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What to do with extra night - Venice or another town?

What to do with extra night - Venice or another town?

Old Apr 13th, 2015, 06:33 AM
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What to do with extra night - Venice or another town?

During the last part of our italy trip, we have an extra night we can either spend in Venice (after staying two nights in Venice already) or spend it trying to go see another town (like Verona) on our way back to Pisa, where our flight departs from.

Sep 3 - Arrive in Venice in the AM
Sep 3-5 - Venice
Sep 5-7 -- ???
Sep 7 - Our flight leaves out of Pisa at 9:35 AM

Our flight leaves on Sep 7th at 9:35am so we probably need to spend the night of the 6th in Pisa or somewhere very close to Pisa so we can get to the airport by 6am.

Is it worth to try to visit another town or should we just relax in Venice one more night and then leave on the 6th to go to Pisa and then stay in Pisa overnight so we can catch our early flight.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 06:57 AM
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Verona is certainly a lovely neat city with a plethora of sights - especially old churches - a lively street market in its center and of course Juliet's balcony below which Romeo allegedly made his pitch - the balcony is Ersatz but so what - it's still in a romantic courtyard. I would definitely be in Pisa the night before the flight - train striked are a big problem in Italy and other unforeseen things - if you have a non-refundable ticket be in your departure city thenight before.

Verona's main station has luggage storage so plump the bags down there and take the bus out front of walk the about mile to the city center baggage free.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 06:59 AM
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You have only two full days in Venice. On 3 Sept you will be jetlagged. Then you have two full days. 6 Sept will be a travelling day. I would suggest that you leave Venice in the morning of 6 Sept and travel to Pisa and spend the afternoon in Pisa, visiting the wonderful square with the ensemble of white marble buildings.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 10:29 AM
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Venice merits more than two days so add your extra day.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 11:31 AM
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venice, Venice, Venice.

'nuff said.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 12:16 PM
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Pisa is a dusty, not very interesting city where the Leaning Tower is the only noteworthy site. Venice is....Venice!! I went to Venice for 3 days a few years ago at the end of a 6-week trip to Rome and Tuscany, mostly in Florence. I was so blown away by Venice that on my next trip to Europe for 3 weeks in Spain, I first went back to Venice for a WEEK because I loved it so much! Also, Pisa is quite far from Venice, Verona is much closer. Honestly Pisa is the least interesting place I saw in my long Italian trip. If you must go somewhere from Venice, go to Padua (Padova in Italian), which is only about a half-hour by train and is supposed to have one of the most spectacular chapels in all of Italy (Scrovegni I think it's called but not sure) and I think Padua has its own small canals. But honestly, Venice is amazing--esp. if you get good weather. There is a reason people go to Venice--it's one of the most beautiful cities in the world!
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 12:18 PM
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I just reread your post and realized you're flying into and out of Pisa. Just stay in Venice the extra day but stay overnight in Pisa the night before your flight. That's what I would do in any case.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 01:05 PM
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Pisa is a dusty, not very interesting city where the Leaning Tower is the only noteworthy site.>>

samoca - have you seen the rest of Pisa? did you look at the Cathedral and the Baptistry? did you wonder why they call it "il campo dei miracoli"? they are truly amazingly beautiful buildings, designed and constructed when most europeans were living in little more than mud huts. True, Pisa might not attract the attention that it gets were it not for the Leaning Tower but it's still quite an interesting place to spend an afternoon and evening.

jmq - do make time to see the Tower and the surrounding buildings at night - they are beautifully illuminated and you can see things properly as the tour buses. [and the hawkers etc they attract] have all gone home.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 01:17 PM
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>>>Pisa is a dusty, not very interesting city where the Leaning Tower is the only noteworthy site.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 01:37 PM
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Yes Pisa may not be the most romantic town in Italy but it is better IME than the average same-sized Italian city - I have walked thru the city center from the main train station and there are some rther delibghtful parts. Dusty could apply to any Italian city!
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 02:08 PM
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I was in Italy for 6 weeks in 2009--5 days in Rome, 3 days in the Val d'Orcia (Pienza, Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia) with a car, then 4 weeks in Florence, from where I took day trips around Tuscany, and my last 3 days in Venice. I was in Lucca, Siena twice, small cities in Chianti on a bus trip, and 2 days to see the Cinque Terre using La Spezia as a base. On the train from Florence to La Spezia I stopped in Pisa and walked from the train station to see La Torre, a long walk with nothing that caught the eye until you get to the Tower. Perhaps because I did not plan a longer stay in Pisa I did not make a big effort to see what there was to see there, so I missed the Piazza dei Miracoli, but comparing it to every other town/city I did see in that trip, I was singularly unimpressed by Pisa. I was there in May and there was no rain at all that month, so it was dusty everywhere, I will admit.

And of course, the Leaning Tower is mainly a photo op. There are just so many other nicer places in Italy IMO. I was lucky that I had so much time and had a chance to see so much beauty and history so had a decent basis of comparison.

And nowhere else has the spectacular beauty of Venice in any case, although the last time I went to Venice for a week, the crowds and the awful humidity cured my Venice fixation.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 02:15 PM
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>

the Leaning Tower is IN the Piazza die Miracoli [aka il campo]. how did you miss it?
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 04:10 PM
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We have already done Pisa in a previous trip and during the previous week we are staying at a property in Terriciola which is close to Pisa. My point is we don't need to spend any more time seeing Pisa. We can stay there the night before our flight but I am trying to decide if we spend the extra night and day (night of Sep 5th and the day of Sep 6) visiting another town or if we should just stay in Venice until the 6th. Part of me thinks it would be more relaxing not to have to switch hotels again. Maybe do a day tour from Venice?
Part of me says, I have another whole day I can use to explore another town between Venice and Pisa
What about Bologna, Verona, Pistoia or Montecatini Terme?
Or even Lucca -- it looks pretty close to Pisa in the map. Would that be a good town to stay in? Would it be close enough to the Pisa airport to leave the morning of the 7th given that our flight leaves at 9:35am ?

Your thoughts?
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 06:39 PM
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First off, stay in Pisa the night before your flight. You will have to be at the airport early, at least by 630am. Its very close to the airport. Lucca is at least a half hour from Pisa airport.

I would stay an extra night in Venice. Its not worth having to move for just one night and then move again to Pisa. You can always take a day trip from Venice by train. Verona or Padua would be fine. Or see more of Venice. You can decide once you get there.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 07:27 PM
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I would suggest that you spend the extra night in Venice. In September, the Arts Biennale will be in full swing, with venues all over the city, as well as in Castello and the Giardini.

In one and a half days, you can't see much more than the big ticket sights, the Basilica, the Piazza, Doge Palace plus maybe a gallery or two, if that is your thing.

Venice really rewards a longer stay.

But then, I'm a Venice nut case. We have stayed in Venice for eight months, over four visits. Click on my user name,and you'll find excessively wordy trip reports.
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 12:08 AM
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jmq21,

You can stay in Lucca the night before your flight and get a taxi transfer to the airport. Depends on whether getting up earlier is okay with you. I would plan to be at the airport by 7.30am, since Pisa is a small airport. Leaving from Montecatini Alto or Pistoia would be too far away for me.

If you spend the extra night in Venice you can easily visit Verona as day trip. There are other possibilities for easy day trips out of Venice -- Padova, Ferrara, Vicenza, Treviso, and more -- but without knowing what interests you, hard to make recommendations. Bologna is further away, but you could see some of it en route to Pisa or Lucca by stowing your luggage in the train station.

as for Samoca:

>>>>"And of course, the Leaning Tower is mainly a photo op.">>"I was lucky that I had so much time and had a chance to see so much beauty and history so had a decent basis of comparison."
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 02:51 AM
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I suspect that once you are there in Venice, you will realise that you don't want to do a day trip. But it's something you can decide when you are there.

something that you can do easily, which is still part of venice, is a trip to the islands of the lagoon. i suggest Burano and Torcello; Burano because it is extremely pretty [and has some nice restaurants] and Torcello because of the lovely 1000+ year old Basilica with its mosaics.

it would make a very good ½ -¾ day trip on a hot day.
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 03:04 AM
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I see no reason to suspect one way or the other what you will realize when you get to Venice. There are lots of different reactions people have to Venice. And, as you said, "Part of me says, I have another whole day I can use to explore another town between Venice and Pisa." So knows which part of you will clamor to be satisfied once you're in Italy?

Planning to keep your hotel room in Venice gives you the option of making up your mind based on your own mood at the moment. If you commit to another location and wish you hadn't, you would have a hard time extending your stay last minute in September.
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 03:08 AM
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I'd suggest you make sure to be back in Pisa the night before your flight, but annhig is right! The islands of the lagoon are worth your time if you decide to take a half-day trip. Try to find the glass-blowing shops on Murano (I think you can find one next to the Colonna waterbus stop), they put on quite a show
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Old Apr 14th, 2015, 03:09 AM
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(Sorry, in case my post wasn't clear: If you commit now to switching hotels to another location between Venice and Pisa, and realize when you arrive you'd rather not leave Venice, then extending your stay in Venice will be difficult last minute. However, even if Venice doesn't float your gondola, there are lots of easy ways to get out for a day trip and explore completely different but lovely and fascinating towns nearby if you like.
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