One of Venetians' Very Favorite Things to Do During Carnevale...

...is to flee the city they call home. 

For obvious reasons, the fact that no small number of Venetians find the present-day incarnation of Carnevale annoying if not outright odious is typically not mentioned in any of the articles offering an "insider's guide" to the Venetian Carnival, so I offer it here in the interest of accuracy. 

Especially on Friday, Saturday and Sundays, when the crowds are at their very densest--in all senses of that word--Venetians are keen to be anywhere outside the city (if only in the lagoon). But, really, any day of Carnevale is considered a good day to get out of the city by residents whose jobs don't require them to remain here.

My son and I followed their example last Sunday, going to his close friend's birthday party held at one of many hotels within the Terme Euganee region just over 40 minutes by train from Venice. The Terme Euganee are the hot spas situated among the Euganean Hills, which have been drawing visitors since antiquity for their therapeutic effects.

The most important of the four towns of the Terme Euganee are Montegrotto and Abano, and the name of the station at which we de-trained was Terme Euganee-Abano-Montegrotto. Any number of hotels are within a short walking distance from the station (there are no public baths).

I don't have any particular ones to recommend, but I do believe you need not stay overnight; a day-trip from Venice to the baths is also possible.

The panaorama below shows just a couple of the numerous pools of various temperatures at the Hotel Marconi, which is less than a ten minute walk from the station.  

And the rest of the images here show the scenes to which we returned on Sunday afternoon around the train station. Some people find such scenes quite thrilling. But it's nice to know there are escapes available.