First trip to Venice - Next Week!! Looking for insights

Have you seen this recent report in the reviews section? Have a great trip!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/cicchetti-crawl-venice

With just 3 full days in Venice, I wouldn't leave town (beyond possibly hitting Torcello and Murano--and Burano is also worthwhile).

Your hotel is a good distance from the train station, so even Padua (roughly 1/2 hour on the train) would be a bit of a production as a day trip. For the train alone Bassano del Grappa is 1-1/4 hours away.

The hotel is about a 14-minute walk to the Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop, which I think is the one offering the fastest trips to Murano-Burano-Torcello.

My travel mate and I both enjoyed the Guggenheim Collection a lot; I recommend it highly to anyone who likes modern art.

I don't know what the lines will be like this month. In September we waited 30 minutes to get into San Marco since we hadn't bought an entry ticket online. The Guggenheim had a shorter line, but the line may have been only for people who already had tickets, as we did. The place was hopping--a lot more crowded than the Accademia, though it didn't quite reach the level of "unpleasantly crowded".

hey hey MomMom
schezzini.it
alessandro does cicchetti crawls. email him right away and see if any openings
streaty.com
check under venice for a few tours listed
vivovenetia.com
venice mask making
travelingspoon.com/ venice
a cooking class/market tour in a residence home
eatwith.com/ venice
look at what's available, click event type, lunch & dinner in resident's home
tasteatlas.com/ venice
what to eat locally in venice
alongdustyroads.com/ burano
my favorite island, make sure you have lunch, stop at bakery for burano cookie and biscuits, go early before runs out. el gatto nero and have the risotto or the other yummy food (check days/times open)
went to murano, didn't really care for it, bought glass in venice. didn't like people standing at entrances and hounding you to come in, did walk thru some shops and stopped for a glass of wine in bar/cafe.
ilburchiello.it
boat ride up the brenta river, see what tour they have
ristorante da nino
on grand canal across train station. sat outside tables, having prosecco and the best tiramisu had 2 slices, and people watching
roam around the back canals of canarregio, residents homes, restaurants/bars/cafes just enjoying away from the crowds at rialto bridge and san marco. buy vaporetto tickets and take a ride down the grand canal. they have a special 3 days pass
europeforvisitors.com/ venice
we did a gondola ride with luca, the singing gondolier, it was fabulous. picked us up at the jewish ghetto and went down small canals, crossed over grand canal which is really really busy, like a freeway. nice on the small canals. if interested email him at
luckyluca6@hotmail. we also brought a bottle of prosecco with "plastic cups" and celebrating with us 4 friends on board. it was so much fun, 2 had never been to venice, me & BFF been 3 times then.
roam around, get lost, zig instead of zag, don't fall in canal, many dead end alleyways. just enjoy and go with the flow
aloha

I’m with acraven. Bassano and Padua may be a bit out of the way for such a short trip. But Torcello, Murano, and Burano are all feasible. It’s probably better to watch the water and enjoy time with your daughter instead of running around.

My vegan niece and vegetarian sister had no problems finding food in Venice, so your vegetarian daughter will be fine. My sister and niece were in Venice in January 2020 and LOVED Torcello for it's peacefulness and serenity. They managed to coincide with the acqua alta and both had to buy wellingtons, but Venice seems to have installed some barriers since then.

The Peggy Guggenheim is a great gallery.

We ate at Antica Locanda Montin in 2018, and my sister and niece also ate there in 2020. It's an authentic wine bar/restaurant but is a bit hard to find as it's on a small side canal in a residential area.

It will be cold on the water so take a down jacket, hat and gloves.

We last visited in Feb and one of the pleasures of going in the winter is packing your wellies!!! Keep your fingers crossed for an Aqua Alta siren, one of the highlights for us was splashing through the streets!!!!

One other thing: Vaporetto tickets now cost 9.50 euros each, which is a serious "ouch". If you plan to use the boats a lot (unavoidable for trips to Torcello/Burano/Murano), you might well save with a pass. The 24-hour pass costs 25 euros; the 48-hour pass, 35 euros; the 72-hour pass, 45 euros. (For those planning longer visits, the 7-day/168-hour pass is a comparative bargain at 65 euros.) If you can manage to hit Torcello, Burano and Murano in one day (you'll probably need an early start), a 24-hour pass would definitely be advisable for that period. If you don't arrive in Venice by ($$$) water taxi, you'll probably want to cover part of the distance between the train station and your hotel via vaporetto; it would be a long walk with luggage. And most visitors want to take at least one vaporetto trip down the Grand Canal, too, and you might find a vaporetto useful for other sightseeing activities.

Unfortunately, there isn't a 96-hour pass or 120-hour pass, so you'll need to do some guessing about your wanderings and some math to figure out what combination of pass plus one or two single tickets will be most cost-effective. I bought my 168-hour pass at the train station tourist office, but I believe they are available from the staffed booths or vending machines at most--but not all--vaporetto stops. I learned the hard way that some vaporetto stops provide no way to buy even a single ticket, so don't just show up at one of the minor stops, needing to buy a ticket.

Google is still returning multiple links to web pages showing vaporetto prices from before the September 2022 rate increase. The link I've provided is up to date.

You could get to Burano/Torcello/Murano all in one day if you started early enough. Burano is the furthest, and if you got there before the shops opened you could wander around before the crowds get there, if there are any crowds this time of year. Then stop at Torcello, it’s small so doesn’t take long, then stop at Murano last and shop for glass. I love wandering in and out of the glass shops on Murano and seeing the spectacular chandeliers and other art, even if I can’t afford to buy it. You will see lots of glass in Venice, but it may not be Murano glass, so check the labels. Murano is only one quick vaporetto stop from Venice. I was really surprised by the Guggenheim, I’m not always a fan of modern art, but I ended up spending about an hour and a half there. I stood in line for about ten minutes to get a ticket, and that was right at opening. The Acedemia gallery is the other big one, and they limit the number of people in at a time, but it opens early, and I showed up at 0820, walked right in and bought a ticket, and there were only three other people there. It is mostly religious themed art, but spectacular, and quite a contrast to the Guggenheim. I also really enjoy the Doges Palace, but I love all the opulent painted ceilings. The nearby Correr Museum has more of a focus on the naval history. You really can’t go wrong no matter where you decide to go. It will be good.

You could get to Burano/Torcello/Murano all in one day if you started early enough

Definitely go to those three. They will consume an entire day even with an early start. But is will be a day well spent. For the other days, just go with the flow and walk, walk, walk. Perhaps the best walking city anywhere.

I HIGHLY recommend doing the Rick Steves Italy Audio tour of the Grand Canal . Search for his audio tours where you get your podcasts. The Grand Canal tour is from Feb 28, 2018. You can download on your phone. Then listen as the boat takes you along the canal. Plan on 45 minutes or so

Take the vaporetto to the bus station, get off then get back on the #1 Per San Marco (the audio tour starts at the train station but the bus station is a stop ahead so if you get on there you can get a seat at the front of the boat)

Have a great time!

Torcello's actually farther than Burano, but they're fairly close together. I think you now have to take a separate vaporetto between those two islands; I don't think you can go all the way from Venice to Torcello.

I think you now have to take a separate vaporetto between those two islands;

that's right