This detailed 1 Day in Venice itinerary and guide shares where to stay, tips for the city, the best places to eat, and the must-see sights!
After a magical couple days in the Dolomites, we headed south to spend 1 day in Venice! Venice is a city built on more than 100 islands and has no roads, only canals, which is crazy and makes exploring it extra unique.
We had heard that Venice is super overcrowded due to cruise ships docking there daily, which is true, but with an early wake up call and some planning, we had such a fun day walking around the canals, eating lots of food and gelato, and seeing the major sights.
In our opinion, 1 day in Venice was enough to see all of the major attractions we wanted to see, so we are basing this guide off of our experience in the city, but if you have more time, check out our “if you have extra time” section at the end!
PS: For more Italy ideas, watch our Italy vlog series and check out the rest of our Italy guides:
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Tips for a Great Trip
Venice Tips
- Our biggest tip of the trip: get up early! The cruise ships arrive between 8-9 AM everyday, which is when things start to get crazy. Hit the town by sunrise and you’ll be rewarded with empty streets and beautiful weather. If you like photography, we recommend visiting a few of your “must see” spots this early to snap some photos without people in them. 🙂
- Book tickets in advance and buy skip the line passes whenever you can! As we mentioned, Venice is really busy and the lines for some places can be really, really long. It’s worth a little bit extra to avoid the chaos.
- You must cover your shoulders and knees when entering churches, such as St. Mark’s Basilica.
- We could never find anywhere to sit down. In fact, it’s illegal to sit down in a lot of places in Venice, such as steps, the bridges, and Piazza San Marco.
- Carry a water bottle with you and fill up with the city’s fountains. We loved that we could get free and delicious water all over Rome from their fountains!
General Italy Tips
- Wake up early to beat the crowds. It’s 100% worth it!
- In Italy, they do not drink lattes (especially flavored ones) or many of the other coffee drinks we are used to in the US. The main drinks to order are: an espresso, macchiato, or a cappuccino (but only before 10:30 AM). We drank lots of macchiatos and loved them! Coffee is also way cheaper than in the US! You also usually drink your coffee and then pay, which is different than we were used to.
- Tipping is not expected in Italy like it is in the US. Some places do charge a small service fee or charge a little more for table service though.
- There is a rumor that gluten and dairy sensitive folks (NOT celiac) can eat gluten and dairy in Europe. Kathryn is gluten free in the US (and doesn’t eat much dairy) and decided to test the theory and felt fine the whole trip (and we ate a TON of gluten)!
- If you’re driving, make sure to get an International Driving Permit. You can get this from AAA for only $20. Make sure to bring your actual driver’s license with you too!
- We highly recommend getting an internet plan for your phone or SIM card. Relying solely on wifi can be a bit stressful at times and it’s worth the cost to be able to use your phone freely. We also suggest downloading offline Google Maps so you can use maps without eating up data.
- Buy an adapter before you go! Also, make sure your hair dryer and straightener (and other electrical items) are dual voltage. We took this hair dryer and this straightener with us during the trip and they worked great!
- None of our Airbnb’s had keypads so we had to meet the hosts in person, which wasn’t a huge deal, but this can be a tad trickier if you arrive somewhere late so keep that in mind. You also have to pay a tourist tax for all Airbnbs (this should be in their listing) and they will ask to see your passport, so don’t be alarmed when they ask!
- Bring Euros! We used Euros WAY more than we thought we would. We took out some Euros at our bank beforehand to ensure we had some on hand, but then used bank ATMs the rest of the trip (the ones in actual banks, NOT the ones just on the street in the big cities—those will charge you massive fees).
We ended up spending around 500 Euros in cash over two weeks. In the smaller cities, don’t expect everywhere to take a credit card, but even in some of the larger cities, some gelato spots or restaurants only took cash. You also need some coins handy if you want to use public restrooms.
- If you’re staying at Airbnbs and need somewhere to store your bags, we recommend checking out Luggage Hero. We have used this in many cities and it is a huge help!
- Sometimes restaurants/coffee shops/gelato spots weren’t open when Google said they would be (and we never knew why). We ran into this issue in almost every city, both big and small. We learned to not trust Google for hours and to not get too set on going somewhere because there was a chance it wouldn’t actually be open. Being flexible is key!
- Last, but not least, get travel insurance! We recommend using SafetyWing, which is travel medical insurance that will cover you outside of your home country for however long you need it. We have purchased their Nomad Insurance plan for international trips, which not only gives us travel medical insurance, but also provides coverage for lost baggage and travel delays. We hope to never have to use it, but it gives us great peace of mind to have it!
When to visit Venice
We visited Venice in July, which is probably the worst month, along with August, to visit from a crowd perspective. We got up super early to try to beat the crowds, which was totally worth it, and even later in the day when we were surrounded by people, it didn’t bother us too much since we were prepared for it.
However, we’d advise not visiting during the summer if you truly want to enjoy Venice. We have heard from many people that they hated Venice because of how busy it was. We thought that Venice was a beautiful and unique city and we’d hate for the crowds to put a damper on your trip!
Instead, we’d suggest visiting during April, May, September, or early October, which is when we’d suggest visiting most Italian cities, as the weather is great and the crowds are a lot lighter.
One thing to keep in mind when planning your Venice trip is that the city can experience high water and flooding in the later fall until January, so we’d suggest avoiding visiting during that time.
Getting to Venice
Venice is home to the Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), which is just across the water from the main tourist area, making it easy to get to and from Venice.
After landing at the airport, you’ll want to take the Alilaguna water bus into the tourist part of the city. This costs €15 each/one way (or €27 each/round trip) and dropped us off close to our Airbnb, but we still had to walk a bit.
Another way to get to Venice, depending on where you’re coming from is to take the train. You can take the train from many other cities in Italy, as well as Europe, making it a great option to get to Venice. We personally loved the trains in Italy and took them as much as we could!
Where to Stay in Venice
It’s no secret we are big fans of Airbnb! We love getting to experience a city like a local by staying in an apartment. We rented an Airbnb in Venice and loved having the comforts of home, like a full kitchen. Our Airbnb was a bit of a walk to the main sights, but for under $100/night during peak season, we couldn’t complain!
Airbnb
- Option #1 (where we stayed): This 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment is awesome! It has a great kitchen and even an attic with more beds
- Option #2: A beautiful 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment
- Option #3: A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment close to public transportation
- Option #4: A 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment with lagun views
Hotels
If you’d rather stay at a hotel in Venice, here are a couple good options to consider! Warning: hotels are a bit more expensive than Airbnbs!
Getting Around Venice
Since there are no roads in Venice, renting a car is not really an option, so you get to take beautiful boat rides instead! As we mentioned above, we took an Alilaguna (a boat) to the city for €15 each/one way (or €27 each/round trip). We bought this ticket at the airport and just hopped on the first boat that came.
When we left Venice, we took a water bus from the city to the train station for €7.50 each. To get tickets for the water bus, download this app. We had some issues with the app working, just fyi, so we recommend testing it out beforehand.
There are also some ticket offices at some of the stops, but not all stops have one, so you could always get a ticket in advance if you’re concerned! We used Google Maps to see what times the boats were and it seemed accurate to us.
During our time in Venice, we walked the entire day, which was a tad exhausting in the hot summer heat, but doable. However, if you need to give your legs a break, take one of the vaporettos! These water buses will get you across the city easily and with an awesome view. You could even take this for fun instead of spending a ton of money on a gondola ride. 🙂
1 Day in Venice Itinerary
- Wander around the streets of Venice at sunrise. It’s so magical to see the golden light hit the canals, watch the locals going to work, and having many sights to yourself! We walked by the Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), wandered through Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge during sunrise and loved it! We also went by the spots later to get the true experience too!
- Grab coffee and a delicious pastry at Torrefazione Cannaregio. The pistachio eclair was SO good!!! This coffee shop is a bit of a walk from the main area, but we loved the Cannaregio neighborhood because it felt way less touristy than the rest of Venice. After your coffee, walk around for a bit and enjoy the quieter streets and local vibe.
- Explore Doge’s Palace. This is the number one attraction in Venice and was really fun to wander around. We loved seeing the swords, jail cells, and beautiful ceilings! We recommend getting your ticket in advance so you can skip the line!
- Wander around Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) and go up Campanile di San Marco! This is the iconic bell tower that you see from the square and the views from the top are incredible! Fun fact: Galileo demonstrated his telescope from up there.
- After a busy morning of sightseeing, it’s time for lunch! We’re big fans of street food/grab and go type spots in Italy and we loved Dal Moro’s! It’s fresh pasta that is served fast and in a box so you can eat as you walk. The bolognese and the pesto were both great! Another great spot for lunch is Farini, which is a local bakery with a few spots around Venice. We loved their pizza!
- Visit Basilica di San Marco (St. Mark’s Basilica). It is free to enter, but you can choose a time and get a skip the line ticket for €3. We highly recommend this! We ended up skipping the basilica because of the line and regret it. If you’re looking for a more unique basilica experience, our friends highly recommended the Basilica di San Marco after-hours tour!
- Now for the best part of the day…GELATO! We definitely went pretty HAM on gelato during our trip, but can you blame us? We went to Suso and Gelateria il Doge and loved them both! A couple other options are: Gelateria Ca’ D’oro, GROM (this is a large chain, but we hear it’s great!), and La Mela Verde.
- Walk across the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), which is a bridge with shops on either side. This is extremely touristy, but the views from the bridge are nice and it’s one of those “must see” things in Venice.
- One of our favorite things to do was to just get lost in the canals. We felt like we had walked 75% of the city by the end of the day and it was fun to just explore and see what we could find. One cool spot to check out as you wander around is Libreria Acqua Alta. It’s a bookstore with a gondola full of books, two cool little outdoor areas, and some interesting book finds.
- Before dinner, we recommend trying a local Venice tradition called cichetti, which is similar to tapas in Spain. There are many bacaros (wine bars) around Venice that serve cichetti, each with slightly different options and it’s really fun to try a bunch of things for pretty cheap! A few good spots to check out are: Ostaria dai Zemei, Al Merca, Arcicchetti Bakaro, Osteria al Squero, or All’Arco.
- For dinner, depending on how hungry you are and how much you want to spend, here are a few options:
- Farini–$
- Spaghetteria 6342 A Le Tole Pizzeria–$$-$$$
- Trattoria Alla Ferrata–$$-$$$
- Al Covo–$$$$
- There is no better way to end the day than by having more gelato! We averaged 2 a day in Italy and have no regrets! 😉
If you have extra time…
FOOD
PASTRIES + COFFEE
- Caffe Del Doge
- Pasticceria Tonolo
- Pasticceria Rizzardini
- Pasticceria da Bonifacio
- Marchini Time
- I Tre Mercanti for tiramisu
ACTIVITIES
- The number one thing we wish we could’ve done is visited one of the other islands. Burano and Murano are both very popular and aren’t hard to get to from the main island. Burano is known for having super colorful buildings and for lace making, while Murano is known for glass blowing. If you have a second day in Venice, we highly recommend going to one of the islands for the day!
- Walk around Mercati di Rialto (Rialto Market). We forgot about this until it was too late (it was closing for the day). You can see the days of operation and hours of the market here.
- Ride in a gondola. While it’s a very popular thing to do in Venice, it’s crazy expensive (€80 for 40 minutes), which is why we did not include it in our guide. As we mentioned above, taking one of the water buses gives you similar views for wayyy less, but it’s definitely not as “instagram-worthy.” 😉
- Visit The Dolomites! This was our favorite area of Italy and it’s only a 2-3 hour drive from Venice (depending on where you go). Check out our 4 Days in the Dolomites guide for some ideas!
Ready to visit Venice?
Pin this 1 Day in Venice guide to help plan your trip!
Great info! I did not know Venice did not have roads…very interesting! Would love to visit! Thanks for all the go to spots!
Pretty crazy huh?! It’s extra fun to walk around there knowing you won’t get hit 😉
I’m new here & LOVED all the advice & tips! going to Italy next week and I’m so happy I found your blog!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH AND KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK & CONTENT:)
Hi Phannee! We are so so glad that this guide was helpful! Have the BEST TRIP and if you have any questions before you go, let us know!
Very helpful tips! We’ll definitely hit up the restaurants you recomend! 🙂
Just a question, how did you guys arrange or plan out your transport from once city to another? did you booked or buy the train tickets before flying to Italy? or can you buy the tickets on the spot? Thank you in advance! 🙂
Hi Karla! We’re so glad the guide was helpful!
We did a mix of both booking in advance and at the train station, but 95% of the time we booked in advance. You save a tiny bit of money doing this and we were worried there wouldn’t be seats. The only time we didn’t book in advance was from Rome to Florence since we weren’t totally sure when we’d be done exploring for the day.
We have since learned that the trains typically don’t sell out, so you could definitely wait to book until the station if you want a more flexible schedule and don’t mind spending a tiny bit more. For the smaller cities (like when we went from Venice to Matera) we would recommend booking in advance though just because the options are more limited.
We hope that helps!
Kathryn