Heading to Venice on September 18, arriving at about 1pm in the afternoon from Florence. My flight will leave Venice on September 20th at noon. Would like to see as much as I possibly can the afternoon I arrive, as my husband (who has truly asked for very little on this upcoming trip) really wants to go to Padua to see the museum and St. Anthony's basilica. I thought, based on previous advice, that I would do this in the morning after our arrival. <BR>Should I do a guided tour of Venice one of the afternoons? If so which one?<BR>All advice is most appreciated in advance.<BR>Thanks,<BR>Melissa

You should take a tour of DOges Palace (audio or otherwise). Well worth it. It does get crowded though, mornings are probably best. Also many sites do close for a couple of hours in the afternoon so plan accordingly.

Melissa -<BR><BR>My wife and I were in Venice last year (in Nov). It's a beautiful place. I recommended taking a water taxi around the Grand Canal - it's probably a 45 minute trip. I do not recommend going to Murano - you won't see much.<BR>Enjoy!

Melissa,<BR>You should go to a bookstore and read a bit about Venice. There is truly a lot to see. Def. spend a morning at the Doge's Palace & going through St. Marks. There are also beautiful churches and schools of art to see. It's also nice to wander around and get lost.

If you do take the side trip to Padova, be sure to see the Capella Scrovengi for the amazing Giotto freschi there. The building is in bas shape (probably due to an earlier restoration gone bad when a drain pipe was improperly installed leading to much water damage of the freschi). I believe you need advance tickets and only a few people are let in at a time. I also read they put you in a chamber and use compressed O2 and a vacumn system in order to clean the visitors of any contaminents and polution before entering. <BR><BR>I will top my Venice suggestions for you. I do recommend that you go to San Marco, especially to see the horses upstairs (be sure to see the originals inside as well as the replica set outside). There is a great view of the mosaic cieling from the gallery as well. I do not think that in your short time in Venezia that I would go to the Doge's palace. <BR><BR>You could stop in Padva on your way to Venezia as the train to Venezia stops at Padova.

I agree with Dean, the original horses are definitely worth seeing..they cannot figure out how old they are because they were built with some materials that are untraceable!<BR>Also the Frari Church is a must..(not to mention the ice cream store across the way)<BR>But as always, just walk and do not get too focused on how much time you have in Venice, but that you are in Venice!<BR>