Venice Itinerary: Planning Your Time
By Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw
So much to seeso little time. To help you plan your sightseeingwe've listed our ideal itineraries for Venicewhether you're going for one daytwo daysthree daysor more.
Venice is small. You can walk across itfrom head to tailin about an hour. Nearly all of your sightseeing is within a 20-minute walk of the Rialto Bridge or St. Mark's Square. Remember that Venice itself is its greatest sight. Make time to wanderexploreshopand simply be. When you cross a bridgelook both ways — you may be hit with a lovely view. Venice has what's considered one of the highest concentrations of art anywhere in the world. Art lovers need to be particularly well-organized to get the most out of their visit.
Key considerations: Ninety percent of tourists congregate in a very narrow zone in the center. But even the most touristy stretches of the city are almost ghostly peaceful early and late. Maximize your evening magicand avoid the midday crowds around St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. If you arrive in Venice late in the daytry taking our self-guided Grand Canal cruise and St. Mark's Square tour (both are available as free audio tours). These sights are more romantic and much less crowded after dark — and they provide a wonderful welcome to the city.
Depending on when you visityou may have to juggle the itineraries belowas sights' visiting hours will vary by season and day of the week.
With that in mindhere are our recommended priorities:
Venice in One Busy Day (Plus the Night Before)
Night Before: Walk or boat to the train station and thenaboard an empty vaporetto #1take the self-guided "Grand Canal Cruise" to St. Mark's Square (as outlined in our guidebooksor follow along with the free audio tour).
9:00 Meander from St. Mark's Square to the Rialto Bridgeideally off the main thoroughfaresand — even better — following our Venice guidebooks' self-guided "St. Mark's to Rialto Loop Walk" as far as the Rialto Bridge.
10:00 Enjoy the action at the Rialto Bridge and Rialto Market.
11:00 Make your way to the Frari Church via the San Polo neighborhoodideally following the self-guided "Rialto to Frari Church Walk" outlined in our Venice guidebooks.
12:00 Tour the Frari Church (also covered by a free audio tour).
13:00 Wander into the Dorsoduro district toward the Accademia museumexploring and enjoying lunch along the way. Stroll across the Accademia Bridge (tour the Accademia only if you're an art lover — and really energetic) and back to St. Mark's Square.
15:30 Tour St. Mark's Basilica (reserve ahead; closes at 17:00 in summerat 16:00 in winter; best with a self-guided touravailable in our guidebooks and as an audio tour).
17:00 Visit the Doge's Palace (in summer closes at 19:00last entry at 18:00; closes earlier in winter).
18:30 Explore St. Mark's Square (best with our self-guided tour).
19:30 Dinner and a gondola ride (or vice versaas a gondola ride at sunset is best).
22:00 Enjoy a drink with the orchestras on St. Mark's Square.
Venice in Two or More Days (Plus the Night Before)
Day 1
Night Before: Walk or boat to the train station and thenaboard an empty vaporetto #1follow our self-guided "Grand Canal Cruise" to St. Mark's Square (as outlined in our guidebooksor follow along with the free audio tour).
9:00 Ride to the top of the Campanile.
10:00 Explore St. Mark's Square (best with our guidebooks' self-guided touror with the audio-tour version). Pop into a glass shop for a glass-blowing demo.
11:00 Meander from St. Mark's Square to the Rialto Bridgeideally off the main thoroughfaresand — even better — our Venice guidebooks' self-guided "St. Mark's to Rialto Loop Walk" as far as the Rialto Bridge.
13:00 Lunch.
14:00 Tour the Correr Museum (ticket purchased here includes Doge's Palace).
15:30 Tour St. Mark's Basilica (reserve ahead; closes at 17:00 in summerat 16:00 in winter; best with our guidebooks' self-guided touror with the audio-tour version).
17:00 Visit the Doge's Palace (in summer closes at 19:00last entry at 18:00; closes earlier in winter).
19:00 Dinner (if a nice onemake a reservation) and maybe a gondola ride (or vice versaas a gondola ride at sunset is best).
22:00 Enjoy a drink with the orchestras on St. Mark's Square.
Day 2
9:00 Take in the action at the Rialto Bridge and Rialto Market.
10:00 Make your way to the Frari Church via the San Polo neighborhoodideally following our guidebook's self-guided "Rialto to Frari Church Walk."
11:00 Tour the Frari Church (also covered by a free audio tour).
12:00 Wander into the Dorsoduro district toward Ca' Rezzonicoexploring and enjoying lunch along the way. (Visit Scuola San Rocco only if you're an art lover.)
14:00 Tour Ca' Rezzonico (Museum of 18th-Century Veniceclosed Tue).
16:00 Tour the Accademia museum (only if you're an art lover)then stroll across the Accademia Bridge and back to St. Mark's Square.
18:00 Cicchetti pub crawl for dinner (consider taking Alessandro's Classic Venice Bars Tour).
20:00 Enjoy a concert or gondola ride.
Day 3: Lagoon Tour
10:00 Catch boat at Fondamente Nove to San Michele (old cemetery)then continue to Murano.
11:00 Tour Murano and have lunch.
13:30 Boat to Burano and explore.
16:00 Boat to Torcello and tour church.
18:00 Zip back to Fondamente Nove in 45 minutesor — if you'd like to see more of the lagoon — take the long way back by boat via the mainland peninsula of Cavallino and the Lido (no need to stop there — just enjoy the cruise).
20:00 Dinner and/or concert in Venice.
Day 4 and Beyond
- Shop and browse some of Venice's more characteristic areas (such as the zone between Campo Santa Margarita and Campo San Barnaba; the back lanes of Cannaregionear the Jewish Ghetto; or the sleepy part of Dorsoduro behind the Accademia and Guggenheim).
- Take one of the many guided theme tours available (we recommend several in our guidebooks).
- Visit the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.
- Side-trip to Padua for artVerona for Roman ruinsand Ravenna for Byzanitine mosaics.
Gene Openshaw is the co-author of the Rick Steves Venice guidebook.