Hi: What are people's opinions, two full days and nights in Venice, departing the 3rd day, or 3 full days and nights in Venice, departing the 4th day? We'll be arriving at the Venice airport from the East coast, so we'll have some jet lag.
Thanks,
Kay
It depends. And, what it chiefly depends on is what you could trade your 3rd night for elsewhere in your itinerary, if you didn't spend it in Venice.
If you cope with jet lag well and will therefore have a full day of sightseeing when you arrive, that argues more for the shorter stay.
I think that Venice is a good starting point--I mean, I'd rather be jet-lagged there than Rome--and that in an eleven-day itinerary 2 or 3 nights is the range you should be thinking about.
Because of jet lag many people wouldn't get in a full day the 1st full day, for that reason I'd say the longer stay.
the more the better espec with jet lag. Venice is so wonderful my last stay was 5 days and to me too short.
I think Venice would be a great place to recover from jet lag - no traffic, lots of walking. I have a hard time with less than 4 days in Venice, but 3 nights should get you a good taste of the city and great start for the rest of your trip. On that short of a visit I wouldn't take the time to go to Murano and Burano. I would try to get to the Peggy Guggenheim if you like modern art. And just wander, wander, wander.
I agree that more time should be spent in Venice--a mistake to cut it short. We were there recently and found the Rezonico Museum really worth seeing mainly because it is located in a beautiful old palace. Also recommended is attending a concert at Musica Palazzo--also located in an old palace. The tour of La Fenice costs 5E and that is another worthwhile effort that takes about an hour. This was our third trip to Venice and we wanted to see things we had missed on previous trips.
On our last trip (3rd time) to Venice we spent 4 nights and explored the island more in-depth this time. We walked down to St. Elena and discovered a nice big green park with kids and swings and families and dogs...hmmm - I guess we discovered where a lot of locals actually live. We enjoyed this particular venture immensely. We bought a sandwich, some chips, chunks of chocolate and wine from a tiny little shop and parked ourselves on a bench overlooking the canals. Had a marvelous picnic that was super cheap, super tasty, and super fun!
There are many areas of Venice to explore other than San Marco :-) be sure to look for them.
Thanks you all for your opinions, suggestions and ideas. I booked an apartment for 3 nights, so I'll have 3 full days in Venice.
Karen
GOOD CHOICE!!!!!!!! You will love Venice. It quiets down about 6 pm after all the tourists have left. At least the streets got empty at that time when we were there in mid October. Just keep moving and the jet lag may not come!! Lots of walking in the back streets. Don't forget to look "IN" the windows as you pass by. You will be surprised as to what you can find. My husband and I loved Venice.
