TravelerLee03

Good day everyone ... We will be in Venice from October 12 through October 16 -- leaving on the 17th to Florence. We have never been to Italy and so want to maximize our time in Venice and plan our time there to the best.

We want to see the tourist "stuff" as well as the back areas -- and down time to relax and enjoy the city to which we are visiting.

Since we have not been there, we are hoping you wisened Venetian travelers can offer suggestions for how to best plan our time. October 12 we arrive around noon from Germany so there shouldn't be a "jet lag" but should be a good day to familiarize ourselves with the area. We are staying at the Hotel Ala in the SM area.

We want to do the Ghost Tour, the Secret Itinerary Tour, see the "must see" areas of the churches and museum, gondola ride, Burano, and get lost.

Could you all help fill in the blanks -- how to plan our days so we are not doing too much one day and not enough another.

Thanking you all for your help. This board is fantastic.

Lee

motor_city_girl

Go to the gregorian chant mass at the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

motor_city_girl

Sorry, forgot to tell you that it is at 11 AM on Sundays.

Where2Travel

Have you seen Fodors 2, 4 and 7 day itineraries? See:

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...;feature=30003

I think your best bet is to draft an itinerary based on what you want to do and then post that here. People will be happy to provide comments but may be reluctant to actually write the itinerary for you.

suze

I'll chime in as a non-itinerary traveler. I've been to Venice twice (once solo, once with a friend) and we simply picked a couple things each day to see/do and besides that wandered around. We did not do anything that required reservations.

A vaporetto ride on the Grand Canal, walking around San Marcos square, and walking up to see the Rialto bridge were my only "must dos".

Some of my favorite places turned out to be a local grocery store, neighborhood church, the post office, and a local hardware store where I found some great gifts and souveniers.

For food I liked the stand up sidewalk bars where you could get an espresso or glass of wine in the morning. And the casual cafes that had delicious sandwiches ready-made in glass cases were my favorite places to eat for lunch.

elaine

I have a long file on Venice, if you'd like to see it, email me at
[email protected]