Is the last week of September an ok time to visit Venice? That is, is the weather a little cooler and the tourist surge somewhat reduced relative to August 1? I know, predicting weather is hazardous, but I am talking trends, not daily forecasting.

I was in Venice last week. Weather was excellent, 70s day, 60 or so nights. Venice exists by tourism. BTW, never go to Italy in August.

"Is the last week of September an ok time to visit Venice?"

ABSOLUTELY!

Probably the very best time of all even though anytime is a good time to visit Venice.

Was in Venice on the 28th of September and it was perfect weather. Needed a sweater though in the evening at St. Marks square

It looks like we were all in Venice the last week of Sept. I just returned yesterday, I was in Venice Sept. 26-29, perfect weather... coolish nights.Venice is just the best (although we had a terrible hotel) read my Italy trip report next week, I 'm still too tired to give it an honest go.
GO TO VENICE....
I was surprised at how crowded it was in late Sept. was anyone else?
la dolce Italy
Fluffy

Late September is the best time to visit. The weather was nice during the day and cool at night. We just returned on Sept. 30! I was also surprise how crowed Italy still was in late September. If weather is not a problem for you-you might consider going in October when it is less crowed.

OK. Thanks all. I was a little shocked at my title! Must have been in a rush. I am in fact asking for a friend of mine who is afraid of going there because of the heat in the summer and the crowds.

I was there in early April a few years ago and found conditions ideal. Light jacket weather during the morning, but the squares were warm from the sun by mid afternoon.

There are always people visiting Venice. There is too much there not to go! So like any town, especially Dublin, take the crowds in stride and enjoy the whole place because that is part of it.

(In case you don't know what I mean by Dublin, Friday afternoons in the summer usually finds large numbers of people out on the streets. The area around the university is very crowded. It is hard to find a place to walk! Even the rooms leading up to the famous Book of Kells are full of people.!)

I will pass all of these comments along to my friends and encourage them to go and celebrate their 30th anniversary there. I cannot think of a more romantic place.

So again, thanks. I am sure your advice will help.

I'm always amused by the use of the word "crowded" and can't help but wonder, who's perspective and by what gauge? Doesn't this misunderstood word deserve its own thread?

NYC is part of my moniker for the obvious. I like efficiency and nobody has to ask me if it's "crowded" where I live. Of course, my perspective on most everything pertaining to travel is influenced by my everyday experience here. I'm sure this is true of most everyone else, respectively.

The most crowded time of year in NYC is somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Any Manhattanite (and cab driver) knows to stay away from the Rockefeller Center area once that damn tree goes up and the Rockettes start kicking Santa's ass at Radio City. 50th street, between 7th Avenue and Madison Avenue, becomes a parking garage for huge tour buses that bring in the sweat-suit/tennis-shoe crowds by the thousands, all in search of a little cosmopolitan sparkle and twinkle.

At the height of the Clinton reign, Saks Fifth Avenue had to erect velvet ropes to extend the entrances and exits to its escalators, just to keep the mobs of shoulder-to-shoulder shoppers moving safely. One year, Saks had to shut the escalators off because, once the crowds got to the first floor landing, they couldn't move fast enough to clear the path of the on-coming customers. Now, this is crowded.

When someone says Venice is crowded in late September I immediately want to ask where do you live. I also want to know if they only visited San Marco, the Rialto, and/or the train station and if they've ever been to Venice on any July weekend or at Carnivale.

For me, Venice is crowded when:

- you are stuck on San Zulian, chest to back, and the single-file line is moving at a snails pace in both directions.

- you bump into several people's bodies, constantly saying "permesso" trying to make your way through Campo San Marco.

- you have to wait for another vaporetto because the one that just left was too full to take you.

- it takes 20 minutes to cross the Rialto bridge.

I've never experienced any of the above in late September and, to me, Venice feels like any other popular tourist town at this time of year, alive and kicking. But, then again, this is just my perspective.

Bob, I'm glad you asked this as we're considering the same time frame for a week stay.

NYCFS, thanks for the specific detail of what Sept isn't! Crowded to me would be very different, having started life in a town of 250 people! I'd force myself to skip Venice if the July crowds you described were year round.

You're welcome, Clifton. A town of 250...my word! Talk about no privacy.

Florence has almost become the year round nightmare for me which is why I limit my visits there. It makes me sad because I love Florence and I have such cherished memories of the place in the late 70's when very few boutique hotels offered private bathrooms and everything was affordable. Much like Venice, the Florentines become harder and harder, year after year. Constant mass tourism does take its toll.

I will never visit Venice again in June, July, or August. And, when someone in my social circle tells me they're going during one of these months, I keep my mouth shut and wish them well.

The real beauty of traveling in April, May, September and October is the quality of tourist you're likely to find. People who are free and can afford to take vacation at a time of year when the vast majority cannot offer a certain quality visit that's difficult to acquire at any other time. Yes, it's more expensive, but I believe you CAN get what you pay for.

Sad that Florence is changing as you say. The everlasting legacy of the Medicis, I suppose, lives on in many ways.

Not to obscure Bob's post too much, we're planning on spending a week in an apt in Tuscany somewhere, hopefully within a less affected town with decent rail connections before moving on to Venice to spend another week in an out of the way area. Tuscany's proving to be the challenge and I'm still not sure that we'll do more than day trip into Florence just for the issue of crowding, if we go at all.

Oh, you have to walk Florence, even for one day and in spite of the crowds. I couldn't be in Tuscany and not stick my beautifully manicured toes in.

What's the challenge with Tuscany? Maybe some of us can help?

Very kind offer, thank you. Actually, we may be thinking of the town of Sinalunga, as we spied a little cottage there that seems in the middle of things. I'm currently floating another thread for more logistical information, as I know so little about the town, other than the historical and sites aspect. Perhaps if you have suggestions for other candidate towns, you'd consider contributing there?

We visited Venice in June and didn't think it was crowded. Of course, we planned ahead and visited the most popular sights first thing in the morning, before the poor daytrippers arrived. I've got photos of my wife and son in Piazza San Marco, and there's not another soul within 20 yards of them.

HI
All my visits to Venice have been late Sept to early Oct. I think it's a great time. Cool mornings (sweater or jacket), warm to hot afternoons (ditch the jacket), occasionally a rainy day, good for museums and churches.

I'm a New Yorker as well. Venice at that time of year is not empty, but it is nothing like midtown Manahattan at Xmas time when you can't walk at your own pace, you just move with the crowd. That's what I imagine summer in Venice to be.