Venice Itinerary

I'm a fan of just strolling in Venice, but I'm sure others here have better tips for must-sees.

I just don't think it's necessary to book a tour to Burano or Murano. You can easily get there on your own with the Vaporetto. There's probably a tour of the Murano glass factories... at least I think so.

Why book?

Just buy a day pass for the vaporetto and go (LIne 12).

https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_transportation.htm

See if you can get a free water taxi ride (in beautiful and expensive wood motorboat) and a free glass factory tour in Murano. Just ask your hotel front desk.

Our hotel arranged it. The glass factory paid for the water taxi for six of us, probably worth about €100. Cruising in one of those boats makes you feel like James Bond.

At the glass factory, they gave a glass blowing demonstration. Then they took us in a guided tour where they showed us beautiful glass pieces priced thousands of €'s, hoping we would buy one (gotta try to make some money off that taxi ride). No hard sell. Very classy. No photos allowed. You end the tour in the souvenir store, where you can buy glass pieces much cheaper than in San Marco. I bought a bag of colourful glass candy at €1 a piece for friends and my aquarium.

We had lunch in Murano, walked a bit and paid for vaporetto back to Venice. This was one of our highlights in our 2015 trip. I have read in TripAdvisor that these free day trips are still offered.

Hint: you might not be a person who can afford thousands of € glass pieces, just dress and act like one. That may make the difference as to whether the front desk recommends you to the glass factory for the trip. Good luck.

Hi
Try to book the after hours tour of San Marco. They bring small groups inside in the evening. At one point they turn down all the lights to simulate what it was like lit with candles. It was stunning.

We also thought the secret itineraries of the Doge’s palace was a great.

https://www.getyourguide.com/saint-mark-s-basilica-l3934/venice-exclusive-after-hours-tour-of-saint-mark-s-basilica-t213177/?utm_source=getyourguide&utm_medium=sharing&utm_campaign=activity_details

https://www.getyourguide.com/venice-l35/venice-doges-palace-prison-and-secret-passageways-tour-t53665/?utm_source=getyourguide&utm_medium=sharing&utm_campaign=activity_details

Agree with others that a tour of Murano and Burano isn't needed. It's very easy to do on your own. Try to get an early start to beat some of the crowds. Doing both in one day takes us about 3/4 of a day. YMMV

Buy a vaporetto pass.

Row Venice, which offers small group rowing lessons on the back canals. Your group would be about 100 euros total for 90 minutes. It's harder than it looks, and see who gets the hang of it faster. I believe a women's rowing group uses it to support their sport. The lesson starts in the Cannaregio area, which is fun to explore as it's charming and there are no crowds. We always stay in this area.

Also, the various evening music concerts are good! We reluctantly went last time because it was raining nonstop, and needed a distracting activity. I thought the concerts were too touristy, so never went in the past. However, the performance was great! There are advertisements on walls everywhere, and your hotel can probably get you tickets, which are reasonable.

I agree with funpig above, the free motorboat trip to Murano is a kick, and there is no pressure to buy from the glass factory. We took the vaporetto back on our own.

Look for the free tickets for the rooftop view above T Fondaco shopping center. Tickets are released every few weeks, and are grabbed quickly. Usually the release is about 3-4 weeks out.

Visit the merchants Ca'Rezzonica Villa, a lavish home.

Have a great trip!

Great suggestions by Pat!

Sadly, the Fondaco will be closing its doors at the end of April, and it's uncertain what will happen next - including the fate of the terrace. As a plan B, the views over the Grand Canal from the loggia at Ca' d'Oro, framed by beautiful Gothic arches, are quite comparable.

Abus00,
I knew the Fondaco was closing, but can't find a date. They are still taking reservations thru April. I was hoping to get tickets for early May. We had tickets two years ago, but the rooftop was closed in the nonstop rain we experienced.
Thanks for the other recommendation, and I looked up the Ca d'Oro. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!! And, you saved me money on booking a trip. This forum is so helpful! We are staying at an Air B&B so we won't have a hotel concierge...this helps!

I agree with others that you can do Burano and Murano on your own. If you get an early start you can get to Burano before the shops open and other tourists arrive. It’s a very photogenic place before the crowds arrive. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from the F.Nove vaporetto stop on the top of the ‘fish’. Wander the streets until the shops open, then peruse the lace shops for a bit. There is a lace museum if you are interested. Then, on your return you could make a quick stop on Torcello before carrying on to Murano. Murano is more industrial than Burano due to its focus on glass making, but I can spend half a day wandering the shops and the museum. From Murano back to Venice you could make a quick stop at the cemetery island for a quiet, serene walk away from the crowds. All of this could take most of a day if you really get caught up in all there is to see.
Definitely get a vaporetto pass, they can be bought at the airport, or at the larger vaporetto stops. From St. Marks, take the vaporetto directly across to San Giorgio and go up the bell tower for a great view of the city. This is quicker, and cheaper than the one in St. Marks square. I love the Doge’s Palace with all the painted ceilings, and huge paintings on the wall. It will take up to two hours to go through and actually see everything. The nearby Corer museum is also good, and focuses more on the naval history of Venice.
The Acedemia Gallery opens early, around 0830, and you won’t encounter crowds at that time, and it will take about an hour to go through it. The Peggy Guggenheim doesn’t open until 10am, and without an advance ticket, it took me about 15 minutes to stand in line for a ticket and get in, and I spent about an hour and a half there, partly because of the crowds. The building was a home, not purpose built as a museum so the rooms get crowded quickly so it takes longer to see things.
Otherwise, I would recommend following the RS walking tour, and also the audio tour he has for the round trip vaporetto tour of the grand canal. Do take a vaporetto ride after dark, and otherwise just spend some time getting lost and popping into churches along the way, and following random alleys to see where they go. If you walk from St. Mark’s along the water towards the open lagoon you will eventually find yourself in the area where the residents of Venice live, and there is a nice park there, and less tourists.

hey hey azabala217
as others have mentioned, you do not need a tour for either island. buy the 3 day vaporetto pass, gets you on and off easier, make sure you tap the machine on platform before boarding or have conductor "stamp" so you don't get a $$$fine. others here know more about the pass. we were a group of 4 friends, split the cost of a private water taxi ($$) and got there faster,
we went to murano, not my favorite (to each their own) with water taxi. dropped at at dock and we strolled along one side of canal crossed over then back other side of canal. many shops have few men outside wanting your business, hoping a big sale from you, take in back to watch the blowing of glass very interesting but really hot in there. walked some more, had some appetizers & glass of wine which was nice. another small shop i bought 2 small gorgeous roosters for my sister in hawaii.
back to dock and vaporetto to mazzorbo, one stop before burano. stopped at trattoria alla maddalena for some salami & cheese with glass of wine outside table watching boats go by. roamed the small island and one end has a wooden bridge to burano
isoladiburano.it (my favorite)
click headliners "sights" & "curious things" loved the lace shop (bought handmade brooch), stop at the bakery shop for their famous cookie/bisquit. trattoria da romano, outside table and had yummy risotto & fish. always look at days/times places are open.
many close about 2-5pm daily. leave early
alongdustyroads.com/ best things to do in burano
blog about a couple enjoy roaming around small island and this to see and do. these are my own thoughts, some have different ideas, makes the world go round. back onto vaporetto to venice using your pass. lines can get long at machines to buy tickets. your own way of enjoying instead of being told when, who, what it's time to leave
schezzini.it
alessandro does a cichetti "bar crawl" tour to small bars for bite size snacks, wine and history of venice. on his page contact him with any info you need. he's recommended on this site quite a bit.
walk the back canals, canareggio venicerevealed.com/ hidden gems to visit here
rialto bridge and market (gets crowded)
vivovenetia.com/ mask making camacana.com mask making
gondola ride. heard about luca, the serenading gondolier. emailed him and reserved day/time. met at stop near the jewish ghetto with 4 of us friends, brought bottle prosecco with plastic glasses to celebrate 2 friends first time in venice and luca serenaded us. was fabulous. luckyluca6@hotmail daytime before 7pm cheaper than nighttime after 7pm.
streaty.com ultimate spritz tour
gpsmycity.com/ venice
self guided walking tours in venice. take your pick. lots of walking in venice, up & down bridges, cobblestones, wear comfy shoes, no fancy jewelry. this area is known for tiramisu (from treviso), i had it at every lunch/dinner for dessert, my favorite. always stop, sit at cafe just to enjoy the italian air and people watch. the grand canal is gorgeous when you come thru train station, but it's busy. main "hiway" for any kind of boat. pack light. just some ideas for you and the gang. you will not see it all. happy travels
PS: if you are renting a car it is mandatory to have an IDP international driving permit (aaa.com/IDP) for all drivers. about $25 & 2 photos (they take there) good for 1 year, receive same day if going to aaa. otherwise apply online and see how long it takes in mail to get one.
aloha

I agree with funpig above, the free motorboat trip to Murano is a kick, and there is no pressure to buy from the glass factory. We took the vaporetto back on our own.

Ditto! A bit of back story about how it came about that we were able to avail ourselves of this free ride to Murano. On our first full day in Venice, we had reserved a pre-paid walking tour that was to meet near Doge's Palace about 11 am. We thought we gave ourselves plenty of time to walk from the Dorsoduro area, but got horribly lost. Yes, it almost feels like a requirement to get lost in Venice, but that was an inopportune time! But this does raise an important point: when planning to be somewhere in Venice, it's a good idea to pad extra time, especially in July when you can expect large crowds.

When we finally arrived quite late to the meeting place (in the always-crowded Piazza San Marco), we saw no sign of our walking tour. Not surprising really, given that we were at least 30 min late. We weren't ready to take on the main sights at Piazza S. Marco; that was planned for another day. Just as we were trying to figure out a Plan B, we were approached by the Murano glass factory folks offering us a ride to Murano. I must say I was VERY skeptical about the free ride to Murano; I was concerned it was a scam akin to something resembling a free lunch when it's really a ruse to get you to buy into their time share. But my other half, who is normally far more paranoid than me, said let's do it.

We are so glad we went. After the glass factory tour, we had a very memorable lunch which included a pasta dish with Gorgonzola and Speck that we still rave about and try to replicate all these years later. It turned out to be a great first full day in Venice.

I have no idea what their official name is or how to seek these people out, but they may still be milling about near Doge's Palace ready to recruit interested tourists. Only mentioning because I don't know if there's a way to look into this ahead of time; perhaps your AirB&B hosts would know. It was just serendipity for us.

I say do it. Like Pat, we also took the Vaporetto back because their instructions for returning by motorboat were confusing. But that just helped us get used to taking the Vaporetto for the rest of our time in Venice.

Lynne with an e

The hotel concierge and the street agent probably get a small fee from the glass factory for referring a potentially good glass customer. It would make sense that they may be required to be choosy when giving away these free water taxi rides. Accordingly, it would be better not to look or act like a bum.

Thank you, again, to everyone for the valuable information!