Venice itinerary: 1 to 7 days
Plans for one to seven days in Venice, day by day: Piazza San Marco, St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace, the Rialto and the Grand Canal palaces, San Giorgio Maggiore and the Salute, then the islands and quieter museums as you add days. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 3 days
Venice in 1 day
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Venice in 2 days
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Day 2
San Giorgio Maggiore
Palladio's white church on its own island; its bell tower has the best view of San Marco.
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Venice in 3 days
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Day 2
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
St Mark's Clocktower
The Renaissance clock tower over the entrance to the Mercerie, with two bronze bell-ringers.
St Mark's Campanile
The bell tower on Piazza San Marco; a lift takes you to the top.
Day 3
San Giorgio Maggiore
Palladio's white church on its own island; its bell tower has the best view of San Marco.
Punta della Dogana
The old customs house at the tip of Dorsoduro, now a contemporary art museum.
Santa Maria della Salute
The domed Baroque church at the entrance of the Grand Canal, built after a plague.
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Venice in 4 days
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Day 2
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
St Mark's Clocktower
The Renaissance clock tower over the entrance to the Mercerie, with two bronze bell-ringers.
St Mark's Campanile
The bell tower on Piazza San Marco; a lift takes you to the top.
Day 3
La Fenice
Venice's opera house, rebuilt after fires; tour it by day or see a performance.
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
A palace with a spiral external staircase you can climb for rooftop views.
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Ca' d'Oro
The Golden House, a Gothic palace on the Grand Canal with an art gallery inside.
Ca' Pesaro
A Baroque palace on the Grand Canal with the modern art and Oriental art museums.
Day 4
Murano
The glassmaking island of the lagoon, where furnace demonstrations, workshops and the Glass Museum show the craft Venice has practised here for centuries.
Burano
A lagoon island of brightly painted fishermen's houses along quiet canals, known for its handmade lace and for buttery bussola biscuits.
Lido di Venezia
The long barrier island with Venice's beaches, reached by vaporetto.
Venice in 5 days
Day 1
Punta della Dogana
The old customs house at the tip of Dorsoduro, now a contemporary art museum.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Day 2
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
St Mark's Clocktower
The Renaissance clock tower over the entrance to the Mercerie, with two bronze bell-ringers.
Santa Maria della Salute
The domed Baroque church at the entrance of the Grand Canal, built after a plague.
Day 3
San Giorgio Maggiore
Palladio's white church on its own island; its bell tower has the best view of San Marco.
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
St Mark's Campanile
The bell tower on Piazza San Marco; a lift takes you to the top.
Day 4
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Poveglia
A small island in the lagoon with an abandoned hospital; it is closed to visitors, seen only from boats.
Lido di Venezia
The long barrier island with Venice's beaches, reached by vaporetto.
San Lazzaro degli Armeni
An island monastery of Armenian monks, with a library and museum; guided visits only.
Day 5
Fortuny Museum
The Gothic palace where designer Mariano Fortuny lived and worked.
Rialto Market
The produce and fish market beside the Rialto Bridge, where Venetians have shopped for centuries; early morning is the time to see the lagoon catch laid out.
Ca' d'Oro
The Golden House, a Gothic palace on the Grand Canal with an art gallery inside.
Ca' Pesaro
A Baroque palace on the Grand Canal with the modern art and Oriental art museums.
San Stae
A Baroque church facing the Grand Canal, with an elaborate white façade.
Fondaco dei Turchi
A Byzantine-style palace on the Grand Canal, now the Natural History Museum.
Ponte degli Scalzi
The stone bridge over the Grand Canal by the railway station.
Venetian Ghetto
The district where Venice confined its Jewish community from 1516, with tall tenements, synagogues, a museum and the word 'ghetto' itself coming from here.
Venice in 6 days
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Day 2
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
St Mark's Clocktower
The Renaissance clock tower over the entrance to the Mercerie, with two bronze bell-ringers.
St Mark's Campanile
The bell tower on Piazza San Marco; a lift takes you to the top.
Day 3
San Giorgio Maggiore
Palladio's white church on its own island; its bell tower has the best view of San Marco.
Punta della Dogana
The old customs house at the tip of Dorsoduro, now a contemporary art museum.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Modern art in an unfinished canal-side palazzo, with Picasso, Pollock, Dalí and Magritte, and a sculpture garden facing the Grand Canal.
Santa Maria della Salute
The domed Baroque church at the entrance of the Grand Canal, built after a plague.
Gallerie dell'Accademia
Venice's main collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries, with Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese's huge Feast in the House of Levi.
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Day 4
Murano
The glassmaking island of the lagoon, where furnace demonstrations, workshops and the Glass Museum show the craft Venice has practised here for centuries.
Burano
A lagoon island of brightly painted fishermen's houses along quiet canals, known for its handmade lace and for buttery bussola biscuits.
Lido di Venezia
The long barrier island with Venice's beaches, reached by vaporetto.
Day 5
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
A palace with a spiral external staircase you can climb for rooftop views.
Ca' d'Oro
The Golden House, a Gothic palace on the Grand Canal with an art gallery inside.
Ca' Pesaro
A Baroque palace on the Grand Canal with the modern art and Oriental art museums.
San Stae
A Baroque church facing the Grand Canal, with an elaborate white façade.
Fondaco dei Turchi
A Byzantine-style palace on the Grand Canal, now the Natural History Museum.
Ponte degli Scalzi
The stone bridge over the Grand Canal by the railway station.
Day 6
La Fenice
Venice's opera house, rebuilt after fires; tour it by day or see a performance.
Fortuny Museum
The Gothic palace where designer Mariano Fortuny lived and worked.
Museo Correr
The city museum on Piazza San Marco: Venetian history, art and the Napoleonic rooms.
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
A family palace museum with a garden redesigned by Carlo Scarpa.
Venice in 7 days
Day 1
Piazza San Marco
Venice's grand main square, framed by the basilica, the campanile and arcaded cafés.
Doge's Palace
The Gothic palace of the doges, with vast painted halls and the prisons across the Bridge of Sighs.
Riva degli Schiavoni
The broad waterfront promenade east of the Doge's Palace, with views across the basin to San Giorgio Maggiore and the lagoon.
Day 2
Venetian Arsenal
The vast medieval shipyard of the Venetian Republic, with its monumental land gate.
St Mark's Basilica
The golden Byzantine basilica, its domes and walls covered in mosaics.
St Mark's Clocktower
The Renaissance clock tower over the entrance to the Mercerie, with two bronze bell-ringers.
St Mark's Campanile
The bell tower on Piazza San Marco; a lift takes you to the top.
Day 3
San Giorgio Maggiore
Palladio's white church on its own island; its bell tower has the best view of San Marco.
Punta della Dogana
The old customs house at the tip of Dorsoduro, now a contemporary art museum.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Modern art in an unfinished canal-side palazzo, with Picasso, Pollock, Dalí and Magritte, and a sculpture garden facing the Grand Canal.
Santa Maria della Salute
The domed Baroque church at the entrance of the Grand Canal, built after a plague.
Gallerie dell'Accademia
Venice's main collection of Venetian painting from the 14th to 18th centuries, with Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese's huge Feast in the House of Levi.
Rialto Bridge
The oldest bridge over the Grand Canal, beside the Rialto market.
Day 4
Murano
The glassmaking island of the lagoon, where furnace demonstrations, workshops and the Glass Museum show the craft Venice has practised here for centuries.
Burano
A lagoon island of brightly painted fishermen's houses along quiet canals, known for its handmade lace and for buttery bussola biscuits.
Lido di Venezia
The long barrier island with Venice's beaches, reached by vaporetto.
Day 5
Fortuny Museum
The Gothic palace where designer Mariano Fortuny lived and worked.
Rialto Market
The produce and fish market beside the Rialto Bridge, where Venetians have shopped for centuries; early morning is the time to see the lagoon catch laid out.
Ca' d'Oro
The Golden House, a Gothic palace on the Grand Canal with an art gallery inside.
Ca' Pesaro
A Baroque palace on the Grand Canal with the modern art and Oriental art museums.
San Stae
A Baroque church facing the Grand Canal, with an elaborate white façade.
Fondaco dei Turchi
A Byzantine-style palace on the Grand Canal, now the Natural History Museum.
Ponte degli Scalzi
The stone bridge over the Grand Canal by the railway station.
Venetian Ghetto
The district where Venice confined its Jewish community from 1516, with tall tenements, synagogues, a museum and the word 'ghetto' itself coming from here.
Day 6
La Fenice
Venice's opera house, rebuilt after fires; tour it by day or see a performance.
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo
A palace with a spiral external staircase you can climb for rooftop views.
Museo Correr
The city museum on Piazza San Marco: Venetian history, art and the Napoleonic rooms.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
A confraternity hall covered in more than fifty paintings by Tintoretto, whose dramatic canvases fill the ceilings and walls of its upper hall.
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
A vast Gothic brick church holding Titian's Assumption over the high altar, his Pesaro Madonna, and the tombs of Titian and Canova.
Campo Santa Margherita
A wide, tree-less square in Dorsoduro, ringed by cafés and bars and busy with students, the liveliest spot in the district for an aperitivo.
Day 7
Fondazione Querini Stampalia
A family palace museum with a garden redesigned by Carlo Scarpa.
Via Garibaldi, Castello
A wide, lively street in Castello's local quarter, lined with bars and bakeries, leading to the Giardini and a Venice with far fewer visitors.
Giardini della Biennale
The gardens with the national pavilions of the Venice Biennale, quiet green space off-season.
Bridge of Sighs
The enclosed bridge from the Doge's Palace to the prison; you cross it on the palace tour.
Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa
A Renaissance palace with the Grimani family's collection of ancient sculpture.
Watch: Venice in 3 days
A one-minute look at the plan: every stop, day by day, with the map.
Where to stay in Venice
When to go to Venice
April to June and September to October are the best months in Venice, with mild weather and fewer crowds than midsummer. July and August are hot, humid and very crowded with day-trippers. Acqua alta, high-water flooding, is most likely from October to January, and Carnival, in February or early March, fills the city with masks and costumes.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Venice on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Venice on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Venice on GetYourGuide or on Viator
- From the airport: a private transfer in Venice with Kiwitaxi
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for Italy from Airalo
- Last day: leave your bags in Venice with Radical Storage and keep sightseeing
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Venice
- Day-trippers pay an access fee on peak days; check the dates on the city's website if you aren't staying overnight.
- A vaporetto (water bus) pass for one or more days is cheaper than single tickets.
- Book St Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace ahead in high season to skip the queues.
- Cover shoulders and knees for St Mark's Basilica and other churches.
- Get lost on purpose: the quietest, most beautiful corners are away from the San Marco–Rialto route.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Bridge of Sighs: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Burano: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ca' Pesaro: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder . Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message . This image is not in the publ, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ca' d'Oro: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Campo Santa Margherita: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Doge's Palace: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fondaco dei Turchi: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fondazione Querini Stampalia: Andrea, Public domain
- Fortuny Museum: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Gallerie dell'Accademia: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Giardini della Biennale: Lothar John, CC BY-SA 3.0
- La Fenice: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lido di Venezia: Kasa Fue, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Murano: Wittylama, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museo Correr: Janmad, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Palazzo Grimani di Santa Maria Formosa: Sailko, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection: G.Lanting, CC BY 3.0
- Piazza San Marco: Giovanni Antonio Canal, Public domain
- Ponte degli Scalzi: José Luiz, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Poveglia: unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Punta della Dogana: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 4.0
- Rialto Bridge: Veronika.szappanos, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Rialto Market: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Riva degli Schiavoni: Russell Yarwood from Costa Mesa, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0
- San Giorgio Maggiore: Anton Volnuhin, CC BY 4.0
- San Lazzaro degli Armeni: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- San Stae: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Santa Maria della Salute: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder . Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message . This image is not in the publ, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Scuola Grande di San Rocco: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Mark's Basilica: DestinationFearFan, Public domain
- St Mark's Campanile: Luca Aless, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Mark's Clocktower: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, CC BY 2.0
- Venetian Arsenal: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Venetian Ghetto: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
