When to come

Venice draws legions of tourists during the peak travel months of June through September. The ten-day Carnival in February is another time when hotel space and elbow room are in short supply.

To my way of thinking, the best time to visit is from late October into April (excluding the massively popular Venice Carnival, which is usually in February). You may encounter fog, rain, or acqua alta flooding during the winter months, but mild and sunny days are also common. Air fares and hotel prices are lower, too--which means you can allocate your travel budget over a longer period and give Venice the time it deserves.

How long to stay

Venetophiles may consider this next piece of advice to be sacrilege, but here it is: If you're pressed for time, you can grasp the essence of Venice in a single day. A vaporetto ride up the Grand Canal, a morning of exploring the back streets, an hour in St. Mark's Square and Basilica, and a flying trip through the Accademia art museum are better than skipping Venice altogether.

Still, it's much nicer to spend a few days in Venice--or, preferably, a week or longer.

For one thing, opening times (especially out of season) make it difficult to visit more than a sampling of museums and churches in a day or two. There's also a lot to see beyond the usual tourist attractions: e.g., the islands of the lagoon, the ancient Jewish Ghetto, and the bridges, canals, campi, and shops of neighborhoods that hurried and harried tourists never see. Finally, Venice is a convenient hub for day trips to cities and towns throughout the Veneto region.

Where to stay

Venice has hundreds of hotels, B&BS, hostels, and vacation rentals. However, most are relatively small by mainland standards, and it can be difficult to find a room during high season or on holiday weekends, so it pays to book early. For advice on accommodations, see "Where to Sleep in Venice."

How to arrive

Don't drive to Venice unless you have to. Garages are expensive, and finding a parking spot can be a nuisance in high season.

Train service to Venice is frequent. Just be sure that you're booked to Venice's Santa Lucia station, not the mainland stop of Venezia-Mestre.

Major airlines connect London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and other European gateways to Venice's efficient Marco Polo Airport. The aerial view of the lagoon and nearby Dolomites is spectacular, and the airport boat ride into the city is a great way to approach Venice for the first time.

Planning resources

You'll find plenty of useful information in my Venice articles and Venice Travel Planner. Still, there's no substitute for a great guidebook, and here are some of my personal favorites.

Knopf Guides: Venice
Probably the most comprehensive and elegant guide to the city of Venice, with hundreds of photographs and color illustrations to augment the highly readable text (translated from the French by Anthony Roberts). The emphasis is on history, architecture, and art, but you'll also find a large section of practical advice and maps.

Eyewitness Travel Guides:
Venice & the Veneto
The British firm of Dorling Kindersley is famous for its visual encyclopedic guides, and this title from the Eyewitness series lives up to the reputation of its predecessors. The book is packed with photographs, three-dimensional renderings, historical tidbits, and travel advice. It makes a slight sacrifice of depth to breadth by including chapters on the Veneto Plain, Verona and Lake Gardia, and the Dolomites.

Fodor's Exploring Venice
A handsome alternative to Knopf's Venice as an all-around city guide, though the binding isn't as sturdy and it lacks the beautiful illustrations of its rival. Jammed with photos, maps, historical sidebars, lively quotations, and practical travel advice. Includes short chapters on Padova, Verona, and Vicenza.

Michelin Green Guide: Venice
Michelin crams an astonishing quantity of information into its tall and narrow Green Guides, which fit perfectly into a purse or camera bag. The traditional black-and-white etchings have been replaced by color photos, but the maps, building plans, and descriptions are up to the usual high Michelin standard.