Touring Venice in the Rain + Doge's Palace Tour
 

We will arrive in Venice next week (Feb.) for our five day vacation. Forcast shows showers daily. Is it difficult to tour there in the rain? Also, should I book the Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries from home or since this is the off season will it be a problem waiting to book it after we arrive. Thanks for you help!

Umbrella vendors appear on the streets when the first drops of rain fall. You won't have a problem.

One day of our 4 day trip to Venice it poured, rain running out some of the storefronts, but it was actually one of our favorite memories! It was in Sept and was not cold, we bought a 5 Euro plastic raincoat, more like a trash bag & had most of the town to ourselves! No line at St. Marks, most cafe's & stores were open and we had of pick of places to sit. We went to Harry's Bar for a bellini and Cafe Florian for hot chocolate.
The next day the sun came out & the place was packed so I'm glad we had a day to wander without the crowds.
We did not book the Doges Palace so I can't answer that.
Enjoy your visit, Venice is magical!

This is true ..umbrellas everywhere. Our hotel even supplied boots for us. We booked everthing from home It made life easy.. We had a private gondola pick us up at the airport. Not to expensive. We were taken right to the hotel.. We did see many tourists walking with their luggage looking for thier hotel. Rain or shine you will have a blast.. Venice is just wonderful. Be sure to visit Murano!!!

We are in Venice right now (our 9th visit) and the best "rain" hint I can give you is if you wear some type of rain hat along with your raincoat you will have a more comfortable day of walking around this beautiful city. Trying to cope with umbrellas in the narrow calles (especially the very narrow ones) and while going in and out of shops becomes a nuisance. We've had some rainy and cold days this past week but leaving the umbrella behind and adding the rain hat to a warm layer of coat and sweaters has kept me very comfortable.

Thanks to you all for your input.
BarbB57...did you take the Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries tour? Will I have a problem making a reservation after we get there next week? I am having a problem reserving it on their web site. I am going now to find a rain hat!

Perhaps you could ask your hotel to reserve the tour for you? I found roaming the palace plenty fascinating, but I'm sure a guide would make it even more so. Best of luck.

I visited the palace on a rainy day, along with the Correr Museum, across the piazza. I found the Correr to be one of the best museums I visited in Italy. In addition to the usual collections of paintings and statues, it features an amazing assortment of weapons, plus items from everyday life in medieval times, from card games to shoes. Don't miss it!

I would reserve the tour in advance. We tried to walk up and take it in January and even then, it was booked solid for the week we were there.

Finally got thru to reserve the tour. Good thing as it showed the availability for each day and only a few English speaking openings left. The cost was 16E per person, no booking fee but cannot change and it is nonrefundable.
fanshawe: Thanks for the info about Correr Museum. Can't wait!

I went last year in late Jan/early February and we just walked up for the tour - no reservation was needed. We did have flexibility in our schedule though, so could have gone on a different day if needed.

My wife and I like a light weight rain shell with a hood and maybe a fleece underneath to add some more warmth.

We were in Venice a while back in March and had one day of heavy cold rain. We used that day to visit Murano and stayed a bit longer sitting in front of a glass furnace to warm up and dry out. Quite toasty!