Venice suggestions please

I am no Venice expert, but we had a similar itinerary.. Pulled into town from Naples and spent the afternoon settling in, then we had 2 full days before flying home. We did Murano and Burano, and the big sites. We also spent 1 morning over on Lido. Dipped our toes in the Adriatic, took a quick nap on the beach then got some very good pizza on the walk back to the vaporetto. It was a nice little morning trip...

Suggest you head for Murano / Burano early in the morning to beat the crowds, and also because it may take most of a full day depending on how much strolling and shopping you do. Every one wants to see the "biggies" in Venice, but do consider a short trip to San Giorgio Maggiore which is a five minute vap. ride from the San Marco Zaccaria M.V.E. stop. Go to the top of the bell tower (it has an elevator) and look back at the city of Venice. One of the truly great sights of the world and very few tourist (unlike the tower at San Marco). There is a small place around to the right when leaving the church that is good for sandwiches and drinks. We've been to Venice a number of times so let us know if you need specifics. The fish and vegetable market is also an interesting and "real" place to see.

We were in Venice this past May from 27-30. It is a crowded time of the year, especially between the hours of 10-6, but is lovely in the early morning and into the late evening. Taking the #1 vaporetto on the Grand Canal will give you a great overview of Venice.

The best time to visit the Rialto Market and the bridge is in the morning before the crowds and then you can go onto Burano and Murano. We spent a half-day in Murano and frankly it was too long. The glass blowing demonstration is interesting (but nothing new for our group as we have seen them before) and I liked the glass museum, but if I had to do it over again, I would have stayed in Venice. We opted for Murano, so can't comment on Burano.

As for the Doges' Palace and St. Mark's--they are must see, not only for the history, but the architecture. My friend is in construction and he marveled at how St. Mark's was built. We took the Secret Passages tour with Walks of Italy which combines both the Doge's Palace and St. Marks along with the prison. Our guide was excellent--she was a local Venetian. She was knowledgeable, not only of the history, but she could answer every single construction question, plus make great recommendations of local places to eat. Because you are going to the prison on this tour, it is a small group, less than 20. Note that if it get too hot, then they won't do the tour of the prison (no air conditioning, lots of steps too). Here is the link if you are interested: https://www.walksofitaly.com/venice-tours/doges-palace-secret-passages-vip-tour

As for other attractions, I love the Guggenheim, but given that you don't want to rush, I would just enjoy Venice. Get lost, explore some of the neighborhoods. One of my favorite blogs on Venice is from Sky McAlpine who writes about living and cooking in Venice: http://www.frommydiningtable.com/.

Also, if you have time, I would also recommend Allesandro's pub crawl. He is a local who loves to introduce visitors to the hidden gems for food and drink in Venice. He is also extremely funny. My friends and I loved his humor and his hospitality. Many of the other participants were folks from the Rick Steve's tour. Here is his contact info: email: [email protected].

Enjoy your trip,
Sandy

caldbunch: You're trip to Venice sounds like ours. I think we'll skip Lido since there are too many things we will want to see. I was concerned that our time in Venice would be too short, but it can't be changed.

TC: San Giorgio Maggiore is a great idea. I had thought about that but forgot to add it to my post. We should go there on our first afternoon to enjoy the view of Venice. Thanks for the warning about Murano and Burano crowds.

SandyO: I have heard of Allessandro's pub crawl and will look into it. Walk of Italy's Doge's Palace tour sounds interesting. It may be easier and more comprehensive than touring on our own. Did you do St Mark's on the same day?

Thanks everyone.

I love the Frari Church and appreciate Rick's good audio tour of that church. Also, I've had an easy time of (twice) booking the cicchetti tour with Alessandro to be emailing him directly: [email protected].

We spent 2.5 day in Venice like this:
Arrived about 11 am, room was ready so we napped for about 1.5 hours. We had not slept on plane and it was brutally hot- this was a good idea for us. Needed that nap!

Day 1 Walked to San Marco, had late lunch. Did the RS San Marco to Rialto, then the RS Rialto-Frari walk- wandered around Santa Croce area, visited Frari church, rode vaporetto back to our hotel stop. In the pm we rode elevator to top of San Marco campanile just before sunset- great views! Then did the Grand Canal vaporetto tour.

Day 2- Had a timed entry booked for San Marco just past opening time (a few euros and worth it)- did the Secret Itinerary tour of Doges- highly recommend. Did the RS San Marco to San Zaccaria walk. Headed over to Dorsoduro and wandered some more. Ate gelato.
That evening was the cicchetti tour with Allesandro- tons of fun- but not sure he is still in business?

Day 3
Rialto market in the am then walked thru Cannaregio to fondamente. Stopped at Chiesa dei Gesuiti- beautiful church! Took vaporetto to Burano (skipped Murano). Burano was delightful- had lunch, wandered, shopped. We apparently took the wrong vaporetto back and ended up riding all around the islands and lagoons. So it was enjoyable, even though it took longer than we had planned for.

We found that the less time spent on San Marco plaza the more we enjoyed Venice. My advice is visit that area early in day, avoid at night.

The Walks of Italy Tour includes St. Marks and Doge's Palace. It is 3 hours with a 15-20 minute break in between to use the restroom get a cool drink. Like you, we did not have a lot of time in Venice and doing it in the same day worked in our timing. Also, the 12:45 start time worked as well as our friends didn't like to get up early, so the girls and I went to the Rialto & market in the morning while our friends slept.

If the tower is still open, I suggest going to the top. It is the tower at St. Mark's that overlooks the square, St. Mark's and Doges Palace.
Also, consider taking a gondola ride.

You can take a tour of the clock tower http://torreorologio.visitmuve.it/en/home/

And ride the vaporetto along the Grand Canal at night to view the inside decor of the many palaces, which are lit at night.

I think that you might skip Murano unless you are really into glass. Torcello is worth a visit, although I think that restoration of the mosaics in the cathedral might be under way. If you go to Torcello, climb the campanile, from the outside it looks like a brick box, inside is superb. It is not a hard climb, as the ramp spirals up inside.

Going to Burano, get off the vaporetto at Mazzorbo, the last stop before Burano and it is a ten minute stroll through a vineyard and across the bridge to Burano. Coming back from Burano, the line for the vap can be very long and you might not get on the first vaporetto. But if you walk back to Mazzorbo, they have to let you board.

Download the app Chebateo, “which boat”. This links to the vaporetto timetables; plug in departure and arrival vap stops and the app gives you times.

If you do a daytime vap trip down the Grand Canal, go as far as Giardini, and have a drink at Paradiso, overlooking the lagoon.

At the Doges palace, with your back to the Grand Canal, count three columns along from the corner, you will see that the column is slightly out of line. With your back to the column, try to move around it. You will fall off. This test was used for condemned criminals, if they could keep their footing they were spared. But they always fell.

There are two columns in the Piazetta, one with a crocodile and St Theodore, the other with a lion. It is unlucky to walk between them. The columns were stolen from Constantinople and the contractor who erected them was given the licence to operate gaming tables between them. The Republic got sick of this, and used the air space above the tables for public executions, and cruelled the gaming. Try that in Vegas some time.

I absolutely support going to Burano. Skip Murano unless you are interested in glass, but include Mazzorbo and Torcello.

Buy a one day pass for this day. It is 3 separate trips and each trip cost 7,50 Euros

Check https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/ for more information on Venice in general.

And I wouldn't spend my time going to Torcello instead of seeing more of Venice. The vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal is best in the early morning, before rush hour local crowds and the tourist crowds the rest of the day.

The last area I would ever stay in Venice is near San Marco with all the crowds. Find a hotel in a better location. Venice is small so you won’t be far from anything you want to see no matter where you stay.

Everyone will have different favorites in Venice.
I liked Murano, and we spent most of a day there during our recent trip.
We didn't make it to Burano this trip, but it was just because we ran out of time. I'd been there before and hoped to make it back there.
As for Torcello, I've seen it once, but have no real need to see it again. It's nice and peaceful compared to the rest of Venice, but there's not much there.

There are lots of not-so-great tourist trap restaurants in Venice, but there is still plenty of Amazing food there as well.
I've always received great recommendations when asking hotel staff in Venice where to eat. I try to avoid most restaurants that are right on or at a major tourist attraction.

Out of three visits to Venice, I still haven't made it inside the Doge's Palace or St. Mark's (maybe next time!). All of Venice feels like a museum so I've never felt the need to spend a great deal of time looking at things indoors.

We did the #1 vaporetto ride just after dark. We intended to listen to the RS audio tour during the ride, but decided to just sit back and enjoy the views and enjoy each other's company. Definitely take the ride, whether you listen to the guide or not.

Rialto is a site worth seeing, but the crowds are maddening. I'd go early or late to see it... early would probably have the lightest crowds.

If you've never taken a ride on a gondola, it's worth the money. Once you've done it, you may not feel it's worth repeating... personal preference really.

If I have a reserved train ticket or if I'm flying out of Venice, I splurge on a water taxi ride to the train station or to the airport. The vaporetti aren't hard to figure out, but I don't like to leave too much to chance. With a reserved taxi, you know when they are picking you up and you know you'll make your train or flight.