I spent 2 nights ther in 2002 - not nearly long enough!
We spent 4 nights there in 2004 on our honeymoon - closer to the correct amount.
We still haven't made it to some of the museums we wish to see.

Definitely see the Frari Church and take the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges Palace

I loved mr go's photos of Venice (see address above)! Thank you.

Venice is a "feast for the eyes" and a joy to walk around in. Three days is good for the first trip, and I will bet you will want to return again and again!

I'm another one who didn't find Venice to be all that expensive. It was more expensive than some other Italian cities, but doesn't have to break the bank if you know how to do it affordably.

I can agree that not everyone falls in love with Venice. My husband likes Florence better.

Good morning, have spent 84 days over 22 trips to Venice since 1971 and would not hesitate one mill. to return.
Only age now prevents a positive return.
To this place and its many memories...
This is refreshed by the many web sites
and their web cams, etc...
Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..

The narrow 'calle' of Venice could strike one as either charming or claustrophobic. At different times, we had both reactions.

If the budget had allowed it, I would have hired a motorboat and driver with which to explore the lagoon. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but I felt a little hemmed in; I had to keep reminding myself we were on the sea.

Public transit is confined to the vaporettos, which as we expected were fun for short hops and a grind for anything longer.

On the plus side the Frari church was one of the most lovely I've seen, and the view of the city from San Giorgio Maggiore was striking. We also thoroughly enjoyed our traghetto ride, howsoever brief, perhaps because these rides are used as much if not more by Venetians than tourists.

In sum, we liked it, but prefer Rome and Florence. That said, I would definitely advise 3 nights over 2, just to give you a decent amount of time to get even a first impression.

Klio - we had two nights planned in Venice for our 2002 honeymoon, and then a train strike 'stranded' us there another day and a half. Sigh! It was the best place in the world to be stranded. After 3 nights, I still never left the mainland (Never saw the Lida, Murano, Burano, Torcello...), and never hit one Museum. Did hit churches, shops, palaces... its just a city to get lost and wander in.

We're not big shoppers, but found everything so beautiful there, that we spent more time on that than we had expected. We did get a Vaporetto (waterbus) pass the last day, but never made the islands as we kept spotting things on the mainland we still hadn't seen.

Going back for 3 or 4 nights in September... opt for the 3 if you can, its time well spent. And, without the vehicular traffic, it seems more tranquil and less busy than many other parts of Italy.

"The cold and rain dampened my spririts a little and we had high-water issues for a couple of days."

Are you kidding? Aqual alta is the best time to be there. It turn Venice into a real carnival. If it were possible, I'd plan my trip to be there then.

Any time in Venice is time well spent so I would opt for three nights if you have the choice. While Venice may seem crowded during the day, especially if you are in St. Marks, it can be calm and tranquil wandering the same streets at night. There is no other place in the world like Venice and everyone should experience it if given the opportunity. We keep going back and feel almost ashamed of the fact that Venice keeps calling to us when there are so many other places to go. We now have to force ourselves to go other places between Venice trips. Have fun, get away to some of the less traveled areas of Venice and just soak in the sights and the atmosphere.

During my first trip to Venice, I sat for a couple of hours by the window in a tiny bar off Campo San Stefano, while it poured rain outside. All the people working in the shops on the calle would come in, drink a fast glass of wine or espresso, then go back to work. There was a butcher on the calle, and a customer went into the shop, had a word with the butcher, the butcher then shut his door, came into the bar with the customer, they had a drink and a talk, then she left and the butcher went back to work.

I was pretty much a goner from that first day.

Spygirl, when will you be there? I'll be there over Easter week.