Venice and Surrounding area March 2023

Where are you getting your travel times. Comparing train times on Trenitalia for Venice Mestre to Desenzano with drive times for the same distance on Google maps, they are close to the same—-1 hour 20 minutes for the direct train ( no changes), 1 hour 43 minutes for the train with a change at Verona, and 1 hour 30 minutes to drive the autostrada. Train would be simpler and cheaper, and you wouldn’t have to worry about parking and ZTL’s in Verona or Desenzano.

You could also take the train to Ghedi in 2 hr 10 minutes ( one change at Brescia). Then travel back to Desenzano and or Verona on the return.

We spent 2 nights in Desenzano last August and really liked it. The highlight was the ferry ride to Sirmione to visit the impressive Roman ruins there— the Grottoes of Catullus. Photos here:

https://lakegardatravel.net/grottoes-of-catullus-sirmione/

We found this much more interesting, and far less crowded, that the Colosseum at Rome. And beautiful scenery as well.

Sorry rhis is so disorganized. I haven't mastered cutting and pasting paragraphs on my tablet.

Believe me, I understand saving money on lodgings, and I once stayed in Mestre myself. However, your Airbnb looks like a 15-minute walk from the Mestre train station (to which add extra time to get to the platform and be sure you don't miss the train, plus the train ride itself), and when you arrive in Venice proper you'll be on the far northern edge of town. Realistically, it's going to take you an hour or more to get to your first Venice sight each day--considerably longer if you need to take a vaporetto ride. It may well be too late to make a change, but I'd recommend spending some nights in Venice proper. You could stay in Padua rather than Mestre since your side trip(s) are west of Padua.

A last-minute decision to go to Rome will be costly. The lowest Freccia fare I see for the next 3 days is over 80 euros one way.

It's possible tours of the Colosseum will be sold out. I know tours of the lower level regularly sell out and are very difficult to book even for those who plan way ahead. I have very little interest in Roman ruins and haven't bothered to go inside the Colosseum (finally made a point of viewing the exterior just a few days ago), so I have no personal experience to share, but several people on this forum have found the Colosseum relatively easy to understand on their own, whereas they thought the Forum really benefitted from a guided tour.

Since you're apparently interested in contemporary art, I'd recommend considering the Guggenheim. It's a very appealing museum, though popular, so it would be prudent to plan a few days ahead.

March 13th seems to include a painfully heavy load of museums for a single day. It may be physically doable since almost all the stops are right around Piazza San Marco, but I bet you'll be sick of museums by mid-afternoon if not sooner. I haven't been to any of those museums, just to the church (where I spent far longer than an hour), but reports on the Secret Itineraries tour at the Doges Palace have been very positive; I believe it sells out early, so you probably need to make a decision about that now. Rick specifically does not recommend the Hidden Treasures tour. You can expect a considerable, though fast-moving, line at the church if you don't pre-book an entry ticket. It was 30 minutes for me in late September.

The only way to decide whether the museum pass makes sense for you is to determine which sights you will be able to see (not which you want to see) during the days covered by the pass and compare the cost of the entry fees to the cost of the pass. I am suspicious about most big-city passes, because they are usually very expensive, so breaking even requires you to move rapidly through the places they cover (ignoring attractive-looking detours) and may eliminate the option of making lunch the main meal of the day (which is likely to save money but will chew up potential sightseeing time). With any city-wide pass, there's a risk you will feel the need to contort your day-by-day itinerary in order to consolidate covered sights on your pass days. That can lead to return trips to the same neighborhoods to go to sights not covered by the pass. That is very inefficient; time is an expensive commodity for a tourist.

Venice is not a city where you should box yourself in with a tight sightseeing schedule if you don't absolutely have to. I bought the cheap annual Chorus Pass that covers at least a dozen churches in Venice. Over the course of nine days in Venice, I think I got to about 5 of them. That's how it goes in Venice.

I think the Palazzo Grassi ticket covers the Punta della Dogana as well, but do check the web site to be sure the current exhibition is interesting to you. A free exhibition you don't enjoy at all is no bargain, especially in a city with so many nooks and crannies to explore.

I ran out of space before addressing the vaporetto-cost issue. Individual tickets are now 9.50 euros. Venice is a great city for walking, but you'll be starting and ending each day on the very edge of town, so I suspect you're going to need to take some vaporetti. You'll certainly need two rides for the trip to Murano, plus two more if you decide to include the colorful island of Burano. You'll want to ride the length of the Grand Canal at least once. Vaporetto passes might save you money. I think there may be a deal for young people that would work for your son (I don't know his age), but an adult pass costs 25 euros for 24 hours; 35 euros for 48 hours, 45 euros for 72 hours and 65 euros for 168 hours (a week). Unless you are really confident you will hoof it virtually everywhere (except to the islands), I'd recommend putting all out-of-town trips at the beginning and/or end of the trip so you have a continuous stretch of time in Venice and can cover all your needs with the 168-hour pass. As you can see from the pricing, a 1-day pass and a 2-day pass cost almost as much as a 1-week pass (for an adult).

I don't think any walk in the vicinity of Rialto-San Marco is going to feel leisurely. It may well be slow, though, because of the massive crowds along the way. I'm not suggesting you not do the walk--I really like Rick's walks because of the little tidbits he provides about what you see along the way, I just don't want you to expect a stroll.

I don't think you need to take a glass tour. There's a glass museum on Murano, and there are normally places you can watch a bit of glassblowing. Full disclosure: I'm nuts about glass, but I spend my time drooling over the finished product rather than watching its creation. Advice of others may be more useful to you on this point.

Vicenza has a very attractive historic center. People go there primarily for the Palladian architecture. And Padua is also a very worthwhile day trip (I have twice spent multiple nights there).

I feel like begging you to stay in Venice itself --- it is at its best in the early morning and late evening. When I looked quickly just now, there were many inexpensive airbnb apartments in the non-touristy neighborhoods that are my family's favorites, such as Castello and Cannaregio. Some are $50 to $100 more expensive than the one in Mestre, but others are closer to your pick. Please take another look, use Google maps to show you how short the walking times are in Venice, and consider trading in something you mention (like renting a car or going on a tour or going to Rome) for a unique stay in Venice.

I second staying IN Venice even though it is more expensive. I also had thought about Mestre when we were first planning our trip. After our arrival on the train having gone through Mestre, I was so happy we did stay right in the city.

As an aside- the Calatrava is a bit disappointing after all the hype about it. Most of the glass is either shattered or so scratched and foggy, that it takes away from viewing. Ends up kind of just being a bridge and we could have skipped it. Yes, just our opinion, but time could be spent elsewhere in Venice for more reward.

We also purchased the Chorus Pass and I believe we checked into 3 churches. Now, it would have been more had I realized they needed the entire page to authorize a first visit and not just the QR code!! My original intention for purchasing it however was because of the heat in Venice not necessarily focusing on seeing the churches. Thought if need be we could pop into one on the list if it got to be too hot and take a bit of time to cool off. I’m hoping our contribution to the cause helped just a little since we didn’t even do the popping in.

I also agree your time will be better spent either in Venice or nearby than a trip to Rome-too much travel time for such a short visit.

I totally agree with those who have advised to stay in Venice instead of Mestre. Yes, it's more expensive but worthwhile in the long run saving time. Canarregio is a great area that we have stayed in 3 times. Close to the train station, walking distance or take a vaporetto to the stops on the Canarregio Canal. Don't forget some of the magic of Venice is walking and walking through the back streets.

Padua is a lovely town, many University students are there. There is a presentation you can go to get an explanation and see how they did the first internal research on human bodies. At that time it was against the law, so the body was strapped to the table and if the authorities were coming in they quickly rotated the table over.

RS has a Phrase book that is Very handy, it's pocket size and easy to carry. Can get it from Rick or Amazon. English to Italian and Italian to English with pronunciations. He throws in some classic Rick Steves phrases. My husband told an older owner of a small restaurant that the food was "Better than my Mama's kitchen" when she pointed to our empty plates and said, "Okay?" She laughed at his response and kissed him on the top of his head. We bought a small dinner plate from her because it has her logo on it.

Have a great trip and please let us know what you decide and how your trip was.

Lola, I see what I did with the train times-it varies based on what time the departure is – I see that renting a car makes little sense, thanks!
Thanks also for the recommendation of the Grottoes of Catullus! I would much prefer that to the Colosseum in Rome, and will share that option with my son.

Acraven – lots of helpful information, thank you for taking the time to share! My son is 17, but he loves museums and moves through them quite slowly. I see a need to edit our San Marco day (I was looking at it more geographically than paying attention to how much I had packed into that day)

Nancy, SJS, Mimi- thanks for the tips! We downloaded the Bable app to learn some Italian, Love the tidbit of some of Rick’s phrases.

I missed the Chorus pass, thanks for the heads up about that as well, I know we planned to pop into churches as we came upon them so that sounds like a great one.

I appreciate everyone’s input!