Why you should visit Venice out of season

27 February 2015 - 00:11 By Anthony Horowitz
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Venice is beautiful at any time of year but going in winter has some added allure, writes Anthony Horowitz. He recommends where to stay, which restaurants visit and what to do while you're visiting in this Italian city

I have a problem writing about Venice. How can I describe it with any originality when everyone is so familiar with it? Even if you've never been there, you probably know what to expect in the same way that everyone knows Stonehenge, or the Mona Lisa. Nor can I even advise you to visit this palazzo or that museum. Everywhere you go in Venice is jaw-droppingly beautiful: every square, every street, every bridge and every canal. It's a city where you could miss all the main tourist attractions and still have a wonderful stay.

Venice is at it's best out of season

For years now, I've been visiting between October and February.

This is when Venice is at its absolute best. Gone are the heaving crowds of tourists, the ridiculous selfie-sticks, the traffic jams of gondolas, the queues for the Doge's Palace (pictured below) and the Campanile. Yes, one or two restaurants may be closed and you have to wait longer for a water bus. But, trust me, Venice offers the perfect winter escape.

 

You can be unlucky with the weather but I've often sat outside in the middle of January, sipping my Aperol cocktail and looking across the lagoon to Giudecca, a glorious view with the sunlight dazzling and the colours slightly muted, sometimes with a wintry mist that makes it more Monet than Canaletto.

St Mark's Square is always astonishing, but try it at night when you walk through it alone with all the arcades lit up and the sky jet black. It's like starring in your own Fellini film. Gondolas may be pricey at €80 (R1 000) for half-an-hour, but they are worth it when there's not another boat in sight and shimmering reflections of the city all around you.

Cultural activities to try

When I'm in Venice, I walk. I love the area around the Arsenal, once the biggest shipbuilding centre in the world, and from there I dip into Castello. Only about a quarter of a million people live in Venice but this area, with the washing hanging out over the narrow streets, feels truly inhabited but is surprisingly quiet, even in summer. I love the tiny canals and walkways in the Dorsoduro, where you'll find one of my favourite art galleries in the world, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, with its modern paintings and sculpture garden.

This year, for the first time, I went to the opera at La Fenice (pictured below) - entirely rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. I enjoyed everything about it, starting with the neoclassical façade which suddenly appeared at the end of a dark alleyway. That's one of the things I love about Venice, the way you are constantly being surprised. Turn a corner, cross a bridge and - bang! It hits you between the eyes. When I first stumbled across the church of San Moisè with its elaborate, white façade, the whole thing lit up at night, I was transfixed. Canova's tomb at the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari is the same: you have to look twice just to believe what you're seeing.

 

Some critics have called La Fenice kitsch but I wafted through, following the salmon-pink carpets and colonnades into an auditorium both majestic and intimate. Opera isn't for everyone but there's something special about seeing high art in such lovely surroundings, then stepping out into the city. Sensibly, the opera starts at 7pm, giving you time for dinner afterwards.

Recommended restaurants

It's taken me many visits to work out how to eat in Venice. In my view, almost all the restaurants are mediocre: bright lights, tables packed tightly together, food that is never more than so-so. But there are three or four places that never let me down. Osteria ai 4 Feri is small and shabby, just off Campo San Barnaba, but the pasta is fantastic. After lunch, I head to nearby Grom for the best ice cream in Italy.

I'm fond of Trattoria da Remigio in Castello as it's traditional and authentic. Next door, Osteria Oliva Nera is a little pricier and more elegant for dinner: fantastic lasagne and don't miss the fried zucchini flowers with mozzarella. But my favourite place in Venice - I like it so much I'm tempted not to share it - is the Vini al Bottegon near the Guggenheim. It's not even a restaurant but a wine bar with no seats. You stand in two antiquated rooms or drift outside and sip prosecco with Venetian snacks - cicchetti. It's lovely, with the church of San Trovaso opposite and Venice's oldest gondola factory just down the canal.

Where to stay

If you don't want to fork out for one of the grand hotels, there are plenty of smaller, attractive options. Pensione Accademia in the Dorsoduro has a lovely, romantic courtyard on a corner where two canals meet, though the rooms are small. La Calcina is a charming, family-run hotel on the Giudecca Canal. It's quiet and has outstanding views. Both can be reached by water taxi - which you can pick up at the airport. The journey is pricey at €105 (R1 354) but worth it. And if you're coming for the first time, your first sight of Venice from the water will be something you'll never forget.

The more adventurous option is to rent your own apartment. Views on Venice (viewsonvenice.com) offers everything from studio flats to an entire palazzo.

What to read before you go

Finally, two books that will tell you more than I ever could. Peter Ackroyd has written a superb history of the city - informative to the point of being exhausting. And, part of a series, Secret Venice by the French publisher Thomas Jonglez, is one to carry with you. From underwater crypts to the Nazi HQ, it makes Venice more fantastic than you can believe- and with this city, that's saying a lot. - ©The Sunday Telegraph

Exchange rates correct at time of publication.

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