A Nocturnal Guide to the Venice Film Festival

At the end of each day during the Venice Film Festival, once the screenings have wrapped, the city transforms into a place where it feels like anything could happen. When the sky goes dark and the stars come out you’ll discover a side of Venice unlike any other. At my first Venice Film Festival five years ago, I found myself emulating Katherine Hepburn’s solo sojourn in Summertime, her 1955 film set in Venice. I spent hours meandering through the ancient streets in my spare time, between film screenings at the Lido and premiere parties.

At one such party at Hotel Cipriani, I wandered through the lush topiaried gardens down to the waterside bathed in the sunset-hued light that made everything feel like a picture from a postcard. It was a party thrown for The King starring Timothée Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp and as the sky shifted from electric orange to soft shades of pink and the party came to life. By the time the actor Ben Mendelsohn approached the group I was with and passed me a Bellini, I knew it would be the start of a memorable night in Venice.

Wandering through Venice’s dimly-lit streets before dawn arrives, as festivalgoers clutch their shoes and bags trying to find their room keys after an all-night soirée, is still the truest celebration of nocturnal Venice. The rose-coloured light of the ancient streets’ lamps turn off as the sun starts to wake up, as the early risers heading to find the first vaporetto to the nearest lagoon cross paths with those only just ending their evening. A nocturnal wonder is the key to chance, twilight encounters in this mythic city – so after a film screening, a good meal and a perfectly chilled spritz, lay your fate to chance and get lost in an adventure after dark.

Each year I’ve returned, exploring the city at night is way to constantly rewrite what I knew about it. I still get lost trying to find that one water fountain I sipped a spritz on, have to ask myself if that vaporetto stop did ever really exist and where that café whose coffee coursed through my tired veins at midnight was located. But while it is easy to lose your way, here is my guide to help you try and navigate The Floating City, all the more beautiful under the moonlight.

Dinner is the main event for a night out in Venice. I am always sure to make dinner reservations at the family-run Al Covo, whose menu features fresh locally caught fish and produce from nearby Venetian farmlands. Other failsafe options include the atmospheric, canal-adjacent Corte Sconta which serves classic sardines ‘in saor’ – a quintessentially Venetian sweet and sour dish – and fresh pasta to perfection under its vine leaf-covered terrace, or Hostaria da Franz, which has been open since the late 19th century, and is known for its crudo made with seafood caught daily in the lagoon.

Whenever I arrive in Venice, I’m always in need of a caffé corretto – an espresso ‘corrected’ with a shot of grappa. Caffè Lavena, located in Piazza San Marco, is adored by Venetians despite its location on one of the worlds most famous squares. Il Mercante cocktail bar or Ai Do Leoni are also excellent places to pitch up for late night drinks, star-spotting and watching the waterways of Venice. And, of course, Hotel Cipriani’s Bar Gabbiano is an iconic spot for an impromptu rendezvous and a Bellini.

Part of the allure of this city at night are its shadows and reflections, its characters and every corner that could be a stage set. Book a private guided tour to Murano island after sunset and attend a workshop to discover the hand-blowing expertise of the artisans who have passed their skills down through generations and watch as the fire lights up the night sky.

Just a hop over from Hotel Cipriani on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore you’ll find Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Cini houses the permanent Duse Room, dedicated to the Italian theatre star Eleonora Duse and her complex relationship with Venetian theatre and the city. An evening performance at the Teatro la Fenice, famous for its role in Luchino Visconti’s 1954 film Senso, is another must. Check if Interpreti Veneziani are playing any basilica concertos, suss the lineup at the Venice Jazz Club in Dorsoduro, or simply wander the Campo Santo Stefano square for the late-opening bars.

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