Small town as a base near Venice airport?

Maybe Pordenone?

Not sure why you want to do this, especially by train ( a car would give you more choices) but I will post some suggestions.

The train does not serve Marco Polo airport so would need a town with train connections to Mestre and take the bus from there. Take a look at the train lines that go to Mestre and check the routes for the individual towns where the train stops along the way. (It is easy to do this on Bahn.de).

Trains coming from Bolzano and Trento will connect through Verona to get to Mestre. If you look at the local train, you will see about 8-9 stops between Trento and Verona that may be candidates for a small town base.

Trains from Trieste in the north go directly to Mestre, and the local train has about eight stops along the way, including historic Aquila/Grado ( which is more of a seaside resort these days). To get to Trento and Bolzano from here you would have to go all the way down to Verona and then change for the train going north---a long detour.

The train from Bassano del Grappa has about seven stops along the way to Mestre, including Castelfranco del Veneto.

The trick is to figure out which of these towns has the charm and feel you are looking for. It may be tough to find narrow winding streets, as much of the Veneto is a broad flat plain. There are hills over by Trento and Roverto, and perhaps some towns along that route offer possibilities.

We spent a night in Bassano del Grappa some years ago and liked the town, but I do not recall any narrow winding streets free of cars. The hill town of Asolo would offer that ( and looks very appealing), but it is not served by the train.

Lola has much the same advice I was to give.

My favourite place in the area is Vicenza - but you will have to rule it out. The city is built on a grid pattern much like most in that area. I have spent a lot of time there and am taxing my mind to think of any winding streets at all. Every street has cars on it except one, in parts.

No train to Marco Polo Airport.

Bassano del Grappa has straight streets, plenty of cars.

Cittadella might do, but not on the train.

You might find the sort of thing you are looking for in Toscana and Umbria, Le Marche, but I am really straining to think of what would meet your stated aims in Venezia - Veneto - Friuli.

Good luck finding it, and when you do please spread the word here so we can benefit.

Asiago? Used to have a train, but no more. I don't know.

There are so many seriously lovely places around there. Over a week one time and I never scratched the surface; I have spent plenty of time in the Veneto and never tire of it - but so much of it is better done with rubber tyres on asphalt.

Car-free town with winding streets? I think you just described Venice.
Bassano del Grappa does have direct train service to Mestre and Padua, plus a few trains a day to Trento winding through the mountains, by-passing Verona.

@Lola: We had to leave from Marco Polo airport because at first we planned on staying in Venice for 4 nights (but we changed our minds and wanted to go with small, less crowded towns to end our 2-week long trip instead). We don't have plans to rent a car and only wanted to travel by rail or bus. Thanks for your tips and suggestions, I will look into Bahn.de for Veneto train routes.

@Nigel: I stayed in Vicenza for 3 nights a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. I guess by "street without cars", I meant narrow streets that has 1-2 lanes in contrast to 3-4 lane street for cars. Thank you for your recommendations as well. I will certainly let you know what I found and where I decided to stay.

Not a small town but Padova may have everything you want.

Treviso might be what you're looking for. I was there for one day and found it plenty, but if Padova is "too big" then Treviso could be the size you seek. There are regular connections to Venice. It has canals and winding streets.

I really loved Padova. At least in 2009 when I was there, it was relatively tourist-free, so it certainly felt like a "real Italian town" rather than a tourist experience like parts of Venice can be (of course, other parts of Venice are also relatively tourist-free).

I don't know if Ferrara is close enough to the VCE airport for your needs, but it's another great place (although it felt roughly Padova-sized, so again, it may be bigger than you want). LIke Padova, it's not on the tourist radar, so it's filled with Ferrarese (and their many bicycles - the center is closed to cars and everyone bikes, like in Amsterdam or Copenhagen).

Thank you for all your suggestions. We've decided to stay in Vicenza as it is relatively close to Venice Airport (1 hr to Venice Mestre train station and another 15-20 mins to the airport via shuttle or taxi). Despite the lack of nightlife, the town is a good size for us to not get overwhelmed by tourists, but still has beautiful architecture for us to admire (Palladio!). We might take a day to visit either Treviso, Padova (or even Bassano). We've also found an affordable apartment to stay in right next to the Basilica Palladiana, so we are very excited!

Happy travels everyone!

Have some gelato at Vinci. Seriously yum, some of the best in the country.

We found what we thought was the best coffee bar - by a country mile - at Caffetteria Bar Pigafetta
which is at Contra Pescaria, 7. That is just down from the unusual Pigafetta House.