Venice

Do you have RS Venice Guide Book yet? If so, great. If not,
I would suggest you get a copy as it is full of good suggestions that you will find helpful as we have in planning our trip to Venice in September.

Obviously hanging out at a cafe in St. Marks would be a must-do. Other than that my favorite thing to do in Venice is just wander around and get lost and find my way back again. It is such a beautiful city to do that. You can also make a check list of the must see sights and try to cram in as many as you can in 48 hours, but you won't see it all either way...so you must return.
If you can force yourself to do it there is nothing like getting up before the sunrise and wandering the square and going down to the water and watch the city awaken. It is the best time of the day and should make for an unforgettable memory as well as amazing photos in the early morning light (I am a photographer and have done this many time)

Don St. Mark's Square -Basilica- and maybe a Museum then as previous poster has said-get lost in the back streets. RS book on Venice has some great tips on what to see near the Rialto Bridge and other areas. For me this will be the 4th time there and I love just wandering and staying away from the main canal. And as the other poster mentioned, walk to the canal first thing in the morning - watch as the food is brought in by boats and the city comes alive. I did this at 6.30am at the front of a vaporetto snapping pictures as we left to catch a train. It was one of my most treasured memories. As everyone says on this site - always assume you will be back so do not try to cram too much in and Enjoy Venice.

Rialto Market is fun. Also, agree...wander .Maybe research a few good restaurants, great food is a bit hard to find but there.
Enjoy!!

I agree with Tim about not needing the vaporetto passes. If you're staying near St Mark's you can do all your exploring on foot. The only time you'd need the varporetto is on the way to and from your hotel. (and even that you could walk) We loved Doge's Palace and the view from the Campanile was great. Also the Peggy Guggenheim was incredible, if you're a fan of modern art. (what an amazing Pollock collection!) Otherwise, I'll echo what's above, the best part about Venice is just wandering around off the beaten path.

Hi Don, I suggest going up in the bell tower when one or more bells are ringing (check out schedule and buy tickets ahead of time). The views are spectacular. An elevator takes you up. Eat at a small chicati bar on a side street (spelling? French bread or Italian bread not sure) with lots of tasty toppings to choose from. Have those with a nice glass of wine. I don't remember the name of the bar we went to, but it was very cozy and the owners were very friendly. At the one we went to, you could eat outside as well (which we chose to do). If you can, check out the Doge's Palace, especially the "Secret Itineraries" tour. Sit on a dock and watch the boats go by. Walk around at night and eat at 9pm (I recommend Rosa Rosa) or later when the rush of tourists is gone and the locals are out and about (very peaceful even walking around at 11:00pm is wonderful maybe later as well). We saw museums and such, but our most memorable moments are from those things we leisurely explored and savored. Happy travels! Ruth

Contact Venice Kayak and do an evening kayak tour. We did one last night, fantastic! This is the only way to see Venice. Don't waste money on vaporetto passes or gondola rides.

Don't waste money on vaporetto passes. If your hotel is in St Marks square then you're right in the middle of everything most tourists come to see. Don't waste time riding around on packed vaporettos. Wandering is the best way to see Venice.

We were in Venice for less than 24 hours! (crazy, I know). I have to recommend getting lost, or at least wandering side streets away from the "per Rialto", or "per San Marco" signs/routes. It was like night and day. We would be in little side streets or squares with NO ONE else around. Then we'd find our way back to the main tourist routes and it was like culture shock. We also got up at 7 a.m. and went for a stroll before breakfast, this was in the Jewish Ghetto in the north-east corner. It was so quiet and peaceful, with gentle light. I do wish we had tried some chichetti bars, but we couldn't do it all. Even though it was packed, we did enjoy taking a vaporetto back up the grand canal from near St. Marks to near the train station where we were staying. There's just something special about seeing everything from the water.

While you may not "need" a vaporetto pass, you may enjoy having one. I've made 3 trips to Venice over the years. The first two times I did not have a pass. On my last trip, I bought a pass. I used it all the time. I'd use it to hop and go a few stops or just to take a ride in the evening along the canals. I still walked a lot but having the pass made me not hesitate to use the vaporetto and I enjoyed having it.

Just to agree that you can have a vaporetto pass and still walk all over. This is what I did on my most recent trip there. I had a 3 day pass, and made it pay off the first day. But, I also walked my feet off that first day (I was trying, with some success, to fight jet lag by staying outdoors and on the move). I'm not saying that a vaporetto pass is a "must-have" for a short visit. But, at 6.50 per ride, a pass is not hard to make pay off, even if, as Laura said, you just use it to make short hops. If you're looking for something unusual to do in Venice, I loved seeing the cemetery on San Michele Island. But I agree with the others, who said that at least some time should be spent in aimless wandering, without a specific goal. I seem to be the only person who is not taken with St. Marks' Square at night, but nighttime vaporetto rides were interesting. This was particularly true of the one on the boat (I think if was the 51) that went from St. Marks to Zattere at about 11 PM - it was filled with Venetian teenagers, and I was just about the only non-local on the boat!

My wife and I always get vaporetto passes for the duration of our sojourn. We walk lots and lots, but we also get quite a lot of use out of the vaporetti. We always have the cards with us, and a supply of coins. When we want to cross the Canale Grande we will often find a Traghetto (hence the coins) or if more convenient we hop a vaportto. For example, we stayed in April at Pension Gueratto near Rialto so this trip we frequently popped across one stop from Rialto Mercato to Rialto, for a stroll that way, or Ca'd'Oro for gelato at Grom or Cicchetti just down the alley. We went round to the ghetto; over towards P Roma for different gelato; to both ends of Dorsoduro for gelato and dinner and Cicchetti, to S Elena, to S Georgio, and to Guidecca; and many more places including to/from the station at the ends of our holiday. We found the settings for Donna Leon stories all over the islands, walking and riding as seemed right at the time. By adjusting which direction we went when we avoided crowds. We have never failed to get our money's worth from our vaporetto passes. We are frequent visitors but it seems to me that it would be unusual to "have to" take short hops to make the card valuable.

@James: No, you cannot say that I took unnecessary rides. They were rides I wanted to take, and I would have taken most of them even without a pass (or sometimes, I would have not taken the ride just because of the cost, and resented it). I knew that with 3 days, I'd take enough rides to make a pass pay (only 2 per day needed), so I wasn't trying to do so my first day. But on that first day, I took the airport bus and then the vaporetto to my hotel; I went to and from San Michele; and I took some other rides to save time and energy. In addition, I walked from my hotel (near Zattere, in Dorsoduro) to Rialto to get a SIM card for my phone, and also walked back from Fondamenta Nova (where the vaporetto from San Michele comes into Venice proper) to my hotel. I also walked around the Dorsoduro area, as well a other areas. That's all I remember of the first day (it was a few years ago). I know that lots of people don't take many vaporetto rides, and that's fine. But for Venice, as well as other "walking cities" like Prague, I keep seeing this artificial dichotomy about walking versus taking transit, and for me, it's always both. I know it's a matter of personal style, but for me, a transit pass is almost always a good value (I can freely acknowledge that this isn't always the case, and for some it's a waste of money). So, if for you, a pass would mean unnecessary rides, I understand. But that's not my experience, and I wanted to share it.

Well we are here now and took the Vaporetto from the pier outside the train to S Marco. We have already done a lot if back street exploring - mainly in search of a place to eat dinner and watch Italy and Spain in the Eurocup soccer final. We were in Rome on the night they beat Germany to get into the final. The city was a big party!