Is Venice overrated?
 

My husband and I are doing a trip to Switzerland for a few days at the end of August and then we were planning on spending the rest of our vacation in North Italy.

We were trying to stay in North Italy (we fly in and out of Milan) and originally wanted to do 2 locations which are kind of far apart , Venice and San Gimignano in Tuscany.

We also thought at first of swapping Tuscany with Cinque Terre but after i heard how terribly packed it gets with tourists there in the summer time, i got a big turned off...

Lately, we have been hearing feedback from actual people that have been to Venice that it is filled with tourists and has a feeling of "Times Square " of NYC and that food is not all that great..

Yes, i would love to ride in gondola and have that romantic experience with my husband, but is it really worth the trip there for a few days ?

WE have been thinking that is it better to just do Tuscany and then move somewhere in the Riviera? Any suggestion where?

We are not into museums or things like that, so mostly would just like to vacation at places that have great food, culture and a lot of natural beauty.

Would love to get some info from others who have been to Venice and the rest of Italy.

I would say that for someone who goes at the height of tourist season for a short stay in the busiest parts of town then, yes, it's over-rated. However, if you can stay a week in a neighborhood out of the center (maybe defined as not in close proximity to the Grand Canal), are willing to walk and explore, then there's just no place like it.

As in so many places in the world that have hosted tourists for centuries or even decades, it will be crowded in the center in high season, especially during the hours when cruisers & daytrippers descend. But if you have a sense of adventure and are willing to stay off the (very) beaten path, you'll find quiet neighborhoods to which 9 out of 10 (or 99 out of 100) visitors never venture. As with so many things, it's up to you what you find.

I don't think you should try to plan your trip based on my opinion of Venice. I don't like it as much as some do, but I would never warn people off because one should go to decide for oneself.

That said, if it really puts a kink in your plans, then leave it off. It's your trip, nobody else's. Do what is right for you.

There is a reason people flock to certain places, wouldn't you agree? So, if you don;t want to be in these places along with everybody else I suggest you go at some other time of the year.

Is Venice overrated? NO, and how could it be unless all those millions of people are WRONG?

mrsliv: from your OP:

"We are not into museums or things like that, so mostly would just like to vacation at places that have great food, culture and a lot of natural beauty"

Churches with great works of art, as well as museums, are a big part of Venice's attractions. Great food needs to be sought in Venice, one doesn't just trip over it, as in some other places. Natural beauty is not what Venice is about; it's about man made beauty.

I'm not sure what you classify as "culture." For me, history, art, architecture, music, etc. are culture. If those aren't your things, Venice may not be for you.

How about Lago di Como? Close to Milan and very very beautiful.

Or as is often recommended here, Santa Margherita Ligure. Really great food in that part of Italy. Lots of natural beauty. No museums and minimal history. Lively resort area with a "feel" if that's what you mean by culture.

If you don't like to be surrounded by tourists don't go.
I know of some places which attract no tourists. Like Charleroi in Belgium. But there is reason for it. There is nothing to see.
So ? Going to some place beautiful in high season obviously means flocks of tourists. It will be the case in San gimignano Firenze etc.

I think the idea of
a place = over rated; is too simplistic. It rules out many destinations.
I think it is more like:
a place, at certain time of the year, at certain time of the day, doing certain activities = "over rated".

With astonishing rise in selfie-stick toting mass group tourists from certain countries in just last few years, one need to do more research and plan destination routing in a way to avoid being in a "Times Square" syndrome.

Any place that offers "I was here" photos would attract mass tourists during the group tour hours - around 9am to mid afternoon. Same for places that offers "I bought it here!"

San Gimignano attracts mass tourism during the day, just like Venice, in case you have not thought about it.

So where do you find non "Times Square" moments in Venice? Actually plenty as long as you think counter to these selfie-stick folks.

For example, in Venice, before breakfast time, I go around to take pictures of the city at sunrise. I only see serious photographers at this time. No selfie-stick people. The lighting is not good for "I was here" photos, but stunning for photographers.

Torcello, Mazzorbo, and other minor island offer a tranquility even during the day. No major monuments for "I was here" photo and no luxury goods shopping = no mass tourists.

Dinner away from Rialto or San Marco, offer peaceful experiences. Mass tourists might walk by, but too busy going to the next selfie-stick locations.

The first time I traveled to Venice it was on a day-trip. I hated it...even called it "Disneyland On Speed."

On our next trip, we spent three nights (keyword is "night" when Venice is magical). As far as the crowds during the day, we tend to stay away from San Marco (for the most part) and wander to different areas. We've visited twice since then.

In short...No, Venice is not overrated.

((H))

I don't care for museums either - in my two longest visits to Venice (3 nights each), I think I went to one small one. I spent much more of my time just exploring - not just Venice itself but day trips. Because yes, parts of Venice ARE obnoxiously touristy and crowded especially during the day, and in my opinion, that's a great time to day trip somewhere. (Burano island is a great half day trip by vaporetto water bus.)

But Venice is breathtaking at night especially, when it is far less crowded. Everything is lit up along the canals, and it feels magical. I really love mornings there, too - when you can see more of the "real" Venice, when shopkeepers are setting up, delivery people are carrying in supplies from the boats, etc.

My last visit to Venice was unfortunately a day stop off the train, and I found it pretty miserably crowded. Fortunately, I had stayed over twice before for evenings/mornings and knew what it was really like then. I suspect many people who do only day trips to Venice or who stay on the mainland in Mestre wind up not like Venice much. It can feel like Disneyland.

No it isn't, but at the end of August, with the heat and crowds, you may find it so.

The paths between St Mark's and the Rialto Bridge can get so crowded, that it is might be possible to walk the distance using heads as stwepping stones (I'm not recommending it - but it is wall to wall - or wall to canal bodies)

The food isn't great - particularly when compared to the rest of Italy.

As others have said - It is magical - particularly at night or early morning (go exploring at 6am - it's just you and the street sweepers in St Mark's). Get lost - it's not hard to do, and you're never really far from a vaporetto stop to get you back to where you need to be. There are some lovely , unspoilt areas where tourists seldom go.

San Gimignao sufers from a similar hordes of tourist problem.

When you get off the water shuttle from the airport it's craziness. I was floored and I'm from NYC. This was at the end of September.

At night, yes the big ship tourists are gone and it calms down.

I wasn't a fan, but that's me.

Venice is overrated if you show up as a bumpkin with a suitcase.

Plan your visit. Do your homework.
Know where you are staying. Don't be afraid to go off the beaten path.

Venice stinks at times, like sh#t and brine. Accept that. It is apart of a city built on seawater.

Don't eat at restaurants just because they have menus printed in English.

Dont spend all your time looking for cheap souvenirs and Murano glass.

Thin

We do think it is over rated. The problem is us-tourists and the attendant problems hordes of tourist bring.

Two SIL's who went there recently said it was their favorite city. One has visited 5 continents, the other has spent considerable time in Spain and Italy.

I didn't say it in my first post but I believe it's the most beautiful city in the world, one of a kind. So do many others and even more stop in to find out. But the crowds, limited to particular areas and times of the day, are easy to avoid.

I love Venice but only in the winter months when there are fewer people and it's not hot/muggy.

I like the idea of combining Lake Como and Santa Margherita Ligure. Both may be crowded but probably not as crowded as Venice and San Gimignano.

Better yet, rent a car and spend your time in the Piedmont region exploring villages, small cities and lovely countryside. The food and wine are terrific in Piedmont.

Venice is absolutely gobsmacking gorgeous -- one of the most beautiful/photogenic places on earth. One doesn't need to go inside a single museum if they don't want.

But during the day - in the middle of summer - in St Marks Sq or around the Rialto Bridge . . . It is a mob scene and tourist central.

Is sex overrated?

No, it is not overrated, but I would never plan to go in August.

If you want a destination not on the main tourist trail, but in Northern Italy, I recently enjoyed Turin. Or, further south, I like Ferrara, although I also use it as a base for visiting Ravenna, where the wonderful mosaics may be too much like museums for you. Bologna is nearby and would satisfy your interest in food.

Its worth visiting once ( I have visited twice).. but in summer.. no.. its crowded and hot and sometimes smelly. I also have never been impressed with food.

However,, I do not regret going.. just glad I only allowed 3 nights each time.. sorry ..I would never stay longer.

PS That said.. I wouldn't go in winter either.. its a city to wander and I am not big into wandering around in wet weather.. so I think April-May would be nice.

Good discussion! I am in the camp of those who find Venice breathtaking, but I did not go in August, and it does sound as if crowds have worsened considerably in recent years.

I do not think it is overrated.

But I am still stuck on the question of what "culture" means to the OP.
<I'm not sure what you classify as "culture." For me, history, art, architecture, music, etc. are culture.>
I agree, and so would welcome clarification.

I wrote earlier:

We do think it is over rated. The problem is us-tourists and the attendant problems hordes of tourist bring.

Yikes I omitted the word 'not" a dangerous writing habit of mine, I cannot conquer.


I do not think Venice is over rated. There are other cities with canals, but none have the grandeur of Venice.

Tsss .. Bruges and Gent.
Simply because they have belgian beer. ;-)

Ack wrote, "Is sex overrated?"

"Nothing is so overrated as sex, and so underrated as a good bowel movement." -- GB Shaw

Just read Ruskin and Henry James. They saw more than most of us, and you haven't got to deal with the crowds. I found it beautiful, but that was before you had to reserve admission to St Mark's.

Tsss .. Bruges and Gent.

Been to both, liked both, Gent better but the canals simply do not compare and you can always import beer. Not one of Italy's strengths.

VENICE is Magical! One of the few places that I would love to visit again; even that I have not had a chance to visit all the wonderful places on the planet yet!

But I had also heard that August may not be the best time to visit Venice - due to heat, crowd & the strong smell ..

I saw that someone had recommended Lake Como to you...
We had stopped by Lake Como from our trip from Switzerland, and Milan. Love Lake Como - beautiful scenery!

But Venice has more facets: history, culture, unique setting, ...than just beautiful scenery. I think that is what makes VENICE unique!

To me, visiting Venice this time on your trip or not- depending on when would be your next chance to visit VENICE?

Enjoy your trip! Have fun!

Here is my experience. I first went on a day trip from Florence. I found this a big mistake. For me as a day trip it was too long for only a few hours. I went right at carnival in March so it was jam packed with wall to wall people. I had pizza that was so hard I swore it was a brick. I liked seeing the people dressed in costumes. So much so, that I said one day I would go back when it was less crowded.

I went back a few years later in November and enjoyed it so much more. The food was better. It was less crowded and I fell in love with the place. I liked being there at night when things were more quiet. I liked just walking around. It's been a while but I am going back this September. I am not sure how the crowds will be.

I found a few days enough and not overrated or at least not yet. You can find good food by not eating around the tourist sights. It did smell strange but it reminded me of the beach I went to when I was small. We used to pass by a marshy area and it smelled the same. If your heart is not into going then don't go. Don't force yourself into it. Maybe if you can, consider visiting at another time of year.

I had researched it so much that I actually thought I could feel what it would be like arriving by boat. What a mistake. I have learned from that trip not to do so much planning. even though I still plan every day. I had placed it with so much higher expectations. It was nicer when we didn't go to the tourist spot for dinner, even though we still found the food to be lacking.. for Italy!! I was so surprised. Best meal in a small funky spot bright lights and a tv on...all of my no dos!! but the meal was fabulous. I would go back. .. I think we were in May. Try to go off the beaten path.

Of course it's not over-rated. Venice's architecture and townscape are unique and outstanding: its accessible art collections among the world's finest.

If by culture, though, you mean the performing arts like music or theatre: no-one's ever claimed Venice has anything worthwhile to offer. It's a tenth-rate provincial desert as far as that kind of culture's concerned.

If by culture you mean "what do ordinary Venetians do all day": the answer is "exploit tourists." 800 years ago they used to trade and sack foreign cities as well: but they've never done much else. They're been globally infamous for ripping tourists off for centuries, and their obsession with it isn't remotely over-rated. They lead the world.

Unlike other arty large towns (Florence, say, or Oxford) there's no other life to Venice but the monumental buildings tourists come to gawp at and extracting cash from them. The food ranges from over-priced crap to over-priced mediocrity.

The crowds are claimed to be dreadful at times. Actually, they can easily be escaped by just walking a few hundred yards from where they hang out. The total population of Venice, including tourists, on the busiest day of the tourist season is about the same as the number of people visiting London's South Kensington museums on the same day - and far less than it would have been three centuries ago, when the place was a real city.

Venice's problem isn't that it's overcrowded (by the standards of any real city it absolutely isn't) but that its tourists all stand in the same place - almost all utterly gormlessly.

Venice has, by any sensible standards, improved massively over the past 50 years. It's cleaner, less smelly, the standards of art conservation have improved by leaps and bounds and far more of its glories are actually open. Tourists have to share it with more other tourists if they lack the gumption to walk away. But walk half a mile to a back canal and you rapidly realise what all the fuss is about.

And for all the inanity about Disneyland: Venice is free, and unfailingly beautiful. And even Venice's dreadful food is at least edible.

It tends to get extremely warm and humid in August.Very crowded with winding queues to practically every place of attraction.Watch your step as you could step on a dropped gelato or someone could smear you with it,by accident of course.

Staying 'in Venice '? Once was good enough. The second time it was Lido.Calmer.

Venice is still beautiful.

Obviously Flanner has never explored the other things happening in Venice, such as the Biennales plural (art and architecture), the cultural activities not driven by endless Vivaldi repetition, modern galleries like the Tre Ochi, displays at the Fortuny.

Fortunately few short term visitors visit these venues, which showcase great works.

Venice has a lot of great restaurants. Maybe 20 years ago there weren't too many good ones, but that has certainly changed.

I am in Venice now ending a two week stay and I was here for two weeks last month. I had great meals at La Columbina, Ai Promessi Sposi (I think this is my current favorite), La Cantina, and two really fantastic experiences at Local, a new place opened by a brother and sister who grew up in the Hotel Wildner. Local is not cheap but it is very very good and they are sourcing most food locally (hence the name.)

http://www.ristorantelocal.com/

Also hit a lot of old standbys like Taverna San Trovaso, Osteria da Alberto, La Zucca, Casa Mia... all good. And there are new wine bars popping up all over the place. Also, a lot of new tours that do bacaro crawls.

Tourism is down here - everyone is talking about it. It has not been terribly crowded except for the Rialto bridge which is under construction and truly awful to get across. Vaporettos are still uncomfortably crowded. But the Biennale was pretty empty on Sunday when I went and even Piazza San Marco has not been as busy as usual.

Can say what the end of August will be like though. All I can say is, if you come to Venice and do your research you can have some very fine meals.

I've been going to Italy since the 80s, but first went to Venice in Spring 2009. I was curious so I went. Plus, my two, close friends live 30 minutes away by train. In the spring, it didn't have the crowds that I've heard that it can have in the summer and we went there twice in a week. However, when I was in Italy, last summer staying with the same friends, I had no desire to go back to Venice and be in the heat and summer crowds. They were happy that I didn't want to go.

If I were to go there again, it would be in the spring although it was very hot the days that we went in the spring. As for whether or not Venice is worth it, that's a total individual thing. I wasn't all in awe of it as some friends, back home, had been and are. There are other places in Italy that I like better. If you go in the summer, then as some have mentioned up thread, you can stay in areas that aren't in the heart of the crowds.

Happy Travels!

<i><font color=#555555>"Maybe 20 years ago there weren't too many good ones, but that has certainly changed."</font></i>

1992, more than 20 years ago, saw the birth of the Associazione dei Ristoranti della Buona Accoglienza. There were fifteen restaurants that made the list in 1992. Today, there are thirteen.

Anyone who follows Teodolinda Venezia knows about the dramatic decline of Venetian-owned establishments in Venice. The number was quite high 20 years ago.

Yes, Venice changes. If you do some research, you can find some really delicious food there. But, if you're the lazy type and not particularly good at planning or navigation, you can seriously fail with food in Venice.

<i><font color=#555555>"Actually, they (the crowds) can easily be escaped by just walking a few hundred yards from where they hang out."</font></i>

Typically, <b>they</b> "hang out" at vital locations: Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia, Rio Terà Lista di Spagna, Ponte delle Guglie, Rio Terà San Leonardo, Rio Terà de la Maddalena, Strada Nova, Rialto, Accademia, Mercerie, San Marco, and Riva degli Schiavoni. Escaping them is not always easy, especially if you have luggage and are trying to enter and exit the city, or if you're trying to find your lodging or that fabulous restaurant you found in your research, or if you need to take a vaporetto, anywhere, in any direction.

<i><font color=#555555>"They're been globally infamous for ripping tourists off for centuries, and their obsession with it isn't remotely over-rated. They lead the world."</font></i>

Britain is far more expensive than Venice, so I guess it takes a rip-off artist to recognize another one. Venice is a small town by any standard, overwhelmed by massive amounts of daily visitors. Every little thing needed to live life for everyone, including the tourists, must be delivered by boat. Tourism is its leading industry. Inevitably, some tourists are going to object to the cost of visiting and accuse the place of rip-off.

<i><font color=#555555>"If by culture, though, you mean the performing arts like music or theatre: no-one's ever claimed Venice has anything worthwhile to offer."</font></i>

Venice is home to many fabulous stars of the performing arts who love to work there when there is work. I'm proud to call several of them friends. Their talents are superior. Some internet trolls have mediocre taste and never stay long enough to discover pure beauty.

<i><font color=#555555>"Venice has, by any sensible standards, improved massively over the past 50 years."</font></i>

In some ways it has. In other ways it hasn't. Some struggles are permanent.

<i><font color=#555555>"even Venice's dreadful food is at least edible"</font></i>

Venice's dreadful food is most definitely NOT edible.

<i><font color=#555555>"It tends to get extremely warm and humid in August."</font></i>

High heat and high humidity have seen record numbers in the last decade. Some places offer good air conditioning, better than ever, but the breakdown rate during heat waves is a constant problem. Traditionally, many Italians take vacation in August. Many famous businesses in Venice, including restaurants, are closed during some portion of August. August may be the least desirable month of the year to visit Venice. The first two weeks of September are increasingly becoming less desirable.

<i> Going to some place beautiful in high season obviously means flocks of tourists. It will be the case in San gimignano Firenze etc. </i>

It will also be very crowded in Como. The Cinque Terre is impossibly crowded most of the year. I've heard that Camogli and Levanto, on the Riviera, are both beautiful and uncrowded, but I've never been to either.

No, but overpriced. (In response to your original question)

Pay. Then forget the fact you have paid, and quite how much, then just enjoy. It is still worth it.

All I can say is that the situation in Venice (overcrowded, loss of local population) will only get worse in the future, so I'd go while you can see what you can see. The heat nearly killed me last July; we were there mid-August twice and did pretty well. Weather IS weather, after all. There are no guarantees.

Venice is a unique city with a unique history and a unique culture (it really was its own county for centuries). As others have said, if you do some homework, you can make your visit work darn well, and YOU will able to see the real Venice underneath the mass of tourists. This place was the bookend on the Ottoman Empire for eons. You CAN experience why it was named "La Serenissima" (the most serene).
AZ

Venice has a lot wrong with it, the tripper boats, the food, the midday crowds. But not over rated.

Early morning, late evening is a magical time, during the day get out on the water on the vap trips, eat in Chioggia. Don't go in August (never go to Italy in August), avoid restaurants with pictures of food in the window.

I even find old town of Mestre charming (just not the post 1850 bits). Go rowing, take out a canoe.

No, it is not overrated. It is unique and breathtaking which is why it is crowded and has always been. Go now and enjoy before it disappears !

A place that is way overrated is Barcelona. Visit it to check it off your list but don't expect much.

This is all YMMV stuff. I spent several days in Barcelona last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Of course, I enjoyed it more than I had on a previous trip because I was staying in the Eixample. Location, location... My last visit to Venice I stayed all the way over on Sant'Elena. It was extremely quiet, although convenient for the Biennale.