My birthday is in February, when New York’s weather—and mood—hits a nadir, and the doldrums of the season are at their most oppressive. Even if you dare throw a bash, there’s risk the weather could derail it (one landmark birthday for me coincided with a storm so bad the airports, railways, subways, and even roads were shut down). Instead, I often escape somewhere that’s more conducive to celebrations and more appealing in midwinter. But I don’t flee to the beaches of the Caribbean. I fly to Venice.
It’s a city I’ve known and loved for decades since working there as a tour guide as a student. (Top tip I learned: Try to follow an exact route when walking and you’ll risk madness. Instead, use the squares or campi as landmarks, and pinball between them—check your progress only when you open out into one.) Mention Venice to most travelers now, though, and it’s a wince-inducing place, a byword for the worst excesses of overtourism: overcrowded streets, overpriced rooms, and locals who are, well, over it.
Of course, in summertime, that may be true, but from December to February, it retains the magical allure that first made it such a must-see. My friend Skye McAlpine, a cookbook author who spent much of her childhood there, still has a home in the Santa Croce district. She agrees that winter is the best time to capture the true sense of Venice. “Those misty days with the fog thick on the water? It looks a bit like you’re looking at everything through a filter,” she says. “You feel like you’re in a Henry James novel—it has that magic to it. Everything feels more mysterious, more romantic, and a bit more melancholic.”
It’s felt that way to me over countless midwinter trips. I’ve stood on the deck of a vaporetto, swaddled in cashmere, as the bracing sea air whipped around me, the sky bright, clear, and cold, whistling past a half-empty St. Mark’s Square. There’s nothing better than heading to Instagram-fave Burano, another island farther out in the lagoon with streets lined by confetti-colored houses. When crisp little flakes land on the canal sides like powdered sugar, it’s the perfect excuse to duck inside to wait out the storm: If a bakery’s nearby, try one of the fritole, or Venetian doughnuts, whipped up around Carnival, or go for some prosecco whatever the time of day—it’s made right here in the Veneto, after all.
Take a gondola ride in January, and you’ll glide through the lagoon in near silence, the only noise the slurping gurgle of the waters. “You can’t even see what’s ahead of you sometimes,” says Sara Maestrelli, another friend, who owns the Violino d’Oro hotel there. “The water is black and the light reflects on it.” Is there anything better than picking your way through near-empty back streets to dinner, half-lost, half-exploring, in the quiet darkness? “Venice is very safe, so you can walk alone along these tiny alleys, where you can’t even see the turn when you go out at night,” she adds.
There’s one aspect of a Venetian winter that I’ve long loved but is now largely absent: acqu’alta, or “high water.” Famously, of course, La Serenissima is sinking into the lagoon on which it sits, and that problem—combined with climate change—often used to turn its streets into waterways come wintertime. I loved when the waters spilled over onto the streets, and you’d wade through them in the thigh-high, fly fisherman–style plastic galoshes a hotel would supply (most of them by Goldon). A series of tables, known as passerelle, would form impromptu bridges above the deepest waters.
Now, thanks to a series of dams, the most extreme threats from the sea have been sidelined, though you’ll occasionally experience a brief burst of winter flooding. Still, it’s better than a snowstorm in New York any day.
Tips for visiting without the crowds
There are still time periods, like Carnival, that draw crowds to Venice during the city’s off season.
Photo by Lisa-S/Shutterstock
1. Know that there are still busy periods in Venice’s off season
The winter season in Venice has a rhythm—remember it will be busier, for example, during Carnival, though still nothing close to a peak summer weekend. Don’t mistake Carnival for a Caribbean-style street party, either; most of the events take place behind closed doors. You will, however, often spot attendees kitted out in 17th-century garb en route to a party. “If you like dressing up, it’s 100 percent your moment. You can promenade around and people will stop you to take photographs,” says Skye McAlpine.
2. Find spots where the locals hang out
In winter, Venetian locals reclaim their city. Meander through the residential streets of Santa Croce in the north, for example, and you’ll rub elbows with locals at Un Mondo Divino, my favorite wine bar there. Stop midmorning for uno spritz (Aperol or Campari, as you wish) or an espresso. The district of Dorsoduro is another lovely place to meander, along the Zattere waterfront; you’ll usually escape any pesky flooding here, too, as it’s the most stable of the city’s districts—the name means “firm back,” after all.
3. Make sure to explore the islands throughout the lagoon.
Venice’s islands are even less trafficky in winter than the city proper. Go to Murano, for example, and pick up some imperceptibly flawed glassware at the Nason Moretti outlet, which sits in a shed on the same site as the dozens of glassblowers working at the furnaces—last time I visited, the lights were off, and it seemed closed. All I had to do, though, was find a staffer and he readily flicked on a switch and let us browse rack after rack of jewel-toned handmade bowls, glasses, and vases.
Where to stay
If you don’t stay at Violino d’Oro, consider a couple of hotels a little farther afield on the waterfront in Dorsoduro. La Calcina is a homey, old-fashioned place with huge, rather sparsely furnished rooms, a charming courtyard, and even a rooftop terrace where you can arrange for a private breakfast or cocktail at sunset. A short stroll along the waterfront from there, the art deco–inflected Palazzo Experimental is owned by the namesake Paris B&B group (that’s bed and beverage): The company started out with cocktail bars, so the aperitivo scene here is superb.
