The nearly empty water taxi shook and made a strange, ethereal whine, as if whales were involved in moving it along. As we approached Venice a week before Christmas, we were enveloped in light: silvery blue and pearly white skies. Lacy palaces and domes, a mirage, began to come into focus. Venice is at its most beautiful in winter.
There's a new reason to visit Venice outside peak hours. In 2024, the city will trial a daily tax of £4.30 (€5), with a complicated timetable from April to July. All visitors must register, with many exceptions. Venice's tourism councilor, Simone Venturini, emphasizes that the aim is to reduce the number of 'hit-and-run' visits, saying: 'Venice is and remains an open city.'
Regular podcast host and author Monica Cesarato confided Telegraph travel that she is not sure whether the tax will have the desired effect. "It would be better to limit the number of Airbnbs," she says. "To educate visitors and promote long stays." She offered me a bunch of recommendations for my winter visit, from jazz concerts to the best hot chocolate in town (Vizio Virtù, with recipes from the 19th century). "It's cheaper to travel, so you can stay longer. All museums are open and more fun because there are fewer people. Of course, a number of restaurants are closed, but you do have the opportunity to go to the well-known restaurants, which are usually all fully booked."
In December, the city felt echoingly quiet compared to my last stay, in July. We saw figures hurrying at the end of the narrow road calli, and Venetians walking their dogs. At one point we turned a corner and saw a flower-crowned casket on board a boat; Mourners gathered along the canal. The faded, delicate sky was splashed with yellow, orange and gold. On gray days, the powder pink and pistachio walls of the city were muted, as if viewed through a veil. We walked through the alleys of Dorsoduro at dusk and the only sounds were our footsteps and the sad hooting of seagulls. As a sunset rippled yellow across the sky, we watched the seagulls zigzag as if writing the sky in a spidery script.
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I was nervous that we were taking risks aqua alta (high water), but "with the MOSE [the system of flood barriers inaugurated in 2020] the threat is not as bad as it used to be," Cesarato told me. "Of course you risk bad weather, but there is so much to see inside. Here too, the atmosphere is magical when there is fog. And when the sun shines, there are skies like I've never seen anywhere else."
We were a little disappointed because we missed the fog, but instead we had several days with so much sun that people stood by the canal, with their faces turned up like sunflowers. We walked to San Marco under a bright pink-blue sky. Along the way there was a sign in English out of frustration that said 'keep right, after two', but now we walked through it unhindered. There was - of course - a line at St. Mark's Basilica, but it was shockingly short.
I had been told to book in advance even out of season, but I found same-day tickets for the Peggy Guggenheim Museum and so we strolled around the grand villa that houses the heiress's extraordinary art collection, including works by Picasso , her former husband Max Ernst, and alleged lover Jackson Pollack. We explored the sculpture garden with works by Barbara Hepworth and Anish Kapoor, and ate wintry Venetian fare at the Guggenheim café; bean soup sprinkled with radicchio and veal meatballs.
Winter is also the ideal time to take courses given by local artisans. We went to mask maker Ca' Macana, who revived the craft in the 1980s. Walking through a workshop where women were busy finishing plaster masks felt like going backstage. We learned how to grade and stipple, and then we had to paint and varnish and chop and add feathers. It was great to do with kids.
As night fell, the empty streets, lined with rolled parasols, breathed an elegiac melancholy. Even though it was cold outside, patrons from the cicchetti bars still poured into the streets and we joined the crowd outside Cantine del Vino già Schiavi. Some wore flat caps; Italians were layered in puffas as if for après ski; one man was in a Venetian cape. With the canal wall as a table, we ate artichoke, baccalà, spicy salami, gorgonzola and pear, washed down with a ombre (shadow) of wine.
I spoke to resident Jane de Mosta of We are Here Venice from the local curators. "In winter, when there are fewer tourists, more of Venice's beauty is revealed. It is more peaceful," she said, echoing the refrain that visitors should stay longer. "Be considerate of the locals and make sure your holiday lasts as long as possible so you have time to explore and get to know this unique civilization," she advises future potential visitors.
Cesarato also gave me some tips. "Don't take up artisans' time without buying something, and then buy cheap reproductions from the shop next door," she said. "Research the city, read guidebooks, listen to podcasts, get to know the people before you arrive: be an informed traveler."
With the new tax and associated bureaucracy on the horizon, it was a pleasure to experience this beautiful city in the off-season, and it felt like the city had been reclaimed by its residents. To discover what's behind the mask, come to Venice longer, travel smarter and visit in winter.
Essentials
Palazzo Veneziano (00 33 1 4029 4732; palazzoveneziano.com) is a comfortable four-star hotel in a quiet waterfront location in Dourodoso. It overlooks Giudecca and is next to the Zattere vaporetto stop. There are some canal view rooms, but these can be noisy and are not always worth the extra cost. Double rooms cost from £87 in winter; including breakfast.
You can fly to Venice from numerous UK airports with easyJet (easyjet.co.uk), BA (britishairways.com) or Ryanair (ryanair.com), with return flights from £100. The best (albeit slower) way to see the city can be reached by Alilaguna boat (alilaguna.it) from the airport; the most beautiful route is the orange line.