I will be in Venice towards end of June 2020. I am thinking about going going couple of days early. But I am also not sure I want to visit Venice. I have heard reports on how overcrowded it is. I am assuming I going in peak tourist season.
So, was wondering if there are other places around Venice that may not be as crowded but worth visiting. I am trying to find something which is within couple of hours of a train ride or something equivalent.
Thank you.
If you are going to be in Venice then you should see Venice. There is no point of staying Venice but doing day trips from Venice. There are many great places near Venice -- Padua, Verona, Revenna, and others. When you have refined your plans - dates, etc., -- come back with specific questions.
amazon05 - Padova and Verona are nearby towns and also Lake Garda that are worth visiting. Burano and Murano are towns situated in the Lagoon. A quick ferry ride can get you there. There are some magnificent villas to visit between Venice and Padua.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/venetian-villas-between-venice-and-padua-1548139
Well amazon05, certainly you can expect the main tourist center of Venice (Rialto Bridge to San Marco and directly up to the train station) to be very crowded from about 10 to 4, especially on days when multiple cruise ships are in port. However, many other parts of Venice, and even the tourist center in the early morning and evening, can be very uncrowded and lovely. I myself would not want to be near Venice and not visit, or to stay in Mestre or elsewhere, and just visit Venice for the day.
Beyond Venice, Padua is about 30 minutes west by train, Vicenza about 60 minutes, and Verona about 90 minutes. Each is a lovely and historic town, with many sites and experiences, worthy of a day or a few days. There are also some very interesting small towns not very far from Vicenza to the northeast, reachable by train, which have been on my radar for some time, although I have not yet visited.
Of course there are also the lagoon islands of Murano (glass), Burano (lace, seafood and pastel colored houses) and Torcello (very rural birthplace of Venice) make up a great day trip from the city of Venice, although especially Murano are likely to be very crowded at that time as well.
Padua (Padova) is amazing, and well worth the 30 minute train trip to visit. I was there 5 days and wish I'd been there longer, whereas I was in Venice for a half day and hated it. When you go to Padua, be sure to book a ticket to see the Scrovegni Chapel - I was a skeptic until I went, and it was really powerful. Only 25 people can enter at a time, so booking in advance is a requirement.
"Nobody goes there any more, it's too crowded!" ;-)
By all means spend as much time as you can in Venice, including overnights. The best times to be in the city are mornings and evenings when the day trippers are gone. And you can avoid most crowds by staying away from the Rialto-San Marco area in the middle hours of the day.
I had a great day in Padua, and some recommend an overnight there. But I had about six nights in Venice, with time to see much of the city, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Even when Venice is uber-crowded (Carnevale), you can easily find quiet spots to enjoy her charms. It sounds like you are being a tour in Venice. If so, there are other options for a couple days, though I wouldn't reject out of hand spending the extra time in Venice. It's one of my very favorite cities. If you aren't locked into flying into Venice, there are better options if you want to start your trip somewhere else. Milan is often a good choice. You could start in Bologna or Padua. I like Verona very much but it will be opera season so maybe more crowded than Venice.
Vicenza was were we stayed once.
