Venice carnival: As the mist descends, the masks are out

​Venice is especially atmospheric in winter, and even more so at Carnival time

Tied to the mast: Gondolas on the lagoon (Getty)

One of the most enticing things about Venice is the sense of mystery it imposes: there's never any certainty about what will lie around the next corner. The city itself, rising out of the mist of the wintry lagoon, is improbable: 118 islands, 431 dainty stepped bridges, 150 churches and 33 museums.

Writers, film-makers, travellers and lovers – all are captured by the haunting sense that things will turn out differently in Venice. At no time is this illusion more believable than during Carnival, which started this weekend and sees a mass of masked party-goers float down the slate-green Grand Canal from Cannaregio and descend on Piazza San Marco trying their best to outshine the glittering gold mosaic on the basilica's façade (to 9 February; carnevale.venezia.it).

Set against the city's ethereal winter beauty, Carnival's ritual of masquerading is the perfect marriage of theatre and deception. The moral fabric of the Republic was sketchy at the best of times, and carnival festivities were often punctuated by murders, theft, gambling and sex. The anonymity provided by masks and costume lowered inhibitions. Anything was, and is, possible during Carnival.

Although most of the carnival carrying-on is focused around Piazza San Marco, Venice isn't a one-stage venue. Step across the Accademia bridge to San Polo and the dazzling show continues.

In Dorsoduro, Veronese's blockbuster painting cycles in the Chiesa di San Sebastiano have a new lustre thanks to a major restoration effort and the long-disused warehouses of the Arsenale shipyards in Castello open exclusively for extravagant carnival parties.

If you think your walk-on part at these attractions is exhilarating, wait until you step backstage. In narrow lanes, you'll glimpse the creativity that keeps the whole show afloat: artisans at work in their studios, chefs shopping for produce in the Rialto market, musicians lugging 18th-century cellos to chamber-music practice. Here, the volume is turned down and you can hear the abbreviated drama of intermission – whispered conversations, the staccato of rain on canvas awnings, the slam of wooden shutters and the clip-clip of coat-swaddled spaniels trotting over footbridges.

Estro serves local produce and regional wines

UNPACK

Corte di Gabriela (00 39 41 523 5077; cortedigabriela.com) may be located on a 19th-century palazzo, but there's nothing traditional about its 11 sleek rooms, which inventively play with the palace's historic features. Gabriella and Gianluca are excellent hosts. Doubles from €262, B&B.

In 2015, J W Marriott (00 39 41 296 8111; jwvenice.com) opened a new spa resort on Isola della Rosa, 20 minutes from San Marco by courtesy launch. The spa is Venice's largest. Doubles from €336, including breakfast.

THINK LOCAL

Conquering killjoy Napoleon put an end to Carnival in 1797. He had a more modern vision for Venice, knocking down whole neighbourhoods to create the Giardini Pubblici (public gardens).

In 1894, his gardens were furnished with a fashionable greenhouse, La Serra dei Giardini (00 39 41 296 0360; serradeigiardini.org). Since then, it's become a community hub where stressed-out hotel workers and art curators come to strike yoga poses with Californian Julia Curtis. Classes cater to both adults and children; if you like what you see you may want to join Julia on yoga art tours (00 39 346 795 5984; yogavenezia.com).

EAT

On cold winter nights the lights of every trattoria beckon, and none are more inviting than Estro (00 39 41 476 4914; estrovenezia.com), where the focus is firmly on the best Lagoon ingredients paired with hard-to-find regional wines from their 500-bottle cellar. Mains €10-25.

For a unique experience, enjoy a fire-lit dinner in a Murano glass furnace with Venice Art Factory (00 39 349 779 9385; veniceartfactory.org; £225pp, based on a group of eight). Here, you'll dine on local seafood cooked on the radiantly hot stone “door” of one of the furnaces, in the company of modern designers.

DRINK

More than their southern counterparts, Venetians like to drink. A swift prosecco in the morning to warm up your bones, a small ripasso in the afternoon with a plate of sarde in soar (marinated sardines) and a full-blooded Amarone in the evening are par for the course. Expand your happy-hour options with a sommelier-led tasting with Venetian Vine (venetianvine.com). Then apply what you know at superior local bar La Cantina (00 39 41 522 8258; facebook.com/cantinavenezia) where drinks come accompanied by seafood platters and charcuterie.

SPEND

Nicolao Atelier (00 39 41 520 7051; nicolao.com) stocks more than 10,000 historic garments for rent and sale. More modest browsers could do worse than walk away with a pair of silk damask slippers from Pied à Terre (00 39 41 528 5513; piedaterre-venice.com).

DON'T MISS

In summer, Venice is torrid and stuffed to the gills with tourists who stand in a perpetual queue outside the Palazzo Ducale (00 39 41 271 5911; palazzoducale.visitmuve.it), home to Venice's doges for seven centuries. But in winter you can sweep right up the golden staircase to discover the muscle behind its pink-chequered façade. Casanova was imprisoned here in 1756 and, if you join the “Secret Itinerary”, you'll find your way over the Bridge of Sighs to dank dungeons, where a prisoner's greatest punishment was to be robbed of the beauty of the refracting light off the water, which is the city's most beguiling quality.

GETTING THERE

Venice Marco Polo is served by British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com) from Gatwick and Heathrow, by easyJet (0330 365 5000; easyjet.com) from Edinburgh, Gatwick, Luton, Manchester and Southend, and by Monarch Monarch (0333 003 0700; monarch.co.uk) from Birmingham and Manchester. From the airport, Alilaguna (alilaguna.it) operates four waterbus lines to various parts of Venice; €15 (£11.50) one way. Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ryanair.com) flies to Treviso, 30km (19 miles) north of Venice.

MORE INFORMATION

Venezia Unica (veneziaunica.it) is a web portal that brings together a range of discount passes and services, including airport transfers, museum passes and travel cards. You can tailor them to your needs and pre-purchase online. Most useful is the ACTV Tourist Travel Card, which gives you unlimited travel on vaporetti (waterbuses) for 24, 48, and 72 hours for €20, €30 and €40 respectively. See also: turismovenezia.it