I would like to plan a trip to Venice, I was wondering how many days is enough? If I only have 7/8 days including travel from the US could Venice be the only stop?

I've spent 14 days at a time in Venice and have not felt bored.

And there are many places that you can take day trips to, if Venice does start to pall: Padua, Verona, Vicenza.

Hi P,

You can't spend too many days in Venice.

I LOVE Venice, so no amount of time is too much.
When are you going? Summer is very crowded, that's why I ask.

I think with a week, I'd plan 4 days Venice,2-3 days Florence (or some other locale not too far away, such as one of the Lakes.)

I was going to suggest the same as Elaine. Most of us Venice lovers could spend two weeks or more there, but not everyone agrees on that time frame.

On our trip to Venice we were originally going to spend our whole week there, but then decided to pair it with Florence and it was wonderful to experience both and decide which city we would like to spend more time in at a later date.

Now we are going back to Venice for a week this fall, although we love Florence, too.

I agree that you could spend the entire 7/8 days in Venice. I have never spent 7 days at a time in Venice but always leave wishing we could stay longer. Have you been to Italy before? If not, you might want to spend 4 days in Venice and 4 in Florence. If you have been to Florence, follow Eloise's advice. There are lots of places easily reached for day trips from Venice.

You could stay in Venice for the entire period and, if you want to, make daytrips to Padova, Vicenza and Verona by train, which is very easy to do. This would still allow you to enjoy the unique evening atmosphere of Venice.
On a larger scale, it would have allowed you to see the better part of northern Italy, so you can concentrate on the more central parts of Italy (Rome and Florence)on another trip.

it depends what you like to do. are you looking for tons of activities, then that many days in venice is very difficult to fill. venice can be walk around for months and still find it splendid. but if you are sight seeing then you may have to look at reality and figure out what you want to accomplish/see there.

if you have never been to italy, then i'd suggest venice and rome. go to florence as you train to rome. spend 2 nights in venice, 1 night in florence, and 4 nights in rome.

Hello Powerpuff71l, in that you have 7/8 days including travel from the US this is what I would do. I would get a hotel in Venice for the nights you would be in Italy.

No doubt you will be a bit jetlagged by the time you get to your hotel in Venice. You can spend the remainder of the day getting unpacked and just wandering around in the fresh air, getting a bit acquainted with Venice and eating some good food.

The last day in Venice will probably mean that you have to check out of the hotel very early morning as most flights from Venice leave early morning.

I would enjoy Venice and when you want something different take the train to the other places that have been mentioned here such as Padua, Verona, Vicenza or even Bologna. Treviso and Trieste are other places you could visit by train. You could leave early morning and come back in the evening. But you would not be packing and unpacking, checking into and out of hotels. That is time consuming and can get tiring.
You would get a wonderful overview of the beautiful northeast section of Italy.

Then the next trip could be Florence, Tuscany and perhaps Rome etc., depending how much time you have for that trip.

Anyway, that is what I would do. Whatever you decide I sure wish you a beautiful trip. Best wishes.

We had 8 days in Venice - 2 of which were travel days from the US, so not much time. The day in we arrived late afternoon and were very tired, and the day out we left at 7am.

We had 6 full days there, and could have stayed at least another week.

Being there for that amount of time made us feel a "part" of Venice, and not just a tourist. Perhaps part of that was because we had an apartment which made it feel more like home than a hotel would have.

We like to really experience a place when we travel - spend time in the cafes, shop at the local grocery, etc., and not just buzz back and forth to the tourist sites.

We considered days trips, but did only the lagoon islands - Murano, Burano, Torcello, San Michelle, and also San Giorgio Maggiore. Too much travel time to pack up and go elsewhere.

Venice itself is a sight and one you will not forget. And after all it's vacation - part of the joy is slowing down the pace.