One day in Venice

I personally think Venice is worth seeing, no matter how much time you have. Venice is magical. If you are willing to do the travel -- I don't think you will regret it.

As long as you'll be able to spend a night there, then Venice is worth the trip.

I just realized, thanks to some more reading on this site, that the film festival is during the exact time we will be there. The festival is September 2-12, and we'll be in Europe September 1-13. Does it generally get very hard to get a room during the festival?

Very hard. Not impossible, but difficult. Reserve ahead if you can.

I believe the film festival happens on the Lido, not in Venice proper. We were there in 2003 during the festival and barely could tell that it was going on.

Kimberly: "Get to Venice early afternoon, stay overnight, leave Venice mid to late afternoon the next day..."

I just did this and it was perfect. We didn't feel rushed. Saw everything we needed to see. And most importantly, ended up enjoying the ambience of Venice in its various incarnations (early AM, mid day, early evening/dusk, and late night.

We arrived around 2PM. Visited San Marcos Cathedral and the Doge's palace in later afternoon (no lines!). Did the Vaporetto #1 at dusk. Strolled through Venice at night after dinner. Did some more strolling in the early AM (fascinating to see the city getting ready for the day). Took the Vap#2 back to the train station. Hopped on the train around noon back to Florence.

ENJOY!

Kimberely! We just did the exact same thing and it was not difficult! I'm very glad we did it, and 24 hours in Venice was busy, but I felt like it was enough (in fact, i don't know if i would have wanted to stay any longer). We saw Doges Palace and the Basilica....plus did a lot of wandering and gelato eating! Don't worry about the time! If you are able to walk well and can handle a 12 hour day, go for it!

Even if Venice mainstream is packed and crazy, during events, there is always the old ghetto, that seems devoid of tourists, even in high season. You will feel like you are the only visitor there - and you just might be! It has all the charm of Venice without the crowds.

You MUST go! I adore it! Am planning to spend 1/4 of my total 6-week journey only in Venice. Rent an apartment if you get the chance. I know you'll only have a day, but in the future, I recommend staying longer!

That is precisely what I did last September! We arrived around noon the first day and left around 4 pm the next day. We saw the highlights and then some, did some walking around, 'got lost' as Rick suggested, and it was great. I DO wish I'd had more time; but we were able to get a lot done in that amount of time. The Pensione Guerrato let us keep our bags there after checkout so we could do some more touring around (a nice place to stay, by the way). As you said, "It IS Venice"; I'd go for it!