Nightfawl

During our vacation through Spain and Italy, we will be stopping in Venice for a couple of days. We have a flight booked (RyanAir) which will be taking us from Barcelona El Prat to Venice (Treviso). We arrive at Treviso at 12:40pm on Thursday June 19th. We will then take the ATVO bus from Treviso to Piazzale Roma. I believe we can either purchase the ATVO ticket on the airplane or at the baggage collection inside Treviso.

http://www.atvo.it/index.php?lang=en...id=36&view_pc=!

Our apartment is very close to Piazzale Roma and we will have to make arrangements via water taxi for the last short ride to the apartment. We will be staying until Saturday June 21st when we take Trenitalia from Venezia S. Lucia to Florence. Our train departs Venice at 7:25pm so we basically have just over 48 hours in Venice to enjoy ourselves. What do you think so far?

Once we settle in to our apartment in Venice, it will probably be late in the afternoon, so here is an idea I had for an itinerary for our short visit in Venice.

DAY 1 - Thursday (Starting approx 4pm)
Rialto Bridge
Grand Canal (Gondola Ride)

DAY 2 - Friday
St. Mark's Square
St. Mark's Basilica (Prebook?)
Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) - Prebook Secret Itineraries Tour
Campanile di San Marco (Go up the Bell Tower)

DAY 3 - Saturday
Dorsoduro, Burano or Lido.
Leave apartment by 5:30pm to catch train at 7:25pm.

This is a rough idea of some places I have researched and seem worth seeing. Any input you all have would be very much appreciated.

ekc

I would see Rialto (the bridge and the market) first thing on Saturday and then visit Dorsoduro. Have some cicchetti at some point on your trip - one of my favorite "activities" in Venice.

I would not try to fit in a trip to Burano or Lido on this trip. Not enough time IMO.

adrienne

Do you need to take a water taxi or can you use a vaporetto or walk?

I would not take a gondola ride on the Grand Canal but on smaller canals. The difference is huge. The Grand Canal may have some chop and you feel like you're simply in a boat, not something special. On the smaller canals you feel enveloped by the buildings in the narrow canal space. The ride is much quieter and it seems as though you're floating in a Medieval era.

If you want a Grand Canal ride take the vaporetto between Rialto and St. Mark's. This is a special ride, particularly at night when the palazzi are lit up. You'll see lots of beautiful buildings that can only be seen from the water.

ekc

Absolutely agree with Adrienne. Taking the vaporetto between Railto and St. Marks on the first evening would be a great introduction to the city!

PalenQ

ditto to adrienne's take on the Grand Canal - go both in the daytime and especially at night on public transport boats - to me one of the most sublime experiences in Europe - at night the wondrously illuminated and a bit fading facades of the ancient palazzi silently slip by, echoing Venice's once grand past when it was the most opulent city in the world.

If doing more than one public boat in a day a Day Ticket unlimited travel one can be cheaper than two individual tickets I found out last time I was in Venice.

joan

I am doing a similar short itinerary in September.

I have found that if you combine your vaporetto pass and your transportation to/from airport (we are doing the reverse) it costs 34 euros for a 48 hour pass including the bus ride.

Saves a bit. Here's the website:
http://www.veneziaunica.it/en/ecommerce/composer

You can also add museums and water closet (lol) and get it all in one pass...
Hope this helps!

maxima

absolutely pre-book the basilica... you will probably still have to wait in line to get in, but you wont have to wait to buy tickets. you can time it with the doges palace tour. I would do the palace first and then the basilica.

I agree with Adrienne.. take the public boat in the evening on the grand canal... once the hordes of tourists leave at the end of the day, it will be less crowded and lovely.

as you are staying in an apartment and would like to get a few things in advance for breakfast or a snack there is a
Coop Supermarket in front of the Vaporetto stop Piazzale Roma
it is open Monday to Saturday 8.30 to 20.30
Sunday closed

I would not go out to Murano Burano or any of the other islands as you have such limited time.
there are other things to see in Venice itself.. at museums, historic sites, or just walk the streets, particularly those away from the main tourist area.

Nightfawl

Thank you all for your reply.

The apartment we are staying in is between Rialto Bridge and Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. I don't think we can walk from Piazzale Roma as we will have our luggage as well. Maybe vaporetto public boat is the best way to get there?

I have adjusted the itinerary based on all of your comments and now it looks like this:

DAY 1 - Thursday (Starting approx. 4pm)
Rialto Bridge (And Market)
Grand Canal
Evening Vaporetto between Rialto and St. Mark’s

DAY 2 - Friday
St. Mark's Square
Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) - Prebook Secret Itineraries Tour
St. Mark's Basilica (Prebook)
Campanile di San Marco (Go up the Bell Tower)

DAY 3 - Saturday
Dorsoduro
Gondolla Ride (Small Canal)

As you can see, I put Dorsoduro on the last day. Would this be a good place for a gondolla ride on a small canal like suggested by adrienne? Then we can walk around for a few hours.

Any other suggestions?

Cjar

We booked St. Marks Musuem and Cathedral from above tour through http://www.venetoinside.com/en/tours.../venice-tours/
It was very interesting , lasted about an hour and at the end you have the option of exploring on your own. We paid the nominal extra € to see Pala D' Oro after the tour.

Although we didn't get to see it, I believe there is a gondola shop where you can see them being repaired. I think there are only a few of these left in the city. It might be something fun off the beaten track.

We also loved Rialto market. Got some great photos.

Cjar

Here is some info on the gondola shop if you are interested.
http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinatio...n_trovaso.html

greg

Since you are taking a RA flight and your stay in Venice is short, make sure you have plan B's to deal with schedule changes. RA has considerably more latitude in changing departure times, so if end up arriving significantly later or earlier than you expected, how would you like have designed the itinerary in the first place? Also, while their punctuality statistics seem attractive, they don't belong to the IATA and can report the punctuality in their own way.

Nightfawl

I'm not pre-booking any tickets for attractions on days we have to travel. That way we are only on a schedule when we have an entire day somewhere.

Peter_S_Aus

On Thursday at 4:00 pm, the Rialto will not be trading. Go first thing on Friday, say 7:00 am

nytraveler

To determine how best to get to your apt you need to have the owners give you the info on the closest landings - for either vaporetto or a water taxi. Also how many bridges you will need to haul luggage over to get from the dock to the apt.

Unless you have a ton of luggage it makes no sense to take a water taxi unless there is a private dock much closer than the vaporetto stop (we always get a hotel with a private dock). If you have a lot of luggage either the vaporetto or walking can be a PIA.

annhig

Nightfawl, i was going to say that you should think about going to the Rialto market on Friday or Saturday morning, but Peter got in first!

if you want a trip up a campanile, try the one on the isola di San Gregorio [a quick vaporetto ride from San Marco] - it's cheaper, there are far fewer people, and the view is just as good.

After that get the vaporetto over to the Zattere, and walk back through Dorsoduro, Santa Croce and San Polo - you may find that you have time to pop into the Church of the Frari and/or the Scuola di San Rocco nearby, which are both well worth seeing if you have time.

alternatively you could go there on your last day - they would take between 1-2 hours to see, and the streets around them are very interesting.

Nightfawl

I have a few questions based from some of your comments. Anyone please feel free to reply.

joan - I looked at the website you recommended and I am a little confused about the package deal. We were planning on taking the ATVO bus for 10€ each from Treviso to Piazzale Roma and I am sure we will probably take at least 2 vaporreto rides (in and out of Venice). I don't see where I can get both modes of transportation packaged together.
http://www.veneziaunica.it/en/ecommerce/composer

Cjar - We were also thinking about sites like these where you can buy tickets to multiple attractions at a discount, similar to viator.com but a couple of people told me to book online directly through the official website of the attraction as these providers can sometimes be unreliable. Any comments on that would be appreciated.
http://www.venetoinside.com/en/tours.../venice-tours/

nytraveler - We will definitely get the exact address of the apartment. All I know right now is that it is between Rialto Bridge and Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. It does not have its own dock. With that being said, what would be the most convenient way to get from Piazzole Roma to that area? We won't have tons of luggage but at least 1 suitcase each.

annhig - If I moved Rialto Bridge I guess it would make sense to move walking around the Grand Canal as well since they are right by each other and can be done at the same time? If I move that to Saturday, what else could you suggest for Thursday when we arrive (that won't be closed)? I just figured those two attractions would be good for the day we arrive since it is so close to our apartment, but I could be wrong.

annhig

annhig - If I moved Rialto Bridge I guess it would make sense to move walking around the Grand Canal as well since they are right by each other and can be done at the same time?>>

good luck moving the bridge, nightfawl - it's been there quite a while!

seriously, the bridge and the market are quite different. The bridge is just that - a rather ornate structure that goes over the grand canal, with very touristy shops up one side of it. it is lovely at night to look along the Grand Canal from the bridge and can be fun though crowded in the day. The market, which is what Peter and I were talking about is quite different - over on the west side of the bridge [ie the other side from San Marco and the vaporetto stop] is the main Venetian food market selling fish, meat, fruit, veg, etc. to see this at its best, you need to get there early - 10 am is probably about as late as you'd want to be.

The grand canal, being a waterway, is what might be described as a moveable feast. of course you CAN see it at the Rialto Bridge, but it goes right through the heart of Venice, so the only real way to enjoy it is by being on it in a boat - a vaporetto or a gondola. you can't walk round it, BTW, as many buildings are built right up onto it, though a few, including a few restaurants have decks or balconies overlooking it.

When you arrive, depending on where exactly your apartment is, i would suggest going for a walk, perhaps walking up to the Rialto from your apartment, and getting the vaporetto down to St Marks. Depending on the hour, you may be able to see and hear the warring orchestras in what Napoleon described as the best drawing room in Europe. [but beware, sit down to listen to them and it'll cost you an arm and a leg!] then either get the vaporetto back, or perhaps cross over by the Accademia bridge to Dorsoduro and go for a stroll along the Zattere in the evening sunshine - plenty of bars in this area, or gelateria if you'd like an ice-cream. Just make sure you've got a map with you, or look out for the signs written in large white letters on the sides of buildings - some say Rialto, some San Marco, and some Ferrovia [station] - it's hard to get lost in Venice!

if you want to shop, there is a Billa [i think] supermarket on the Zattere, though it's pretty wall hidden.

annhig

PS - I reread your OP and realise that you are staying in an apartment near P. Roma. no need to walk down to the Rialto then to get the vaporetto - just jump on at your nearest stop. The signs should make it clear which way the boats are going. for the boats that go up and down the Grand Canal, you want no 1 [the slow one, stops everywhere] or No 2, the express which only stops at a few places.

here's a link to the vaporetto line map - it looks a little complicated at first but it may help to get an idea of the boats.

http://www.venice.nu/vapmap/vapomapLatest.jpg

joan

Nightfawl, I need to apologize - I did not realize there were two different airports for Venice. I am using Marco Polo but you are using Treviso, and the link I provided only has Marco Polo, so will not work for you...sorry about that!

I am enjoying this itinerary help, as I have the same amount of time planned for the city of Venice.

ellenem

The OP is giving us conflicting information. In one post, the apartment is near Piazzale Roma. In another, it is between Rialto Bridge and Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. The apartment location cannot be both, so we definitely need the address in order to be helpful.