and if you can get your teens up early, the Rialto market, especially the fish market, is, as michelin says, "worth the trip"!

My daughter and niece, 40's and late 30's walked 12 hours in Venice and were lost most of the time. And they are good map readers, when they returned to the hotel, I said I guess you saw everything and they just laughed. Next day went out with a new plan. It's a great place to roam, get lost, eat and return to.

Stay in Venice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will be happy you did.

If I had just a couple of days in Venice, I certainly would not go to the Lido. If you must go somewhere, take the vaporetto to Burano.

I truly appreciate all your input - will certainly stay in Venice!!

I have a feeling I may be in awe of the sight of Venice for the first time like the first time I went to Paris many years ago.

hi chiill,

as you are arriving by train, you will step out into [IMHO] an amazing and confusing scene.

OTOH, there is the glory that is Venice spread out in front of you.

OTOH, there are hundreds of people and boats milling around seemingly aimlessly. if you are staying near the station [not a bad choice as you only have 2 nights,] you probably need to turn to your left and walk along the street that you see before you. you could choose one of the hotels along there which are within walking distance of the station.

if you choose a hotel further away, you will need to a the vaporetto. the stop is diagonally in front of your to the left. the no 1 stops at every stop, the no 2 is the express; both go down the grand canal and give you a great intro to Venice. your hotel will doubtless tell you which to catch and where to get off.

have a great stay in Venice!

Hi annhig,

I really appreciate the heads up! For some reason I've been feeling a little eerie about the vaporetto system and I wondered if I could figure it all out and use it but it seems simple enough. The hotel is actually located very close to San Marco, so I'm assuming we just get off at the San Marco stop.

Hi chillout,

as you are going to san marco, you can probably catch either the no 1 or the no 2, which tends to be less crowded as it only stops at certain places. do check with your hotel though about the best way to get there. [make it clear that you are arriving by train though!] and of course you want the trains that go all the way through to Santa lucia, not ones that stop at Mestre.

you can now buy vaporetto passes on line before you travel, and as you have relatively little time, that might be a good idea. a 24 hour pass costs  €16 and as each trip is €6.50, it will soon pay for itself. make sure that you validate it, or any other ticket you buy, in the machines before you travel. if you buy a pass, you only have to validate it the first time you use it.

have a great time!

> if you buy a pass, you only have to validate it the first time you use it.

Incorrect. It used to be like this with paper tickets, until years ago but with a new plastic swipe card, you need to swipe over the machine each time you board.
http://livingveniceblog.com/venice-i...transit-cards/

Thats good to know, thanks again!

thanks, Kappa. when did they bring that in?