Traveling with limited time? Here are the perfect 1-Day, 2-Day, and 3-Day Itineraries to decide how many days in Venice is enough for you!
Traveling to Venice and trying to decide how many days you should book your stay for? I was in the same predicament a couple months ago. Venice is truly one of the most gorgeous cities to visit: complete with winding canals, centuries-old landmarks, canal-side eateries, and surrounded by beautiful ocean. So no matter how many days you choose to stay, I guarantee you will have a wonderful visit.
Last month I visited Venice for the first time on my 10 day trip to Italy. With limited time to squeeze as much in to my ten days, I settled on a two night stay (nearly two full days) in Venice. Two days was perfect to see all the major landmarks, eat some amazing food, explore the shopping scene, and experience other quintessential Venice activities.
If time wasn’t a factor, I would have loved to spend closer to a week in Venice as that would be the proper way to see the whole city! But for those in the same boat (or gondola!) as me, you may not have the luxury of a whole week. If that’s the case, I’ve put together itineraries for one, two, or three night stays so you can best decide how many days in Venice is right for you.
1-Day: Venice Itinerary
If you decide on seeing Venice in one day, this itinerary will guide you through the major sights you have to see and do while you are there. Among the Venetian attractions that I think are most important to see are Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge, and of course a gondola ride. Plus, you have to eat some gelato!
Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square)
We started our day out in Piazza San Marco and I think this is the way to go. This is one of Venice’s busiest areas and for good reason. Here you can find Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, Museo Correr, adorable eateries, and great shopping.
Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
Doge Palace (or in Italian: Palazzo Ducale) was built in the 14th century and historically used as the residence of the Duke of Venice. Today, it stands as one of Venice’s greatest landmarks and museums. A tour through the palace will give you a taste of how the Dukes lived and how the justice system operated in Venice. Not to mention, you will see some of the most beautiful art adorning the walls and ceilings as you walk through.
I highly recommend booking a “skip the line” ticket to the palace in advance as the line can get lengthy. Especially when you only have one day to see Venice, time is money! I don’t think you need a guided tour of this palace. In each room there were lengthy descriptions of each room which sufficed for me.
Skip the line tickets guarantee you entry at a certain time and often include entrance to Museo Correr, Biblioteca Marciana, and the Archaeological Museum as well.
Museo Correr
The next stop in Piazza San Marco is Museo Correr. This is likely included in your Doge’s Palace ticket, but double check your specific ticket. This museum is rich with historical art, documents, maps, books, and other artifacts.
This museum was much bigger than what my friends and I anticipated. We had read that you can see the museum in about an hour, but that was not the case for us! If you were to properly go through the museum, I think you could easily spend 2-3 hours in here, so just know going in that there is a lot to see and you may want to keep pacing yourself along rather than get stuck in the first few rooms like we did!
St. Mark’s Basilica
The last must-see landmark in Piazza San Marco is St. Mark’s Basilica. This beautiful church has been a Venice treasure since the 11th century. I guarantee that both the interior and exterior will leave you in absolute awe.
This is another place I would highly recommend getting “skip the line” tickets for. The line can get very long and could easily eat an hour out of your day. I would recommend spacing your Doge’s Palace and Basilica tickets out by at least 3 hours so you aren’t rushed through Doge’s Palace and Museo Correr.
The skip the line tickets only cost us 6 EUR each which was money well spent in my opinion!
Lunch
For lunch I recommend staying in Piazza San Marco and sitting at one of the outdoor eateries (weather permitting). There are several throughout the piazza and many of them have bands playing outside!
My friends and I grabbed a table outdoors at the Gran Cafe Chioggia. The atmosphere of this restaurant was what sold it for me. There was a band playing a mix of ballads, the waitstaff was friendly, and you can see the water from the outdoor tables. However, for my gluten free readers, this isn’t a gluten free establishment. Check out my guide to the best gluten free Venice restaurants for lunch recommendations.
The entire vibe of eating in the square, listening to the band, surrounded by the beautiful architecture and water is what really brought Venice to life for me!
Rialto Bridge
Another must-see spot no matter how many days in Venice you spend is the Rialto Bridge (Ponte Rialto). This is another one of the city’s oldest structures and it is the bridge that connects the San Marco and San Polo neighborhoods.
We found that this was a great area to take pictures, wander through little shops, and perhaps do some souvenir shopping! Not to mention there are some fantastic gelaterias in this area. And what is a trip to Venice without gelato?
I recommend checking out Gelatoteca Suso– this place had tons of delicious and unique flavors to choose from. Don’t be intimidated by the line if you see one, they keep it moving fast and is a testament to how great their gelato is. For gluten free readers, they offer a gluten free (individually wrapped) cone and will sanitize the scoopers. However, always use your best judgement about safety.
Take a Gondola Ride
You can’t visit Venice without a ride around the city in one of the famed gondolas! Once you have wrapped up exploring around the Rialto Bridge area, look for one of the gondola pick up points. You will see signs along the canal for where these points are. If you are next to the bridge, there are a number of pickup points here.
The cost is 80 EUR for a 35 minute ride. We didn’t have trouble with this price when we were visiting, but I was advised to clarify the price with our gondola guide in advance.
Aperitivo and Dinner
To round out your day, I recommend grabbing an aperitivo at one of the restaurants along the canals. For those unfamilar with an aperitivo, this is a pre-dinner drink that is highly popular in Italy.
Note that dinner tends to start later in Italy than it does in the United States. I would recommend that you plan to sit down to dinner sometime after 7PM. Ideally, try to eat closer to 8-9 for the true Italian experience. This means that you have as much time between your gondola ride and dinner to relax and grab a drink!
+ Day 2: Itinerary
If you have another day to spend in Venice, there is a lot more to see! Also, I would recommend spreading out some of the activities from day 1 into day 2 because that is a packed itinerary.
Rialto Market
To start off the second day of our Venice itinerary, we are going to head over to the Rialto Market. The Rialto Market is comprised of two different markets: the produce and fish market. Both markets boast fresh food from the Mediterranean and are a main food source for many locals!
The produce market runs from 7:30AM-1PM Monday-Saturday.
The fish market fruns from 7:30AM-1PM Tuesday-Saturday.
This is a great way to get off the beaten path of tourist attractions and immerse yourself into Venetian culture up close. Take some time to wander around the stalls and try some local produce!
St. Mark’s Campanile (Bell Tower)
I would recommend heading back over to Piazza San Marco and climbing the bell tower if you have a second day in Venice. Like all the other attractions in Piazza San Marco, the bell tower can get busy so if you don’t feel like waiting in line you can buy skip the line tickets in advance.
This is a great way to see a skyline view of the city and surrounding water!
Neighborhood Exploration
In the afternoon, the best way to see the rest of the city is to just walk through all the different neighborhoods!
Venice is comrpised of 6 different neighborhoods:
- San Marco
- San Polo
- Cannaregio
- Dorsoduro
- Santa Croce
- Castello
Up through this point of the itinerary, we have spent most of the trip in San Marco (Piazza San Marco) and San Polo (Rialto Bridge). My friends and I spent an afternoon just wandering through the different neighborhoods stopping for drinks, popping in shops, checking out the many different piazzas, and taking photos. This sort of laid back exploration perfectly fits the vibe of Venice.
+Day 3: Itinerary
If you have a third day in Venice, there are still so many must-visit spots left to explore around the main island. Or perhaps it’s time to get off the main island and start exploring! I would recommend either taking a day trip to one of the other beautiful cities in northern Italy such as Trieste, or you could check out one of the several other islands surrounding Venice.
Since I was only in Venice for two days this wasn’t something I had the opportunity to do, but it came highly recommended to me by locals and friends.
Feeling adventurous and would like a taste of Italy’s natural habitat? If you have a car, I highly recommend taking a day trip up up to northern Italy to the stunning Fusine Lakes.
Murano Island
Start off your day by heading over to Murano Island on a public water taxi. All glassmaking got assigned to the island of Murano in the 13th century to protect the city from the hot furnaces that posed a risk to the island of Venice. For this reason, you can find some of the most beautiful hand-blown glass shops by walking around the island of Murano.
Once on the island, take some time to wander around (still the best way to explore in my opinion!) and check out the different glass shops. For a unique experience, look into what shops offer live demonstrations of glass blowing!
To learn more about glass blowing in Murano, you can read on here!
Burano Island
Another island that is accessible via water taxi is Burano Island. Burano is known for its beautifully colored buildings and canals. It’s hard to believe you can find even more picturesque canals than that of Venice, but Burano is truly something out of a storybook.
Given it’s beautiful scenery, this would be a great place to stop for lunch or grab a drink along the canals.
Burano was once the center of a booming lace industry, producing some of the most intricate, sought after lace in the world. For this reason, you can find lace shops dotted throughout the island as well as a museum dedicated to Burano lace history!
While walking, keep your eye out for the Leaning Campanile as well. That’s right- it’s not quite the Leaning Tower of Pisa but it’s Burano’s version of it!
Looking for More Italy Guides?
Check out my other itineraries and guides to seeing Italy:
- How Many Days in Rome is Enough? The Perfect Itinerary for 2, 3, or 4 Days
- How Many Days in Florence is Enough? Hand-Crafted Itinerary for 2+ Days in the City
- Ultimate Florence to Venice Day Trip: 5 Major Sites + Food Recommendations for the Perfect Day
Gluten Free like Me?
It’s uber important to always travel prepared! No matter where you are going, it’s important to always travel with some gluten free snacks on hand!
Click here to learn more about my favorite gluten free travel snacks!
Travelling Gluten Free in Italy? Read on more here:
Looking for more gluten free travel inspiration? Check out my other posts!
Don’t Stop Exploring Here!
Check out my other city guides below!
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- Ultimate NYC 4 Day Itinerary
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