Best time to visit Venice

Cool, often crisp days arrive between damp fronts, with low winter sun cutting across the lagoon at striking angles. It's mild enough for long walks through Cannaregio and Castello, with mostly empty calli (medieval streets) to stroll through.

Morning fog frequently settles across the lagoon and the inner canals. Gondolas emerge from the mist, San Giorgio Maggiore's silhouette softens to a watercolour, and the city takes on an eerie, dreamlike quality.

Castradina, the slow-cooked mutton and savoy cabbage stew with polenta, is the local dish of the season. Rooted in a 16th-century pact with the Dalmatian coast during the plague years, it's served only in winter at Venetian trattorie.

La Fenice's opera season is in full flow. Catching a performance in what is one of Europe's most ornate theatres is a cultural anchor of any Venetian winter visit.

Carnevale di Venezia takes over the city across the two weeks before Shrove Tuesday. Elaborate costumes, masked balls in private palazzi, and processions across the Piazza San Marco. In this case, the crowds add to the transporting spectacle.

The Carnival delicacy of frittelle veneziane appear in every pasticceria. The cream-, raisin- or zabaione-filled fried dough is the city's defining seasonal pastry - best from historic spots like Tonolo or Rosa Salva.

Spring arrives gradually, with milder days and rainfall easing. Light becomes longer and warmer across the lagoon, with sunsets pouring extraordinary colour into the water around the Salute.

The Rialto market shifts into spring. Sant'Erasmo's castraure, lagoon scallops and the first wild asparagus from the Veneto mainland transform osterie menus across the city.

The first warm afternoons return. Aperitivi spill out onto Campo Santa Margherita's edges and the Zattere promenade.

The Festa di San Marco on 25 April honours Venice's patron saint. The Doge's bouquet (bocolo) is presented by men to the women in their lives, and the Piazza fills with locals - this is the city of canals at its most authentic.

Wisteria drapes over palazzo walls and hidden Dorsoduro gardens. The city briefly turns purple in courtyards along the Grand Canal - a fleeting two-week window worth seeking out.

Torcello's basilica and the lagoon's oldest church reveal their best light. Cycling, walking or boating around the marsh-lined islands is well worth it, with the 11th-century mosaics among Italy's finest.

Warm, dry days settle in with very little rain. Long evenings make terrace dinners along the Zattere, the Fondamenta Nuove or the Giudecca a true Venetian summer prelude.

The Vogalonga (last Sunday of May) sees thousands of participants traverse 30km across the lagoon. Gondolas, kayaks, dragon boats and traditional Venetian craft pass Burano, Murano and Torcello - a must-see from any waterfront.

Soft-shell crabs (moeche) come into their spring season. Fried in egg batter and served whole, they're a distinctive Venetian dish that appears for just a few weeks each spring and again in autumn.

The Festa di San Pietro di Castello celebrates the original cathedral of Venice with three days of music, food stalls and processions in a corner of Castello most tourists never reach.

The Rialto market peaks for summer seafood. Branzino, orata, vongole, capesante and the lagoon's distinctive go (goby) fish all turn up at their freshest - best understood with a guided market visit before lunch.

White peaches, the first apricots and lagoon-grown salicornia (samphire) all appear at markets and on osterie menus. Bigoli in salsa with a glass of Soave Classico is the simple but defining Venetian lunch for early summer.

Days get hot and humid in the city, with temperatures considerably more bearable on the Lido and out across the lagoon. The water around Venice itself shimmers in extraordinary summer light, particularly at golden hour.

The Festa del Redentore is Venice's defining summer festival. A 330-metre pontoon bridge connects the Zattere to Giudecca's Palladian church, and the Saturday-night fireworks across the basin are among Italy's most spectacular.

Gondoliers shift to summer rhythm, with night rides through quieter Cannaregio and Castello canals at their most atmospheric. Booking a private gondolier is well worth the cost.

The hottest, most humid stretch of the year settles in. Early-morning vaporetto (water bus) rides across the lagoon and late evenings on rooftop terraces become the most rewarding ways to experience the city.

Ferragosto sees Venice's residents head to the Lido and Pellestrina for the day. Join the locals at a traditional beach club for grilled fish, watermelon and afternoon swims for a real Italian holiday.

Sant'Erasmo's late-summer harvest peaks. The island's artichokes, tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines all turn up at the Rialto.

The first hints of autumn light arrive towards month's end. Late-afternoon golden hour stretches across San Marco's basin and the Grand Canal in the colour photographers chase all year.

The Regata Storica (first Sunday of September) is the Grand Canal's defining annual event. A historical procession of 16th-century boats, costumed crews and the Doge's bucintoro precedes traditional gondolino races down the canal.

Lagoon scallops, and the first new-season seafood return to osterie menus. Risotto al gò, sarde in saor and bigoli in cassopipa appear in their autumnal forms.

Mild, atmospheric days arrive with the first autumn light. The lagoon takes on a melancholic, painterly quality - this is the Venice that has inspired painters and authors for centuries.

Rain becomes more frequent, but the rewards are atmospheric: dramatic skies, dramatic light and the empty calli that define autumn Venice.

Late-autumn moeche (soft-shell crabs) return for their second annual season. Join lagoon fishermen, or ‘moecante’ for a private boat trip and a window into this distinctly Venetian trade.

The acqua alta season hits its annual peak. High tides flood Piazza San Marco's lower paving and the lower calli of Castello and Dorsoduro for a few hours at a time. This can complicate travel plans but elevated walkways do help.

The Festa della Madonna della Salute is Venice's most heartfelt local festival, with locals in candlelit procession across a temporary pontoon bridge connecting San Marco to the Salute basilica.

Without the summer day-trippers, Burano’s pastel houses, the leaning campanile, the lacemakers and the trattoria Venissa all come back into focus.

Cool, mild days arrive between damp fronts, with sunny stretches feeling more pleasant than expected for northern Italy, perfect for a morning walk along the mist-draped canals.

New Year's Eve fireworks across the basin of San Marco are truly spectacular. Watch from a private boat or terrace to see the year out in dazzling Venetian fashion.

The Mercatini di Natale appear across Campo Santo Stefano and Campo San Polo. More modest than Alpine markets but truly Venetian, with mulled wine, Murano-glass ornaments and Burano-lace gifts.