Guide in Venice

Venice is wonderful and so fun to do on your own. It has a wonderful feel about it and has always felt magical to me. I recently had foot surgery, so I was navigating all of the bridges and little streets with a cane the entire time and I was able to navigate successfully! Part of the charm of Venice is getting a bit "lost" in the winding little streets and coming upon a hidden piazza with a gem of a restaurant that is off of the beaten path! I'd definitely recommending getting a multi day pass (30 euro pp for 2 days) on the water buses which can take you all over the city and beyond (we also visited Murano and Burano which are beautiful!). You can also take a water taxi, but each ride is about 60 euro, so it can add up fast.
We just returned from our 3rd trip to Italy (we have visited Venice each time) and would love to go again! This was our first trip to Italy with our sons (ages 15, 12 and 8). The Jewish Ghetto is an interesting area with really different restaurants and much calmer away from all of the tourists. We also like the Accademia neighborhood on the other side of the Grand Canal from St. Mark's.
I'd highly recommend going into St. Mark's Basilica. It is outstanding! And getting the ticket to take the elevator up in St. Mark's Campanile. The views are so impressive! http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/informazioni-per-i-turisti/orari-di-apertura/?lang=en Also the Loggia di Cavalli with the original copper horses is a great, cheap visit. We bought our skip the line tickets ahead of time, directly from the basilica and we saved so much time not waiting in that hot line! Another beautiful time in St. Mark's square is in the evening, as you look at the sunlight glinting off the mosaics and listen to the dueling orchestras at the very expensive cafes on the squares.
Definitely follow Rick's suggestions for restaurants off the beaten path. I'd recommend staying somewhere away from Rialto and St. Mark's, as those areas can be quite congested. We've stayed in Accademia and Cannareggio and we were very happy in both areas.
To make it easy going to the airport, our airbnb coordinated a Motoscafi for us. it was quite pricey--140 euro, but it was so easy and a fun way to leave Venice.
You will love Venice! Enjoy!

Rick Steves’ Venice guidebook has several walking tours one can do on one’s own, and a Grand Canal tour by vaporetto. They are quite lovely. You can download them as audio tours as well, here https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours.

I encountered Rick Steves guide to Venice as it was left behind in the apartment where we stayed. His book is full of errors, and my suggestion would be to get a better book.
The National Geographic guide by Erla Zwingle is great, “Venice” by Morris is seen by many as the definitive book.
The Rough Guide is good.
One piece of advice - get and carry a paper map. It will save you much frustration.

Walks of Italy tours are GREAT

I also love Walks of Italy - have used them a couple times with great results.

hey hey hal
been thru your town on way to tybee island, brother stationed there many many moons ago. loved our stay in hilton head.
many things to see and do in venice, first is get lost among the alleyways. how many days are you staying in venice, hope at least 3 or more, been 3 times and love it, first time: 1 week, 2nd time: 5 nights, 3rd time: 2 nights. here's a few sites to check out, see anything you like and book it. i've never had any issues with them and had great guides.
getyourguide.com/ venice
street food tour and tasting is fun
withlocals.com/ venice
myths, legends, & history tour, ride a gondola, pick up in back canals price set at like 80E 35 minutes more $ after 7pm
schezzini.it
alessandro does a chicetti "bar tour" tasting small bites of venetian food & wine, and history of venice. fun tour. just email him
airbnb.com
experiences in venice italy. don't need to stay with them. see something book them
eatwith.com
type in venice, different tours, lunch/dinner in resident's house
isoladiburano.it
info about the island around venice and venice. take the vaporetto to burano on your own and just enjoy walking, people watching, having lunch (my favorite)
streaty.com/ venice
this give you many options to research and think about. just enjoy and have a great time
aloha

Thanks so much to all of you who replied. I have a much better idea of what to do and how I might get some assistance. No doubt, Venice will be a lot of fun, and according to almost everyone, getting lost is actually enjoyable. Grazie!

download the FREE Rick Steves app too and there is LOTS of Venice audio tours - the one of the Grand Canal is GREAT. Buy the RS Venice GuideBook. We love to stay at a B&B as the hosts are always so helpful with directions and maps. We love Campiello Zen - it's also right at at Vaporetto stop, so it's easy with luggage. Buy a Vaporetto Pass for the length of time you'll be there.

It’s the quirky, unusual, bizarre things that grab me in Venice. Morris records “The bells of the Oratory of the Virgin near San Giobbe so annoyed the monks of the neighbouring convent that in 1515 they went out one night and razed its little campanile to the ground: they had to rebuild it at their own expense”.
So that was the reason for a walk into the far north of Cannaregio, find the reconstructed campanile.

Or trail the Tiepolos, father, son and grandson, all over Venice. Everywhere from the Sacristy of San Polo to the Armenian monastery on San Servolo via Academe.

Or the architecture pf Carlo Scarpa, Venice’s fave modern architect, works all over Venice and the Veneto. The Olivetti showroom in the Piazza, a pavilion in the Giardini and the Querini Stampalia, a little jewel of a building and garden.

So it helps to have an agenda, a trail if you like, that draws you away from San Marco and the Doges Palace.

Wine in Venice. Millevini near Rialto has a huge range, might be worth a visit.
Cross the Rialto bridge to the San Marco side, turn left after about 20 metres at Ramo del Fonteg etc, and the wine shop will be on your left.
Maybe they don’t have a thousand wines, but they do have a heap.