Venice in July: the best things to do and see

The art cities are often visited during the mid seasons, but there is no off- season in Venice. In July we are in the middle of the summer; it means hot, long days and open air. Apart from the classic expositions, museums and palaces, July can entertain the inhabitants and the tourists with a lot of opportunities for everyone.

Things to do in Venice in July

July is one of the favourite months of venetian people, that are looking forward to celebrate the Festa del Redentore with their family. This is also the period when the vacations start both for workers and students.

Weather in Venice in July

As you know, in July in Italy it cuold be really hot; in Venice the temperatures can exceed 30 degrees. What makes the situation more difficoult it is the fact that there is a lot of humidity. This is more marked in the city rather than the country side.

If you do not suffer the heat, July allows you to spend long days walking throug the streets of Venice, without umbrellas or boots for the acqua alta. So, the first thing to do is enjoy a walk through the calli !

Temperature in Venice in July

Peculiarity: the narrowest calli of Venice

If you want to spend your holiday walking outdoor, we suggest you to find out the narrowest calli of Venice.
There are more than 3000 calli in Venice, that are surrounded by buildings, and they are different dimensions long, short, wide, narrow, stifling, dark, lit.
But we would like to suggest you to visit the narrowests of the city.
You can’t miss the opportunity to visit these 3 streets, the narrowests and most peculiar of Venice:

• Calle Varisco is the narrowest street of Venice, it is only 53 cm wide and a person can barely walk through. It is halfway between Rialto bridge and Fondamenta Nove. It is not so simple to find it because not all the maps show it, we suggest you to ask someone when you are in Campo San Canciano.
• Calesela dell’Occhio Grosso  is only 5 cm wider than Calle Varisco, that is 58 cm. It is close to the Arsenale and Church of San Martino.
• Calle Stretta  is only 65 cm wide, we can consider it as a large calle compared to the other two. It is located in San Polo and links Campiello Albrizzi to the Sottoportico della Furatola.

These streets represent the real Venice, the authentic and less touristic one. In fact in these areas  you can see where the real venetian people live. If you are claustrophobic we suggest you just to take some photo and not trying to walk through them.

Things to do in July in Venice

As an alternative, you can have a unique and unrepeatable moment: a Gondola ride. If you  want to have a low cost holiday, you could prefer the typical boat: ferry boats of Venice public transport service.

Another things that you have to do in July is a dive into the sea and Venice can fill this need. The city has free beaches and beach resorts on the island of Venice Lido, that separate the Adriatic see from the lagoon. Why don’t you take a break to cool off? To know more about this read the article beaches of Venice and surroundings.
Another trip out of town it is the tour of the islands of Venice to discover other places and traditions of the venetian territory.

And in the evening…

On July, as on the rest of the summer time, you want to spend more time with friends all night long. In Venice there are no disco, but there are a lot of pub and bar. Actually, the real venetian nightlife takes place during the hours of the aperitif at the “bacari” (typical venetian bar). A tour of bacari is a must for whom who visit this city. The typical thing to order during the tour is the spritz, a cocktail with withe wine and Aperol. For the most greedies, with your spritz you should order some cicheti – the typical Venetian finger food.

Venice events in July

There are a lot of appointments in July: there are temporary art expositions, events dedicated to sportsmen, outdoor concerts in the fields, festivals in the islands and nights where the museums are open. The complete calendar of these events can be consulted on the official website of Comune di Venezia.

Moreover, the city of Venice hosts one of the most important events of the year, Festa del Redentore.

Festa del Redentore

The Festa del Redentore is one of the most important fest of Venice, and it is attended by tourists, commuters and local people.

It is held every year on the third Sunday of the month and celebrates the healing of the city from the plague in 1577. It was built a huge building, the Chiesa del Redentore, that every year is linked to Piazza San Marco with a bridge made by boats.

But the most important attraction of the event are the fireworks that take place on Saturday evening.The show is very evocative, because the coloured explosions create wonderful reflections on San Marco Basin. Local people tend to watch this event by boat.

To know more about this important occasion and discover some useful tips about how to take part in read our post on the Festa del Redentore in Venice.

Festivals and concerts

Every months there are numerous eno-gastronomic events. This is because Venetian people love food, good wine and good company!!! July is the best month for local festivals and thanks to the hot evenings the party can go on until late in the night, here you can find a complete list of food-related events:

• Festa di San Piero de Casteo takes place between June and July, in the unic field with grass in Venice in front of the Church San Piero. The gastronomic stand offers typical venetian food like bigoi in salsa, mixed fried fish, pasta e fasioi (pasta with beans) and other specialities. During the festival there is also good live music played by cover band.
• During the months of June and July there is also the fest of San Piero in Volta, in the island Pellestrina, famous for being the island of fishermen, in the gastronomic stands you can taste typical fish dishes.
• In the same island, in the first days of July there is another fest, the Festival of Sant’Antonio
• Festa della Madonna di Marina di Malamocco takes place on mid-July, in Piazza Maggiore and Piazzale Malamocco (Venice Lido). There are street markets, handicrafts exhibitions, music, dance, theater, fireworks and the final bingo. Moreover, from here the Malamocco Regatta can be seen.
• Charity Fest in San Giacomo da l’Orio takes place in the same name field (Sestiere Santa Croce), at the end of the months, a stage is set up, where the best bands of the area show off, and a gastronomic stand offer grilled meat and good wine.

 

And then there is the possibility to drink a spritz at sunset aboard of a wonderful boat to experience a unique excursion passing by St. Mark’s Square!

Tips for Venice

For you visit of Venice in July, the only problem could be the sticky days. We suggest you to avoid queuing in museums and monuments during the hottest hours of the day, and spend this time of the day walking throug calli which are always in semidarkness, thanks to the height of the palaces.

Alterntively, you can also visit the less famous Churches or palaces (without queueing at the entry) to protect yourself from the hot weather, since in the old building the perceived temperature is lower .

Some names of the building that we suggest you to visit are:

• Basilica di San Marco
• Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paolo
• Church San Zaccaria
• Basilica del Santissimo Redentore
• Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute
• Santa Maria dei Miracoli
• Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore

Also with an organized guide tour, you can take a complete tour of the “Golden Basilica”.

The Tourist Guide will describe the biblical scenes that represent the history and characteristics of this ancient basilica. A suggestive tour in St. Mark’s Square with entrance ticket to the St. Mark’s Church is waiting for you!

In the city there are a lot of drinkable fountains, where you can have a rest. However you must not get wet too much and you never have to walk shirtless or with the bikini. It is really considered to be rude and you can be even fined. If you want to dive into the water of the canals do not do it, because even for this reason you can be fined and in addition it is not even hygenic.

Other tips that we want to give you are:

• to book in advance the hotel or b&b and the dinner table at the restaurants;
• to use only comfortable shoes, because in Venice you have to walk a lot;
• to buy the skip the queue ticket in order to waste less time queueing for get into the museums and monuments;
• to bring with you a comfortable bag or backpack to put a bottle of fresh water, because you will feel the need to drink a lot and around the area of San Marco the price for a bottle of water are unbelievable.