December in Venice averages a daily maximum of 8.0 degrees C and a daily minimum of 2.6 degrees C, with about 79 mm of rain over roughly eight and a half wet days on the 1991 to 2020 reference period (Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2026). That makes it colder than November and a good deal drier, and it is the last of the three months in which the tide regularly floods the low ground: of the 324 tides of 110 cm or more recorded at Venice between 1872 and 2019, 79 fell in December (ISPRA, Comune di Venezia & CNR-ISMAR, 2026).
The trade is simple. Days are short, at about eight hours and forty minutes of daylight around the solstice, and fog is a normal part of the month rather than an oddity. In return there is no access fee anywhere in December 2026, museum queues are at their shortest, and the city keeps its own Christmas rather than a staged one.
This page sets out the December figures, how often and how high the tide runs, what fog and short days do to a sightseeing plan, what is confirmed for Christmas and New Year 2026, what the month costs, and what to bring.
What is the weather like in Venice in December?
On the 1991 to 2020 reference period, December in Venice averages a daily maximum of 8.0 degrees C and a daily minimum of 2.6 degrees C (Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2026). That is four and a half degrees colder by day than November and only about one degree warmer than January, so December sits firmly in winter for most of its length.
Rainfall is the part that surprises people. December averages about 79 mm over roughly 8.5 days that record 1 mm or more, well below November's 125 mm across 10.9 wet days and closer to the dry end of the year. Two or three of those wet days carry 10 mm or more, and the rest are light. Cold, rather than rain, is what you plan around: on the same reference period about 24 of the 31 days stay below 10 degrees C in the afternoon, and roughly six nights fall to freezing or below.
Recent Decembers have run warmer. In 2025 the month recorded the largest positive temperature anomaly of the year at the ISPRA station on the Lido, 1.9 degrees C above the 1991 to 2020 average for daily maxima, and it was also the driest month of that year, with 31 mm of rain on four days (ISPRA, 2026).
Does Venice flood in December?
Yes, and December is second only to November for it. Tide levels are measured against the Punta della Salute datum of 1897, and 80 cm above it is the level at which the lowest ground in Piazza San Marco begins to flood (ISPRA, 2026).
The long record is unambiguous. Of the 324 tides that reached 110 cm or more at Venice between 1872 and 2019, 107 fell in November and 79 in December, with October third at 45. Those two months hold more than half of the whole series. December also supplies seven of the 25 exceptional tides of 140 cm or more recorded in the same period, and it holds the third highest level ever measured in the city: 166 cm on 22 December 1979, behind 194 cm on 4 November 1966 and 189 cm on 12 November 2019. Late December carries more of this than early December, with 30 of the 79 events falling between the 20th and the 31st, among them 156 cm on 1 December 2008, 145 cm on Christmas Day 2009 and 144 cm on 23 December 2019 (ISPRA, Comune di Venezia & CNR-ISMAR, 2026).
The severe end of that range is now largely held back. Across the whole of 2025 no tide of 110 cm or more was recorded in the historic centre, while seven were measured at sea, and exceedances of 80 cm fell to 161 from 227 in 2024 (ISPRA, 2026).
Fog and short days: what December does to a sightseeing plan
Fog is a normal feature of the cold half of the year in the Po and Veneto plain, from October to March. Clear, still, high pressure nights cool the ground, moisture collects under a temperature inversion, and visibility drops below 1 km in a layer that can reach 200 or 300 m deep. Long winter nights help it form. Daytime sun usually erodes it by the middle of the day, though persistence over a whole day is one of the characteristics of this plain (ARPAV, 2003).
Daylight is the other constraint. Around the winter solstice Venice gets about 8 hours and 42 minutes between sunrise and sunset, against about 15 hours and 41 minutes in late June (Open-Meteo, 2026). The practical effect is that the sightseeing day ends in the late afternoon, and the main sites close with it.
Winter hours make that concrete. From 1 November to 31 March the Doge's Palace opens 09.00 to 18.00 with last admission at 17.00, and staff begin closing the rooms half an hour before the stated time (Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, 2026). St Mark's Basilica opens at 09.30 from Monday to Saturday, with last entry at 16.45 and closing at 17.15, while on Sundays and public holidays the basilica opens to visitors only at 14.00 (Procuratoria di San Marco, 2026). Plan the outdoor part of the day for the middle hours and keep the late afternoon indoors.
Christmas and New Year in Venice 2026
Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026 and New Year's Eve on a Thursday. The fixed point in the Venetian calendar is the New Year's Concert at Teatro La Fenice, which is performed four times: Tuesday 29 December 2026 at 20.00, Wednesday 30 December at 17.00, Thursday 31 December at 16.00 and Friday 1 January 2027 at 11.15, by the orchestra and chorus of the theatre. Tickets for the 2027 edition went on sale on 24 February 2026, and buyers are limited to four seats for the 1 January performance (Teatro La Fenice, 2026). The New Year's Day concert sells out first, and the three December dates are the realistic options.
For churchgoing and for visits, remember the holiday timetable. On Sundays and public holidays the basilica opens to visitors at 14.00 rather than 09.30, because the morning belongs to services, so 25 December and 1 January are afternoon visits at best (Procuratoria di San Marco, 2026).
The city's own Christmas programme, meaning the lights, the temporary markets and the seasonal exhibitions, is published by the Comune and the museums during late autumn, so a December 2026 list does not exist yet at the time of writing. Check the individual museum announcements pages for holiday hours before you fix a date, since these change from year to year.
How busy is Venice in December, and what does it cost?
December carries no access fee. The 2026 calendar applied the day visitor charge on 60 days only, from 3 April to 26 July, between 08.30 and 16.00, at 5.00 EUR for visitors who paid at least four days ahead and 10.00 EUR for those who paid later, and it never covered Murano, Burano or Torcello. No date after 26 July 2026 carries the charge, so a December day trip costs nothing to enter (Venice Visit Pass, 2026). Any application in 2027 needs a fresh decision by the Comune.
Transport costs the same in December as in August, because ACTV fares do not vary by season. A single 75 minute Rete Unica ticket is 9.50 EUR, the Venezia Daily Pass is 25.00 EUR, and the multi-day tickets run 35.00 EUR for two days, 45.00 EUR for three and 65.00 EUR for seven. Travellers aged 6 to 29 can buy the Rolling Venice three day ticket for 27.00 EUR. Airport supplements of 7.00 to 13.00 EUR apply on top of the multi-day tickets (ACTV, 2026).
Museum prices are also flat. The San Marco museums ticket covering the Doge's Palace, Museo Correr, the National Archaeological Museum and the Marciana library rooms is 35.00 EUR full and 15.00 EUR reduced, dropping to 30.00 EUR when bought online more than thirty days ahead (Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, 2026). What falls in December is the queue and the room rate, with the Christmas week the exception.
What to pack for Venice in December
Pack for 8.0 degrees C in the afternoon and 2.6 degrees C after dark, with about six nights at or below freezing over the month (Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2026). Damp cold on a lagoon feels colder than the same reading inland, so bring a proper winter coat, a hat and gloves, and layer underneath rather than relying on one heavy garment.
Footwear matters more than a raincoat. December is drier than November, so the everyday problem is cold stone and standing water rather than steady rain. Waterproof shoes with a warm lining and a second pair to rotate will do more for the trip than anything else you carry. Rubber boots are worth buying locally only if a high tide is actually forecast for your dates, and they are sold across the city whenever one is coming.
Add a scarf for the open vaporetto decks, where the wind off the water is the coldest part of any December day, and a compact umbrella for the calli. Because darkness arrives in the late afternoon, an offline map and a charged phone earn their place. Finally, check the ISPRA tide forecast the evening before each day: it publishes daily predictions for Punta della Salute and the other lagoon stations, which is enough warning to reorder a morning.
Is December a good time to visit Venice?
It is, for a traveller who treats cold and darkness as the price of an empty city. December gives you no access fee, short queues at the San Marco museums, low season room rates outside the Christmas week, and the New Year's Concert at La Fenice on four dates rather than one (Teatro La Fenice, 2026; Venice Visit Pass, 2026).
The costs are real and worth stating plainly. Daylight runs to under nine hours around the solstice, fog is normal from October to March and can sit over the lagoon all day, and December is second only to November in the long record of tides above 110 cm (Open-Meteo, 2026; ARPAV, 2003; ISPRA, Comune di Venezia & CNR-ISMAR, 2026). Winter hours shorten every visit, and on Sundays and holidays the basilica is an afternoon proposition only.
The way to make the month work is to build the day around the light. Do the walking and the outdoor stretches between late morning and mid afternoon, book the indoor sites for the end of the day, and keep one wet or foggy day spare in the plan. Tides above 80 cm cover the lowest ground for a few hours around the peak and then drain, walkways go down on the main routes when levels warrant it, and the public boats keep running. An itinerary you can reorder beats one you have to keep.
