How to avoid crowds in Venice
The famous Rialto Bridge is a crowded spot at sunset. Photos by John O’Boyle
Updated: June 2026 - Venice has always been crowded. But starting in 2024, the city started doing something no other city in the world had tried before: charging day trippers a fee just to enter.
The program is now well established and worth understanding before you go.
If you're staying overnight in Venice, you're exempt. The fee only applies to people arriving and leaving the same day, which is the city's main concern. Day trippers make up an enormous portion of Venice's visitors, and they put pressure on the city without spending much locally.
For 2026, the fee applies on about 60 peak days, mostly weekends from April through late July. On those days, day visitors need to register online in advance and pay €5 to receive a QR code checked at entry points around the city. Wait until three days before and the price goes up to €10. You can register at the Venezia Unica website, at Venice's Santa Lucia train station, or at a tobacconist.
If you are overnighting in Venice (which we'd strongly recommend anyway), just register as a hotel guest and the fee is waived.
A gondola moves along a canal in Venice
| Best time to visit | May or October; avoid July & August |
| Best days of the week | Tuesday through Thursday |
| Day tripper entry fee (2026) | €5 in advance / €10 last minute (April–July, peak days only) |
| Who is exempt from the fee | Overnight hotel guests, residents, workers, children under 14 |
| Quietest hours | Before 9am and after 7pm |
| Least crowded districts | Castello (east of San Marco), Dorsoduro |
| Avoid during | Venice Carnival (February), summer weekends |
Stay overnight in Venice
You probably came a long way to see Venice. It’s one of the most unique places on Earth and absolutely earns at least an overnight stay. A very large percentage of visitors to Venice are day trippers, which means that the early mornings and the evenings are much quieter.
Wake up an hour earlier than you might typically want to and you can walk many of the streets alone, it’s wonderful.
If you saw Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning with Tom Cruise then I’m sure you will want to see Venice at night.
Book your Venice hotel carefully
Be sure to book a hotel that is actually in Venice itself. Technically Venice also includes areas on the mainland. Hotels in Mestre or other mainland areas advertise themselves as Venice but you’ll have to travel over the bridge to get to the “real Venice”.
On a recent trip, we decided to stay at a hotel in a quiet neighborhood that was further from the main tourist attractions. This approach had numerous benefits.
We stayed near the train station (read about traveling by high-speed train in Italy here) so carrying bags to the hotel was relatively simple. Remember the streets and bridges of Venice are notoriously difficult to navigate with even the smallest of bags.
Walking the streets of Venice with luggage.
In both the mornings and the evenings the surrounding streets were much quieter. Many of the people were locals so staying there felt much more like a neighborhood than a tourist attraction.
On a recent visit, we stayed at the Carnival Palace Hotel in Venice. You can see more info about the hotel here.
Plan on wandering and getting lost
On most trips getting lost isn’t really a goal, it should absolutely be a goal in Venice. Plus it’s an island so how lost can you really get?
Visiting Venice is as much about the “feel” of the place as it is about checking off the list of major attractions.
The historical section of Venice consists of six districts. The worst crowding is confined to two districts: San Marco, home to the basilica, and San Polo, home of the Rialto Bridge.
As soon as you wander away from those areas the crowds begin to diminish.
Wandering the back streets of Venice.
The wonderful Castello district is located just east of Saint Mark’s Square. Most visitors turn back towards the train station or bridge after visiting the attractions in Saint Mark’s and don’t venture into the wonderful Castello district.
If you are walking back towards the train station or bridge from Saint Mark’s then the Dorsoduro district is a worthy diversion. The district is home to Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, the Gallerie dell’Accademia, and many wonderful restaurants.
Spend a Day on the Outer Islands
Most visitors to Venice never make it past the main island. That works in your favor.
The islands of Murano and Burano sit just a short vaporetto ride away and offer a completely different pace. Crowds on both islands are a fraction of what you'll find around San Marco or the Rialto.
Murano is famous for its glassblowing tradition, which dates back to 1291 when the Republic of Venice relocated its glassmakers there to reduce the fire risk to the city. You can watch master glassblowers at work, browse the studios, and pick up something that will actually survive the trip home. It takes about 45 minutes to reach Murano from the main island by vaporetto.
Burano is a 40-minute boat ride from Venice and is known for its brightly painted fishermen's houses and handmade lace. It photographs beautifully and feels genuinely local compared to the tourist-heavy streets around San Marco.
Both islands are easy to combine into a single day trip. Take the vaporetto from Fondamente Nove and spend the morning on Murano, then continue on to Burano for lunch and the afternoon. The boat schedule connects them directly.
Dedicating a full day to the outer islands also means you're simply not in the main crowds at all. That alone makes it one of the more effective strategies on this list.
Purchase fast-track tickets
Doge’s Palace and Saint Mark’s Basilica are spots that every visitor heads to. So “fast track” or early admission tickets are essential.
We purchased this kind of ticket at major attractions in Florence and Rome and they absolutely made it a better experience.
Here are some highly-rated ticket and tour options:
Doge’s Palace tickets and tours
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Saint Marks Square
Order some cicchetti and relax
Spain has tapas, China has dim sum, and Venice has cicchetti. These small plates come in a variety of foods and often feature seafood.
Like Spain’s tapas bars, the bacaro (or wine bar) is where you’ll find these tasty treats.
Venetians eat cicchetti for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and as a late-night snack, so there are lots of opportunities to enjoy.
Many local bacari (plural of bacaro) don’t accept credit cards, so be sure to have euros with you.
Our other Italy travel posts:
To learn more about where to eat and what to see in Trastevere, take a look at our blog post, Trastevere: what to see in Rome’s charming neighborhood.
View of San Giorgio Maggiore island from Saint Mark’s Plaza
Visit the island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Directly across the water from Piazza San Marco, San Giorgio Maggiore appears in countless visitor’s photos but few actually visit.
You can easily reach the island via vaporetto, Venice’s public boat system. It’s about a 10-minute ride from San Marco.
The highlight of a quick visit to San Giorgio Maggiore is the view from the bell tower. Best of all you can access the top via an elevator.
Visit Scala Contarini del Bovolo
If you love great views but not crowds Scala Contarini del Bovolo should be on your list.
A unique 28-meter spiral staircase leads to a fantastic view of Venice.
It is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm. You can purchase Scala Contarini del Bovolo tickets here.
Purchase tickets early since they limit the number of visitors and only sell tickets online.
The Grand Canal at sunset. Like this photo? See it and other Italy photos on our Print Store.
Visit During The Shoulder Season
On our most recent visit to Italy, we visited in May. The weather was delightful and the crowds were definitely less than summer.
Since we visited close to the summer season everything was open. Closer to winter some shops may close but flights and hotels will be considerably cheaper.
If you are trying to avoid crowds the one off-peak time you shouldn’t visit is during Venice Carnival, usually in February. While it’s a fantastic event it attracts large crowds and high prices.
About the Authors
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John and Debbie O'Boyle are the team behind The Empty Nest Explorers. John is a professional photographer whose work has been published by The New York Times, NBC News, and Getty Images. He is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers, has been part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team, and has received two New York Emmy nominations. Debbie is a writer with 30+ years of professional photography experience, formerly with The Star-Ledger and NJ.com. Together, they create in-depth travel guides for couples and empty-nest travelers who want to make the most of every destination. |
Some well-reviewed Venice tours
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