Venice is breathtaking all year round, but off season you have a chance to explore the real, even more atmospheric Venice. Most of the city’s 20 million tourists visit this magical island from late spring to September, and as soon as the number of tourists slowly decreases, Venetians revert to their normal, quieter life. If you want to see the silent, serene side of Venice, then this is the time I suggest visiting.
The occasionally mysterious grey sky, and the fog that comes and goes like a cloud that embraces the city, is your entrance key to 'Venezia Segreta' - the ‘Secret Venice”’ of wonderful ambience. Experiencing normally hectic places such as Piazza San Marco almost on your own is a unique sensation. When I was in Venice last year in November, one morning I sat on a bench in the Square for almost two hours observing the swollen silhouette of the splendid Byzantine Basilica floating in and out of sight. As if time had stood still, I imagined being here in the early 18th - 19th centuries, when I might have met Byron, Dickens or Proust drinking coffee in the piazza, “Europe’s drawing room” as Napoleon used to call it, among crowds of Turks, Greeks, Arabs and Armenians. The peace and tranquillity of that moment was exactly what I was looking for when I planned to visit Venice in winter.
Then I moved towards the Rialto market, a place you shouldn’t miss, full of character and Venetian culture, with savvy housewives jumping the queue and battling for the best porcini mushrooms, radicchio di Treviso and the fish with the best looking eyes (it reflects the freshness of the fish). You are not allowed to touch the food and there’s a direct correlation between how well the stallholders know you and the quality of fruits and vegetables they serve you. Therefore, I suggest getting there early while there’s a wider choice of goods and it’s not yet too busy to wander round and take a look at the huge variety of sea monsters and species of fish, many of which I, myself, had never seen before.
There is the widely held prejudice that Venice’s restaurants serve mediocre food (and some of them actually do), but in winter, when Venetians slowly come back on the scene, the cuisine can be outstanding. Try authentic osterie and baccari and make it a point to taste local food. There are numerous lively wine bars all over Venice that offer great tapas-like finger food called cicchetti. Order a glass of wine and indulge yourself with a selection of bite-sized items on toothpicks. It’s a great way to experience local flavours and taste various types of wines made from grapes from different vineyards. If you ask the waiter, he’ll be happy to tell you the history of the wine, where it comes from, give facts about the vineyard and lots of other little details that might be of interest.
Leave your city map in your bag (don’t be scared of getting lost as sooner or later you will get to your destination), and enjoy wandering along endless empty alleyways back to your accommodation.
I steered away from hotels and their often impersonal rooms and instead found myself a lovely apartment a stone's throw from San Marco square. An apartment makes it easier to just integrate into city life, and gives the kind of freedom of space and ability to relax with friends that are impossible in hotels. Not to mention the fun of preparing wonderful fresh lunches to be enjoyed with ingredients from Rialto market. The only problem is that I can't wait to get back to Venice and spend a few more days in a wonderful apartment.
Holiday Rental Apartments in Venice by Truly Venice
www.truly-venice.com - Tel: +41 614 11 00 22
