Venice is by far one of the most beautiful and unique places we have ever had the fortune to visit. I think 3-4 days would be ideal to really explore, but we were limited in our time so we made the best of the 2 day we had. 

The other factor to consider is cost. While Venice is truly gorgeous, it was also the most expensive city we visited on our trip when it came to hotels, food, and transport. This was another reason we kept our time to 2 days here. Here’s how we spent our time.

Day 1: 

You will likely arrive via train (if arriving from another city) or bus (if coming from the airport) into Venice. Luckily both are right off the Grand Canal. Purchase a Vaporetto pass for 48 hours (30 euros each) at one of the kiosks when you get outside of the station. Take line 1 or 2 to the stop nearest your hotel (ours was San Angelo). I recommend line 1 (makes all the stops) so you can take in everything. Rick Steves has a great Grand Canal Cruise audio tour to listen to. You can also take a water taxi for a quicker option (might be more economical if you have more than 4 people), but expect to pay upwards of 100-120 euro.

• 

• 

Deposit your items at your hotel and then make your way to the Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop. Hope on line 12 to the island of Burano (about a 40 minute ride). Burano is a gorgeous, bright and colorful island famous for it’s lace shops. It’s a lot less crowded than Venice, which we appreciated, and a photographer’s dream. 

• 

• 

• 

For lunch, highly recommend Trattoria da Romano. It’s got ample space, so we were able to get in without a reservation, but if you can get a reservation I would. We had the Risotto Romano (made using a special fish stock) and the razor clams, which were both heavenly. Apparently, Anthony Bourdain made the trek out there while filming No Reservations and raved about the risotto. We can see why.

• 

• 

After lunch, spend a little bit of time exploring the island, checking out the lace shops and some of the bakeries. About 30-40 minutes before sunset, make your way back to the vaporetto stop and enjoy the ride back with gorgeous views.

• 

• 

After you get back, check out the Rialto area. You can ride via vaporetto or just walk. We used our google maps app to get around, and while we did get lost a bit, found it was fairly accurate. There are tons of small places in the Rialto market area that serve wine/cocktails and cichetti (little snacks). We didn’t get to try it, but Cantina do Spade looked packed both nights with locals, probably worth a visit.

Wander back to your hotel after dark, admiring the canals by night. 

• 

• 

Day 2: 

Get an early start and head straight over to Saint Mark’s Square/Palazzo Ducale around 8:00 AM to avoid the long lines. Also a great opportunity to catch great sunrise views right outside the Palazzo and take in the square if you haven’t already. 

• 

• 

Explore the Palazzo – allot about 2 hours. When you finish, make your way over to Saint Mark’s Cathedral. There is no charge to enter, but lines can get long. We did check out the church and museum because lines were short when we finished at the Palazzo, but if the lines are crazy, I would say to skip it and admire the cathedral from the outside. Life’s too short to spend hours waiting in line! 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For lunch, try some more wine and cichetti at Ostaria dai Zemei. We stumbled upon this tiny place and were obsessed with their mini toasts with every topping combination you could imagine. At only 1.80 euro each, you can have a cheap, tasty lunch here, but make sure you have cash. 

• 

• 

Spend the afternoon wandering the city, maybe check out the Peggy Gugenheim museum if you have the time and are into museums. We heard great things, but did not get to make it there. Towards sunset time, make your way towards the Dorsoduro vaporetto stop. Head to the tip of the island for unobstructed views of the sunset. Afterwards, check out the Santa Maria della Salute cathedral nearby, worth a quick peek. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

For dinner, I recommend you consult with your hotel concierge or other local. We were unfortunately led astray by some guidebooks and did not like our pricey and mediocre dinner experiences. OR just get some more wine and cichetti!

Note on hotels: 

We stayed in an adorable B&B called Locanda Fiorita that we really loved. It was a great location, about 7-10 minutes walk to Saint Mark’s Square, 5-7 minutes walk to Vaporetto stop, but in a quiet area. We paid about 140 euro/night, which seemed competitive compared to other places we checked out, and this included a pretty hefty breakfast each morning with coffee, tea, pastries, fruit, yogurt, etc.