venice as a day trip from florence

If you've never been there before and don't think you'll be back, sure. I don't really think you'll get much out of it though - you really need a couple days at least for Venice. Part of the magic is walking around the city at night, imo. A couple other options for good day trips would be Pisa, San Gimignano, or Siena.

Did this several years ago. Took the earliest EuroStar train out of Florence, arrived in Venice about 11AM, walked around a bit, had lunch. Walked some more. Took a lot of pictures, and had a guided tour of the Jewish section of town, seeing the synagoges and learned some history. We had time to shop, and explore a bit more. It was a wonderful, long day. we got back to Florence late evening, around 10PM I think, and walked back to our hotel. It was a great day. A bit rushed. But, if we didnt' do it, we wouldn't have seen Venice at all. I recommend doing it. You can also take a trip to Siena or to Pisa, much shorter, if you haven't already been there. If you go to Siena, take the BUS, not the Train! Pisa, take the train, walk to the tower, it's easy, maybe 20 min.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I didn't read the second post until now. We ended up going to Pisa and Lucca. It was a great day and I loved renting the bikes in Lucca and riding around the town.

So glad you got to see Lucca. A friend stayed there for a week and used it as a jumping off place to see many other places in Italy. It is on my want to see list someday. As for not going to Venice, if you are ever somewhere and have a chance to see something you might never get to again, I'd say go see it. I've been to Venice twice and love it. I did something some would think crazy, I was in London with my husband. It was his 1st time and my third. While he toured I took a one day train trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. I've never regretted doing it. I have not been back to Scotland to see more, but maybe someday.