Italy Advisor

Venice Carnevale is Italy’s top carnival event, meaning the “mardi gras” festivity or Shrove Tuesday. Remember if you are in Italy that Carnevale lasts several weeks and that Carnevale dates change every year, but it will be Shrove Tuesday that means forty days before Easter.
During carnival period, Venice is full of masks and characters, loads of entertainment opportunity, and food stalls in the various “piazze” or “ca” (street as they called it in Venetian dialect).
Visiting Venice during the Carnevale Season is an immense fun, but it is an holiday that needs to be planned ahead. Why? Hotels often charge high season prices during Carnevale. There’s lots of fab public entertainment, especially starting in early evening. The main attraction is for sure the people in the streets, all dressed up in their elaborate costumes and masks. You can join them and hang out all over the piazzas.

The best Carnevale experience? Of course it is when you join the crew and  wear a costume or a mask yourself!
Where to find the main events? Around Piazza San Marco, but do not forget to check the programme: Carnevale events takes place also in every “Sestiere”. The final  fireworks show are in Piazza San Marco, though, and it is the peak of the Carnevale season for real!!!
In the evening , you can reach a party or a masked balls inside the manifold hotels. But you have to know that the attendance at a ball, plus a wonderful costume, can costs you about 500 euro. And you need to book  ahead.
Stay in Venice from the Wednesday through the Saturday prior to Carnevale to avoid the biggest crowds if you are a family or old. But enjoy the madness of Tuesday instead, if you feel like merging yourself completely in the Venice Carnevale!!

This entry was posted on Friday, November 18th, 2011 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Events in Italy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.