Venice, Italy
 

Any suggestions for day trips from Venice.

There's a recent thread about this: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-267020-2.cfm

If you search the forum back in time, there are more such threads.

I read thru the thread posted above - now I'll throw in my 2 cents - we really enjoyed our trip to Padua and the Giotto frescos. We were underwhelmed by Vincenza but maybe because we are not very knowledgeable about architecture - a walking tour might have been helpful. A trip on the Brenta Canal is on my "next time" list (even tho, I know, it is also about Palladium architecture!) We really enjoyed our trip that ended up taking all day on the Venetian lagoon to Torcello - ate in the lovely restaurant Cipriano. Some people try to cram in Ravenna as a daytrip - we did it as a two night on the way to Florence - it has amazing mosaics!

How long do you have in Venice?

Agree that Torcello is fabulous - IMHO way more interesting than Murao or Burano. We loved day trip to Verona.

thanks to both of you. I'll do some more reading.

ttt

A couple of choices for a day trip. Verona, by train, and it is about 1.5 or 2 hours each way .

But I do think that Torcello is really worth visiting. To get to Torcello, you have to take the ferry to Burano, and then there’s a shuttle ferry – a traghetto – from Burano to Torcello, which runs about every half hour, and it is a ten minute trip. Torcello would provide a nice relief from the crowds in Venice.

As you get near Burano, you’ll pass a couple of small islands on your right (starboard for the nautical inclined). One island is little more than a pile of bricks, the larger one has a ruined brick building – it was a powder magazine in the times when the lagoon was defended by forts. I guess the powder magazine was built a sensible distance from the furnaces and sparks of the glass factories on Murano. Going to Torcello gives a feeling to the extent of the lagoon - it’s easy to think that Venice dominates the lagoon, when the reverse is true.

You can get off the ferry at Mazzorbo (Major Urbis, “Big City” in Latin, and Mazzorbo was once very big.) and walk from there across a bridge to Burano. It’s a pleasant fifteen minute stroll, past vineyards and the last surviving campanile on Mazzorbo.

I wrote a trip report, and it’s here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm
If you do a search in the report, you’ll find references to Torcello, Burano and Mazzorbo, all of which we really like

Lots of excellent suggestions here,but also try Ravenna, about one and half hours away and well worth the effort.
Also get the ferry to the Lido and take a wander, quiet, pretty and out of the way of tourists.(sells lovely ice cream.:))has a famous hotel by the beach on the opposite side of the ferry stop.
moonrise

I haven't read the thread in the link. Burano was worth a visit; Torchello, I could have done without. The architecture on Burano is different to what you'll see elsewhere in Venice.

Just Shoot me found that there was not much to see on Torcello, and in a way that’s correct – there’s not a lot left from what was once THE city of the lagoon. A pair of churches, three or four restaurants, a campanile, and that is about it. We were there on a sunny day in mid-winter, so everything was closed. We almost had the island to ourselves, and we liked that. But Burano and Torcello would be almost a full day, and so if your time is limited, there are probably destinations with more going for them. I still remember the mosaics in Ravenna from a trip there in 1975 – bookings to see them might be required.
Torcello is very different from Venice – it is quite rural. Take a look at the satellite photo on Google maps, and you’ll see just how few buildings there are.
If you go to Burano, take a close look at the campanile. It leans most alarmingly over the adjacent football pitch!

The name of the town is spelled Vicenza, and the architecture is Palladian

The names of the islands are spelled Murano and Torcello

The restaurant on Torcello is spelled Cipriani

(just in case somebody might be looking for these things...)

Plus while we are setting the record straight ;-) It is around three hours from Venice to Ravenna one on the train.

Oops "one way"

No, zeppole, I was referring to Burano, not Murano. I did spelt Torcello wrong, sorry.

And I didn't find the Lido particularly quiet. It has cars.

Thanks for all your responses. We've been to Veince before and visited Burano and Murano. This time we will have 5 days.
At least two in Venice itself. You can never see enough of Venice. The other three are for exploring the region.
It sounds like Torcello is worth visiting.
Are reservations necessary for the restaurant Cipriani and are they difficult to get.
dtaylorburke

As I remember, I emailed them (Cipriani) to set a reservation not long before we traveled - maybe a week ahead of time? Look for their website, I think the menu may be posted there too. I have read some posts that were fairly negative about the restaurant, esp. the price, but we thought it was similar to many places in Venice BUT the food was much better and the service very gracious. It was a lovely fall day when we went - you can eat outside on a terrace and stroll around the garden. As another poster mentioned, you get a better feel for the lagoon and the island of Venice as you cruise back from Torcello.

Just FYI - I am curently reading a book that you might like (if you are a woman) The Glassblower of Murano. Not great but a pleasant appetizer for Venice!

Here is a link to their website.

http://www.locandacipriani.com/

There is an e-mail form for reservations as well as a phone and fax number. Since it is sort of an adventure to get there, I would suggest obtaining reservations first.

I was thinking that I have seen a menu posted somewhere but I can't find it now. but prices are going to be on the expensive side.

We took a very nice tour along the Brenta Canal from Venice to Padua. You stop off at one or two of the villas on the way and have lunch at a pleasant canal-side restaurant.
We booked at the Venice Tourist Office