About 20 years in the past I learn a narrative on the charms of Venice in the winter. This previous December I witnessed them for myself. A gloriously clear day chilly sufficient to warrant a coat and gloves but brilliantly sunny—gentle shimmering on the water like Christmas baubles and a sky so blue that the tides appeared joyously excessive. Rainbows entered my suite at the beautiful Venice Venice Hotel; a snowy white heron perched itself on the railing of the balcony, seemingly as enchanted by the exercise on the canals as we have been; a pianist dressed in an extended printed cape that swept the ground performed into the night time.
We needed to do none of the issues that vacationers do, however we delighted in all the issues they delight in: the surprise of the gentle on the water, the domes and steeples, the birds that fly boldly and swiftly and much too near the tops of our heads. We shopped native designers and jewelers, and gazed spellbound at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco’s grand room, its ceiling, partitions, and ground in competitors for our consideration. We ate pasta and drank wine, and frolicked with artists and gallerists who have been making ready for the Biennale in May. We walked by means of palazzi and dreamed of changing them into vacation properties and accommodations; we ate on the terrace of the Gritti Palace and thought of how fortunate we have been to be there, particularly with out the crowds, in stunning climate, amongst the most charming and affected person and artistic Italians.
Venice is a humorous metropolis: steeped in historical past, its previous so alive and vibrant whilst it’s dragged into the future, unwillingly however gracefully. I really feel somewhat bit like that now, at the starting of this new 12 months—a lot to sit up for and but a lot familiarity and nostalgia and luxury holding me again. I left with a prayer and a want: to maneuver ahead with the identical quiet braveness and shimmer that Venice carries in the winter. May the journey forward really feel each exhilaratingly new and deeply, reassuringly recognized.
This article appeared in the March 2026 difficulty of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the journal here.