Hello, i will be in Venice for 3 days late April. I am wondering about doing a day trip, i know 3 days isnt too much time in Venice, I dont have anything planned, just getting lost. Is it worth visiting Verona or Lido beach for a day trip? Or any other suggestion for a quick day trip?
I will only be in Rome for 3 days I know that wouldnt be a good idea for a day trip from there, but Venice maybe?
Forget the Lido, especially in April.
First of all you should visit Murano (glass blowing) and Burano (pretty colorful facades). Google image both to see. Near Burano is Torcello, if you are interested in basilicas.
The above are islands in the lagoon that can be all hit in less of a day.
Another day could be spent in Padua (Padova), less than 1/2 hour away by train.
Verona is another option, although it is farther away (90 min each way)
If you have 3 full days (4 nights) you can do 2 of the above 3 options.
If you have only 3 nights, then maybe you have time for the islands only.
We will be getting the 3 day Vaparetto pass, is this pass good for travel to these islands?
Yes, the vaporetto pass is good for Murano, Burano, Torcello and the other islands of Venezia, but I would stick to those three. Torcello is my favorite, followed by Burano.
Bag the Lido, it is just a beach bascially.
Verona is a great city, go there, but, there is a lot ot see in Venice and I assume you arrive Day 1 and leave Day 2. That means something like 2 days time in Venice. Burn the first day seeing the tourist sights and sites, like St. Marks, Doge's Palace, Guggenheim, Academia, Arsnale, Rialto, etc. Use the second day to see outlying islands. Giudecca, San Giorgio Maggiore, Santa Maria della Salute, Burano, Murano, you will have to pick a couple as you won't be able to do them all.
Yes, the best deal in Venice is a multi-day vap ticket.
Murano and especially Burano, will give you a glimpse of what Venice was before mass tourism.
Torcello is sparsely populated, so there isn't much of a town (basically some buildings along a canal between the dock and the basilica). However the basilica is one of the most famous Paleo-Christian basilicas in Italy dating from the VII century. It has beautiful mosaics. If you have an interest in art and architecture, you should visit it, it's near Burano and you can hit both easily.
Bryan, I agree with the others about the islands in the lagoon, and also Padova. Verona is very nice, but considerably more distant and time-consuming. Also, I think Verona is a much better experience when a base for at least a couple nights, rather than a day trip.
About the islands, the central part of Murano is very commercial and focused on glass. If you can get into some of the semi-private galleries of the principal glass outlets, there are some magnificent, but very expensive, works there. Often these are upstairs or in back of the sales areas. You can get in if you ask or are invited by a salesperson. I can understand why the businesses would not want groups of children or tour groups to enter there. Of course, they would love higher-end art buyers. In the smaller shops, beware that a lot of the cheap glass items might likely be made in China or elsewhere, not Murano. Murano work should be marked so. Also, if you take some time and walk well beyond the commercial area, toward the church called San Donato, passing the Glass Museum, there is a more quiet and "locals" area of Murano, and the church is very nice. Along this walk I passed by a small co-op store of individual glass artists, and bought two hand-crafted glasses very reasonably, that are on the windowsill beside me right this minute. You can easily spend several hours wandering around lovely Burano, including its many small shops and its quiet neighborhoods with small pastel colored homes, generally along small canals or by the coast. Very photogenic town. Also some really excellent seafood restaurants on Burano. Torcello is rural, and the original site of early Venice. It is about a 10-minute walk from the vaporetto stop to the very old church complex of three buildings, including a bell tower. As I remember, the combined ticket to enter the three buildings costs enough, €9 or €10 three years ago, that you might not want to do that unless you have an hour or so to explore them.
Padova is also a very nice mid-sized city, about 30 minutes by train from the Venice station. Easy to get around on foot or by bus/tram. Beautiful Scrovegni Chapel (usually requires advance reservation for a particular time). The main outdoor and indoor market is one of the most beautiful and famous in Italy, also very photogenic. These two sites are a nice walk from the station. The Basilica of San Antonio and other sites are somewhat further. Hmmm, I think I'm due for another visit myself!
well i am remembering that i dont get into Venice untill about 3 pm on the first day, so its that evening and then the next 2 full days, 3 nights. So i think ill leave out Verona and stick to visiting 1 or 2 of the little islands.. Thanks!
If you don't like Venice after a day or two, Verona is chock-full of great sights. But if I were in Venice for twice that long, I still wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Last month I took this free walking tour and loved it. I only had time for the morning tour.
Lido - forget it.
