 95 F with 90% humidity.
Yes, Venice might be built on the ocean, but I've rarely experienced any ocean breezes unless it was during a big storm. Buildings are built close to each other just jam-packed wherever there's a bit of real estate. It takes a strong wind to move a breeze down the narrow alleys.