Time in Venice

Where would you fly out of? If VCE you will want to be in Venice night before
You can easily fill 4 days in Venice

hey hey RPL
when is this trip and where do you fly out of as ChristineH asks? my own opinion is to spend all your time in venice, it's only a short time with many things to see and do. few things to think about, check-in times at hotel 3-4pm and check-out times 10-11am.
many flights out of VCE are early early morning 6am with finding transportation that early in morning, could be 4am airport arrival for check-in and going thru passport/immigration. (been there done that)
what other attractions/activities do you plan on doing & seeing, if you need reservations ahead of time, book them ASAP. do you have a hotel booked already? venice is always busy and crowded all year long, many daytrippers 10am to 4pm on many kind of tours, wanting to be near st mark's square and rialto bridge. stay far away during those hours, walk the back canals (canareggio & castello routinelynomadic.com castello: guide to venice's most authentic neighborhood, gpsmycitycom/ venice self guided tours you download to see what they offer, taking a vaporetto to the lido, take a gondola ride ([email protected]) a gondelier we emailed to reserve the back canals and sings opera. he was great and answers promptly. we loved it
alongdustyroads.com burano
isoladiburano.it
one of my favorites places. always check restaurants and closing during afternoons hours if you go buy a R/T tickets so no waiting at ticket machines. it can get busy.
justgoplacesblog.com 7 amazing things to do in treviso
30 minute train ride from venice to see "little venice", known for tiramisu and radicchio. spend a day walking around the small town away from the crowds.
any more questions just ask. want you to enjoy your time
aloha

Thank you for your detailed and quick responses! Yes the flight is out of Venice in late spring. We fly home (on day five) and I’ve made reservations to spend the night, day four near the airport. The flight is midday.
From your suggestions, it is not to overnight away from Venice and just enjoy being there. By the way, we are staying in the Cannaregio district.

+1 for spending the entire time in Venice

Unless your flight is pre 9:00am I also advocate for spending the time in Venice proper.

The nice thing about having all that time is the ability to explore uncrushed. Have four things on your itinerary and somehow only got to two of them? No pressure - still time later. You should have time to do Burano and Murano - I suggest in that order if you want to do both. If you go to Burano get off one stop at early at Mazzorbo at walk along the wall and enter the first doorway. This will allow you wander through the organic garden of the Venissa Wine Resort and then cross the bridge to Burano. If nothing else it lets you arrive after the vaporetto has disgorged everyone else into the Piazza there.

And if the crowds get too much take the vaporetto over to Guidecca and walk along the housing and everyday life over there and stumble across the garden of Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore (weekends) and maybe the burgeoning little arts district that is starting up oner there. And if you want to get a great view of Venice - especially at sunset - you can go to the rooftop bar at Hilton Stucky and pay twice as much as you should for a drink.
Or the vaporetto to either of the S.Elena-Stadio stops and walk the trees and parks at the end of the island all the way back through the Giardini della Biennale - assuming the the Biennale is not going on. If the Biennale is going then you should definitely look into that. Venice is filled with churches few people bother to go see and the edges of Venice offer places away from the crowds in season so explore.

My $.02, enjoy Venice!
=Tod

We have visited Venice a bunch of times, Summer and Winter, about 200 nights in total. A book we discovered is Secret Venice by Jonglez. (There is also Secret Rome, Secret Florence etc,). That book has drawn us all over Venice, showing us many things that never appear on a regular itinerary.
For instance, the ice house in the Hotel des Doges in Cannaregio, or the single white pavin stone set in the pavement leading to San Pietro in Castello, a memorial to male ego.
You need the hard copy, the soft phone copy does not work well.

I agree with Aussie that Secret Venice is a very good book that goes into incredible depth. Thanks to the book, I learned about the "paradise garden" frescoed ceiling at San Salvador and later went to see it in person. It was incredible!

However, looking at OP's question, I’d say the book is better suited to those visiting Venice for the third or fourth time, rather than for a first or even second trip, when there's already more than enough to experience in plain sight. Moreover, many of the indoor "secrets" aren't easily accessible to the average visitor: you often need to book in advance, make arrangements, or contact someone directly.

Many thanks for taking the time to share your detailed responses and recommendations, very appreciated!

hey hey RPL
i agree with hiredman about spending last night in venice since you have a late day flight. look at transportation either from your place in canareggio or back at train station with a bus. look at a private water taxi which is more $$$ but a fun way to arrive.
motoscafivenezia.it venicelink.com for shared shuttle
put in dummy reservations and see what they have. ask your host/hostess at hotel
another fun thing to check out is doing a "cichetti/bar crawl" with alessandro (schezzini.it)
email him for more info. he does a tour to small bars with "small bites or appetizers". history of venice, white/red wines. bring euros
camacana.com
learn how to make a venetian mask and take home as souvenir. check what they offer and enjoy
aloha