best days in Venice

How many nights will you be in Venice?

I don't think they are timed entry but tickets for the St Marks belltower are a good idea. Elevator to the top and amazing 360 views of Venice and the lagoon.

Be sure your Doge Palace tour includes the jails so you can walk thru the Bridge of Sighs. I have pictures from inside and outside.

Thanks for your quick response. We will be in Venice 5 nights at the end of September. Thanks for the advice on Doge's, I'll do that. Any thoughts of the orchestra music in St. Mark's? Should we make a Caffe reservations or just enjoy from the outside of the restaurants, on the square? The menus are outrageously expensive, but it may be the best way to enjoy the moment.

Best Venice experience? We went to the Rialto market early in the morning. The vendors were still setting up shop; local residents were shopping for their fresh fruits and vegetables; and the tourists were still abed.

Then we wandered into a couple of Cicchetti bars for freshly made tapas and tiny glasses of white wine. (Check out Rick’s guidebook for the names and locations of his favorites.)

Lastly… we hoped back on a vaporetto for a morning ride in the lagoon.

It was a great, tasty, and memorable morning.

The concert I attended by Interpreti Veneziani was definitely a highlight of my time in Venice. The only issue was we were still eating dinner at a nearby restaurant when the line started to form, so we didn’t get good seats. Even with obstructed view seats though, it was fantastic.

to Cindy B and Susan. I really appreciate your descriptions. This is the first time I have used Rick's Travel Forum and, really, so far so good. Thanks.

I would skip Murano and spend a day at Burano, but if you are interested in glass blowing Murano has the glass museum.

Two great things.
Take a picnic to Certosa.
Go paddling with venicekayak.com

I would also prioritise Murano over Burano, but of course everyone is different.

We very much enjoyed arriving by private water taxi as it was an admittedly expensive James Bond moment. A fabulous start to a few days.

We reserved tickets to the Basilica for the time that the lights were on so we could see the mosaics. I am so glad we did as the queues were simply insane for those without reservations.

As for the orchestras in the Piazza, we went twice, but later in the evening after dinner. It was a terrific experience and we had no trouble getting a table. Not sure what it would be like earlier in the evening as we were always elsewhere. The Piazza is to be avoided for meals, much better food away from tourist central.

We've decided that we will be getting up early to do the sightseeing without the crowds. There are some walks in the RS guides that look great. I believe there also are audio tours for Venice.

Regarding music on St. Mark's square:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/venice-st-mark-s-square-cocktail-and-music

@Susan, What time did you get to the Rialto Market?

I have spent half a day wandering the glass shops in Murano, but a couple hours at the most on Burano as it’s quite small. Burano is more photogenic, though, and I would suggest you get there before the shops open to get some great photos. If you get on the vaporetto from the Fondementa Novo stop it will take about 45 minutes to get to Burano, spend a couple hours there, then head back one stop to Torcello to visit the ancient church, then head back to Murano and spend as much time there as you want. From Murano, it is only two stops back to Venice, and if you want a nice quiet walk you can get off at the cemetery island.

If you like contemporary crafts, check out the month-long (September) Homo Faber exposition at Fondaziobe Giorgio Cini.

The Art Biennale will be running, too. Major installations are in the Castello area, but there are small exhibits scattered around the city.

Hmmm. What time did we get to Rialto? It was about a year ago so I can’t remember the exact time, but it was probably 8-9 am— certainly before breakfast.

Enjoy your visit to Venice. It’s a lovely place to wander and explore. Susan

Check out Padua. It's a 30-minute train ride from Venice, and to see Giotto's work at the Scrovengi Chapel was one of the stunning highlights of our 26-day trip to Italy last month. Lots more to do in Padua - it's not crowded like Venice, and unless you're planning to buy lots in Murano, there are plenty of glass shops (I mean everywhere) in Venice.