Venice and distances

16-minute miles is pretty typical unless you’re stopping to see interesting items and take photos. And for Venice in particular, that would mean I am walking 32-minute miles! And then add an extra buffer for getting lost and stopping for a gelato.

LOL! I'm trying very hard to lose weigh now, so I can ear many gelatos and all that pasta! Or maybe all the walking will do it for me!
You must be a bit younger, or maybe I'm just a bit out of shape from the pandemic. I started exercising recently though, as there will be lots of walking and in Paris all the metro steps!

According to research, the average adult walks at about 2.5-4 mph. So your timing is right in there, if on the higher end. Of course map estimates make no allowances for the fitness level of the walker, what kind of hurry they may be in, or whether street surfaces are smooth concrete or uneven cobbles.

I never pay much attention to time estimates, and when I do I usually double them.

Time estimates in Venice are pretty rough. Some places, like the Zattere, or the Arsenale end of the Riva Schiavoni, you can storm along, and people go running there.
Other places, the main street may be a couple of metres wide, and you shuffle along with everyone else.
Fastest way to get around - follow a guy with a delivery trolley. He will shout a way clear for you and he.

Bear in mind time lost to consult maps and for getting lost. You WILL get lost. You need a paper map, Google fails in Veice.

I've never seen Google show anything other than 20 minutes per mile; I guess I need to take a look at that map of Venice.

I can walk very fast if I have to (friends complain), and I think the best I ever did--rushing to get to a farmers market before it closed--was about 17 minutes per mile. I would never anticipate going that fast under normal conditions, without something urgent to drive me.

Of course, there are no pedestrian-crossing lights to wait for in Venice; I guess that might save more time than one loses going over all the bridges.

When we spent a month in Venice after we retired, we walked all over and I got pretty good at finding my way without a map. But although I am fit from lots of hiking, I could rarely manage anything like a 20-minute mile in Venice because of the crowded streets and smaller passageways. Also because there is always so much to see.

The one exception was the time I was returning to the Rialto area from the train station and managed to fall in behind Donna Leon and a young man she had apparently met at the station. They walked side by side down the busy streets like Strada Nove at a brisk pace as people seemed to just part and make room. They wove their way seamlessly and without breaking stride through the oncoming tide of humanity. It must be a way of walking that Venetians acquire with practice.

Lola, maybe Donna Leon was casing out a new Commissario Guido Brunetti crime! ; )

Mlw5000, usually all of the walking will negate the daily gelato and wonderful pasta dinners, and I lose a pound or two in Italy. Unfortunately, I return home and want to continue that wonderful food lifestyle but don’t balance that with all of the extra walking and gain it back!

Have a wonderful time in lovely Venice!

4 km/h is the typical leisurely walk speed for a human being.
1/4 mile is 400m, therefore at that speed it would take 6 minutes.
To cover that distance in 4 minutes you need to walk 6 km/h (3.75 mph), which is a rather fast pace.
Canal bridges have steps, so that might impact speed for some.