Enough time in Venice?

I am not as huge a fan of Venice as some here are but even with that in mind, I cannot imagine not giving it a minimum of one full day after your recovery afternoon.

You don't need to take a boat, you can walk from the train station.

I loathe the place, but when I take others there, try as I might, I need an absolute full day to do it justice for them.

Gondola rides are like riding in a big canoe with a very bad singer -- and cost like the dickens -- plus you can see the same exact same stuff walking around.

The world seems to be divided into Venice lovers and Venice haters. I'm in the Venice lovers camp. We have been several times over the years and our stays in Venice get longer with each trip. Last time we were there for 8 nights.

So my advice would be to stay at least two nights. And if truth be told I'd try to get you to bag the Florence portion and spend that time in Venice too.

you can take a boat from Marco Polo airport to Venice. either a sleek and pricey water taxi or a bigger, slower shuttle boat called Alilaguna, but you can also take a city bus or an airport shuttle bus as well.

I'm with Mike and Ed (sorry Ron...), not being a fan of Venice.

That said, stay at least most of the second day before heading to Florence. Just enjoy the excitement of 'being in Italy' on recovery afternoon, have a nice dinner, and recuperate. On your first full day of the trip dedicate all morning and a good piece of the afternoon to Venice. There's a 6:30pm train that would get you into Florence about 8:30pm -- just in time to check into your next hotel and be out for a nice late dinner at 9:30pm.

...and Ed is right... forget the gondola. Walk, Vaporetto, give each other piggy back rides, but the gondola looks (and is) much cooler and romantic when viewed from the shore.

I love Venice. It is a good place to recover from jet lag!

Getting into Venice from Marco Polo isn't hard. You just have to decide if you want to be spendy and get a private water taxi (+/- 100 Euros) or do the larger Aquabus. Busses can transport you to the train station where you have other options.

We tend to take the private water taxi - "just cuz".

You are going to want to have a full day (or ten) just to "be there".

Oh - and really study the routes of the gondolas before you buy tickets... We never did do a ride - we just followed them around by foot. That became a fun game -

My impression of Venice is that it is like going to Disneyland with it's empty facades. While walking at night, you look up at the upper stories of the buildings and they are devoid of any light. When I asked my hotelier about this, he explained that there are not a lot of people who call Venice their permanent home. A lot of the homes are second or vacation homes of the wealthy.

However, it would be a shame to fly into Venice and spend so little time there. It's not my favorite place, but you should take a little more time to decide for yourself whether or not Venice is worthwhile.

PS--Walking the city at night is a much different experience than the daytime when the city if full of cruise ship passengers and day trippers. Try it.

I'm just curious: what is it about Venice that makes people feel so strongly "anti"? I've been once and loved its uniqueness, but then again didn't feel like I needed to spend more than a full day there. But "hate"? -- why?

I don't 'hate' Venice -- but like what the other posted used to describe it. It's a bit of a 'hollow shell', full of tourists and activities designed to attract tourists.

I prefer going to places where I can interact with localers in a setting where locals outnumber tourists (or at least the potential of locals outnumbering tourists). As such, 1 full day once every 10 to 20 years is enough Venice for me. Give me a small town outside another town in off-season any day instead.

Venice is amazing. Take time to read City of Falling Angels. If you can, and have an IPod, down load Walk and Talk Vencie, and Audiobook (Itunes or Audible) which takes you alway from St Marks and out into the real city. I took 3 full days and could have been there a week. It is far more than a gondola ride. Go as far into the back corners as possible to find a good meal, stay away from the tourist areas. Visit the campaniele late afternoon, no lines, best view of Venice and San Georgio Maggiore you can have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Giorgio_Maggiore

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/campanile_di_san_marco.htm

There is a LOT more to Venice than hollow facades. Can't put it into words - it's the feeling we get when we are there. Sort of giddy... Every place you go is a wonder. Study the stone work and sculpting on those many bridges. We've never found two alike.

Get lost. It's one of our favorite activities. Get the Vaparetto pass and explore all the stops!

I'll never tire of Venice.

Hi Deana. I'm in the "love Venice" camp so I personally don't think you're allowing for enough time in Venice. You don't say whether this is your first time in Venice or not but I would suggest staying at least one more day in Venice. I enjoyed just walking around & getting lost & taking pictures. I also enjoyed the tour of the Doges Palace & the view from the top of the Campanile. Have a great trip.

This is my first time to Italy - so I'm not sure what to expect and whether I'll be in the "love" or "not love" camp for Venice. Based on everyone's comments, though, I will make sure to dedicate a full day to Venice to make sure that I can establish my own opinion about it. Thanks everyone for all of your insights!

I, too, am in the Love Venice camp. But, if I may venture a guess, part of the reason may have been situational. We were there in March 2007, the crowds were very minimal, there was no flooding, and the weather was absolutely perfect (sunny and clear). It may have been a different experience or affected my opinion if we were there during peak tourist season with flooding and/or crummy weather.

I've never been in October, but hope you have a positive experience!

Hi, Have been to Venice twice and I can't get enough of it. Explore the back calles. Get away from the tourist hordes - get lost as Rick recommends in his Venice guidebook. My last trip was in November. While it was overcast and cool, it only added to the mystery. There are so many wonderful things to do and see, including visiting the islands. One day - never! On a more practical note, getting from the airport into Venice is not as time consuming as you think. Check out the bus, or the Aliguna. Of course, nothing is like entering Venice in a private water taxi. We did that the first time and loved it.

I go to Venice often and never stay for less than a week. In reality, there are few tourists in Venice. All the tourists are in the Piazza San Marco and Rialto Bridge areas, and then only from 9 AM until 5 PM. The real areas of the city are tourist free and there is plenty to do and see.

Hi Mike, noticed that you wrote that you have been in Venice a few times and I would appreciate if you would tell me where you went that was in your top list and where did you get your best meals. We are going in September for 4 days. We have already done the San Mark and Rialto etc.. during a past trip.Now I want to go out and discover the true Venice.
Thanks
Pat

I would theorize that the ones who 'love' Venice are the ones that spent more time. And the ones that 'loathe' it are the ones that flew in and out. And I can totally see that happening. If I had just an afternoon to explore Venice, I would probably be left with the impression that it is crowded, smelly and over-hyped.

However, when I went - I did spend 4 night and I LOVE Venice. It is gorgeous. There is wonderful food and drink to be had. And I do agree, there is a certain amount of sadness that comes with knowing it is a city with a lot of vacancy. However, I think it more than makes up for the history that it has and is there for you to explore first hand.

I really did find it relaxing and think it would be worthwhile to let you jetlag wear off here.

I will have to join the "love" Venice camp! We have been there 4x in the last 7 years and each time have increased the length of time spent here. First visit was for 2 nights and barely scratched the surface. Next 2 visits spent 4 nights and that was wonderful as we had time to visit Murano and Burano. The last trip to Venice was in July 2009 with my sisters who had never been and we spent 6 nights (out of a 3 wk trip) in an apartment and it was great! We were not rushed and enjoyed everything at a leisurely pace. As another poster stated, we loved just walking around and getting "lost." I think evenings in Venice are magical. Deana with your short time in Venice I would probably skip the gondola ride and just explore on foot. Have a great trip!