We only have an overnight and a full day in Venice before our cruise. Would love to hear responses on your memories of Venice and any advice or recommendations, if you had only a day there and it was your first time. Thanks so much.

Such a short stay. I guess I would take a trip on the Alilaguna the length of the Grand Canal, visit San Marco, walk a lot around the city, visit the Rialto Market in the early morning and, if you have time, visit the Frari Church.

That's quite a bit for one day but you can rest on the cruise.

Agree with above!

first stop the rialto market and a spot of breakfast. then round to the Frari Church and the sculoa di san Rocco [adjacent to each other] followed by lunch on the Zattere.

then get a vaporetto up the grand canal, get off at the station, then follow the signs back to San Marco and visit the Basillica. [you might want to get reservations for this]

then back to your hotel for a rest! and later take a moonlight trip along the grand canal for a last look at Venice before you leave the next morning.

I had the exact situation when I went to Venice last summer. What I did, was: first, I wandered down from the train station to Piazza San Marco. The best thing to do in Venice is to go up the bell tower, and get a view of the whole city, and stand where Galileo Galilei stood to look at the sky. From the Piazza, take a canal cruise, get out at the Rialto Bridge, sit down, and drink some coffee or eat lunch. After that, walk along the canal for a while. The best thing I can suggest for Venice is to just “get lost”. Pull away from the tourist crowds, and just wander around the city. Also, in the evening, most tourists leave the city to go stay at their “Americanized” hotels on the mainland, and this is when the real Venice comes alive. Go take another walk around 8:00, maybe on the Grand Canal, or even back to Piazza San Marco. This is exactly what I did, and trust me, it was an experience I will never forget. Best tip: Unless you thoroughly enjoy art and churches, don’t bother going into museums or cathedrals. Just look from the outside. You will spend a lot of your time waiting in line to get in to most museums, and unless you are passionate about what’s inside, it will be a waste of your time.

Hope this helps!

bookmarking!

I agree with most of the above suggestions, especially about just walking the streets or riding the vaporetto down the Grand Canal after the sun goes down.

Prior to going to Venice where we stayed a week, I thought that it was all about seeing things like the gorgeous Sculoa di san Rocco (better than the Sistene Chapel in my opinion) and the Basilica and the Grand Canal, but looking back the memories of just walking the streets away from the tourist trap areas (Rialto Bridge) and "getting lost" are the fondest. You just never know what you see when you turn a corner and it's just magic. Take a good map: a little flashlight and compass came in handy, too.

By the way, re reservations for the Basilica - this was one of our worst decisions. We went to the little tourist office on one of the corners at St Marks and booked for a tour, thinking that it would save us queue time. It was the worst value for money and time. We had to meet at 11.45 for a tour starting at noon. By the time everyone had sorted out their banged up stupid headphones it was 12.15 - the actual tour didn't get in the doors until 12.25. We were talked at while we sat in one place, quickly went past that beautiful panel at the back whose name escapes me, and were bundled out the door at 12.55. We weren't permitted to go where the non-paying tourist were going which were the upstairs outside areas. We could have waited in line and seen more.

I wasn't suggesting booking a tour of the Basilica, simply reserving a "slot" for entry, which saves time waiting in the almost inevitable queue to get in. I would also advise avoiding the Campanile di San Marco but getting the vaporetto to the isola di san giorgio [you can get there from the Zattere and then get the vaporetto back to San Marco] where there is an equally good but less crowded and cheaper campanile to climb.

and of course wandering the streets is a lovely thing to do especially in the evening when all the cruise boat tourists have departed; pop into a bar and have an "ombra" [glass of wine] and a few cicchetti [tapas type snacks] and imagine just for a minute what it must be like to live in this magical place.