Padua

Jean - In Venice, You can ride a Vaporetto through the Grand Canal , Visit St. Mark’s Basilica, Ponte di Rialto, and Doges Palace before heading to Padua.

If you are interested in art, Padova’s Scrovegni Chapel, frescoed by Giotto, is one of the of the top sights in the world. You would need a reservation to see it.

Padova is a nice little town that you can certainly enjoy rather than trying to deal with Venice. The Scrovengi Chapel is an absolute must. Reserve tickets now. St. Anthony’s basilica is magnificent, and not crowded in the least. Otherwise, the town is just a pleasant, well-off, slice of life place. It also takes just as long to get to Padova from the airport than it does to get to Venice.

Still, if you’ve never been to Venice it’s worth a night there. Just get out and walk around, see St. Mark’s square, and take a ride down the Grand Canal. Venice has some true magic in the evenings as the crowds thin out.

If you say you are meeting up with group and that is a Rick Steves tour then the Scrovigni Chapel will be included.

If you are arriving a day early, why not spend the night in Venice. You will see plenty in Padua on your tour and still have free time. Taking the Vaporetto down the Grand Canal is a must. And the real Venice comes alive when the day trippers leave.

Even if you are going to meet up with an RS tour, I'd spend the extra day in Padova. I didn't go to Padua early before my Village Italy tour and I regretted it. I did not see everything I wanted there and would actually have liked a 2nd visit to Scrovegni Chapel as you only get about 15 minutes in there and it's not enough! I loved the Botanical Gardens - they have wonderful greenhouses there with different zones plus an older section that is outdoors.

I did get a quick visit to the Basilica of Saint Anthony on our free time but it was not as much time as I would have liked.

I just liked walking around the Prato della Valle near the RS hotel if you are going to go on that tour!

I will also say this about Venice. I find Venice difficult to navigate in/thru and 1 day in a jet-lagged condition would not be a fun time for me in this city. You may have been to Venice before or may not find it as difficult as I did but that's another reason why I suggest going directly to Padua.

If you are staying at the tour hotel in Padua, I'd go straight there, check in and drop the bags. If not, I'd consider spending the night in Venice (even Mestre) and taking the bus/train into Venice to walk around and have an early dinner, then more wandering around the canals and leaving for Padua around mid-afternoon. Even if you spend the night in Padua, you could take the 1/2 hour train ride to Venice and spend the day there. I think everyone should see Venice :-)

You'll have another go at Giotto frescoes in Assisi. I thought one full day and an evening was enough for Padua.