Last Minute Trip to Venice .... best piece of advice?

Slow down, don't try to see everything. Go out early in the morning, stay out late in the evening to avoid the massive crowds. And my husband would add: at least one evening have a drink on St Mark's Square. It's expensive and packed with other tourists, but it's a unique experience.

get off the main routes to avoid the throngs.

Expect to get lost. This is a collection of islands - you can't go very far wrong, and there are signs.

Enjoy the maze. Make sure to get out and walk at sunset and at dawn.

Use the boats. Get a vaporetto pass for the full duration of your stay - it is most expensive for short duration, every day after is cheaper - so a short one and another one is more expensive than one for the whole duration.

Relax and have a wonderful time!

I'm not sure what will be open/closed in Venice during the holiday weekend, but just in general -

Plan to wander. It's the best way to get lost and find things. Observe appropriate big city precautions if wandering alone, of course, but daytime wandering is the best way to find unexpected treasures.

Be sure to greet shop owners when you enter a store.

Make sure you have some change in the local currency (Euros). Some bathrooms require coins.

You still have time to purchase a guidebook for Venice. I love to read up on places ahead of time.

I assume you've traveled to Europe before and don't require the first-timers 'don't forget to do this before you leave' list of things to do. Is there anything special that inspired a quick trip to Venice? Atmosphere? The local cuisine? Art? Riding a gondola? History? Is there something special you want to find/experience?

@aquamarinesteph ... we will be there the weekend before Easter, so leaving on April 15. Is this still considered a holiday weekend? I am a little worried about Easter vacation crowds, but these are the dates we had to travel so I'll have to make the most of it.

To answer your question: The trip was inspired by the last-minute discovery that a close family member who lives in Asia and I both had some days off at that time. We were looking to meet in a city that neither had been to and that was manageable in three days. Given the effects of climate change, natural geological evolution, and crowds on Venice, it seemed like a good choice. In other words, we wanted to see it before it was gone. And it's also my birthday!

Kind of just looking for general atmosphere and exploring back alleys. My travel companion is a big Instagram poster so he'll be looking for good photo ops. And we both like good food. The Peggy Guggenheim gallery is on my list also. We're staying in an AirBnB in Cannaregio.

Venice gets very crowded mid-day in the top sights. I haven't been at Easter but I'd bet the holiday adds to the crowds. The positive is that the crowds are concentrated in certain times and areas. Go out to St. Mark's square EARLY (Before 8AM), see the square, and then walk around in peace and quiet.
Crowds start to thin out around 3-5PM, so go out later, too.

Take a "siesta" after lunch at your hotel if the getting up early and staying out late is tiring. Resting from 2-4 or so is very refreshing.
If you are out in mid-day, walk a bit away from the tourist sights - there are quiet canals just a few minutes walk from anywhere.

Go out, get lost! Wandering the back canals is the joy of Venice. You can't get too far lost - it's an island and you can't leave it without a boat, train, or car.

Bottom line, you’re visiting a magical city. Sure there’ll be the galloping hordes from the cruise ships so plan around it. Nigel, as usual, has offered great advice. In the city itself, the best times are early and late so the height of the day can be used for a lingering lunch, a nap or an escape to Burano and Murano.

get a vaporetto pass for length of stay
skip the overpriced gondola ride- we took a cross canal gondola ride for a few euros- can't think of what those are called but it was a short but wildly fun ride
wander til you get lost
go on a cicchetti crawl
go out to Burano/Torcello, we skipped Murano- too crowded
go to top of SM campanile for fabulous views right before sunset if possible
get up early- get away from San Marco before crowds arrive
take the Secret itineraries tour

enjoy! we loved Venice and are going back for just a few days next month

It’s really easy to dine badly in Venice. Start doing your restaurant research, it’s been 5 years since I was there last so I hesitate to recommend anyplace, except this if your budget can handle it: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/details/vcegl-the-gritti-palace-a-luxury-collection-hotel-venice/5955898/. Have lunch and some wine on the terrace (if you cant get a seat on the terrace don’t bother) watch the world float by. For dinner if you are wandering those back streets at night, you come across a place where families are dining and there is no English menu in the window, that is your place. Have a dish of risotto sepia, a pitcher of Prosecco (how the Venetian serve it) and enjoy. If you are adventurous liver and onions is a classic Venetian dish. As for a gondola ride, you miss this and you miss seeing Venice from the water, a once in a lifetime experience. But, you have to be specific with the gondolier- what you don’t want is that tourist trap of a ride down the grand canal with several hundred of your newest friends and a singing accordion player. No, you want to get into the back canals where all you will hear is the swish of the oar, the shouted warnings that you are coming around the corner, and the clinking of dishes as they prepare dinner in the homes you will pass. This needs to be at dusk if at all possible. Enjoy our favorite city in Europe.

Stay in Venice Island and not in Mestre!

The cross canal gondola rides are called traghetti, and there are several of them on the maps. The tourists sit down; the locals make it a point to travel while standing.

Take a water taxi into Venice from the airport.....the absolute BEST way to arrive in Venice!! Shared water taxis can be booked upon arrival at the airport, just a bit of a wait as others collect their luggage and make their way to the taxi booth.
But, the unobstructed views as your boat into the city are fabulous!!!

Then once in Venice, take the vaparetto (sp?) look that Rick recommends in his guidebook, and sit in front of the wheelhouse, as is recommended in the guidebook. This will give you a fabulous view from the Grand Canal and you will see a lot of Venice quickly and comfortably.

The restaurants that Rick recommends in his guidebook looked fabulous, but we did not book ahead and most were reserved up when we were there (or closed on Sunday...the day we were looking to dine out). So, check it out and book ahead. As someone else said, tourist food is not great, but the menus posted in the windows of these recommended restaurants looked fabulous.

To see the St. Marks all lighted up, attend a Sunday morning mass there, then you will be inside and easy to walk around afterward and then also go upstairs (for a small admission).

Enjoy! Venice is a magical place and we are sooo glad we got to experience the magic. (We were catching a sailboat cruise out of Venice, and then returned to Venice early a.m. after the seven day sailing. Seeing the city as we sailed out and then returned to the early morning lights was oh so magical. You will love it all....as others have already advised, get out and walk among the smaller side canals to avoid the crush of people along the main drag.

If you planned to visit St. Mark's Cathedral, go to the Palm Sunday service, whether you are Catholic or not.

You won't have to wait in line to enter, you can sit and enjoy a leisurely viewing of the beautiful interior, you'll experience the service (new and diifferent or familiar, but different) the distribution of the palms and when Mass is over, you are already in the church to take photos and waunder before the crowds.

As I recall, the entry for the service is on your left as you face the front of the church.

Maggie-- is this true for every Mass- even weekdays?

To see the St. Marks all lighted up, attend a mass there<<

In case you're looking for a guidebook, National Geographic publishes a great one: 'Walking Venice: The Best of the City'.

Christine, gosh....good question. I have no idea. I should have specified Sunday mass. I'll go back and edit, just on the chance I may be misleading someone, because I do not know about other days of the week. Actually it did not even occur to me that masses happen on other days of the week, but, of course, they do.

Vibfey -- "The cross canal gondola rides are called traghetti, and there are several of them on the maps. The tourists sit down; the locals make it a point to travel while standing." On the several traghetti crossings we made, in 2004, 2009 and 2015, no passengers, even the locals, were allowed to stand up. The rowers wouldn't even leave the dock till I sat down, cause i wanted to stand like a Venetian. I've been around boats all my life: It was a bit embarrassing. :)

To the OP, moss, lodge near the Train Station. Then quickly go native by exploring the Ghetto, North East, and the San Croce area, South East. End up at St. Marks. Walk back on the central main drag walk of Venice, back to the Train Station. Just follow the signs to the Ferrovia. If you want the maximum experience, see the main sights in one day, or see them on a return from these alley walks, then do a circum- walk around the entire city hugging as close to the water as you can and just wander. This may make you back-track sometimes if a particular bridge is being repaired. I walked it in one day, and it was one of the happiest days of my life. Then a day trip to Burano and Murano. I'd leave out visiting Torcello or Lido if you only have four days. The Alilaguna boats are larger than a Water Taxi Sedan, and have cabins. The taxis are very expensive, and will take you anywhere. Alilaguna boats, about 16 Euros one way, run on a fixed schedule from the airport and back and use the public vaporetto docks. Its a little bit of a walk from the airport to the docks if you have luggage. If your staying near the Train Station you would use the Orange Line and get off at the Guglie dock. But this line also goes all the way to San Marco on the Grand Canal. The Blue Line runs along the northern shore of Venice and also ends up at San Marco.
We found the best gondola ride was evening, starting near the Scalzi Bridge, and takes you through the Santa Croce Canals. We've always used the #5 bus Marco Polo Bus, at Piazza Roma, to the airport to get back.

Check this out

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/gallerie-dell-accademia-the-vitruvian-man

Ah yes thank you- traghetti- we had to sit down as well, glad of it actually. It was a brisk wobbly ride.

Read https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

Book walking tours with this outfit. Free tours (you tip the guide of course) but you do have to book online in advance, though there's no penalty for no-shows.

The best time of day is the misty pre-dawn hours and then watching sunrise over the lagoon from St Mark's Square, aka The Piazza - it's the only piazza in Venice. All the others squares are campos. Take the morning free tour above and you'll learn why!

Chani, just curious; what do you generally tip a guide on a tour like the one you mentioned? I'm always stymied when someone asks for just tips or a "donation." I walked away from some guy working a charity booth in Tulsa selling cookies for "whatever you think is right," because I had no idea what to pay. (I don't buy cookies; I haven't a clue what a fair price would be.) Silly of me, but there it is.

I do want to recompense a vendor fairly for a service, however. We were on a fairly pricey tour in Milan a few years ago, and I noticed some of our tour fellows tipping the guide. My contention was we had paid for a guided tour. She did a competent job, and we were pleased with the tour. But of course we would tip if that was the only cost of the tour.

I haven't read all the responses, so apologies if I'm just repeating, but I'd advise:

i) buy a multi-day water-bus pass for the length of your stay so you can hop on and off when it suits, including taking post-dinner "canal cruises"; and
ii) don't feel you have to tick off everything. There are some specific top sights, but part of the beauty is getting into the back-streets (or canals) and wandering. And there's no need to see every one of these "back-streets", islands or squares. After a while they merge in memories anyway. So relax, take in a few and stop along the way, instead of trying to tick off many just because they're in your guide book.

Celiac disease is common in Italy so eating gluten free is certainly possible. Learn this phrase senza glutine and use it with a please and thank you.

Italy is the BEST place for gluten free food! Seriously. Nearly every waiter is familiar with it and can say what is gf in their restaurant. Most restaurants- but not all - offer gf pasta and bread. Do a search for gluten free Venice and you will find web links to all sorts of reviews etc.

I recall seeing gf menus in multiple restaurants last year. I was not with my celiac son so don’t recall which restaurants, but it’s easy to find.

Moss, I think you'll find that most restaurants offer options to bread, pasta, and pizza, even if they're not consciously trying for gluten free. Roasted meats are widely available, and delicious. You'll be in some of the best seafood country in the world; try grilled anything, and it'll be wonderful. Soups and vegetables are available in all restaurants, except possibly some small pizzerias or hole in the wall sandwich shops. Potatoes and rice are also common; think risotto. Don't assume that pizza and pasta are all that Italy has to offer; the array of foodstuffs is amazing.

In answer to above questions about when Basilica is illuminated--from their website

The St. Mark’s interior is illuminated from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Weekdays and during liturgical celebrations on Sundays and Holidays.<<

Jane - for free walking tours, I usually give €10, since that's about what I'd pay for a similar tour that charges a fee. If the guide was very good, I may go up to €15. On most of the free walking tours, the guide has to pay the company a per person fee (dunno how much).

I also know from friends who are paid guides that they are very grateful for tips since they don't get paid a huge amount. So I usually give a few euros tip. On my last trip to Italy I took a full-day tour. At the end, the guide said what he most wanted wa positive online reviews and handed out business cards with his name. He didn't refuse cash, though.

Thanks for the tips, Chani. (So to speak.) On our tour in Milan, the guide also asked for good online reviews. I had forgotten that.

If you are planning on touring the Doges Palace, always prepurchase a ticket. We made the mistake of not prepurchasing one (Rick has suggestions about prepurchasing tickets in his guidebook.) and we stood in a huge line watching people with prepurchased tickets being allowed in at a faster rate than we were.

We didn't take a gondola ride, but we did take the vaporetto #1 all the way to Lido and back again at sunset. We enjoyed that just as much.

DO enjoy cicchetti!! There are many in Venice. Rick lists some favorites in his Venice guidebook. Try to avoid the restaurants on the Grand Canal. Head back to the Campos. Our best meals were in the small cafes off the beaten track.

I bought a map of Venice at a book store and studied it before we went so I could see the "lay of the land" ahead of time and highlight some places we wanted to visit and dine. Yes, we did get lost even with the map, but that is what makes the whole experience! The narrow lanes become a maze!! Just try to keep a sense of the location of the Grand Canal (and vaporetto stops). Forget about asking directions! The ones you receive from some well meaning local can be as confusing!

Don't miss the fish market. It is incredible. Don't forget to validate your vaporetto pass every time you board! There will be occasional checks by security. Do explore in the quiet of the early morning or evening when the masses of cruise ship passengers aren't there. (Especially St. Marks Square!!)

Enjoy every moment and make memories!!

Just got back and wanted to thank everyone here for the excellent advice.

The trip was superb. I see from perusing these forums that many people plan European trips months, even years, in advance and draw up a detailed itinerary. I had the luxury to book last minute and kind of wing it and it worked out great.

A few notes that might help others:
1. Based on advice here, I bought a three day Vaporetto pass but only took the Vaporetto two times and one time they didn't ask for a ticket, so not worth it in our case. We walked everywhere except for two splurges on water taxis that were still cheaper than what we paid for the three day Vaporetto pass
2. The water taxi was a valuable splurge. Took it for two trips on the Grand Canal .... one from Rialto to Peggy Guggenheim Collection and one from Rialto down to St. Marks. I loved the experience standing up in the back of the boat and speeding through the canal. We got great photos and video, too. Totally worth it for us, but YMMV.
3. Did not take a gondola. Didn't seem worth it and kind of touristsy, like the horse drawn carriages in New York's Central Park.
4. Best advice I got was to get away from the tourist areas. It's this where in many popular places in the world, but it seemed more so in Venice. So many people congregated in the main area near the Rialto Bridge and the shopping area near there. But just a block away it was a completely different world. We stayed in an AirBnB on the north side of the island near the Fondamente Nova boat stop and it was so quiet it was like we had Venice to ourselves with few crowds and our pick of little restaurants and bars/coffee shops to sustain us.
5. Unfortunately, St. Mark's Basillica was closed on the Saturday we went there and only open for three hours the following day, Palm Sunday, so we didn't get in. But we more than made up for it by going to the Doge's Palace late at night -- it closes at 11pm and we had the place nearly to ourselves.. It was a magical experience. Also spent about four hours in the Jewish ghetto with a worthwhile tour of the Jewish Museum of Venice and hanging out in the Carneggio region.

All in all, an amazing experience booked at the last minute with not a lot of advance planning (did not read a single tour book) but with great advice from all of you here. Thanks again.