Hi all!
I will have 12 day post Best of Turkey tour in early April (heading to Marseille) and would love to see Italy. My current mental itinerary is to fly into Venice, stay 3 nights, Padova/Verona 1 day, Florence 7 days (the only place I actually have a reservation) and day trip to Lucca, Siena....before heading to France.
I see it is much cheaper to stay in Padova than Venice. My question is whether it is advisable to stay in Venice or if day tripping via train into the city fine.
I am very open to suggestions regarding destinations and sites.
Thanks!
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
745 posts
I loved staying right in Venice. It's so different in the evening after all the day trippers have left. We just wandered the streets and found lovely restaurants filled with local families.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6989 posts
Stay in Venice
Day tripping means you’ll be there with all the crowds
Padova and Verona really can’t easily be done in one day if that’s what you mean
We stayed 3 nights in each
I’d give them each at least 2 nights
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7644 posts
There’s a reason it’s much cheaper in Padova than Venice. If you want to have great memories of Venice, stay on the islands of Venice - not Venice Mestre and enjoy all of the wonderful spots without going back & forth on trains.
For three nights there including the day you arrive, I wouldn’t do any day trips elsewhere. There’s a lot to do in Venice, plus Burano & Murano. It’s magical in the evenings!
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6463 posts
If you want to see Venice, stay in Venice. On the other hand, 3 days in Padova would be lovely. There's plenty to see and do there. But of course, it's not Venice...
Posted by
Irving
3127 posts
The problem with day tripping is you miss out on the ambience that the evening hours bring. Day trip to Padua not the other way around.
Posted by
OP
Everett, WA
16 posts
Thank you all!
Airbnb close to the Grand canal rented! ($60/night!).
Thank you for the info on Verona and Padova
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6989 posts
If you don’t have a guide book yet here’s a start
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
1059 posts
By all means, stay in Venice. After the day trippers are gone, Venice becomes quite a dark, romantic place. The sounds of concerts somewhere near or not so near, the lantern light from an approaching gondola, the dueling orchestras (if you need some fun). But the best, for me, is a very late night ride up and down the Grand Canal. Sit as close to the front as possible and keep telling yourself: I deserve this!
Posted by
Atlanta
5140 posts
Glad to see you are staying in Venice. Three nights will only give you two full days and (depending on arrival and departure times) parts of another two. You might want to take one full day away from Florence and use it for Venice. Even then you'll just barely scratch the surface of Venice.