I'm going to Venice for the week of Thanksgiving, from November 19 through the 26th. Is there any special festivals or events that I should attend during that time? Soccer games, opera, markets? I know the must sees but since I'll be there for a week, i wanted to invest more time in real Venice. Also, some sites were talking of the tide schedule? Can anyone provide me with assistance as to whether the forecast is for high tides during my trip? Thanks so much.

you can start here:

www.veniceword.com

Roro-you can get virtually all of the information you seek by going to one website, Venice's City Hall, otherwise known in Italian as the Comune di Venezia website:

www.comune.venezia.it (click on the English version)

Info. on the tides in English is at this link:

www.comune.venezia.it/maree/en_previsione.asp


They have live webcams of the Piazza San Marco and other areas of Venice, info. on festivals, events-you can even email the Mayor's office with your questions-although the Mayor of Venice seems to like to spend his time these days hanging out with George Clooney -George is an honorary citizen of Venice, btw, as he lives close by in Lago Como. (The local Venetian paper, Il Gazzettino, showed George C. and Massimo Cacciari, the mayor, "a braccetto" (arm in arm) in September after the Venice film festival-Clooney in "smoking" and Cacciari in a "completo insolito nero con tanto di cravatta di pois" (unusual black suit with just a polka-dotted tie). These two are GOOD friends! Clooney recently proclaimed Italy to be "the best country on earth." I'm sure there are many travelers who would agree with him!

I was in Milan a few Thanksgivings ago.

If you ski there may be snow in the Dolmities. I would consider a day trip skiing if it were me.

OK... so i looked at the city hall website and it looks like it forecasts the tides out for the next 3/4 days... anything that will let me know the potential forecast as far in advance as November?

www.yahoo.com then weather and you will look at averages link on

I was going to go to Venice for Thanksgiving, too. But my good friend, who lives there . . . as much as she has been after me to come and visit . . . advised me not to come in November, as it is rainy and foggy all the time.

virgo839 --

We went to Venice for Thanksgiving last year and loved it so much we're going again this year. We missed rather high waters by one week (lucky) and didn't have a *single* moment of rain during our entire stay. It was a little chilly and sometimes a *little* foggy, but it just added to the atmosphere...what a wonderful city.

Yes, November is taking a chance...but I still think having rain in Venice is better than not being in Venice at all!

Roro --

The 21st marks the Festival della Madonna Salute.

http://www.cheapvenice.com/venice-salute.htm

It is not rainy and foggy in Venice all of the time in November. However, it is the rainest month of the year, averagiong 3.5 inches for the month. If it actually was rainy "all of the time," that would come to about 0.1 inches per day.

But averages are just that, so one year could have 6 inches for the month, and the next year 1 inch.

thanks for the replies... we are definitely going regardless! I agree that i rather be in venice than not. And we'll be there for the entire week which is much better than my typical 3 nights town hopping.

It's my husbands first trip to Venice and I haven't been back since I was 21 so this should be a different experience for us both. I would LOVE to hear what the fodorites would consider their FAVORITE venice experience!!! Please tell...

I was in Venice in February, 2003, for carnevale, and was absolutely enchanted with the city. The architecture of so many buildings seems out of a storybook, and the many bridges also make the city so picturesque. The costumes and masks that are worn during carnevale are so colorful and memorable. I took tons of photos of them. The food was so good. Even the few snacks we bought from street vendors were delicious. One must travel to various parts of the city by boat, instead of by bus or taxi or subway, and this is another thing that makes Venice so different from most other cities. Instead of ambulance and police vehicles, I saw ambulance and police boats. I will say, however, that there are way too many mask shops, and every time one turns around one can see a piece of Murano glass, but on the whole I found the city visually absolutely delightful. And it's very easy to get around in Venice, as the city is not too big, but not too small, either. Go inside the Basilica di San Marco, when the lights are on, illuminating the ceiling. It is truly magical. Buon Viaggio!

The 21st marks the Festival della Madonna Salute.

Don't miss this. We were there on the 21st in 2003.

Travel to the Salute church over the pontoon bridget that is temporarily erected over the Grand Canal for this occasion. You can purchase candles outside the church to be lit to the Virgin (inside) for your good health and the health of your family.

Afterwards, enjoy the street festival nearby with lots of candies, fried dough, local favorites and balloons for the kids.

It seems we were some of the very few there who were not locals.