Venice for 2 1/2 days too much? things to see and do

There's tons to do and see in Venice - I'd go for spending more time if you can. I don't quite understand what you mean by 'get back to Rome to go to Florence' - in which city is your daughter's university? If Florence, why do you need to go to Rome first?

this is our first time to rome, my daughter is at temple university in rome. we arrive in rome friday to monday, she has classes we are traveling for 2 1/2 days (venice) and going to take the train back to rome to meet her and then the 3 of us are traveling to florence for the weekend......I don't think I planned this too well, I didn't want her to take the train by herself.....

I've spent about 10 nights over 4 trips to Venice and hope to go back for 5 more nights during Carnival. I still haven't run out of things to do...tho, now I'm more into wandering the less touristy parts than seeing museums and churches since I've seen most of them. The Doge's Palace - that can take a few good hours. The Correr Museum is quite interesting. You can take a whole day seeing Murano/Burano/Torcello. And there are so many other great museums and churches - St Marks of course, Santa Maria dei Frari, Santa Maria della Salute, going to the top of the St Marks bell tower or San Giorgio bell tower (my vote). I know I am leaving many things off. even just hopping the vaporetto and cruising around the Grand Canal is a blast (just don't do it at the busiest times of day).

I know a lot of people don't like Venice because of the crowds. It's so easy to feel like a sheep being herded down the alleys. You can skip that by going out early and staying out late in those spots - Rialto and the waterfront along St Marks are the worst offenders...you can pretty much wander about 5 min away to get away from the other people.

Venice is my fav place ever - I find it almost like a fairy tale - stepping out of the train station doors the very first time and having the Grand Canal laid out in front of me - I instantly fell in love.

Thank you!! I appreciate it.....I am really looking forward to it just trying to get everything together!!

You will be back tracking a long way to retrieve your daughter. She's in Europe where train travel is an everyday occurrence. She's at university to study. Don't you want her to learn how to explore on her own? It's an easy trip from Rome to Florence. Have her meet you in Florence. As for Venice stay 2 1/2 days. There is nowhere else on earth as unique as this city. Once you are away from St. Mark's Square you'll find the magic that exists as you walk along the canals. There's a lovely park, a friendship park at the east end of the island. Where the huge ugly cruise ships dock. I'll never understand why those behemoths are allowed into the harbor but I digress. Checkout Bacco in the Cannaregio neighborhood for lunch. More venetians than tourists. For a cicchetti experience ( standing not sitting) while eating small plates of food and enjoying a glass of excellent house wine try Cantina Azienda Agricola. It's easy to miss and doesn't look like much from the exterior but its endearing because its Venetian through and through. I would take a trip to the island of Burano which hopefully won't be over run with tourists and day trippers from the cruise ships. A special treat and unique experience is visiting Acqua Alta Bookshop. Best part about Venice is wandering far from the madding crowd. Get lost. There are hidden gems of places to discover doing this. Churches, galleries, shops, squares, inlets, parks, cafes, etc. Walk, walk and walk some more. Ciao.

I hope you have the RS Italy or Venice Guidebook. I've just laid out 2 1/2 days of plans which seems like the right amount of time for us. Actually, we could probably stay longer and enjoy it. I would not want less time than that.

I also encourage you to meet your daughter rather than backtrack to get her. Riding the train alone should be fine.

Going to Murano to see the glass blowers will blow easily the better part of a sightseeing day. Getting around venice is difficult and slow - not to mention tiring - for first timers. I'd add a day to your visit and try to take your time there.

Your daughter can take one fast train from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella in around two hours. If she's been studying in Roma, she probably knows the train system well enough to meet you.

2.5 days is not enough for Venice. And yes, your daughter is capable of either meeting you in Florence or training to meet you in Rome so you can all travel together Rome -> Florence. Book the fast non-stop (no changes) train and prevent backtracking.

If she can handle Temple's neighborhood in Philadelphia by herself, she can certainly handle being on a train from Rome to Florence by herself.

Thank you for all your advice. I have just booked a train from venice to Florence and my daughter is going to meet us.

Grazie!!

We just finished up a 2 1/2 day stay and would have loved to have spent more time....we stayed in the Giudecca and traveled through the area around San Marco and the Rialto....later on to Murano. We could have used another day to back track and thoroughly visit some of the attractions. Even then, I feel that we will have missed things but the good news it will make me anxious to come back. First time visiting here and was completely blown away by the place,

Venice is made to wander and get lost !! Just turn and go another direction when you see tourists !

The idea is to become a traveler, and travelers DO NOT follow the crowds !

It would take weeks to wander and explore every street !

Last trip, we found Titian's home, Ca Boteri 5115, found Fondamenta Rezzonico from the Katharine Hepburn movie, explored Dosoduro and chatted with a great pizza maker, people watched at Tonolos Bakery…..ahhhhhhh