Wandering the back streets away from the touristy area around Ponte Rialto is the best way to experience Venice. A trip out to Burano (1/2 hour on ferry each way approx) is also very rewarding.The colourful buildings and quiet streetsand canals are very pituresque. The view from the bell tower is also worth seeing.
In Rome have a look at St Clemintines Church not on the usual tourist track but has amazing excavations underneath.

Thank you all so much for your help!
Gard, your trip report is wonderful. I should let you plan our itinerary! It looks like I will be changing our plans and spending the bulk of the time in Rome.
Luckily, we haven't booked hotels yet, only air.
Anna, you're right, We're flying halfway around the world and food/wine is a huge part of the experience for us. We'll stop, have lunch and take it all in...

Somehow get a copy of Venice Walks by Chas Carner & Alessandro Giannatasio. This is the most amazing guidebook I have ever experienced!!The "narrated" walks outlined opened my eyes to Venice and has made it one of if not our favorite place on earth!!!The book is out of date so ignore hotel/restaurant suggestions.

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One gallery I have not seen mentioned here is the National Gallery of Modern Art. It is a beautiful place with a nice restaurant right in the Borghese Gardens.

Here's what I said on another thread about must-do's in Venice:

Author: Girlspytravel
Date: 04/02/2007, 09:51 am
For Venice, you want to see the history of La Serenissima, to get a sense of the Venetian republic at its zenith-to do that, you have to make the Palazzo Ducale your first stop, you'll want to see the astounding Sala dei Maggior Consiglio, with its huge Tintoretto mural on one wall, the portraits of the Doges along the walls (the Doges being the former civil head of authority in Venice) and the incredible frescoed ceiling-this huge hall, one of the largest in the world of its type, was the diplomatic reception area for the Republic during the 15, 16th century. You'll also want to tour the Basilica of San Marco next door, to see its magnficent golden mosaics inside, its frescoes, and to go up inside so you can walk around the outside of the Basilica to see the view.

In any visit to Venice, you'll want to take the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal to see the magnificent palazzos that line the Grand Canal, but you'll also want to see the inside of one of these gorgeous palazzos as well, to see how the wealthy and titled Venetian families lived during the heyday of the Republic. For that you need to visit the beautiful Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal, with its sumptious decor, and priceless art- works by Canaletto, Titian, and Tintoretto, which shows Venice and Venetians in various centuries, a fascinating pictorial history, as it were, with a lovely garden outside, and a nice little cafe for refreshment. Ca'Rezzonico is a must-see, IMO.

Then, I would suggest getting on the vaporetto, to go over for a visit to the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where Benedictine monks have inhabited this island for over 1,000 years, to see their stunning complex of a church built by Andrea Palladio, with its priceless works by Tintoretto, Palma di Giovane, and Titian, its two lovely cloisters, but particularly, to go up in their campanile (bell tower) to see the incomparable views of Venice and the lagoon area-you can see everything from here, it seems-really stunning.

And finally, I would suggest a tour of La Fenice, the exquisite Venetian opera house, to see Venice's present day culture, and I would try to get tickets to a performance so you can experience this opera house and its magnificent acoustics.

www.teatrolafenice.it/index.php

Or, as an alternative, I would get tickets to a performance at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista, to a concert or an opera that they regularly present. San Giovanni Evangelista is a stunning building going back several centuries, with murals and paintings by the great Venetian masters Bellini, Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, sculptural work by Mauro Codussi, among others. It is used by the Venetians for cultural presentations, and the President of Italy came for a visit just last week. The vast salon of San Giovanni is where the concerts are held, and it is truly stunning. You can view the salon, and/or purchase tickets for a concert at this website:

www.classictic.com/venues/52.html


These are some of the places I would advise to see for a first trip to Venice, to get a sense of its history and culture, past and present.

Enjoy your trip, patjd. I second the guidebook suggestion. Just make a list of the top ten or fifteen things that most appeal to you, then learn a little more in depth to decide if that's how you really want to spend your time and once you decide, learn all you can about it in advance. For example, my Mom wanted to see EVERYTHING, my husband tires of churches quickly, and while I love the history behind them I don't care to spend a lot of time trekking through ruins.

So here's how we managed the "must-sees" of our group and still allowed time to enjoy the unique flavor of Rome when severly limited by time.

Day one, Galleria Borghese. You can reserve entry time online and this is encouraged. Get there at least a half hour ahead of time to pick up your tickets. We had time to go back outside and enjoy the gardens until a little before our entry time. This is a beautiful building and the amazing collection of Bernini sculptures deeply impressed even my post-Florence arted-out husband. Certainly it was a highlight for all of us and my #1 must-see. Because our lovely apartment was at Piazza Mattei (at Turtle Fountain, in the Jewish Ghetto) afterwards we took a leisurely walk back home, stopping to enjoy the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain beautifully lit up at dusk on the way. We freshened up and took a short walk over to a restaurant on Campo di Fiori, where we made new friends and retired back to the terraces of our apartment to share wine and more of the evening. The earlier part of the day was used to explore the Campo's famous daily market and to get to know our neighborhood, which was filled with interesting little trattorias and tiny shops for all kinds of everyday needs, including wine, pastry, and clothing. Nearby are larger stores and you can pretty much buy anything you'd want in this area unless you are determined to have certain designers and prefer Spanish Steps prices.

Day 2 we walked over to the Forum and met some old friends to sketch and explore Palatine Hill and the Colisseum (something my mom and husband considered a "must see". I preferred to sit outside and sketch it.) Then we walked over to see Moses at St. Peter in Chains, then walked to St. Mary Major for the sights there. Lunch nearby and a leisurely walk home. After a nap we walked the 5 minutes over to enjoy the Pantheon (rain falling through the oculus, an exciting first for me) and Piazza Navona (the central fountain sadly shrouded for restoration), then supper.

Day 3, 15-minute walk back over to the Forum to finish a sketch, then lunch before meeting our private Icon scholar (also arranged in advance online) in front of our palazzo to taxi over for our Vatican/St. Peters tour, which took about four hours total and completely exceeded our highest expectations. Afterwards we walked back home, taking an indirect route to wander along the river.

We were able to balance many of the classic "must-sees" with plenty of random exporation in these three days. We could not have done this in as relaxed a fashion if not based in such a fantastic location that literally allowed us to both immerse ourselves in an ancient residential neighborhood and walk anywhere we wanted to go within a half hour. In my roundabout way I'm trying to say you don't have to rigidly dictate "half day this, half day that" or "must-see". Just narrow down what most interest you on THIS trip to plan one or two major things per day and go with the flow. You'll naturally enjoy wine and food at meals and a sense of history and culture when simply walking around and more so if you stay in an apartment, not a hotel. Next trip, go a little more in depth for the more out of the way things as you revisit what you most liked from this trip. "Don't bother with"...feeling pressured or rushed!

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Especially, if you like seafood, take the short boat ride (half hour or so) out to Burano and get a delicious lunch and stroll around a bit. It's a colorful island where a lot of fishing boats dock.

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grazie mille

While in Rome:
*Colosseum/nearby San Clemente-a must see, multi-layered font of history
*Borghese Gallery/Vatican Museum
*St.Luigi Francese/St.Maria del Popolo for the Caravaggios
*Termini Museum for ancient artifacts
*Pantheon

While in Venice:
*the 1 or 82 vaporetto by day & night
*the Frari Church-The Assumption & Pesaro Madonna
*Scuola San Roch-The Crucifixion by Tintoretto(next door to Frari)
Good Luck-I went in October & relied heavily on the good people who write in these spaces-they were not wrong.

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If you like cats, Torre Argentina, the Roman Catsanctuary.

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bkmkg Thank you!