Base for day trip to Venice

Padua is not a small town, but a very interesting university town with many historic piazzas and the killer, the Scrovegni Chapel and the Giotto frescos. 27 minutes to Venice Santa Lucia station on the half hour Regionale Veloce. 4.25 EUR, less than the cost of a vaporetto ride.

Or Bassano del Grappa, a smaller town at the foot of the Dolomites and 1 hour and 11 minutes from Venice S.L. on a frequent Regionale for 6.25 EUR.

It's a shame you will miss half of the Venice experience by not spending a night there. The evenings and mornings are the best times there when it is more quiet, in my opinion, and not the crowded daytime. But yes, Padua is not a bad choice if you must stay somewhere else. Verona too.

There's a lot to see in Padua, and I've recommended it as a base to other travelers, but if you're only going to be there one night and are going to day-trip to Venice, I'm not sure it would be my choice. How many daylight hours do you think you might have in Padua? If it's very little time, I might opt for the smaller Vicenza instead, even though it's farther away than Padua. Or even Venice-Mestre, which is not really attractive at all but is the closest option outside historic Venice itself.

I'm wondering whether the 1-1/2 days we're talking about would be better allocated to one of your other stops.

Sam has given you a great suggestion BUT if you only intend to spend one night, that really doesn't give you time to explore Venice plus Padua. With just one day to sightsee Venice, I'd stay the night in Venice.

We spent 2 nights in Venice last summer during our Rick Steves 14 day best of Europe tour. Overall I was terribly disappointed with Venice. We stayed a short walk from Piazza San Marco at Hotel Serenissima, which I would recommend but the area is packed during the day. I was terribly disappointed to see all sorts of high-end luxury stores which probably pushed out local shops. Our two favorite times there were when we walked to lunch quite a distance away from the square and when we got up early one morning and got to go over the Rialto Bridge when it wasn't packed with people, walked thru the market, got to see all the boats bringing in the supplies for the day and walked over to Piazza San Marco and saw several brides having their pictures taken.

Carol's experience is pretty common for folks who don't have much time in Venice. Naturally, they want to see the Rialto Bridge, St. Mark's Square and the cathedral, etc. But those are exactly the same sights all the other one-day visitors want to see. The experience is not exactly magical. Spending more time in Venice (and having early mornings/late evenings there) allows one to wander away from the other visitors and really soak in the atmosphere. Sometimes it's better to skip a place than to rush it.

I took my family to Venice last July (2017) and here is my two cents.
If you are only spending a day in Venice, I suggest staying overnight.
Here is my reasons why, Venice is crowded with tourist and vendor at the most popular places. Four or five Cruise ships with about 5,000 passages each are docked in port at any given day during the late spring and summer months not counting all the tour buses coming in for the day. It will take sometime to learn how to navigate through, not only the city, but all the tourist.

This is what I noticed when staying in Venice, at 7am the boat arrive with the vendors to starting opening up their shops, by 8am the first boats arrive with the Cruise and bus tourist. Once in Venice everyone is position themselves as quickly as possible to get their pictures taken in front of what ever they can, before the crowds get to large.
Now, if you stay in Venice and you and your wife are willing to get up and out by 6am, then you have the whole of Venice to yourselves. The best photos we have of our trip, is when we got an early start and everything was still shut down.
I understand you are not night life people and as a father of two young teenage girls I can understand not wanting to deal with loud intoxicated people. The biggest issue we had at night was the aggressive vendor/pan-handlers at St Marks Square. While St. Mark restaurants' have different bands playing at night out in the square, for the most part once you step away from the square it becomes like a quite sea side resort. There are many little quite hotels that are tuck back away from the Main Canal. Our favorite place to stay is the "Hotel La Residenza", which is hundred yards from the Main Canal and 3 bridges from St. Mark Square. In the early evening the hotel's square and the surrounding area is as quite and peaceful as any small village.
If I have not persuaded you to spend a night in Venice, let me suggest that you arrange for a private tour to get the most out of your visit. I arranged a private tour with Fiona Giusto a licensed tour guide. www.venicetours.it You can see my review of Fiona on TripAdvisor titled "Our new family friend in Venice” https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187870-d2292232-Reviews-Venice_Guided_Tours-Venice_Veneto.html
I hope I was somewhat helpfull and I wish you and your wife have a enjoyable and treasured visit to Venice.

100% what acraven and bruce said.

People who are disappointed in Venice stayed close to St. Mark's square and did what all the other tourists did.

I would urge you to reconsider not spending the night in Venice. Stay off the beaten path. And yes from 6am-8am you have all Venice for yourself. In the evening, you can even stroll into St. Mark's and enjoy the dueling orchestras.

If you spend only 1 day in Venice you will not like it at all. The hoards of tourists from cruise ships and "day-trippers" like yourselves absolutely clog every artery of the other wise beautiful city. Mornings, evenings - is the only real time to see Venice. Day time is just spent jostling with the crowds.

If you decide to overnight in Venice, you should look at the Carrnegio neighborhood. It's quiet and not a long walk to the main sights.

Sorry I'm not the OP but I am curious about something. If there are too many tourists between 8 am & night what are some good ways to spend the day there if one wants to avoid the mobs?

Rule of thumb (to avoid mobs) is to stay away from the tourist meccas of St Mark's square and Rialto Bridge. Those are the 2 sight highlighted in every Venice guide book ever printed. Get away from those areas and you'll see fewer people.

👍 to Tim's post. Venice is much more than St Mark's, the Rialto Bridge, etc. Too many visitors don't give the rest of it the time it deserves or don't have interest in much beyond the most-visited spots.

This is why I like to stay in Canareggio. Less tourists, more little back streets to wander and see real life Venice.

To answer your question, I would stay in Verona. The train station is within walking distance of the center, with frequent trains to Venice that take an hour and 10 minutes.

If you must stay out of Venice, then I would agree that Padua is a great choice for the short ride and frequent schedule of trains. But also give yourself some time to see Padua.

However, I'm alsp going to agree with most of the posters that trying to see Venice in one day and during the day is an invitation to craziness. It is after 5 PM that Venice becomes breathable. Except for the crowds around St. Marks and the Rialto Bridge, you will not have to worry about bumping into anyone. You can explore the streets and alleyways in comfort.

In my opinion based on many trips to Venice, the only good place to base for a day trip to Venice is Venice.

As Venice is much more enjoyable once the day-trippers leave, I would stay in the lagoon.

Venice-Mestre stay was one of those great cultural experiences. First, we were to stay at a B & B near the bus station to Venice. Well...we followed a good-looking crazy Italian driver to a hometown square and stayed in a quiet 1 bedroom apartment with parking. The square had all the Italian culture and food anyone would like to experience. Locals drinking Campari after work. Me, what the heck is that...I still do not like that stuff. There was a open market around the corner. It was an easy trip to Venice. I have been in and out of Venice several time. It remains low on my must sees after the first visit. My first trip was when President Regan arrived, it was full of secret service employees.

Doing Venice as a 'day trip', is probably the best way to assure you have the least enjoyable visit possible.
It will not be a 'bad' experience, but you will likely miss out on the charm of the evening, even if its just for dinner and a wandering stroll. And the evening gondola rides are better when there is less traffic.

I hope you re-think this part of your trip and spend at least one night there.

We stay in Canareggio too, a real neighborhood away from the cruise ship and tour group mobs.

My vote goes to Verona. It is a beautiful town with several scenic views. There is the Giusti garden from the renaissance that overlooks the city- perfect for sunsets. There is also the medieval castle with amazing views of the river and it’s bridges. It will give you the small town feel and peaceful evening. The train station is close to verona’s main square (5 minutes on bus) which makes day tripping easy.

However, Padova is closer to Venice. If you’re just looking for somewhere to spend the night. That is also a nice town, although not as peaceful as verona.