2 days in Venice
 

Will be in Venice for 2 days near the end of November. Any suggestions for &quot;must sees&quot; that can be done in that time frame. Grazie!<BR>

Just spent two days there two weeks ago, you will love it! Bridge of Sighs, Doges Palace are a must...also a gondola ride. We also enjoyed the side visit to the islands of Murano (glass blowing) and Burano (lace making)..have fun!

To concur with the above post, 2 days is ample time to see the major highlights of Venice: St. Mark's area with the basilica, the Doge's Palace, etc. in one day; day 2 take vaporetti #12 out to the islands of Murano for glass buying and Burano for lace and tour of a lace factory.

Don't forget Ca Rezonnaco (?sp -- too lazy to get the guide book) and I LOVED St. George and the Dragon at one of the art schools (again, too lazy, but I believe it's listed in most guide books) -- good and gory. If you beg and plead, you can get into the Secret tour of the Doges Palace (usually booked up).<BR><BR>

Look on another thread for information about see Doges Palace with the secret itinerary.<BR>

joni,<BR>The other message which has info on tour is titled &quot;Secret Tour of the Doges Palace in Venice&quot;<BR>

a brief note to &quot;a-z&quot; (Andrea, right?)<BR><BR>Helping joni by informing her about the Secret Tour thread - - and topping it - - is on the best tradition of this forum. But topped threads quickly separate from the mesages that reference them. Even better is to provide the URL of the thread:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&amp;tid=34375715<BR><BR>With this - - even a year from now - - anyone who finds THIS thread can also find THAT one.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Many thanx to all who responded, and to Rex for the URLs! I'm fairly new to this forum, and I have been receiving terrific info from all. I have even been able to give a little myself! Was in Venice MANY years ago, but the people I'll be traveling with have never been there. Didn't do Doges last trip, so really looking forward to that. Will probably skip the islands (been to Murano); would rather explore and get &quot;lost&quot; in the City. Again, Grazie per le informazioni molto buone! :-)

You're very welcome.<BR>

When you got &quot;lost&quot; in the city two must-sees are the chiesa dei frari with two masterpieces by Titian and the scuola di san giorgio degli schiavoni which houses fabulous paintings by Carpaccio, including the St. George and Dragon mentioned by another poster.

Fred: Thanks, will do! Traveling with 3 art students from Scuola Lorenzo de'Medici (Florence). Also, we're thinking of renting a van and driving back to Florence. Thinking of stopping in Verona. Any other suggestions for stops along the way. Would like to see some of the Tuscan countryside. Is this feasible to do in a day, arriving in Florence early evening? Grazie!

One of my most favorite Venice things is to take a night ride on vaporetto #1 from the train station all the way down to the bottom, maybe Arsenale. Seeing each palazzo lit up is pure magic. Don't miss it.

Joni,<BR>If you drive out of Venice to Florence, you must go in to Padua just to see Giotto's masterpiece in the Scrovegni Chapel. Truly one of the seminal masterpieces in the history of art. I know it has just been cleaned, and I believe only 25 people are allowed in at a time, so you may need to get a ticket in advance. You won't be disappointed.

Diane, great idea! thanx. And Fred, thanx for your suggestion. Will do! Still wondering if we can make this drive in one full day, and still have time to see things along the way. I realize it depends on how long we stop at each place, but any advice would be appreciated. Grazie.

Joni, I would try the Guggenheim museum off the Accademia bridge. It is a museum that was also Peggy Guggenheim's home. Gorgeous place. She is even buried in the backyard next to her 15 pets she wanted to be buried next to. Her artwork collection included works from Picasso to Pollack. I have a great photo of my wife and I in the backyard of the museum overlooking the canal.

Ryan, we will include the PG museum too; missed that on my last visit to Venice. Grazie.