Where to visit under 1 hour from Venice

Vicenza

absolutely agree about Vicenza. Or Bassano del Grappa. Or many other towns in the Veneto or In Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

What I don't understand is your definition of "worthy" so it is hard to be more specific. I love the area around there and spent plenty of time.

Is that an hour by train or an hour by car?

We were in this area this spring, and we loved Vincenza. We felt it didn't warrant a whole day though. It can be visited as a half day trip from Padua. Padua would be a good base for those extra days. We stayed at Albergo Verdi (great breakfast and wonderful staff) which is easily reached by tram from the train station and is well situated to the sites and markets. We had great food in there, too.

Another vote for Bassano de Grappa! We discovered it on a day trip from Venice and returned to stay there. We did a trip focused on Palladian Architecture in the Veneto and also stayed in Vicenza which is also worth visiting.
Bassano has a beautiful Palladian bridge, not the original one, which crosses the Brenta River.
We loved it’s Alpine setting and feel.

We liked staying in Padua for several nights. We day tripped to Vicenza, Verona and Venice…each about one hour away by train. Safe travels.

Padua and visit the Scrovegvni Chapel with frescos by Giotto.

http://www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it/index.php/en/

Vicenza, Verona, and the Lake Garda area are all easily accessible from there too.

Two votes for Padua from me and my partner ... it resonated strongly with both us. We've often thought we'd enjoy living there!

Chioggia, for a day trip out along the lower islands of Venice.
It might be a bit hot though, as it's a vaporetto, then a bus, then a ferry...and back.
Passes a good bit of a day though, and you won't see any tourists.

We really enjoyed Verona. It's about an hour's train ride from Venice, and like you, have been to Venice enough that staying elsewhere made sense.

I agree about Scrovegvni Chapel / Giotto Murals in Padua

Be sure to book a timed admission ticket in advance

Treviso! From there you can visit the hill region where prosecco is made (valdobbiadene, conegliano) and the hill town of Asolo.
Vicenza also is a good solution if you are interested in palladian architecture. From Vicenza you can easily reach Bassano del grappa, Marostica and the walled town of Cittadella.
Someone has mentioned Padua: if you have never visited it, well, you can easily cover all the three day staying in Padua, (you can always visit all the previous towns that I've mentioned by train since padua is well connected with all the others cities of the Veneto).

hey hey kerry
check out treviso, a train ride away from venice (40 minutes)
visitproseccoitaly.com/ things to do in treviso
home to where tiramisu was concocted at ristorante le beccherie, small village with canals, great architecture, small cafes/restaurants.
a few years ago we took a prosecco tour with oriana "queen of prosecco" and had a fabulous time to see the area and villages on prosecco road. wanted to taste local and not what i can buy in the states. the land is gorgeous seeing the vineyards sloping up the hills, the nice homes around the vineyards, the friendly people, stopped and had a typical italian family meal lunch overlooking the views.
withlocals.com/ treviso charms: history, tiramisu and prosecco.
a tour around the village, ask/email if can meet in treviso
cesarine.com
put in your city and see what they offer, some cooking class, lunch/dinner in resident home, market tour
it's a quiet place without overcrowding and not on many people's radar. enjoy
aloha

Thanks @ Nigel & @ Suki for the multiple thumbs up for Bassano del Grappa - just added another day to my Vicenza stay to cover off that day trip.

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions! When I said 'someplace worthy,' I just meant that it has to be someplace that can compete with Venice. While I've been to Venice 3x, and I really don't really think summer's the best time to visit, it's STILL an exceptionally beautiful/compelling place to return too. I WILL really have to think if I can turn away from it and stay elsewhere this trip. Your suggestions will certainly help me. What I like: beautiful places, be it ancient architecture, gardens, natural scenery, etc...I prefer to spend most of my time outdoors, not indoors in museums.

"it has to be someplace that can compete with Venice"

If that someplace could compete with it, then it would be the Big 4, instead of the Big 3.

Lots of places are a half rung below the Big 3 but hardly anyone buys into taking a chance because all the guidebooks only point to the Big 3. Lots of us have long left the Big 3 behind and moved on.

Periscope; I can assure you it's not guidebook ratings that I'm looking for. I'd be delighted if ''you all suggested some wonderfully unknown, un-touristed places that you think are worth visiting. I've loved some very off the beaten path destination in my European travels. From 2009 - 2019, my family exchanged our US/NJ home with lots of families in Europe. We love to experience the culture and there is no better way to do that than to live in a locals home in, oftentimes, unheard of places. I'm not after landmark sights; for the most part, they do nothing for me.

I agree that July can be brutal in Venice. But if you decide you can't skip Venice and haven't tried staying out in Castello (east end), I would recommend that. It's another world out there but all of Venice is readily accessible.

We enjoyed Padua. It has a quiet class about it. Scrovengi Chapel is a must, and St. Anthony’s is criminally underrated. There’s a terrific covered market, and squares for apperitivos everywhere you look. Great place to wind down your trip. If you’re using public transit, there’s a regular bus that goes right to Venice airport I think hourly that takes like 45 minutes. Couldn’t have been easier.