Please sign in to post.

Visiting Venice during Acqua Alta season

I'm planning to go there in the first week of October. According to my research, there's a serious likelihood of Acqua Alta in October. What would be the best way to tackle this issue? Should I stay somewhere outside Venice, like Mestre or Lido and avoid daytripping during the floods? I was originally planning to stay in Cannaregio, near the Jewish Ghetto. Is this area prone to flooding?
I got some conflicting information about the Acqua Alta. Some say high tides in early October are extremely rare. But looking at graphs, October and November look like the worst months.

Posted by
7737 posts

Sean, did you delete your other thread? In it, people were weighing in to tell you that you have nothing to worry about as acqua alta when it happens usually only lasts for a few hours and only affects certain places in Venice. I don't know how much more assurance you would need. You seem to be obsessing about acqua alta. If that's the case, by all means stay in Mestre. I predict you'll come to regret it, but it's your vacation.

Posted by
148 posts

No, I guess there was another Sean who asked the same question? I just posted this thread today. Anyway, thanks for your reply.

Posted by
11247 posts

Do not obsess! Your hosteler can tell you about problems, provide you with boots and work-arounds! It's kind of fun to see it, and it does abate in a few hours. Cannaregio is one of the better parts of the city to stay in, IMHO. San Marco gets hit the worst.

Posted by
1994 posts

I was there the last two Octobers and am going back this October. Stayed in Dorsodora the first year, San Marco last year, and I'm going back to San Marco area this year. Last year there was some flooding in the San Marco area; no big problem and actually it was interesting. The city copes very well with it. And worst come to worst, you just can settle into a cafe until it goes away, which is relatively quickly, since it is a tide.

Posted by
3387 posts

Although it only lasts a few hours, it is happening quite frequently; about 80 - 100 days out of every year now. The Venetians have learned to live with it and it's part of the experience. Just pull on some boots and keep on going!

Posted by
32517 posts

Flooding in one out of every three or four days (80 to 100 days a year) seems much more than I have ever experienced. Where did that data come from? I find that the discussion of acqua alta at the Walks of Italy blog well balanced and informative. She also gives links for the water report - that in turn gives links for apps with portable info.

Posted by
7010 posts

"A century ago, St. Marks Square (figure 6), one of the lowest points in the city, flooded about 9 times a year; now it is inundated with water approximately 100 times per year (PBS, 2002)." From this article on the internet: http://courses.umass.edu/latour/Italy/venice_water/index.html Now, whether it's accurate - who knows, maybe yes maybe no; but it does seem to have some scientific backing.

Posted by
1994 posts

I think PBS' definition of "flooding" would be informative. While I was there last fall, at high tide, several days a little water that came up through the drains in St Mark's square, one day there was water in the atrium of the cathedral, and one day there was more water in the square, but still something you could walk around. I'd guess the PBS count of days with flooding counted these types of non-events.

Posted by
12172 posts

We were there the third week of October and experienced some high water. It gets worse late in October and into November. What we saw wasn't a big deal. Certain areas get some flooding, usually very minor - like puddles left over from a good rain, St. Mark's Square is one of those places. We saw the merchants ready to put up folding catwalks, in case it got deep, but it was easily avoided and all gone by noon.

Posted by
75 posts

wondering if anyone thinks it would be necessary to take rain boots for travel during the Aqua Alta season.
Or are the plastic shoe covers given by hotels enough to protect shoes from becoming drenched?