Originally Posted by Reeshiez

With that amount of days I would skip Milan and fly into Venice. Go to Venice for three 3 days and then either Verona, Padua, Vicenza or Lake Garda. If you must fly into Milan, skip it and go to Lake Como or somewhere on the way to venice from Milan.Just a warning, many people hate Venice. They complain it is crowded, dirty and overrated. We found it magical. The people who complain about that tend to stick to San Marco's square and the Rialto Bridge. Don't skip them, especially San Marco's Square, but there is so much more to Venice. During the day, take the time to visit each of Venice's neighborhoods which I am listing below:

1) Cannaregio - my absolute favorite. We stayed here and it was perfect. Its a 15 minute walk from San Marco but is more authentic and has amazing restaurants
2) Castello - huge neighborhood with stunning architecture. The Venice Bienalle takes place here. Has a lot of great restaurants as well. It is next to San Marco too (the western part is quite touristy) so if you want a central location this is another good neighborhood to stay in
3) Dorsoduro - lots of museums are based here. But its also really enjoyable to walk around. This neighborhood is very lively at night
4) Santa Croce - lovely to walk around and has this really beutiful building. Forgot what its called. This is farther out than Cannaregio and Castello and is super quiet
5) San Polo - the rialto bridge is here so it gets super crowded. But it also has a really nice fish market and has wonderful restaurants

At night, when all the cruise ships have long gone, visit Venice's most famous neighborhood, San Marco's square. It is absolutely magical at night.

If you have time you can visit Venice's many islands. Skip Murano. It is the definition of a tourist trap but Burano (still very touristy) is beautiful. After Burano you can go to Mazzorbo which is across the bridge. There are other nice islands but you probably won't have time to visit them.

Now another common complaint about Venice is the food. Do not eat in many of the pizza restaurants next to the Rialto Bridge or the many tourist traps in San Marco . Most of them have menu's in english just for tourists and are ridiculously over priced. The food is terrible too. Instead, download the Eat Italy App on your phone. It has excellent restaurant recommendations for each neighborhood. I especially enjoyed Promessi Sposi in Cannaregio. Enjoy your trip!

Originally Posted by whitehall

There is never enough time. My focus would not be on what I missed but on what I was able to see. Our first visit to Venice allowed us only three nights. We had only so much time away. Instead of focusing on how little time we had in Venice (even not knowing we might return many times since then), our favorite memory is literally leading a night-time procession of thousands of people, arm in arm, with the Bishop of Venice and the patriarch of Venice (Cardinal Scola, runner-up for Pope). It was the feast of our Lady of Good Health in November. And, we had a prominent place on the altar of the magnificent Basilica di Santa Maria Della Salute. All just a little accident because, in the midst of heavy police security, we were mistaken as official photographers. Long story, but even short visits can have wonderful travel memories.