Welcome to Venice, a city unlike any other, where canals replace streets and gondolas glide gracefully beneath centuries-old bridges. Known as the “Floating City” or “City of Canals,” Venice captivates visitors with its romantic ambiance, rich history, and breathtaking architecture. Explore winding alleyways, discover hidden gems, and immerse yourself in the enchanting beauty of this unique Italian gem. Welcome to Venice, where every corner reveals a new marvel waiting to be discovered.
On day one of this 3 day itinerary for Venice, we’ll be visiting some of Venice’s most iconic attractions. If you only have one day in Venice, I suggest following these plans. It includes all of the must sees in Venice, including Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Grand Canal, Rialto Bridge, and more.
If you are seeing Venice in a day and a half or two and a half days (arriving in the afternoon of the first day), I suggest switching this day with day two or day three. I suggest starting your day as early as possible in St. Mark’s Square as it will get busier as the day goes on.
Conversely, you can also delay your trip to St. Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace to later in the day as the crowds dissipate. Just make sure you leave yourself enough time before the Doge’s Palace closes at 18:00. They are very firm on the closing time and will make you leave right as the clock strikes six!
St. Mark’s Square, or Piazza San Marco, is the largest and most important square in Venice. It’s one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy and home to several famous landmarks, including St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, Campanile San Marco, and the Bridge of Sighs (technically not within the piazza, but part of the Doge’s Palace).
Visit in the early morning if you can. Many of the major attractions in the city of Venice are all here, so it can get very busy and crowded. It’s the heart of Venice with many main attractions, so it’s important to plan this part of the trip as much as you can.
While Venice is an incredibly safe place to visit at all hours of the day, I do advise you to watch out for petty scams. On our first trip to Venice, a man approached me and put bird seed in my hand. All of the pigeons flew at me and landed all over me! Of course, he demanded money for this “privilege” and I don’t know why…but I gave him money!
The Bridge of Sighs is an enclosed bridge that was constructed in 1600. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo, connecting the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace to the New Prison. These small glimpses of Venice through the tiny windows along the bridge were the prisoners’ last views of the outside world as they were moved to their jail cells. arena floor
Viewing the Bridge of Sighs is one of the most popular things to do in Venice. It will get crowded and you may need to wait your turn in order to snap a photo.
For the remainder of the day, continue to explore Venice at your own pace. Go for a walk along the Grand Canal, admiring the architecture and watching the boats. Using your transportation pass, you can hop on the water bus and go for a ride down the Grand Canal, too.
Once you cross the Rialto Bridge into San Polo, it’s time to visit the Rialto Market (Mercati di Rialto). This is a lively market with fruits, vegetables and fish, and it’s where most of the local Venetian citizens buy their fresh produce. The market has been around for 1000 years.
Unless you are staying in an apartment and cooking your own meals, you likely won’t buy too many food items from the Rialto Market, but it’s still well worth the trip. Surrounding the Rialto Market, there are lots of souvenir shops with all kinds of trinkets and gifts from Venice. If you’re looking to do some shopping for yourself or loved ones back at home, head over to San Polo around the Rialto Market.
From the vaporetto, our first stop was Murano. To reach the island, take a vaporetto to the Fondamente Nove stop and transfer to line 12. The boarding area is just beyond the Donà Bridge. The first stop on line 12 is the island of Murano. If you stay on the boat, you’ll eventually reach Burano.
While we found it very easy to travel to Murano and Burano on our own, you can also take a guided tour to Murano and Burano. Transportation is completely sorted out for you, and you can travel without any planning necessary. Travel to the islands with a guide, visit a glass factory, and wander around the colorful homes of Burano.
Burano is known as the island of lace, but I remember it mostly for the bright and colorful buildings. No two buildings can be painted the same color next to one another, and all paint colors must be approved by the government.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a concentration of rainbow colored houses all in one place. If you’re looking for things to do in Venice, visiting Burano is an absolute must. Take a stroll around the canals and snap a ton of photos.
If you’ve got some time and energy, take the vaporetto to Lido. We never got the chance to do this, as we spent a little more time in Murano and Burano instead. Lido is the beach resort island of Venice. If you’re visiting during the summer months, you can relax on the beach.
If we had enough time, we were planning to rent bicycles and ride all over the island. However, we didn’t want to rush it. We didn’t feel there was enough time to savor Burano, Murano, and Lido all in one day. You might have a different experience or wake up a little earlier than we did.
When planning what to see in Venice, we felt that Lido was the spot we could sacrifice if we had to miss out on something. If you have 4 days in Venice, you should make the trip over to Lido to spend the day there.
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