Lonely Planet’s guide to overtourism in Venice

Of all the sights to see in Venice, perhaps the most important is Farmacia Morelli.

Just steps from the Rialto Bridge, Morelli has been in operation for more than a century (though legend would say it’s been at least four or five). It’s a trusted source for everything from bandages to protein powders, but the real draw is a small electronic counter on the bottom left window that keeps count of the city’s full-time residents. The number has been in sharp decline: in 1971, the population stood at just under 109,000. By 2023 it had dipped below 50,000 for the first time in centuries. At the height of the tourist season, there are roughly 38 visitors for every Venetian. Talk about “hidden gems”.

“But in those 48,000 residents, so many of them are vibrant, creative, active people who fight for Venice and want it to be something more”, says Gioele Romanelli who comes from a long line of vibrant Venetians. We are talking the fabulously moody bar of his Hotel Flora. I was introduced to him by Gillian McGuire, an oracle on all things Italian. After many years in Rome, she decided to relocate to Venice and quickly became a member of this small but dynamic community.

One of Romanelli’s passions is Inside Venice, an editorial and lifestyle project that aims to “transform travellers into temporary residents” by focusing on Venetian personalities and the stories they have to tell, as well as offering experiences for visitors that get them in touch with the beating heart of the lagoon. It’s a window into a Venice that most of us don’t often get to see, but not because it isn’t there. 

In the past few years, Venice has become an unwilling posterchild for “overtourism”, and photos of overstuffed streets with tourists cramming and craning to get the best angle have made their way around the world. And while it’s undeniable that the city sags under the weight of millions of visitors every year, it’s equally true that large parts of Venice are overlooked by the average visitor. But if you do make the effort to find those quiet corners, you’ll be rewarded with an atmosphere unlike any other in the world.

Venice is, and always has been, a place that knows exactly how to hide its most prized possessions. After all, it was built to safeguard a civilization and ever since there’s been a sense that anyone looking to get away from the world would find refuge here. But it is not a fortress city, nor is it a gilded cage: instead it is, as the indomitable art collector Peggy Guggenheim once said, a city of fantasy and freedom, of joy and of pleasure. 

More than any city, Venice is like an endangered species, a thing so rare that it could not possibly be replicated. Being here shouldn’t feel like being anywhere else. Venice deserves our time and energy, and the people living and working here deserve to be found amidst the noise. And doing it right is a lot easier than you think.

Here’s what you need to consider before you book that trip to Venice.

Consult the calendar before you book

One of the biggest (and most controversial) initiatives that the Venetian government has made to curb overcrowding is the implementation of an access fee for day visitors, ostensibly to protect the city. The fee is not applicable every day but when it is enforced, doing it online before you arrive saves you both time and money. If you’re staying in Venice overnight you won’t have to pay the fee but you’ll need to fill out an exemption form, which is also best done beforehand. For a full list of days when you’ll need to pay the access fee, consult the city of Venice website. 

Children under 14 are exempt but traveling as a family can get pricey, so plan your trip around the calendar and spend the money you save by not traveling in the peak on a fantastic meal from a local chef (there are many, we’ll get to that) instead.

Avoid the summer crowds (and the summer)

There’s probably a direct correlation between our appreciation for poetic surroundings and the level of humidity in the air, and the former surely decreases as the latter rises. Going any place in the wrong season is a shame, but in Venice it’s almost a crime. For while summertime might be the best time for you to travel, it isn’t really the optimal time to capture the essence of this city. And it isn’t just a question of overcrowding (though that too can easily ruin the vibe). Venice is fantastically bewitching, and the best time to immerse yourself in it is during the fall and winter months, when fog settles over the lagoon and the amber streetlights douse alleyways in an almost cinematically eerie glow. Even if it might rain, and even if the famous acqua alta might fill the streets a couple times a day, there’s a particular magic to Venice in the moody months. Visiting a place isn’t just about getting the best deal, it’s about seeing it in the best way.

Invest in your trip

Speaking of which, Venice is not, and never has been, a low-cost destination. Even if you’re not planning on high-ticket hotels and central cafes in Piazza San Marco, expect to spend more than the national average on accommodation, food, and transport whilst you’re in the city. 

However, the thrill of Venice is in discovering the small, family-run spots that will make you feel welcome in a way that no other place will ever match. If you can grab a bed at the Hotel Flora or Novecento Boutique Hotel consider yourself lucky: you’ll be welcomed and cared for by a multigenerational Venetian family in one of the coziest (and most central) corners of the city. And in Venice, where you stay can change everything about the experience you have. So while you may think that renting an apartment is the best way to “live like a Venetian”, doing so means missing the particular hospitality that allows you to feel something between a long lost cousin and an eccentric heir. More importantly, it perpetuates tourism gentrification, pricing both long-term and prospective residents out of the market and stripping popular destinations of the culture and community that makes you want to visit in the first place.

Take your time

It may feel like you’re stepping back in time, Venice is not a museum or a monument to the past. Treating it like a place to do a walk through and get the greatest hits from is one of the worst uses of your time, money, and energy; it also almost guarantees that you’ll have a disappointing experience. 

Instead, plan to spend a few days in the city – at least – and dedicate time to getting a feel for the city, and learning how people live in it. The architecture, climate, and labyrinth plan of Venice strongly discourages rushing, and the only thing you’ll quickly accumulate if you try to fit it all in on a muggy summer day is frustration. 

Stop, slow down, and enjoy the angles, the curves, and all the little details that make Venice so much more than the sum of its parts.

But don’t take up space

Venice is an undeniably narrow city. The same tiny alleyways that you find so charming are also used by families taking their children to school or elderly people going to get groceries, and there isn’t a grid system where people can just take a different route. 

Among the myriad ways that tourism can interfere with the daily lives of residents in popular destinations, a lack of spatial awareness is one of the most insidious and inconsiderate. In a place like Venice this is even more pronounced, and the domino effect that individual actions have on public spaces can be the difference between a pleasant stroll and a bottleneck. 

So yes, do enjoy the scenery but if you decide to take photos, have a look around you before you start snapping selfies. If there are people waiting to walk past you, and especially if those people have limited mobility or are trying to do their jobs (like the people who will transport your luggage so you don’t have to contend with all the stairs), give them space to move. 

Flow management is one of the biggest challenges to overtouristed destinations and our individual awareness of the space around us when we travel can make all the difference. 

Go local (and family run)

“In 2022, Venice was chosen by the Gambero Rosso, the food and wine guide, as the gastronomic city of the year. The food and wine scene here is better than ever,” says Benedetta Fullin, a native of Venice and the latest in a family of restaurateurs who has returned to the city after years abroad with big ideas and even bigger flavors. 

Fullin and her team are behind the Michelin starred Local, and it’s more casual sister, Trattoria del Local. Both offer inventive takes on Venetian classics, but more importantly, they’ve become anchors in the tenacious Castello neighborhood. “When I was a kid, we used to play in the streets of Castello. I wanted to find a way to bring some of that back.” If you find yourself in the Trattoria del Local on any given evening, you’ll see how well they’ve succeeded.

Venice truly has become a food city, thanks in large part to the persistence of local families and the emergence of passionate young chefs and sommeliers. One need only book a table at Rosa Rossa, the family restaurant now leaping into the future on the vision of its young chef Giammarco, to see why. 

If you need a little help choosing where to dine, consult the Ristoranti della Buona Accoglienza, a group of 19 restaurants located around the city that are all family run and dedicated to supporting the lagoon. Each has its own distinct character, and no matter where you go you’re guaranteed to come away feeling like you’ve had more than a meal. From the warmth of legendary Al Covo to the playful irreverence of Estro, there really is something for everyone and you’re guaranteed to avoid any form of tourist trap. Even in the heart of the city, great restaurants are everywhere once you know where to look.

Lose yourself (and find everything else)

 "Venice is an excellent place to get lost in, because you’re never really too far from anything but you’ll find the most beautiful spots you can imagine,” according to Simone Venturini, Deputy Mayor for Social Welfare, Tourism, Health and Economic Development for the City of Venice. 

It really is true, and once you abandon the idea of having to see it all, you might actually start to see it for real. There is a never-ending calendar of extraordinary events well beyond the Carnevale, Biennale, or Venice Film Festival. Instead, look for summer concerts in Piazza San Marco, the Festa del Redentore in July, the Regatta in September, the Festa della Salute in November or, if you’re lucky to be there once every four years, the Palio of the Ancient Maritime Republics. 

Events like these reflect the complexity of Venetian history as well as the enduring hold it has on all of our imaginations. Venice is, above all things, fiercely independent: no amount of money or influence has ever managed to conquer it, despite centuries of effort. 

Why I love Venice

The first time I came to Venice was also the first time I remember palpably feeling my heart ache. It was too beautiful for me to take in, too spectral for my mind to comprehend. I was a kid from New York, and all I knew of cities was unyielding concrete and unforgiving streets governed by a frenetic and often cruel velocity. That Venice could be a city, that it could exist at all, changed my mind before my eyes. Where modern cities depended on orderly lines, Venice was a city of curves; where the world seemed intent on building ever larger and more diffuse metropoles, Venice remained finite, concentrated, potent. 

Since then I have come back to Venice more times that I can count, and each time I come I am ever more enchanted. Its beauty has never become commonplace and I am never not stunned by how wholly it swallows me as soon as I set foot on that slightly swaying ground. But it took me quite a long time to feel attached to Venice, or rather a long time to feel as though I’d become more than one of an endless legion of visitors. Somewhere among those visits Venice started to notice me, to welcome me back warmly. Because Venice is a living thing and its power, the thing that makes it so unique, resides not in its grand palazzi but in its resilience. Venice, and the Venetians who choose to remain here as its guardians, are endowed with an almost supernatural love of their city, and it sustains them. This affection is a life raft in high tides and the high season, and once you’ve seen the city through these eyes, it becomes something much more than a collection of bridges and canals. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that “Venice is over”, just because you’ve seen outdated pictures of overcrowded bridges. Venice is as alive as ever.