pkdof

I'd appreciate your thoughts on our itinerary for the first leg of our two week trip to Italy in June. We're a family of four (including our boy/girl twins, 13). We'll be flying into Venice from LAX via Frankfurt (Lufthansa business class).

Sunday 6/15 - arrive 1:40 pm
Water taxi to Bauer Hotel
Guggenheim (closes 6 pm)
Accademia (closes 7:15 pm)
7:30 dinner reservation at Riviera
Gelateria Nico
back to hotel (what vaporetto gets us from Zattere back to San Marco?)

Monday 6/16
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Santa Maria Glorioso dei Frari
Campo Santa Margherita
lunch at Pizzeria Ai Sportivi
Gelateria del Doge
Ca'Rezzonico
shopping for masks at Mondonovo
shopping for glass at Galleria Marina Barovier
Piazza San Marco
shopping for glass at L'Isola, Pauly, Venini (this may all just be window shopping)
8 pm dinner at either Alla Madonna or Fiaschetteria Toscana

Tuesday 6/17
Doge's Palace and Secret Itineraries Tour
Basilica
lunch at La Zucca
Jewish Ghetto - museum and walking tour
walking around
8 pm dinner at Acquapazza

Wednesday 6/18
morning Eurostar to Florence (I'll post Florence and other itineraries separately)

Thanks in advance for your advice - I've really enjoyed reading these boards!

Statia

Seems doable to me. You might be kind of tired for doing 2 museums the first day, but you can always add one on another day if that's the case.

Also, check on the times of the Jewish Ghetto tours. We went there twice at two different times, on two different days, to do a walking tour and both times they were not doing them.

pkdof

Statia, regarding the two museums the first day - my experience is that if we stay up the first night until a normal bedtime, we're not as jet lagged the rest of the trip. We're not planning on spending a lot of time at the Guggenheim, probably no more than an hour.

What I've read about the Ghetto tours is that they are on the half hour from 10:30 to 5:30 except Saturday - was that not your experience?

Statia

No....we went during those times on weekdays and they weren't conducting them. This was in the fall. Hopefully you won't run into that issue.

I agree on staying up until a normal bedtime that first day....I just meant that you might be kind of brain dead from all the travel to really take in all the work at 2 museums, even though they aren't particularly large museums. And, then again, you might not. Everybody's different.

Have a great trip! I was just telling DH last night that I'm ready to return to Venezia...even though I'm going to Japan this year instead.

pkdof

I kind of figured those two museums wouldn't take too much brain activity.

So, anybody else with alternate suggestions or critiques?

CasaDelCipresso

ummm...this IS Venice you're talking about, right? Your plan seems SO planned! I really think you should give yourself time to wander and just get lost and enjoy Venice honestly, I've been to Venice many, many, many times...not once have I gone and NOT spent time lost ;-) or at least taken a wrong turn.

pkdof

Ah, if you think my Venice days are overplanned, wait 'til you see the rest of the trip! Sorry, but I am a compulsive vacation planner. I did try to build in "lost" time by scheduling only 2 or 3 sites a day and leaving a lot of shopping time.

How are my restaurant choices (given the kids, one of whom - my son - is fairly fussy, although my daughter will try anything)?

RJD

Venice is a great city to get lost in, to stroll down uncrowded streets, to enjoy a cafe. You're over planned and over museumed. I suggest an afternoon stroll down Via Garibaldi and a tour of the Dosoduro. Makes for a nice day.
I like the meal plans though. Good places.

pkdof

I don't want to sound like I'm rejecting the advice, but we really don't intend on spending more time than is necessary to see the highlights in these museums. And we may well drop Ca'Rezzonico.

Still confused how to get from Zattere to San Marco. I'm having trouble reading the ACTV timetables.

Jean

Zattere to San Marco? I'd just walk and enjoy the atmosphere.

CasaDelCipresso

yes...Zattere is at San Marco (ok...not ON the sqaure...but very short, straight walk) would take more time to try and get the vaporetto for the one stop.

mamc

If the weather is nice on your first day in Venice, you might not want to spend so much time indoors. Walking around in the fresh air is a great way to get over jet lag.

You are definitely hitting the high spots. Just one suggestion - if you like farmers' markets, there is none better than the Rialto Market. You should go early in the day and I think it may be closed on Mondays.

Zerlina

>>yes...Zattere is at San Marco (ok...not ON the sqaure...but very short, straight walk)<<

Huh? "Short, straight walk" if you can walk on water. It's on the other side of the Grand Canal, for one thing, and on the far side of Dorsoduro from the Grand Canal, for another.

Vaporetto 2 or 51 will take you from Zattere to San Marco, but it's not rocket science: You go to the vaporetto stop and look at the map.

CasaDelCipresso

ok, ok, ok...you are right ;-)...by straight I meant in Venice terms...not totally confusing and crazy to find ;-) It is about a 15-25 minute walk...so...in June, I just think it's probably a pleasant stroll rather than just standing on the landing waiting for the next vaporetto.

pkdof

Ok, so we'll probably walk back (while eating our gelato). I just thought we might want to take the vaporetto as fatigue sets in.

Any particular recommendations for shopping?

ellenem

You could also take a boat from San Marco to Accademia and walk through on the wide street to the other side.

With a gelato, I'd be walking . . .

Bosworth_Family

I would also take a gondala ride.

annhig

hi, pkdof,

even allowing for different people's differing approaches to travel, i stil think that you are somewhat overplanned, especially with kids. We're going to Venice with ours at easter, and i wouldn't dream of imposing that 1st day on them and they are 20 & 17!

your first day, you may be suffering from jet-lag and not feel like doing very much. as you are staying near san marco [as i gather from your mention of needing to get back there after dinner]

why not focus on that area for your first afternoon, and if you plan anything, book a slot for the basilica. this has the advantage that it's free, [so if you don't show it won't matter] and the lights are turned on on sundays so the mosaics are illuminated. then if anyone gets overcome by tiredness, it'll be easy to go back to the hotel. if you do feel adventureous, you can simply hop on a boat and then walk back, or vice versa, or even take in the guggenheim. I most certainly would not try to fit in the accaedmia AND the guggenheim on that day.

Your itinerary for monday mornnig makes more sense, but after the frari and the scuole in the morning, why not have a change of scene and go out to the islands in the pm. if you like glass, murano would be the obvious one, but the others are interesting too.

on the tuesday, you could start with the secret tour then follow it with the accademia if you still want to see it after the scuola and the palace. [you or at least your kids may have had enough of tinteretto et al by this point].

i would leave Tuesday pm til you're there - the kids may have an idea about what they want to do.

alternatively, you could start the morning with a trip to the rialto market, then do the ghetto tour, leaving the palace and the accademia to the afternoon.

regards, ann

pkdof

Thanks, ann, those are good suggestions.

Sassafrass

My students that age loved the gondola ride. They also loved the farmer's market and all the stuff at Rialto. One of the islands is fun and a little different, and Murano isn't too far. My DH is Jewish and we've taken the Ghetto tour three times. It doesn't always run and doesn't always include everything, but is very interesting and the neighborhood is great for wandering around.