Wet Venice before MSC Preziosa

Venice, one of the world wide acclaimed cities of stunning views and romance. Well I have just visited Venice for a pre cruise stay before embarking MSC Preziosa and I can now formally announce Venice has another accolade, inland scuba diving capital of Europe.

After a well organised water taxi from Marco Polo airport and a very short walk to the hotel I saw many people walking around in brightly colored plastic boots covering their feet. We thought this was just an Italian fashion however our concierge informed us that at this time if the year the tides are high and a good proportion of Venice floods and can be upto 5 inches of water.

At about 9 pm what can only be described as an air raid siren bellowed around Venice, which was a warning to locals and tourists alike that the floods were on their way. From walking in the relative dry we turned onto St Marks Square, usually a picturesque plaza with shops, beautiful architecture and cafés to find the while square under water.

The Venetian authorities have raised walkways to combat this but as you can see from the pictures, it was much more fun wading through the water. So if you are planning to visit Venice in November and December you’re first purchase will be these boots to keep you nice and dry.

Apart from the flooded areas Venice itself is a wonderful place to visit for a long weekend or even, like we did, a one or two night pre cruise stay.  The gondoliers were very busy however it was 100 Euros for about an hours punt through the canals of Venice.  There were plenty of restaurants hidden in and around the maze that is Venice Island and you do have to look round to see which are the best.

Even the locals took the flooding light heatedly and we even found a bar with Wellington Boots beer glasses.  Venice is a magical place to visit, however pick what time of the year, if you don’t mind the floods then Winter is for you.