Thinking about visiting Venice this fall but I keep hearing it's gotten way worse with crowds. Is it still worth going or should I skip it and try somewhere else in Italy? I'm flexible on dates if that helps avoid peak times.
Go in late October or November when summer tourists have left but it's still dry enough to enjoy the city - Venice does get packed in summer and around Easter, but shoulder season is genuinely quieter and the light's better anyway. If you're flexible on dates that's honestly your best card to play; most people who complain about crowds hit it in July-August or during major holidays.
If you can swing late October through early November, you'll dodge most of the chaos - I've found those months genuinely manageable for walking around without feeling like you're in a cattle pen. The trade-off is weather can be iffy, but honestly that's worth it compared to wading through summer crowds.
Venice's not actually as unbearable as the hype makes it sound - yes, the main squares get rammed, but the moment you wander even 2-3 blocks into the smaller calli and campos, you're basically alone. I went in early November a few years back and hit this tiny campo with a single café where I sat for hours with maybe 3 other people around; the vaporetto lines were short, the basilicas didn't have crushing crowds. The real lesson is just don't stick to the St. Mark's area thinking that's all Venice is. If you're flexible with dates, November is solid - weather's fine, prices drop, and you get actual Venice instead of the tourist gauntlet.
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