Venice in late Nov/Dec: what to expect?
 

I am planning a trip to Venice in late Nov or Dec. I am from NE so I am ok with cold temp, What I am worried about is all day rain. Can anyone who has been to Venice in late Nov/Dec share your experience?

We visited Venice over Thanksgiving a few years ago and did experience 3 out of 5 rainy days. It did not deter us from having a good time. That time of year is also when acqua alta occurs and we had one day when we enjoyed taking photos of a flooded Piazza San Marco.

Foggy unless it's raining..

yes, foggy more than rain. But, anyway, the atmosphere is delightful and you will enjoy it.

Vincenzo

acqua alta?! Oh, I still remember last year's flooding in Venice. It'd be an interesting experience. Is acqua alta going to stay for a few days or just a couple of hours?

Foggy is ok and kinda beautiful in a way.

> Is acqua alta going to stay for a few days or just a couple of hours?

Usually starts early morning but water will be gone by noon or so.

I have experienced various levels of acqua alta but the the best (or worst - depending on your point of view) was in the 1st week of December 2005
http://picasaweb.google.ch/kappa341003/VeniceDec2005#

This too was gone by 13h00 or so.

I travelled to Venice for the first time in November around 2000 and had all 5 gloriously sunny days (except early morning fog), and again all 4 sunny days in Xmas time in 2007. I know they say it tends to be damp this time of a year but you may luck out too.

The other two days of our visit that weren't rainy were gloriously sunny. Acqua alta is based on a number of issues, but is mainly based on tides, so it advances and recedes every few hours with the tides.

It might be worth it to bring a good pair of waterproof boots. you can pick up a cheap pair of rubber boots for the acqua alta but they are very uncomfortable.

Agree with lots above, foggy and rainy but still beautiful and the acqua alta also has it's own beauty....buy some pretty Italian leather boots and seal them up with a healthy dose of mink oil (though here I think seal oil is easier to find). The flooding does tend to recede quickly, and I actually really like that time of year since it's the only time I've ever seen Venice not disgustingly packed with tourists...still packed but if you were to go in summer you literally wouldn't be able to breathe or walk.

Acqua alta is determined by the tides and the weather, so you can't say the water usually comes in the morning and is gone by noon.

Daytime high tides in the last week of November are in the early morning hours, but in December they are in mid-to-late morning in the first days and in mid-day by the 5th and onwards. You can look at the tide charts for both months at this link:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm.../IDPagina/1847

And learn more about acqua alta here:

http://www.visit-venice-italy.com/ac...nice-italy.htm

Does anyone have recommendations on women's shoes (not too sporty looking) to wear in Italy, in rain, when walking around cities?

equitraveler, check your other thread.

We spent last Christmas in Venice, nine weeks in all. We arrived about 10th December, left in Feb. It can be pretty cold, but I believe that we had unusually cold weather. If you are there for a few days, and acqua alta is a problem, you can buy comfortable rubber boots for about 20 Euro. The cheap plastic boots are not worth buying. I wrote a trip report - it's here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm

Thanks so much for all your inputs! I'd love to visit Venice just to have acqua alta experience. But I kinda figured out that during my stay, from 11/22-25, the chance of encountering one is low. I have decided to split my 8 full days vacation between Venice and Florence. Hope that is not too rushed.

> so you can't say the water usually comes in the morning and is gone by noon.

It does (but I also said "Usually") actually from my experience. I have visited Venice about 12 times in last 8 years and most of them were in NOV - DEC and I have experienced various levels of acqua alta, that as I said occcured always in the morning. Venice locals on tripadvisor.com agree with this so I'm pretty sure. However, if jean have a personal exprience that differs, I'm all ear to listen.

If you want to learn about acqua alta, this is better, detailed local Venice site:
http://www.veniceword.com/weather.html

> The cheap plastic boots are not worth buying.

Cheaper plastic boots are fine if the acqua alta is not that bad. When acqua alta happens, shops on the street hang htose boots outside and there appear steet vendors so it's easy to find. See some colorful boots on my album above. Remember when it happens, the worst area is San Marco because it is the lowestg part of Venice. You get farther, usually water gets shallower, streets drier.