For an upcoming trip (June) if I have 5 days to split between Vienna & Venice which should get 3 and which should get 2. I have never been to either city so I'd be interested to hear reasons for your opinion. Thanks

Hard choice - but guess I would go with 3 days Vienna because a day trip to Melk Abbey would be great. We had 3 days the last time in Vienna and were able to visit 2 palaces, a church, shop, go to Melk, went to the opera, and had some interesting meals.
2 days in Venice is not enough for me and I have been there a few times. But you could easily walk through the narrow streets and ride through the canals. See ST Marks etc. Perhaps visit the islands etc. All depends on how fast you move. Good luck in whatever you decide.

That depends on what you want to see and experience. Vienna has many wonderful museums, and since I really enjoy good museums, I found 4.5 very busy days there just enough to scratch the surface. I spend 3 very busy days in Venice, during which I saw most of the things that were my list of highest priorities there.

hi bg,

do your 5 days include getting between the two places? in which case your 3 days + 2 days are going to be reduced by at least half a day.

if you fancy Melk, then i would go with Brat. if OTOH you fancy a trip on the Venitian lagoon to Burano and Torcello [i wouldn't bother with Murano, personally], then give Venice 3 days.

personally, I'd spend all 5 days in one or the other, and if yo've never been, for me it would be Venice. Who knows how much longer it'll be there? whereas Vienna looks as if it'll be there forever.

I'd have to vote for Venice...I'm head-over-heels in love with it and always have been. Vienna I find nice...interesting...but it's not Venice ;-)

Venice gets my vote every time. But I'm a bit of a nut case when it comes to Venice.

Do five days there, and you can start to see things that are a bit off the conventional Rialto / San Marco / Doge Palace tourist trail.

I agree with those who say not to split time becuase of the reason given - too much travel time. I've been to Vienna four times and Venice twice (te last time for six glorious days)...so you can probably guess what is coming - My vote is for Venice. I think it is a city that deserves more than a two or three day flying visit.

Venice deserves time to wander, get lost, wander some more.

Try and find the series Francesco's Venice - it will help you make up your mind (chunks of it are on You Tube).

And when you go for the full five days, don;t go to St Mark's until late on day 2 or possibly Day 3. And I would go to Murano to marvel at the master glass blowers - not the tourist glass shops - how can people make such beautiful pieces from melted sand?

I think there is a overnight train from Vienna to Venice which might help on the travel time.

I think there is an overnight train but I've got to double check that. Thanks for all the great advice. It looks like Venice seems to get the most support, especially since I'm not a huge museum person. One more question. Is it worth it to pay the extra and stay in Venice or is it better to stay outside the town and take a water taxi in each day.

I'd spend all 5 days in Venice, but then I'm nuts for that city. (I've never been to Vienna and doubt I'll get there any time soon.)

STAY IN VENICE. It is absolutely worth the money to be right there.

Option for accom:
Mestre - on the mainland. Cheaper, but you'll need a bus or train ride every day.
The Lido - OK, but it's a ferry (not water taxi) trip into "downtown" Venice.
Venice proper - anywhere is OK, but Guidecca also involves ferry trips each day.
Check out the thread called "Franco's Favourite Venetian Accom" or similar - it has a lot of good info. For five nights, an apartment might be possible.

But certainly stay in Venice.

OK, I think many of you have convinced me to spend the majority of our time in Venice. Maybe just a 1 day pass through Vienna on the way (from Budapest) to get a quick look and have a reason to come back another time. If this were up to my wife we'd be going on a vacation where we do nothing but sit on the beech for most of the day. Is it possible to mix in a little beach time in the Venice area?

Stay in Venice, if you stay in Mestre, you'll need to take the train to Venice and then a vaporetti (water bus) from the train station. The train station in Venice is Venizia Santa Lucia, make sure when you check train schedules for trains to Vienna, the train starts in Venizia Santa Lucia if you are staying in Venice and not the mainland.

The Lido, that's where the beach is located. Stay in the Accademia area, convenient to all!

I'd say Vienna for five days, just to be contrarian. I love going to Venice also, but for me there is little doubt that in Vienna my money goes a lot further, and I just feel so comfortable there.

have been to both
and love love venice
vienna has a special place in my heart but we did the unconventional thing and didnt visit the opera or museums ...we went out to the countryside hills/forest overlooking the danube canal

venice is just so different...so id spend three days there

We stayed on the Lido so we could do both Venice and the beach. It was very nice and fairly inexpensive. But our 10 year old met a jellyfish.

Thanks for all the help guys. I've been looking online and I think Lido looks like the best place for us. I also think we may have squeezed one more day out of a baby sitter so we may either be able to do 3/3 Vienna/Venice or I'm leaning towards 2/4.

Realize that staying on the Lido means you need to deal with boat transportation over & back basically every time you want to do anything! (well, seeing the sights of Venice that is). I would stay in Venice proper, and go out to the Lido a day or two for your 'beach' experience. I like this hotel on the Guidecca canal, that would be reasonably convenient for both (on a vaporetto stop easy to reach from the train station, and the Lido heading in the other direction) www.lacalcina.com

http://www.bbvenezia.com/pages/english.htm

We enjoyed staying at this b&b. It is in an Italian neighborhood where there is a park along the canal, a pizza cafe and a couple of nice neighborhood restaurants. The water bus stops right at the park. There are benches along the canal where you can sit and watch the sunset or the boats on the canal. It is also about a 20 minute walk from St Marks Square.

It is rated #12 on tripadvisor and is at a very good price.