Need some good ideas for 5 days NE Italy

I really enjoyed Padova. The big draw is the Scrovegni Chapel, which requires reservations. There's also St. Anthony's Basilica, the Orto Botanico, and several other fine sights.

I liked both Padua (rather large historic district, worth an overnight) and Vicenza (Palladian architecture). If you decide to visit Padua, decide ahead of time whether you want to see the Scrovegni Chapel. It requires a timed-entry ticket which might or might not be available for the same day if you try it on a one-day visit. In 2015 you could get the ticket from the tourist office located right at the train station.

Another vote for Padova!

It's a great city and when I visit Venice, I choose to stay in Padova. It's a short train ride between Venice and Padova, so easy to do a day trip between the two.

Vicenza is another city worth a visit. It's halfway between Padova and Verona.

If I recall correctly, I did both Verona and Vicenza as one (long) day trip from Padova, but looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't just do two separate day trips. Hindsight is 20/20.

Have you visited the islands around Venice?

I see you've already received the two towns I would recommend - Vicenza & Padova. If you're not planning to spend much time in Venice, I would recommend staying in Padova for quicker access to all of these locations, plus Ravenna, Bassano del Grappa, or Lake Garda.

The train stations are very close to the center of town in both Vicenza & Padova. In Verona, I remember needing to take a local bus from the train station to the town center.

Lots to like in this part of Italy, as I discovered in 2012.

Padova (2) > Vicenza (1) > Verona (1) > Venice (1)

Book well ahead to secure your Scrovegni Chapel visit.

Even if you chose to spend all your nights staying in Padova, the travel times are not great.
To Vicenza - 15 mins
To Verona - 42 mins
To Venice - 27 mins

I enjoyed the most wonderful personal service at Hotel Belludi near St Anthony's Basilica.

Many Thanks for all the ideas. Sounds like Padova and Vicenza are the leading favorites (assuming Venice and Verona are already in the mix).
Any thoughts on Bologna? It's a little over a 2 hour train to and from Venice. A little less from Verona. Worth the trip? Worth replacing any of the above? Also, Trieste? Not a far ride from Venice (opposite direction). I don't hear much about it but it grabs my attention due to it's location on the coast and near Croatia and Slovenia. Anyone know if it's worth considering?
Thanks again for the help and ideas!!!

I have been to all the places mentioned except Bassano del Grappa and Trieste. Trieste is high on my list of "next" places. There are probably not as many tourist must-dos there as in some of the others. Trieste is probably different from many other places in Italy, which may be why it intrigues me. That and Ravenna would be my choices.

Ravenna and Ferrara.

Not sure how far away it is by train, but the walled city of Este would be a change of pace from the larger cities.

And now for something completely different...just for another thought. If you're done with museums some day and just want ambiance, head to Portogruaro, NE of Venice. About 45 minutes on the train. It's a small city/mid-sized town with a beautiful historic center. Great restaurants, a pretty canal, some pretty churches and piazze, and a lovely town hall. Great for just wandering around. We spent 10 days there a few years back, using it as a home base for the Veneto, and really enjoyed it. It's on the train line to Trieste if you decide to go on, or stop over on your way back. I can dig up my restaurants list if you decide to go.

Also from that trip, we loved Verona and Padova, but were surprised by how much we liked Treviso. For the first two, we had booked and enjoyed the big sights - an opera night in the arena (Verona) and Scrovegni Chapel (Padova), but we just wandered through Treviso discovering things on our own. I recommend it too.

I was a bit sad to miss out on Bassano del Grappa, another time...

Another vote for Padua and Vicenza. You can easily do both in a single day unless you're an architecture nut. Take an early train to Vicenza and head for the Teatro Olimpico (20 minute walk or take a bus). Other nice places to see, if you have time, are the Church of Santa Corona and Museo Palladio at Palazzo Barbaran Da Porto. If you're an absolute architecture nut, you could spend a week in and around Vicenza visiting Andrea Palladio sites...

After visiting Vicenza in the morning, backtrack to Padua for the rest of the day. There's plenty to see and the trains to Venice run late into the evening so you can grab a nice dinner there. By the way, the tram is very convenient for getting to the centro storico from the train station.

One other option for Padua, there is a river cruise to Padua from Venice (or the reverse). A Google search should find it in short order...