Venice in the summer is a cliched destination, swarming with tourists and mosquitoes. Visit the floating city during winter months, and you’ll have the streets — and canals — all to yourself. Pack your wellies (it can flood in the mornings during high tide), bundle up and prepare to be smitten.

For a true Venetian experience, check into the historic Bauer Hotel. Arrive by gondola (or water taxi) and make sure to wake up in time for the buffet breakfast.

Also ideally located near St. Mark’s Square is the luxurious, old-worldly Hotel Londra Palace.

Opt for something even more romantic at the fully modernized Ca Maria Adele, a twelve-room hotel within the walls of a 15th-century palazzo.

The simple, fresh ingredients at Corte Sconta make the out-of-the-way seafood restaurant one of our favourites. (Don’t miss sharing the mixed seafood platter and pasta.) Or dress up and treat yourself to dinner at Michelin-starred Da Fiore, a Venetian tavern.

If it’s meat you’re craving, Trattoria da Arturo serves succulent cuts and the best tiramisu in the city. (It’s tiny and very popular, so make sure you reserve a table.)

Don’t leave without having (overpriced) coffee in the beautiful Il Caffe Florian overlooking St. Mark’s Square.

Art lovers swoon over French collector François Pinault’s two contemporary art museums, Punta della Dogana and Palazzo Grassi …

… as well as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, located in her former home on the water.

Book a secret tour of Doge’s Palace, former home of the Venetian ruler and government, to view back passages and hidden rooms, including Casanova’s holding cell.

Then jump on a Vaporetto (water bus) and ride up the Grand Canal. It’s cheaper, quicker and warmer than a gondola.