Venice

Venice is a busy tourist destination all year round, apart from January; that’s the time to visit if you want the city to yourself in all its misty, ghostly glory. From November to February, and occasionally at other times of the year too, acqua alta (high water) sees the city flooding from water coming up through the paving stones.

It’s jammed for the Carnivale (the two weeks prior to Lent). July is hot, but the Redentore festival on the third weekend, with a sea of boats in St. Mark’s Bay and a stunning fireworks display, is worth the trip. Forget August unless the beach appeals.

May and September are idyllic thanks to clement weather, and the Film Festival is an added bonus in early September.

Marco Polo Airport, Venice’s international gateway, is just north (4 miles) of the city. The easiest way to get to the city from the airport is via the ATVO bus, which stops at Piazzale Roma on the west of the city.

Alternatively, a taxi to Piazzale Roma costs around EUR30. If you’re staying on the eastern side, near San Marco, consider the Alilaguna waterbus.

Due to the city’s diminutive size – you can walk from one side to another in under an hour – and its extraordinary beauty, the best way to get around is on foot (cars are banned). Get a copy of Calli, Campielli e Canali, the only comprehensive map of this labyrinthine city. But at 22cm x 23cm, it’s too big for pockets. Smaller but also accurate is the Italian Touring Club’s 1:5000 Venezia map.

Otherwise, vaporetti (waterbuses) depart from stops throughout the city. For crossing the Grand Canal (there are only four bridges), there are traghetti – public gondolas rowed by two oarsmen that shuttle back and forth at various points. No need for a ticket; you pay the boatman as you board.

Water taxis, available throughout the city and at the airport, are exorbitantly expensive but fast and fun. They’ll also drop you exactly where you want to go.

Venice is small, so rather than stay near the two central hubs of Piazza San Marco and Rialto – both of which are disagreeably touristy – consider the quieter districts.

Castello is truly popolare (local), with a little market on Saturday mornings at Via Garibaldi and washing still strung across the narrow streets.

Lively bars, some with music, line the long canals of Cannaregio, making the area a favourite with younger visitors.

Dorsoduro, home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and Punto della Dogana contemporary art space, is classy and cultured.

In Venice, it pays to steer clear of the most touristy areas to avoid inflated prices and mediocre food.

Instead, wander through some of the quieter neighbourhoods (along the Fondamenta Misericordia in northern Canareggio, in and around Via Garibaldi in Castello, the area in and around the Zattere in Dorsoduro) to find places where Venetians go to eat and drink.

Venetian resident Monica’s blog about life and food in Venice is a reliable and interesting source of information about the city, and has excellent foodie recommendations.

A fun way to enjoy the ciccheti tradition and to sample the wide variety on offer is to take a ciccheti crawl.

The major international A-list brands such as Gucci and Chanel cluster around Piazza San Marco. A colony of Venetian artisans has set up shop in Castello, near Campo alla Bragora.

Higher up the luxury scale are the galleries, Murano glass and homewares stores close to Palazzo Grassi in the area known as San Samuele.