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how much time to spend in Venice, Italy
I really want to go to Venice. From what I have read on here and other places, some people love it and some people hate it.
For those that loved it - how long would you suggest going for?
Re: how much time to spend in Venice, Italy
You could do it in a day.
We were there for 2 1/2 days and it was fine. I would not have wanted to stay any longer than that. Towards the end of the second full day, we felt like we had seen/done everything we wanted.
I really liked wandering around and getting lost. Although we were there in the off-season/shoulder season - End of March/Early April. So it wasn't overrun with tourists.
We spent 2 nights (1 and a half day). I wasn't a fan of Venice, but DH liked it ok. We both agreed that 1-2 days was plenty.
We spent 3.5 days in Venice during our trip to Italy this last September. While I know that a lot of people tend not to like Venice and spend very little time there, we had an amazing time and did not run out of things to do. Venice is filled with tons of museums and churches to visit and lots of nooks and crannies to explore.
Definitely make sure to discover the other neighborhoods outside of St. Marks Square, including Dorsoduro, San Polo, and Santa Croce. St. Marks Square and the area surrounding the Rialto Bridge are crowded with people but if you walk 5-10 minutes outside of either of those areas you will feel as if you have been transported to somewhere completely different. Also, make sure to explore Venice at night. It's magical and the streets are so quiet and serene in comparison to the daytime hours.
There are plenty of day trips from Venice including the tiny islands of San Giorgio Maggiore and San Michele, and the larger islands of Murano and Burano.
I enjoyed our four nights/3.5 days but I easily could have spent more time there. It's just a matter of personal preference.
I don't love Venice; however, I don't hate Venice either. Its got beauty and history for sure. To the extent that I'm critical of Venice it's b/c I feel, often, it's overpriced for what you get (in terms of lodging and restaurants). Virtually every other city in IT offers better values, IME. That said, no other city is Venice, so I get it, I just don't love it.
Taking my opinions about value/cost out, I'd say that you can comfortably explore the city, Murano, etc with 3 days and 2 nights (assuming no dramatic jet-leg).
So Tasty, So Yummy
We didn't stay long, partly because it was the single most expensive city we visited in Italy (even more so than Rome), and partly because I wanted to see the canals, etc., but I didn't figure it'd take tons of time to "experience" that.
We were probably there for ~27 hours. We took the train in from Florence mid-day, and left mid-day the next day by train back to Florence en route to Siena. We stayed up late, got up early, and just walked and walked and walked, and rode the vaporetto everywhere. I loved it. We did not visit Murano, Lido, etc., so if you have interest in doing that, a day may not be enough.
The side trip to Venice was kind of exhausting the way we did it, but I'm so glad we did. I'd have felt like I really missed something if we skipped it. It was especially fun being there at night. Most of the cruise ship passengers were back on their boats, so the crowds were thinner, and seeing everything lit up was really pretty.
I'd give yourself 2 full days to get lost. We really only had 1 1/2 and getting lost in the dark wasn't as fun (especially since my H fell firmly in the "hated it" camp). It was pretty touristy and I didn't enjoy the food as much as in other places, plus you spend a lot of time waiting for ferries.
Don't go when it's too warm, supposedly it stinks horribly.