Day trip from Florence to Venice and back to Florence

OK, We did this a few years ago, and it was fine.
We arrived the same time--11:17. We got off the train, walked and found a place to eat lunch. We bought a city map at the first place we found to help us navigate the canals

We went over the Rialto Bridge, took photos, went to St Marks, took the elevator to the top of the towers. Admired and tried to avoid the pigeons. Walked to the water and looked out towards the island, admired the gondolas.

Got my photo taken with some costumed actors.

We did a bit of shopping, wandered the sidewalks. found the Jewish Ghetto, took a tour with a guide, then walked back towards the train station. We still had time to mess a round (about 1.5 hours) shopping.

It's a long train ride up and back, but we had enough in one day. Would I go back because I missed something? Nah. I had enough. I saw the highlights that were highlights for us...we didn't need to spend the night.

We arrived back in Florence about 10PM. We had a quick late dinner and walked back to our hotel, ready for more Florence the next day.

So, unlike other posters so far...I'd say if you want, go for it. It's about 6 hours round trip on the Eurostar train (and it does stop along the way) I'd recommend bringing a snack and drinks for the train ride.

I personally would not do it. And some of the special beauty of Venice is the evening/night time. As a min it is worth at least an overnight.

For me, it would not be worth it. I don't get your math, though. How does 1:30 pm (I assume you meant 1:30 pm, not 1:30 am) to 6 pm add up to six hours?

You'll be spending as much time on the train as you will in Venice. You'll get to see the Grand Canal as it is in front of the train station. You can ride a vaporetto or two. Have lunch, some gelato and then you're heading back to the train station. You're the one who gets to decide if its worth it.

If it helps as a benchmark, it's rare on this Forum to have someone propose a day trip from Florence to Venice. On this Forum we have lots of travelers trying to push the envelope of what a worthwhile day trip is (worthwhile considering the time you have to actually do anything, the cost, and the fatigue/enjoyment factor), but what you're proposing is not commonly seen here. However, technically, it's feasible--and you get to decide. As you probably know, the arrival time of the train is not the same as the time you actually starting doing anything, takes time to get to the first sight; and your sightseeing time would have to end in time for you to get back to the train station in time to wait for your return train. The cost of the fastest trains is generally higher and some travelers are surprised at what the total cost "per day" ends up being for a day trip like this, that depends on how many in your group.

Also factor in that the train may not be on time. Our train from Milan to Venice arrived 45 min. late. That squeezes your time even more.

Two of us will be doing to Florence mid July and staying there for 14 days, as our base. We have a day trip planned to Venice with a driver arranged by out Hotel. It will not be cheap but the driver will show us the country side, and give us a lot of history on Venice, and then will return us to our hotel in the late evening. If you are going to be there around the same time, pm me and I will give you the particulars. I really don't want to do Venice overnight, so this way I will get probably 7+ hours there, and I think that may be enough for this old gal.

We just tried this (last Monday) and failed miserably (or luckily). Fortunately we were able to walk into Hotel Al Piave and stay overnight at a rate well less than listed in Rick's book.

I say luckily because of all the cities in Europe, I couldn't imagine a more fantastic place to be at night. Taking the #1 Vaporetto at dusk and walking around the alleys in the dark after dinner are truly lifetime experiences.

If this is your first time to Venice, do yourself a favor and spend a night there. You can probably find reasonable accomdations for EUR100 per night (or if your sharing a room think of it as EUR50 per night). Just leave your things in Florence and pack the essentials (change of clothes, toothbrush), etc.

On the other hand if you are dead set or have no option but to attempt a day trip, still bring essentials (change of clothes, toothbrush, etc.) just in case - a) you decide you want to stay and experience Venice at night; or b) you miss the train like we did.

GOOD LUCK!

Matt: Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Some of us think a night in Venice is one of life's essential experiences, and now you're one of us. Sometimes people make itinerary choices without knowing what they're missing.