Does Venice Smell Bad? When It Does, And When It Doesn't

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Mostly, no.

Venice smells like salty, briny lagoon air.

You might catch a stronger odor at a very low tide, beside a drained canal, or on a hot, windless afternoon, but it fades as soon as you walk away from the water.

I say that after no less than 53 separate trips to Venice.

Yes, I counted.

For years I’ve joked that I’ve been to Venice “probably 50 times.” Turns out I wasn’t joking.

To be perfectly frank, I’ve been so often that I don’t register a smell anymore.

But even on my early trips, before my nose had any chance to get used to it, Venice never smelled like much of anything to me.

I have had travelers tell me they can smell it. Not often. But it happens.

So the smell is real enough that people keep asking.

Here’s what it is, when you’re most likely to notice it, and why a city that never built a modern sewer smells far better than you’d expect.

This is an image of the front cover to The Purposely Lost's My Travel Planner.

A canal in Venice, where visitors often wonder does Venice smell, bordered by yellow buildings and a small boat moored along the wall.

What does Venice smell like?

Like the sea.

Venice sits in the middle of a lagoon, so the air is salty and briny, the way any seaside town smells on a breezy day.

Winter is my favorite version.

When fog settles over the lagoon, the air turns thick and damp and the whole city goes quiet.

Walking through it feels like moving through a dream. It’s pretty incredible.

If you’re picturing an open sewer, I’m sorry to disappoint you. Or relieve you. Depends on why you’re asking.

A quiet canal in Venice, where one might wonder if it smells, is lined by historic buildings and brick walls with a few small boats moored along the water.

When does Venice smell?

When it does happen, it’s almost always at a very low tide, on a hot, still day, beside a drained canal, or near overflowing trash bins in a crowded square.

(And yes, each of those gets its own section below.)

And then there’s the human factor.

Most of my travelers never mention a smell. A few do.

I’ve started to wonder if you need a particularly sensitive nose to notice it at all.

I don’t know the answer, but I find it interesting that two people can stand on the same bridge and have completely different experiences.

View from a boat of the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice during a day trip from Florence, with people walking across the bridge and various boats on the water.

Does Venice smell in summer?

A little more than the rest of the year, but less than the internet would have you believe.

If you notice anything, it’ll likely be on a hot, still afternoon in one of the small side canals.

Step back onto a wide waterfront with a breeze and it’s gone.

The bigger summer issue is the heat and the crowds.

Temperatures can reach around 95°F (35°C), and the humidity makes it feel hotter.

When you need a break, duck into a church or museum; my rainy day guide to Venice works just as well for escaping the heat.

Gondolas moored at wooden posts along a canal in Venice, where visitors often wonder does Venice smell, lined by historic buildings under a cloudy sky.

Does Venice smell in winter?

Here’s the plot twist: if Venice is going to smell, winter is a strong candidate.

Not because of the cold, but because of the tides.

Very low tides. In mid-winter, high atmospheric pressure plus the moon’s cycle can pull the water unusually low.

In February 2023, some of the smaller canals nearly dried up, leaving boats sitting in mud and gondolas unable to pass (AP).

Exposed canal mud is the most likely source of the smell people talk about. It lasts a few hours, until the tide comes back.

High tides. The opposite happens too. Acqua alta (literally “high water”) is when the tide rises high enough to flood the lowest streets, mostly from autumn through winter.

Since October 2020, mobile flood barriers called MOSE have been raised at the lagoon’s three inlets whenever the tide is forecast above about 110 cm (IET).

St. Mark’s Square is the lowest point in the city, so it can still flood on tides below that, and glass barriers now protect the front of the Basilica (ArchDaily).

None of that should keep you away. The winter fog alone is worth the trip. If you’re on the fence, here are 21+ reasons to visit Venice in winter.

A narrow canal in Venice, where one might wonder if the city has a distinct smell, flows between weathered buildings toward a small arched bridge.

Why does Venice smell? The Causes

You’ve probably heard it: “The canals are basically an open sewer.”

It’s the rumor behind this whole question.

And it’s not entirely wrong, which is the fun part.

Here’s what’s actually behind the occasional smell.

A narrow canal in Venice, where one might wonder if Venice smells, flows between a brick building and a pink one bearing a sign for “Fondamenta de la Madonna de l’Orto.”

Algae

Algae grows fastest in hot, sunny, calm weather, especially in the shallow side canals.

That’s where a musty smell is most likely in summer.

A breeze or the next tide usually clears it.

A brick church in a Venetian square with a trash can overflowing with litter in the foreground, making one wonder if Venice smells.

Garbage

Another smell that visitors may encounter is the smell of garbage.

With so many visitors, bins in the busiest squares can fill up faster than they’re emptied, especially in peak season.

That’s when you might catch a whiff of trash.

Use the bins, and if they’re full, hold on to it until you find one that isn’t.

And really, please don’t leave your empty gelato cup on someone’s windowsill or on the side of a bridge.

A gondola moored at a stone dock in front of a pink building in Venice, a city where visitors often wonder if the water does Venice smell.

Sewage System

Venice never built a modern, centralized sewer.

Records of the city’s drainage system go back to the 1400s, and a network of old drain channels under the streets still carries wastewater out to the canals.

Digging a modern sewer under a city built on wooden piles and water was never realistic.

So in the 1990s the city chose a different route: small purification plants scattered through the historic center instead of one big system (archinfo, Barbara Motta).

Today Venice has more than 7,000 septic tanks, where bacteria break down waste before the water reaches a canal, but some older buildings still drain straight into the canals untreated (archinfo).

A flooded stone walkway along a canal in Venice, where the water occasionally makes one wonder does Venice smell, with a view of a church dome across the water.

Tides

So why doesn’t the city reek?

The tide.

Twice a day it pushes clean seawater in from the Adriatic and pulls the old water back out through the lagoon.

Think of it as the city’s own flush, running on the moon’s schedule since the Middle Ages.

That’s also why the smell shows up when it does.

Very low water, no breeze, or a canal cut off from the tide means the flush isn’t doing its job for a few hours.

A green motorboat carries three people across the Venetian lagoon, where some wonder if Venice smells, with St. Mark’s Campanile and the Doge’s Palace in the background.

Venetian Canals

The canal water isn’t stagnant; the tide exchanges it twice a day.

What it does carry is boat traffic, and motorboats leave a bit of fuel and oil behind.

On a busy canal you’re more likely to smell an outboard motor than anything else.

Two people in a motorboat navigate a narrow canal in Venice, where visitors often wonder if Venice smells, passing historic buildings and temporary metal flood barriers.

Drained for Repairs

Yes, they clean the canals, I’ve watched them do it.

When a canal needs cleaning or repairs, the city walls off a section, drains it, digs out the sludge that settles on the bottom, and fixes the canal walls (Insula, Venice’s urban maintenance company).

The day I came across one of these crews, I braced myself.

A drained canal, a crew stirring up mud and algae?

I fully expected a cloud of stink to roll down the street.

But nothing, I don’t remember any foul smell at all.

The catch is that this work takes money and time, and dredging fell behind for decades.

Researchers at the University of Padua point to that backlog as a source of real environmental problems for the canals (University of Padua).

Fun Fact: Although you can’t swim in Venice canals, you can visit any of the nearby beaches in Venice to enjoy the coastline during the summer months!

A person with long dark hair overlooks the Grand Canal and Santa Maria della Salute, capturing the essence of 2 perfect days in Venice.

When is the best time to visit Venice if you’re worried about the smell?

Spring and fall. They’re the sweet spot for smell, heat and crowds.

If you’re working out your dates, plan your itinerary around this rule of thumb (not a guarantee):

Months	Chance of noticing a smell	Crowds	Water to know about
January–February	Low, except during extreme low tides	Quiet, then busy for Carnival	Occasional very low tides
March–April	Low	Building, busy around Easter	Mostly normal tides
May–June	Low	Peak	Mostly normal tides
July–August	Low to moderate on hot, still days	Peak	Low water plus heat in small canals
September–October	Low	Busy, easing towards the end of October	High-tide season begins
November–December	Low	Quiet except holidays	Peak high-tide season (MOSE raised when needed)

A stone bridge spans a narrow canal in Venice, where people gather despite questions of does Venice smell, near small boats moored along the walkway.

Small boats moored in a narrow Venice canal where one might wonder does Venice smell, framed by historic brick and stucco buildings.

Tips if you Have a Sensitive Nose

Head for the open water. The wide waterfront promenades, like the Zattere facing the Giudecca Canal, get a breeze off the lagoon. If a side street smells off, a few minutes’ walk to the water usually fixes it.
Check the tide forecast. The city publishes tide forecasts every day. A very low tide is your cue to skip the narrowest canals for a few hours.
Get out on the lagoon. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. A water bus ride out to the islands is the freshest air in Venice.
Pick spring or fall. Cooler days, fewer people, and the lowest odds of noticing anything.
Do your part with trash. Use the bins, and if they’re full, hold on to it. And don’t feed the pigeons; you can be fined, and their droppings don’t help anyone’s nose.

One thing you can NOT do is cool off with a dip. You can’t swim in Venice’s canals, but there are beaches a short boat ride away.

Cargo boats loaded with packages docked along a canal in Venice, with colorful buildings lining the banks, a must-see for any Venice bucket list.

Does Venice Smell?: FAQs

Does Venice smell like sewage?

Rarely. Most of the time it smells like the sea. A sewage-like smell can show up at very low tide or near a drained canal, and it fades within a few steps of open water.

Is the water in Venice’s canals dirty?

It’s lagoon water that the tide exchanges twice a day, so it’s not stagnant. It does carry boat traffic and some wastewater, which is one reason swimming in the canals is banned.

Does Venice smell worse in August?

It can, a little, on hot days with no breeze. Most of my travelers never mention it.

Does Italy smell bad?

No. Italy is a country, so it smells like wherever you happen to be standing. Usually that’s espresso.

A small motorboat travels down a narrow canal in Venice, flanked by historic stone buildings that might make one wonder if Venice smells.

So, does Venice smell?

Sometimes, a little, in specific places at specific times.

Low tides, still heat, a drained canal.

The rest of the time it smells like what it is: a city floating in a salty lagoon.

But 53 trips in, the thing I remember about Venice isn’t a smell.

It’s walking through the winter fog, when the whole city feels like a dream. Go see it for yourself!

Lyndsay

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