How Many Days / Nights for a First Trip to Venice?

[SelectSys]

We always like to take either a pre or post cruise trip when going all the way to Europe. Our cruise is leaving out of the Rome area but we are considering flying into Venice as a starting location. How many days/nights would you all recommend for a first trip to Venice? We are a family of 4 with two teens. Thanks in advance! We would really just plan on staying within the confines of the city proper.

[cruiseluv]

If you have the luxury of time I would say at least 3 days.

[GSPLover]

We always like to take either a pre or post cruise trip when going all the way to Europe. Our cruise is leaving out of the Rome area but we are considering flying into Venice as a starting location. How many days/nights would you all recommend for a first trip to Venice? We are a family of 4 with two teens. Thanks in advance! We would really just plan on staying within the confines of the city proper.

 

I would recommend 2-3 days. 1 day for your luggage to catch up is if goes on a side-trip [frequenty if you go thru Heathrow oe DeGaulle]. Allow one day for Venice proper. Then allow for one day in the outer islans (Murano, Burano. Torcello) - absolute must sees. Luggage catch-up day can be your first day.

 

Look closely at what you have spent to get over there in the first place. Another day is really not that much more.

[operafan]

I would recommend 2-3 days. 1 day for your luggage to catch up is if goes on a side-trip [frequenty if you go thru Heathrow oe DeGaulle]. Allow one day for Venice proper. Then allow for one day in the outer islans (Murano, Burano. Torcello) - absolute must sees. Luggage catch-up day can be your first day.

 

Funny you should say that. My DS and her Dh got there yesterday, luggage didn't........OP, I too would recommend 2-3 days.

[Keith1010]

I would allow three days as the day you get there you will likely be jet lagged.

 

It is a fun city.

 

Keith

[maryann ns]

We stayed there for three nights a few years ago and it was barely enough. Check out places to stay that are a bit outside Venice if you are on a budget. We stayed a ten minute bus away.

[carlmm]

How many days? As many as possible! ;)

 

Your plan of "staying within the confines of the city proper" is also very wise. As seen by a previous post opinions vary, but I do definitely recommend not to waste time on going to any of the other islands.

Three days in Venice proper (full days not just one day between arrival and departure) would give you a first chance to get a short glimpse into different areas of Venice.

You might like to get a good guide books which offers suggested itineraries to cover the various quarters.

If you go into the details, for example Piazza San Marco with the cathedrale, the doges' palace, the towers and the museums alone requires at least two days.

And then you have not seen any of the many other churches, the splendid palaces, the museums full of important art. You will also want to allow some time "to get lost", to soak in the atmosphere.

[euro cruiser]

How many days? As many as possible! ;)

 

Your plan of "staying within the confines of the city proper" is also very wise. As seen by a previous post opinions vary, but I do definitely recommend not to waste time on going to any of the other islands.

Just to build on this thought, I recently did a search on Venere for Venice hotels and was surprised to see so many Lido hotels come up. Although technically Venice it's not really like staying in Venice, but it is a way to say money I suppose.

 

One of the great joys of Venice is wandering around, especially in the evening, after the place has emptied out. There are still some Venetians living there, but fewer and fewer each year, so when the day trippers pull out and the retail shop workers head home, it's a very different place. It would be a shame to miss that because you are, essentially, a day tripper by staying out of town (in Mestre, for example).

[agabbymama]

My first trip to Venice in 1998, we stayed in Verona and rode the train to Venice. I think we stayed about 3 hours. We arrived at the train station, came out and rode the vaporetto down the Grand Canal. Went to San Marco and wandered the streets.

 

My second trip our cruise ended in Venice, so we stayed 2 nights post cruise. I did enjoy the extra time there to go to Murano. We cancelled Burano as the Lagoon was really rough, in the stormy rainy weather. We did a couple of walking tours and shopped at the Rialto Bridge, then went to the top of the Bell Tower at San Marco and took the vaporetto out to the Lido (where Italians go for vacation at the beach).

 

Two days was really plenty! Now if you plan to go in all the churches, museums, attend a concert, etc. you could easily stay a week.

 

have a great trip!

[letsgo39]

I would recommend 2-3 days. 1 day for your luggage to catch up is if goes on a side-trip [frequenty if you go thru Heathrow oe DeGaulle]. Allow one day for Venice proper. Then allow for one day in the outer islans (Murano, Burano. Torcello) - absolute must sees. Luggage catch-up day can be your first day.

 

Funny you should say that. My DS and her Dh got there yesterday, luggage didn't........OP, I too would recommend 2-3 days.

 

Well if it was me I would stay for 5 days but I am a Venice fanatic! So far I have been there 5 days and I really want to go back again. I guess 3 full days will give you time to spend 2 days in Venice and 1 day exploring the outer islands like Burano and Murano.Get a 3 days vaporetto pass and just explore.Venice is magical.

 

I agre with above poster,make sure you stay in Venice proper not Mestre or even Lido.

[SelectSys]

I think we'll shoot for 3-4 nights in Venice. The original plan was to spend our whole pre-cruise time in Rome but the accessibility of Venice via the train makes it worthwhile to split up the stay.

 

Anyone know how easy it is to store luggage on the express train to Rome? Last time we took a train with significant luggage was from Manchester to London. It was a real pain storing all of our bags in the car.