Padua or Vicenza?

Having been to both, I think Padova will offer more. It's also a bit closer to Venezia, if that's a factor; practically every train out of Venezia Santa Lucia stops in Padova.

Agree with Zoe. The two cities feel quite different. Padua feels busier; Vicenza, more like a small town. Both very worthwhile, but I was glad I stayed in Padua and day-tripped to Vicenza.

Not really impressed with Vicenza except for the architecture. Padau will be a better choice, imho.

I just stayed in Vicenza while visiting the Veneto and enjoyed the small village atmosphere. For a day trip, I would definitely recommend Padova. Make reservations for the Scrovegni chapel. If you don't see it, you have not seen Padova. It has more sights to visit than Vicenza and is easy to navigate with the all day tram ticket. It's Italy so you've got good food, good wine and wonderful streets and piazzas to stroll. You could also visit the Prato Della Valle and the Otto Botanico which are a short walk from the Basilica of St. Anthony.

If you visit the chapel, I hope you have the same luck as I had. I was the only visitor for my 2:45 time slot and had the Giotto's all to myself. Outstanding!

Padova is great, and not just for the Scrovegni Chapel, although that's definitely the highlight.

Look at Treviso as well. While claims that it's like a smaller Venice are exaggerated, it does have canals and is quite pleasant to walk around.

Definitely Padova. The Scrovegni Chapel and St. Anthony Basilica are "not to miss" sights in that part of Italy. There are beautiful piazzas to stroll and lovely buildings in the center, and the Prato delle Valle is so pretty at night. Have dinner at Zairo then join the couples and families enjoying the fountain, statues and lights surrounding the elliptical Prato. It's at the south end of town on the easy tram line that runs north/south through Padova. Train from Venezia takes about 25 minutes and run frequently.

We loved Padua. It's a college town so lot's of young folks, street musicians, nice cafe's. There is a GROM Gelato place there. GROM is growing by leaps and bounds with now many outlets, including NY, but the gelato may still be the finest I have tasted. (Just had it again in Paris a few months ago.)

Ditto everything suggested for visiting in Padova, plus I recommend the markets in and around the Palazzo della Ragione.

Padova has the beautiful, intimate Scrovegni Chapel. Also, we enjoyed the museum and St. Anthony's Basilica. It's larger, so there's more to do in town.

We were just at Vicenza in September, staying overnight. We enjoyed walking out to the Villa Rotunda & back, the architecture in town and had some fantastic meals there.

Both are easy train connections.

I've considered going to Bassano del Grappa during one itinerary but dropped it from that trip. Did you feel like it was a good option? Highlights?

Thank you all so much for your input. Padova it is! Jean, I visited Bassano del Grappa as part of a 3 town private tour, so not much time there. I will say it was breathtaking! Lots of nice shops for food items to bring home and great scenery. Also, there's the grappa! I would say its nice to visit but no need to stay. I'm glad I saw it, as it wasn't quite like anywhere else I'd been but I thought Asolo was MUCH more charming.

Wendi,

I would do both (which I did October 2015).

The main attraction in Vicenza is the Teatro Olimpico and it is incredible - a must-see if in the region. If you are a student of architecture (formal or otherwise), you could actually spend an entire day in Vicenza.

Padua is much larger than Vicenza and has some beautiful churches and a few ancient Roman ruins. If it is market day, you can easily spend half a day wondering the market stalls. And, there's a large exhibition complex.

On my trip, we left for Vicenza early (35 minutes via the frecci train, 70 minutes via a regional) and toured the Teatro Olimpico (accessed by the #10 bus?) before walking back to the train station via Piazza del Signori and Giardino Salvi. This can easily be done in a morning leaving you an entire afternoon/evening in Padua. I would wait until I arrived Padua to have lunch as there are far more options there.

From Vicenza, take the Regional train to Padua (about 20 minutes and no reason to spend extra and wait for a high-speed train). From the train station, take the tram to Prato Della Valle. From here, you can hit all the major centro storico sights. If visiting the Scrovegni Chapel, it is in walking distance of the train station and right along the tram line.

Another option is to take a canal boat tour from Venice to Padua. It's pretty much an all day trip so it kind of prevents a trip to Vicenza.

If you are into art and/or art history.....you will certainly want to study the perfectly preserved Giotto works in Padua's Scrovegni Chapel.

When we were there, we stayed in Padua and took day trips to Venice. We didn't regret it. Padua was wonderful and it was easy to get to Venice from there.