What to see in Venice in One Day
“There are two types of cities – all the others and Venice.” (Henry James)
When first entering Venice, it feels like being thrown into a movie set. The small alleys along the canals make you feel like being in a surreal place – less than in a city, in which actual people live.
Strolling through the city and along the narrow canals, seeing small stores and supermarkets opening up – seeing how the city comes to life makes it feel more realistic.
Read below, what to do and see, if you only have one day to explore this magical city.
Get your sneakers on and get ready to explore the amazing city. The following itinerary offers an overview of some of the must dos on Venice.
Get to the city as soon as early in order to experience the city come to life. Slowly the canals get more crowded as the typical gondolas and modern motorboats start to drive off to the canals.
The Rialto Bridge is probably one of the most photographed sights of Venice and was used as a set in many films. It usually is more than just “a little bit overrun”, therefore we were more than fortunate to see the bridge almost empty. You can easily get to this photo spot by walking down the alley between the “San Giacomo di Rialto”-Church and the “Corte dei conti” – building into the direction of the canal. You cannot miss the spot – you just have to watch out for the red and white pillars.
The “Canale Grande” is for sure one of the main attractions. The s-shaped canal is the longest on (3,2 km) and crosses whole Venice. Its waterfront is lined with Byzantine and Gothic Palazzos. The canal itself is filled with boats and gondolas and always busy.
If you do not want to pay 80€ for a gondola ride, you can get on one of the “Vaporetti”. Those steam-driven boats are part of the public transport in Venice. The line number 1 crosses the Canale Grande between the train station “Santa Lucia” and the Piazza San Marco.
Tickets start from 7,50€ for a single trip and can be purchased online or at one of the ACTV ticket offices, which can be found across the city. I recommend to do the boat tour at least two times: once at daytime and once at nighttime.
The Ponte dell’ Accademia” is one of the most beautiful – and most visited – bridges of Venice. It is named after the “Gallerie Accademia” – a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, which is located right next to the bridge.
The Ponte dell’ Accademia is the only wooden-bridge in Venice, which makes it a rarity. Initially the wooden scaffold was only makeshift and it was planned to replace it with a stone construction. But the Venetians liked the wooden bridge and decided to keep it. Today, the bridge is supported by a steel construction and is one of the most important junctions of Venice as it connects the neighborhoods of Dorsoduro and San Marco.
The Grand Canal is one of the best locations for some unique photos. Even though the Grand Canal extends almost over the entirety of Venice, you can still find some empty spots and enjoy the panorama all by yourself.
You just have to walk through the surrounding neighborhoods and check the waterfront from time to time and eventually you will find your own small pier.
The pier on the picture above can be found close to the Ponte dell’ Accademia at this exact spot.
The Piazza San Marco and the adjacent St Mark’s Basilica are the most photographed spots in Venice. The Piazza is the social, religious and political center of Venice and the center of the venetian carnival. Napoleon once called the Piazza San Marco “Europe’s most beautiful living room”.
Be prepared for crowds – crowds of tourists as well as pigeons. It is almost impossible to get a shot of this place without any people and especially without the many small stalls, which try to sell all kind of souvenirs.
At the Piazza San Marco you will find the St. Mark’s Basilica, the Torre dell’ Orologio (the famous clocktower) and the Doge’s Palace.
The byzantine St. Mark’s Basilica was built as a mausoleum for the holy St. Markus – the patron of Venice. The basilica is magnificently decorated with sparkling mosaics and four bronze horses guarding the entrance of the basilica. The statues are the reproduction of four bronze horses, which were once produced in Constantinople (todays Istanbul). The originals can still be found at the museum inside the basilica.
If you want to observe the busy Piazza from above, you can either visit the platform at the basilica or the Torre dell’Orologio. The clock tower is the most recognizable part of the Venice’s Skyline and the views from the top are worth a visit.
The Dodge’s Palace is the pink-white marble building next to the basilica. In the past, the palace symbolized the wealth and power of Venice to those, who arrived via the sea route. The museum inside the palace is filled with paintings of Veronese, Tintoretto and other venetian artists.
If you plan to visit the Basilica, Campanile di San Marco or the Palazzo Ducale, make sure to book tickets or tours in advance. Otherwise, you might face several hours queueing in line.
You can book tickets online:
St. Mark’s Basilica: Entrance to the Basilica is free. But you can buy tickets online in order to skip the line (April – October, only) via the official St. Mark’s Basilica Website for about 5€.
Torre dell’Orologio: Buy tickets online via the official Torre dell’ Orologio Website. The entrance for the clocktower is about 12€ for adults and 7€ for children between 6 and 14 years as well as for students aged 15 – 25 years.
Dodge’s Palace: Buy tickets online via the official Dodge’s Palace Website. Tickets cost about 27,50€ (adults) and 15€ for children & youths between 6 and 29.
Next to the Rialto Bridge, the Bridge of Sighs is the most famous brige of all Venice. It connects the Doge’s Palace and the Palazzo delle Prigioni – the former prison.
The name of the bridge supposedly resulted from prisoners longing for sunlight and freedom while crossing the bridge into the prison.
If you want get a shoot of the bridge, you have to walk to the (crowded) “Ponte della Paglia”, which is located about 100 meters from the soutshide of the Piazza san Marco. From this bridge you will get the “typical” shot of the Bridge of Sighs.
If you want to cross the Bridge of Sighs, you have to visit the Doge’s Palace.
Can you actually get “more Venice” in one picture? Find new perspectives of the known attractions such as the” Santa Maria della Salute”.
The church served as a “tribute “for the plague. In 1630, the “Doge” (Duke) of Venice promised to build a church – in return he prayed for the Plague to end, which raged in Venice at that time and killed about 46.000 people.
The baroque church is located in the neighborhood of “Dorsoduro”, right at the waterfront of the “Grand Canal”. It was built in 1687 and its architecture is revolutionary: It has octagonal layout, two huge domes and two Campanili (clock towers). In addition to this, the whole church is covered in marble. This makes the church look even more impressive.
The church is open for visits from Monday to Sunday within the following timeslots:
Monday – Sunday: Morning: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Afternoon: 1 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Entrance is free.
You can get here either by using one of the ferries. If doing so, you need to get off at the station “Salute”.
You can also walk here, by crossing the Canal Grande at the Ponte dell’ Accademia and walk about 600 meters towards the waterfront.
Needless to say, that this city has postcard pictures around every corner. You can easily stroll around for a whole day without getting bored by the appearance and flair of the city.
Do not miss to visit the smaller canals and some of the “less touristic” areas of Venice. Yes, they exist! And believe me, when I say: It is a whole different Venice-Experience.
When visiting the neighborhood of Cannaregio, you might be lucky to have the canals all for yourself.
The best thing about
getting lost in the maze of small street in Venice?
Discovering hidden gems like the Scala
Contarini del Bovolo!
This unique piece of
architecture can be found close to the Campo Manin at San Marco. You can visit
the building and take the spiral staircase up to the top. From here you have
one of the best views over Venice.
Do not miss to visit
the Scala Contarini del Bovolo as it
not only offers a great photo motive, but it also sets you back to another
era.
The Scala can be
visited daily between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. But consider that it is closed over
lunch between 1.30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Tickets to the Scala Contarini del Bovolo cost about
8€ per Person and can be booked in advance online via this website.
And last but not least: do not miss out on the awesome ice cream and enjoy the sweet treat while walking through the narrow streets and along the canals. How could it get more Italian than that?
By Car – If you are traveling to Venice by car, you need to know, that the lagoon city itself is car-free. Therefore, we advise you to park your car at the “mainland”. We for example parked at the “Venice City Park”.
The parking lot is supervised and really cheap as you only pay 5,50€ (!!!) (September 2020) for a whole day of parking.
Walk to the station “Via Della Liberta’ – Incr. Via Righi”. From there, you get to the lagoon city with just a few-minute-long bus ride. Busses into the direction of Venice depart every few minutes and arrive at the bus station “Piazzale Roma”. From here you enter the lagoon city via the minimalistic Ponte della Costituzione.
