Venice in the rain

Don’t fret too much. Weather often changes for the better and you are unlikely to have three solid days of rain. Lots of great museums and churches to see and the city is atmospheric even in rain. Just watch for a clear day to see the Labuan islands.

Venice will be atmospheric and beautiful. Hopefully you won't have serious rain all day. I wear a hooded shell parka with a baseball cap under the hood to keep it off my face. No reason not to go to Murano and/or Burano unless it's also windy enough to make the lagoon choppy. Lots to do inside, museums and churches, eating and drinking. All the things you'd have done inside anyway, just spend more time with them if necessary. Get a vaporetto pass and ride all over the place under cover.

I visited Venice this recent May for the fourth stay. This was believe it or not the first time I've visited Venice when there was any significant rain. So I finally went to a few museums (e.g. Guggenheim) I had never been to. It was still fun to be back. It didn't rain every second of the day, and I still got to go out and take pictures the two evenings I was there without getting wet (I'm a photographer). But it poured rain on and off during the days.

You can also plan some day trips away from Venice if you get tired of the rain there and have seen all the obvious indoor stuff. It's easy to get to towns like Padua, Verona, Vicenza, and several others by train. I personally have enjoyed exploring towns in the rain, walking around with an umbrella. (I live in Portland, Oregon, so I'm not afraid of a little rain.)

Since I can't wear rain boots, or any boots, actually, I packed some black silicone over-shoes to keep my sneakers dry on my latest trip to Italy--- very lightweight, pretty easy to get on and off, and easy to carry in my purse in a ziploc bag.

Do look at the hourly weather each morning --- it rarely rains all day.

Another tour that we liked is the Clock Tower tour at San Marco's piazza. Book it on-line, and it includes the Correr museum, which was where me met up for the clock tour.

I definitely wouldn't miss out on going to see Murano & Burano because of rain. And if it's raining in the evening, be sure to go to San Marco & look at the shimmer of the square from the lights - beautiful! And enjoy a dance there, too.

I'd def take a rain jacket or something with a good hood or buy a rain hat. Trying to walk around the crowded areas with an umbrella - when 200 other people are carrying umbrellas - is maddening. At least with a rain hat, you can duck around them.

We've had a bit of rain a few times in Venice (including one torrential downpour when we were on Burano - we moved quickly from our outside dining table to inside as the sky darkened) so we will either pop into a church, linger over a meal, or make sure to hit a museum.

Depending on how long you're going to be there, maybe you could take a day trip if somewhere like Padua looks like it's not going to rain.

Go outside! All the other tourists are running for cover and you'll have the place to yourself. And your pictures will be stunning! Some of my best pics of Venice were taken in the rain.

The black silicone overshoes would have been great for us. Unfortunately, we didn't have them and had to buy rain boots when were were there a few years ago (albeit in late November). 6 inches of water in our hotel lobby, raised wooden walkways everywhere, and soaking wet jeans up to the knees for 2 days. People are right about the photos of the city looking good in the rain. It also made for some hysterical photos of us. Just go and enjoy it, but have a plan B.