Hey, my wife and I are going to be in Italy this August and were curious to see if everyone thought 2 nights was enough in Venice? We have read some things that say you can see most of Venice in a day and a half. We have other cities to see so if we could do Venice in 2 nights, then it would free up some time elsewhere unless Venice is bigger than we think and need more time?
Thanks for any advice as this is our first time!
Two nights? You would need two months to see "most of Venice".
For your first visit, I think three nights would be good; just to give you the overall flavour of it, and get off the main street that leads from the cruise ships to St. Mark's Square.
I spent two weeks there last year, and barely scratched the surface.
I hope you will love it, and get the urge to return for another visit!
The Venice Biennale will be going on while you are there. I guess with that major event you could say that Venice will be bigger than you anticipate.
I think it depends on the length of your trip and how many places you plan to visit.
If you're flying into Venice add a night. Your first day is basically wasted and you'll probably have jet lag. Arriving from Florence 2 nights might be ok.
Thanks for the advice... We will be flying into Venice from London so we shouldnt be too jet lagged I wouldnt think.
If you fly in the morning, and leave in the evening, that would give you effectively 3 full days in Venice.
I think 2 days in Venice will give you a nice feel for Venice. Don't miss St. Mark's Basilica. It is amazing. There will be a long line. Check on getting skip the line tickets, if still possible.
I would say it all depends on what you want to get out of visiting Venice. I think many first time visitors are put off by Venice because all they see/do is in and around San Marco where the crowds are massive and the heat in August will certainly wilt everyone. I also think how much time in Venice depends on where else, and for how long, you will be going in Italy. For your own sanity, stay away from San Marco during the middle of the day when the crowds will be huge. Do visit in the early AM and evening. Get very good directions to your hotel and make sure in August that you have AC in hotel.
We spent three nights in Venice and it was our favorite city, we are going back in the fall. It was the most beautiful magical city we've ever visited and it was cold and raining the entire time! You'll enjoy two nights but if you can stay one more it will give you time for Murano/Burano for a day.
I was in Venice for two nights as part of a Rick Steves tour of Italy. I fell in love with Venice. If you have an opportunity to add at least one more night, I would do it. Next to Paris, Venice is my favorite city in Europe. It is like no other city in the world.
Free up some time elsewhere - sure. But you'll find that wherever you are, you won't have enough time to see everything. There are some people who don't even like Venice, but you won't know until you've been there. .
Venezia is not that big, but it is crowded around the Rialto Bridge and San Marco. If you can get to Torcello (close to Burano) to spend part of a day, you might be pleasantly surprised at what Venezia used to be like.
Regarding freeing up time elsewhere, where else are you going?
Hi Stephen, I also have 2 nights in Venice in my itinerary for my April trip to Italy. Venice is the first stop in our itinerary, and we're also going to Cinque Terre and Rome. Of course I would love more time in Venice, but we already have a full 10-day schedule that just didn't allow for more time.
My thought is this: the 2 nights/3 days we'll have in Venice are going to give us a taste of Venice and will be a great start to our trip, but we won't see all of Venice.
So I think your 2 nights in Venice are "enough" in terms of getting a feel for what Venice is like. But if you're concerned about seeing all of Venice, you'll probably need more nights.
Everyone will vary on this one. I loved Venice, could have stayed there forever. However, for my GF she was fine with just the 3 nights we had there. All depends on what you like and want to do. I found it to be the most unique, amazing place I've ever been. The crowds near the major sites can be a bit nuts (go early, or late) but otherwise it's easy to find yourself lost amongst the canals and streets.
I look forward to going back, mostly to wander and explore. We had no issue hitting nearly all the major sites over the course of 3 nights. If 2 is all you have, you will be just fine.
(maybe helpful to know, I'm 37 she is 33 both very active)
Thank you so much for all these responses! They really helped and yes, we will never know if we like it until we get there... Just fyi, the rest of the Italy part of our trip is Florence for 5 nights (Longer due to day trips to CT and Tuscany) and Rome for 3 nights.
On our first trip to Italy last May we spent two nights in Venice, arriving around 3:00 p.m. on a Monday and leaving around 9:00 am Wednesday morning (so basically a day and a half). It was enough for us to get a good taste of Venice and see the basics. We weren't all that excited to go there, it was at the bottom of our 4 city vacation, however we fell in love with it and are planning to go back next May for 3 nights. I think two nights your first time would be fine.
