One Day Visit to Venice

Dreamy, watery canals are THE reason for any visit to Venice. A romantic gondola ride flanked by opulent palaces were the visions I had for our one day visit to Venice. Our short stop in Venice was part of a two-week trip across Italy so we aimed to make the most of our time. Venice is a string of 118 small islands and 187 canals all strung together across 400 bridges. The main tourist attractions are in a compact area around St. Mark’s Square. We arrived in Venice via a train from Cinque Terre and then took a vaporetto (water taxi) to St. Mark’s. We’d spent over half the day traveling to Venice, so our first stop was for a Bellini at Harry’s Bar near the square.

Bellini’s are the signature drink of Venice, put be prepared to pay for the tasty cocktail of peach puree and sparkling white wine. Costly cocktails aside, Venice is a pricey place to visit. You’ll pay a premium at restaurants, hotels and other attractions. There are a few free things to do in Venice. One of those free sites was our first stop; the Rialto Bridge.

Rialto Bridge

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The Rialto Bridge is just one of three bridges that span the Grand Canal. We made our way to Rialto after our cocktails at Harry’s Bar. Wandering the streets of Venice is equal parts confusing and charming. We never did figure out the map, we just followed street signs that pointed in the direction of major landmarks. As we passed shops and cafes on the way to Rialto, we decided to grab a to-go panini to tide us over until dinner. Once we arrived at the Rialto Bridge we simply enjoyed the scenery, the people watching and the shops inside the bridge.

Gondola Ride

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Kitschy yes, but a Venice must do is a gondola ride. We caught our ride, with gondolier Stefano, near the Rialto. On the water is really the best way to experience the grandness of Venice. Our gondola ride took us down Venice’s main street, the Grand Canal, but also through small watery alleys were the canals are calmer and we were the only boat. Here we were able to really appreciate the architecture of the city’s palaces. Stefano said “all lovers need to kiss as the gondola passes under a bridge.” We obliged.

After our gondola ride we went back to St. Mark’s to see the Moor’s ring the bell on the clock tower and then got ready for dinner. We ate near Rialto at Osteria da Alberto. To end our evening we had gelato in St. Mark’s Square. St. Mark’s is magic at night. Orchestras play and people gather under the lights of the square to dance and drink. Venice at night is another must-do experience.

St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs

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After a good night’s sleep, our last Venetian stop before a train ride to Florence was St. Mark’s Basilica. St. Mark’s is free to enter but lines can be long and no bags are allowed inside. We brought the bare minimum to help speed up the entrance process. We opted not to tour Doge’s Palace since we needed to catch a train to Florence, however the exterior was fun to walk around as was the Bridge of Sighs.

Our one day visit to Venice was part of a larger two-week journey that took us across Italy. We relied heavily on travel books by Rick Steve’s. We used his guidebooks for trips to Amsterdam, Belgium, Germany and Greece and have not been disappointed. Here’s a full itinerary of how we spent our time in Italy.

Two Week Italy Trip Itinerary

• Day 1/Day 2-Depart Minneapolis and arrive in Florence the following day
  • we had yet to discover multi-city airline travel. I highly recommend multi-city flights to save time.
• Day 3-train to Rome
  • Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain
  • dinner near Piazza Navona then-late-night stroll to Four Rivers Fountain, Pantheon and Trevi
• Day 4-Colosseum, Roman Forum and Pantheon
• Day 5-Vatican City
  • Vatican museum tour with stops in Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica
• Day 6-Pompeii
  • stop in Naples for pizza on the return trip to Rome
• Day 7-train to Cinque Terre
  • stop in Pisa for a tour of the leaning tower
• Day 8-Cinque Terre
• Day 9-train to Venice
  • St. Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace, Bridge of Sighs and gondola ride with drinks at Harry’s Bar
• Day 10-train to Florence
  • stop to see Rialto Bridge and tour St. Mark’s Basilica
• Day 11-Tuscany
  • rent a car in Florence and stop in villages on route to Siena
  • overnight in Siena
• Day 12-More Tuscany and return car in Florence
• Day 13-Florence
  • Galleria dell’Accademia, Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio and Duomo
• Day 14-depart for home

Choose the following links to read more about our adventures in Rome, Cinque Terre and Tuscany.

Happy Adventuring, Rochelle