Best time
April - June, September - November
How long
2-3 days
Best for
Couples, short breaks, art
Perfect for
Couples / Art / Short Breaks
Why go to Venice
Venice empties at about six in the evening, when the day trippers leave, and refills at ten in the morning. Everything good about the city happens in the gap. Stay two nights, go out early and late, and the experience is completely different from the one people complain about.
Get lost on purpose. The islands north of the centre, Cannaregio and the quieter parts of Castello, have functioning neighbourhoods, ordinary bars and prices that are not aimed at tourists.
What to do
Walk without a map for an afternoon
The city is an island. You cannot get badly lost, and the wrong turns are the good part.
Take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal
Line 1, slow, from Piazzale Roma to San Marco. The cheapest grand tour there is.
Go to San Marco at 7am or 8pm
The square is genuinely beautiful when it is not full. In the middle of the day it is not.
Do a cicchetti crawl
Small plates and a glass of wine at bacari, standing up, moving on. This is how locals eat.
Visit Burano and Torcello
Forty minutes by boat. Coloured houses on one, a thousand year old basilica and near silence on the other.
See one serious art collection
The Accademia for old masters or the Guggenheim for modern. Both are manageable in two hours.
Where to stay
Cannaregio
Residential, well priced by Venetian standards and full of good bars. The best base for a first stay.
Dorsoduro
Art museums, students and quieter canals. Pleasant and central without the crush.
Mestre (mainland)
Much cheaper, ten minutes by train. Acceptable if the budget requires it, but you miss the evenings.
Getting there and around
- Marco Polo (VCE) connects by bus to Piazzale Roma in about 25 minutes, or by water bus directly to the city in around 75.
- Treviso (TSF) serves low cost carriers and is roughly an hour away by coach.
- Trains arrive at Santa Lucia, which is inside the city itself, and are often the easiest option from elsewhere in Italy.
On foot, plus the vaporetto water buses. A multi day transport pass pays off quickly. Pack light: there are bridges and steps everywhere.
What it costs
Budget: Cicchetti bars, a transport pass and a room in Cannaregio or on the mainland. Cheaper than its reputation.
Mid range: Small hotel in the centre, two museums and dinner out. Book well ahead.
Higher end: Canal view hotels and historic palazzos, at prices that reflect the setting.
Read next
Articles about Venice style trips
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Italy
Rome
Two thousand years of city stacked in the same streets, with some of the best casual eating in Europe at ground level.
France
Paris
The most visited city in Europe, and still worth it if you treat it as a set of neighbourhoods rather than a list of monuments.
Croatia
Dubrovnik
Small, dramatic and very popular. Dubrovnik works best in shoulder season, and even better if you use it as a base for the coast.
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