Avoid The Worst Of Venice's Crowds On Your Visit With Rick Steves' Simple Suggestion

Walking through St. Mark's Square, visiting Ca' Rezzonico, and taking a gondola or traghetto ride in Venice is at the top of many bucket lists. Venice may be sinking due to climate change, but for a lot of excited travelers, it's still the destination of a lifetime. Unfortunately, peak tourist season crowds can sometimes make this iconic city feel packed and uncomfortable instead of dreamy and romantic. On his website, Rick Steves' Europe, experienced traveler, TV host, and tour guide Rick Steves proposes a surprising but simple solution: Stay in Venice overnight.

While one might think that spending more time in a city because it's crowded doesn't make sense, Steves points out that the vast majority of Venice's many tourists are coming in on cruise ships during the day, flooding the streets in the heat of the afternoon, and then returning to their ships and heading elsewhere to spend the night. Whether you snag a luxury hotel with a view of the canals out of your window or a budget hostel close to tourist hot spots, you can explore the city in the evening after most of those passing through have already left, or in the morning before they arrive in the first place.

If you're a frequent traveler, then you know that the best time to show up to a lot of tourist hot spots is usually first thing in the morning. According to an update Rick Steves wrote for his website about the changes happening in The Floating City, that especially holds true in Venice. He explained that because Venice is fairly expensive, a lot of visitors prefer to stay in hotels on the mainland and take ships to the city for the afternoon. There are also lots of Italian day-trippers who head to the city in the warm weather. That means in the afternoon, the streets can be absolutely packed, especially around famous sights that tourists won't want to leave Venice without seeing. If you are able to secure relatively affordable accommodations in the city though, you'll get to experience a much more private and romantic side of Venice.

Some visitors to the city enjoy the total solitude of wandering around Venice at night, but you don't have to go to that extreme to avoid crowds. Even the most popular tourist attractions in the city are likely to be quiet around 7 a.m., and you probably won't have to battle crowds around 9:30 a.m., either — but don't worry if you're more of a night owl. By evening, the majority of visitors to Venice will likely have left, leaving the city relatively quiet and ready to be explored at your own pace.

Rick Steves is an expert at avoiding crowds and seeking out authentic experiences without sacrificing seeing the most iconic attractions while traveling, so it's no surprise his website has the best advice for getting around even busy destinations like Venice. You'll want to hit the biggest tourist attractions, like St. Mark's Basilica and Doge's Palace, when the city is at its slowest. Usually, that means planning to head out early in the morning as soon as you leave your hotel. At night, you can take advantage of the fact that you're staying in Venice by enjoying a romantic late night canal cruise.

Despite how small the city is, according to Steves, the vast majority of tourists in Venice stay in a very tiny central area where the most famous sights are, so you're going to want to avoid that part of town in the afternoons. While that's the worst time to check major attractions off your itinerary, there's still plenty to experience. You can use that time to take leisurely strolls around the city, away from its touristy area, stopping into little stores and cafés, and exploring everything Venice has to offer.