Venice is probably one of the most famous cities in the world, however, seeing it without tourists was a real treat. It is on everyone’s bucket list and usually, it is packed with thousands of tourists. On a normal year, it is not unusual to have up to 5 big cruise ships in port. Each one with 4-5 thousand passengers flooding the narrow streets and the bridges.

Venice Traffic jam - not without tourists.
Typical Traffic jam in Venice

This spring, 2020, as soon as the Italian Government lifted the lockdown we decided to take a trip to Venice to have a once in a lifetime experience to enjoy this magical city without tourists.

Walking Tour of Venice without Tourists

On the first day, we booked a walking tour of the Arsenale area of Venice with our tour guide Luisella. She showed us some less famous areas of the city that we did not see before. The Arsenale is the old shipyard of the Venetian Republica. It was here that they built the ships that sailed the al Mediterranean.

It was fantastic to be able to walk around the narrow streets of Venice without tourists. To be sure, the silence was quite magical. Above all, we had the opportunity to really soak in everything without being pushed around by thousands of people.

Gondola Ride!

We ended our tour in the Rialto area of Venice. Then, we decided to do something we have never done before, a gondola ride. Indeed, the Rialto area of Venice was without tourists as well. The canals were empty and then, Rick asked our gondolier if he could try to drive the gondola and he did – as you’ll see in the video!

Big Surprise In Venice Without Tourists

After dinner, we strolled back to St. Marks square, and boy we had a surprise. It flooded! We were not prepared for that. There was probably 25cm of water all over the piazza. Indeed, walking in the water was quite an experience that we will remember forever. Then, Rick decided to be brave, he took his shoes off and sat in the water! Meanwhile, I was taking tons of photos of the St. Marks Cathedral reflecting in the water.

That ended our first day in Venice without tourists. For the following day, we visited the islands of Burano and Murano that we will describe in part two.