One Day in Venice: Best Itinerary, Map, Tips & Guide

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How to spend one perfect day in Venice

We don’t think there could be an easier city to explore in a day than Venice. La Serenissima is the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region and is built on over 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea.

Canals crisscross the tiny islands, creating a patchwork of water, pretty squares, and gorgeous palazzo. Step off the beaten path to find hole-in-the-wall restaurants, medieval churches, and pop-up galleries.

In our one day in Venice guide, you’ll find information and tips for visiting all the most important must-see Venice tourist attractions, and you will find an interactive map organized to make the best use of your time. We also share recommendations for central places to stay, ideas about where to eat local food, and tips about making the most of Venice in a day.

What to See & Do in Venice

Interactive Map

ROUTE: Ponte della Paglia – Doge’s Palace – St Mark’s Square – St Mark’s Basilica – Libreria Acqua Alta – Rialto Bridge – Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art – Carlo Goldani’s House – Basilica de Frari – Leonardo Da Vinci Museum – Peggy Guggenheim Museum – Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

How to use this map – Use your fingers (or computer mouse) to zoom in and out. Click or touch the icons to get more info about a place, and click the arrow in the box top left to open the index. To add to your own Google Maps account, click the star next to the title of the map.

Venice Itinerary Notes

Morning

Ponte della Paglia & Ponte dei Sospiri

Start your morning at the Ponte della Paglia. The original structure was built in 1360 and was the oldest stone bridge in Venice; the current structure dates back to 1847. This bridge will give you a fantastic view of the Grand Canal and the lagoon, and you can look the other way at the famous Ponte dei Sospiri or Bridge of Sighs.

The Bridge of Sighs is a fully enclosed limestone bridge built in the early 1600s. It linked the prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace and was described by Lord Byron as “the last point where condemned prisoners could see the beautiful city of Venice” before they were taken to be executed.

Palazzo Ducale

The Doge’s Palace is one of the main landmarks in Venice and is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Made up of three blocks, the wing towards St Mark’s Basin is the oldest, built in 1340 and modified and extended throughout the following centuries.

The wing towards St Mark’s Square is still as it was built in 1424, and the canal-side wing was built between 1483 and 1565 during the Renaissance.

The palace was home to the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the former republic. It housed the Doge’s fabulous apartments, a political office, and a prison.

In the early 1600s, a new prison was built across the Rio del Palazzo, and the prison and the palace were linked by the Bridge of Sighs. After the republic fell, the Palace was used by many different administrations until it became a museum in 1923.

The Doge’s Palace is one of the top tourist attractions in Venice and is super busy for much of the year. Don’t waste time waiting in line when you only have one day to see the city! Instead, get a reserved entry skip-the-line ticket for the Doge’s Palace, with which you’ll also get to walk across the famous Bridge of Sighs.

Piazza San Marco

Walk along the Riva degli Schiavoni, and you’ll come to St Mark’s Square, the most famous Piazza in Italy, if not the world. Home to some of Venice’s most impressive historical buildings, the square gets very busy, so it’s advised to get there early to enjoy everything on offer without the larger crowds that congregate later in the day.

The square is lined with fancy stores, (overpriced) cafés, and eateries. In the furthest corner from the water is the Museo Correr, which houses objects and works of art that reflect Venetian culture, history, and art. The Correr Museum entrance is included in your Doge’s Palace ticket.

Basilica di San Marco

Built by the Venetians in 820 and consecrated in 832, St Mark’s Basilica takes its name from the remains of the Saint preserved inside. In 828, merchants from Venice stole the body of St Mark the Evangelist and transported it via ship, but the ship was hit by a storm. The legend goes that St Mark appeared to the captain and told him to lower his sails, thus saving the ship.

When Constantinople was defeated in the Fourth Crusade, many treasures made their way to Venice and were installed in the basilica. The four bronze Horses of Saint Mark, also known as the Triumphal Quadriga or Horses of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, are just one example of the many treasures that came from Constantinople.

The church is also home to the high altar table Pala d’Oro, considered one of the most impressive works of the Byzantine era and the jewel in the crown of the Basilica.

The interior of the domes, the vaults, and the upper walls were slowly covered with gold-ground mosaics depicting saints, prophets, and biblical scenes. Many of these mosaics were later retouched as tastes changed, and together, they now represent eight hundred years of history.

Another of Venice’s most popular attractions, St Mark’s Basilica, is best visited with a fast-track entry and audio guide booked online in advance.

Campanile de San Marco

St Mark’s Campanile is the bell tower for St Mark’s Basilica. Built in the 12th century on the site of what was probably a watchtower and rebuilt in its current form early in the 16th century with the addition of a belfry, the campanile is the perfect spot from which to enjoy a spectacular bird’ s-eye view of the city and Venice lagoon.

In fact, the view was so good that Galileo used the campanile in 1609 to demonstrate his telescope to the Doge!

In 1902, the campanile suddenly collapsed due to bad construction work. It was agreed that the tower should be rebuilt exactly as it was. The rebuild started in 1903, and the campanile was re-opened in 1912. When visiting the tower, you get to the top by elevator, which only takes 30 seconds, so there’s no need to climb a whole lot of stairs!

Libreria Acqua Alta

Literally meaning ‘the book store of high water,’ this hidden gem is an indoor/outdoor bookshop that uses ingenious means to protect its stock from the famous floods of Venice!

Stacked wall-to-wall with books, magazines, and maps, Libreria Acqua Alta stores the books in boats, waterproof containers, bathtubs, and even a full-sized gondola!

Ponte di Rialto

The iconic Rialto Bridge is the oldest bridge spanning the Grand Canal. It connects the San Marco and San Polo districts and has been rebuilt several times since its first construction as a pontoon bridge in 1173.

While there, visit the Mercati de Rialto or Rialto Market and look at the amazing array of fresh foods on display.

Ca’ Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art

The incredible Ca’ Pesaro museum is housed in a marble palace on the Grand Canal and is a magnificent example of the Venetian Baroque style. The façade is an imposing edifice of statues and bas-reliefs, while the interior is magnificently decorated by Giovanni Battista Pittoni.

The museum has a fabulous collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings and sculptures, including works by Morandi, De Chirico, and Carrà, as well as Kandinsky, Mirò, and Matta.

Afternoon

Casa Di Carlo Goldani

Carlo Goldoni was a famous Venetian playwright who dedicated his life to the theatre. He started as a small boy aged eight, playing with puppets in a small theatre at his home. The home is now a writer’s museum and well worth a visit.

Goldoni’s theatrical work consists of five tragedies, sixteen tragicomedies, 137 comedies, two sacred actions, twenty interludes, thirteen dramas, 49 playful dramas, three farces, and 57 scenarios!

Basilica De Frari

Basilica De Frari, in the San Polo neighborhood, is also known as Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa and is one of the most remarkable churches in Venice.

Built over a period of 100 years in the 15th century, the exterior is pretty plain compared to some of the other churches in Venice, but you can step inside to see some amazing sculptures and a famous painting by Titian called Assumption of the Virgin.

The Migrant Child by Banksy

It may not be thousands of years old or hold any historic significance, but Banky’s The Migrant Child is still a really cool piece of artwork. Stenciled onto the canal wall on the island of Dorsoduro, this street art references the plight of migrants and refugees in Europe.

Museo di Leonardo Da Vinci

Housed in a beautiful former church, this museum dedicated to Da Vinci is quite small but interactive, so it really is a unique experience. They have replicas of Da Vinci’s masterpieces, so you can get up close and look at them in detail without needing high security. They also have replicas of his inventions, which you can touch and try.

This family-friendly exhibition will stimulate your curiosity and allow you to explore Da Vinci’s groundbreaking work. Stroll through the four sections of earth, water, air, and fire and discover machines built according to Da Vinci’s original designs. This excellent museum gets very busy in high season, so make sure to get your skip-the-line tickets before visiting.

The Peggy Guggenheim Museum

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is located in the Dorsoduro district on the Grand Canal between Santa Maria della Salute and the Gallerie dell’Accademia. It is one of Europe’s premier museums devoted to modern art and one of the most visited attractions in Venice.

The museum’s core is Peggy Guggenheim’s personal collection of 20th-century art, which ranges in style from Cubism and Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism.

Explore one of the most important cultural attractions in Venice with a skip-the-line ticket so you can enjoy works of modern art by Picasso, Pollock, and Dalí instead of standing in a queue!

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute

The basilica, known simply as Salute, is a Roman Catholic Church commissioned by the city as a prayer and a thank you to the Virgin Mother of God for saving the city of Venice from the terrible plague of 1630. The first stone was laid on 1st April 1631 and consecrated in 1687.

The basilica faces the entrance of the Grand Canal, and the amazing double dome has characterized the skyline of the San Marco Basin in Venice for more than three hundred years.

Evening

Grab a Cicchetti & Ombra in Dorsoduro

Head to the Dorsoduro district, home to Venice University, which is quieter and less touristy than the other districts in Venice, so prices are much more reasonable.

There are many small Bacari bars to try here, which serve the typical Venetian aperitif of an ombra (small glass of wine) and a cicchetti. You can even do a Bacari crawl, where you can eat a cicchetti, a small snack much like a Spanish tapa, with a glass of local wine.

The Cantina Schiavi is an amazing experience. The walls are covered in bottles of wine, and they serve fresh cicchetti on the side. There are no seats, so take your aperitif outside to watch one of the city’s last gondola workshops plying their trade.

Take a Nighttime Gondola Ride

What could be more fun or romantic than an evening gondola ride to see Venice from the water while you float down the majestic Grand Canal to spot Venice’s top sights in the moonlight?

Trying to catch a gondola and then negotiate the price can be a stressful experience, and you risk paying over the odds to enjoy this quintessential Venetian experience. Pre-book a private gondola ride so that you can just arrive, board, and enjoy floating along the gorgeous Venetian canals.

Have Amazing Cocktails at Taverna Al Remer

The Taverna Al Remer is just a stone’s throw from the canal and offers a great nighttime view of the Rialto Bridge. It is a fantastic location for a late-night cocktail.

Sit inside at the very cool bar, or in the summer months, sit outside in the small Piazzetta with a view of the canal and Molo, the broad stone quay that was once the ceremonial landing spot for great officials and distinguished visitors.

Italian Travel Ideas

Where to Eat in Venice

All’ Arco

Head to All’ Arco for lunch. This tiny restaurant has only three tables, but you can eat standing up outside and they offer an amazing selection of meat and fish cicchetti.

Boccadargento

Boccadargento is a wonderful restaurant off the beaten track that serves authentic Venitian food. They don’t have a website, but I can tell you from personal experience that the food is excellent and the service great.

Osteria Alla Fresca

Osteria Alla Fresca is another wonderful traditional Venetian restaurant, and it has a great price point to boot. Head to this small osteria away from all the crowds and tourists, sit under a canopy of vines and enjoy the wonderfully fresh food.

Osteria Giorgione Da Masa

If you’re looking for something slightly different, Osteria Giorgione Da Masa could be the place for you. It’s a fusion of Japanese and Venetian cuisines, including ramen and cicchetti. There is also a very reasonably priced tasting menu, which can be made allergen—and gluten-free if requested before ordering.

Street Food Tour with a Local Guide

If you want some expert guidance in Venetian food, eat your way around Venice on a tasting tour of some of the city’s eateries with a foodie guide, and see historical monuments along the way!

This highly rated Venetian street food tour will take you from the historic Rialto Market alongside the Grand Canal to Campo San Polo for the Basilica dei Frari and Campos San Bartolomeo before arriving at Campo Santa Margherita square, which is surrounded by local restaurants and farmers’ markets.

You’ll learn about the districts and historical monuments you pass by and get to sample the food and drink of Venice.

Top Five Venice Travel Tips

More Than One Day in Venice

If you have more than a day to explore Venice, add these attractions to your itinerary:

Take the Train to Conegliano

Conegliano is a wonderful town in the foothills of the Dolomites, the heart of the Prosecco region, just 35 minutes by train from Venice. At Casa Cima, you can see the works of Giovanni Battista Cima, one of the famous Italian Renaissance artists.

Take a walk up to the castle and have a glass of local Prosecco as you admire the view of the Dolomites all the way to the Venice Lagoon. This is definitely one place that should be added to your Italy bucket list.

Visit Sant’Erasmo

St. Erasmus Island is the largest of all the islands in the Venice lagoon, and is often referred to as ‘the vegetable garden of Venice’. This is a place to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and get back to nature. As well as growing vegetables on the islands, there are also vineyards

The island is rich in orchards and vineyards and is very famous for the violet artichoke of Saint Erasmo, a variety that grows only on the island. They are a real delicacy and are only available locally for 10-15 days a year.

You can also see the Massimilania Tower, built between 1843 and 1844. It was erected during the French and Austrian occupation to defend the lagoon. Now, it is used for cultural events and photography exhibitions.

Burano, Murano & Torcello Boat Tour

If you take one day trip from Venice, make it this highly recommended and well-organized tour of Venice’s famous islands: Murano, Burano and Torcello. With a professional guide to offer insights, an organized tour is the perfect opportunity to see more of Venice in less time!

You’ll depart from Venezia San Marco and get the five-star treatment as you ride by boat. Visit Murano and find out why the island is renowned for its glassworks with a visit to a local glass factory, then watch a skilled artisan during a glass-making demonstration before exploring the pretty glass shops on the island.

Next, you’ll head for Burano, known for its brightly painted houses and lacework. Follow your guide to the heart of the town and have time to explore the lace museum and enjoy a coffee. Then, sail to Torcello, the first center of civilization in the estuary. Here, you’ll see the Venetian-Byzantine mosaics at the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta and discover the 10th-century Torcello bell tower.

Venice Practicalities

When to Visit Venice

Several times every year, between September and April, the sea level in Venice rises to flood the streets, squares, and palaces. While this occasional inundation, known as acqua alta, can be inconvenient, Venice has become adept at managing high tides and provides boardwalks in the main streets so people can move around.

Spring

Venice starts to defrost in the spring, with temperatures rising in the latter half of March. In early spring, you will need to pack warm clothes and an umbrella, as March can bring quite a bit of rain.

May is considered one of the best times to visit Venice. The weather is lovely, the city has yet to be overrun with tourists, and all the attractions are open. However, landmarks such as St Mark’s Square would still be better visited early in the morning to beat the crowds.

The Biennale Art and Architecture Exhibition normally runs from April to November. In even years, the exhibition focuses on art, and in odd years, it is dedicated to architecture. The city is filled with exhibitions, installations, and various types of events for you to enjoy.

Summer

Summer is the peak season for tourism, with costs at their most expensive. As there are no roads in Venice, the waterways are crammed with gondolas and the streets are filled to bursting with tourists. The weather is also at its most humid, and because of the waterways, there can be quite a lot of bugs and the occasional canal smell as the water dries out.

In August, Venice is at its hottest, and many locals will have packed up and left the city for the almost countrywide Italian month-long summer holiday.

One of the most famous summer activities is the Venice Jazz Festival. From June to the end of August, musical performances from all over the world, as well as many other events, are held at locations all over the city, such as St Mark’s Square, the Sala Apollinne, the Teatro la Fenice, and the Pallazzo Grimani.

Fall

September is still quite warm, and the number of tourists has dropped, making autumn a great time to spend a day in Venice.

The annual Venice Film Festival takes place as well as the annual Regata, or Regata Storica, which is held on the Grand Canal on the first Sunday of September and commemorates the history of Venice. This festival has been held in the Venetian lagoon for hundreds of years and today is well-known for the wonderful historical water pageant before the race.

Winter

The temperature gets cold in November, so make sure you pack warm clothes, especially if you want to enjoy a romantic gondola ride or take a water bus. The city will be less busy and cheaper to visit; however, some landmarks and attractions may have shorter hours, so make sure you check beforehand.

February is all about the Venice Carnivale, one of the biggest celebrations in Italy. It takes place in Venice 40 days before Easter, with a final party before Ash Wednesday and Lent. The events typically last two to three weeks before the actual Carnival Day on Shrove Tuesday.

Many events require an invite or ticket, which can be costly, but there are also many free events, such as the candlelit boat parade. Street performers and concerts are also available for the public to enjoy. The finale is held in the main public square of St. Mark’s, where you can see all the amazing masks and costumes.

If you plan to visit Venice for Carnivale you will need to book well in advance as the city will be very busy for this period.

Getting to Venice

Flying

When flying to Venice, you can land at one of two airports: Marco Polo Airport, which is 8km from the city, or Treviso Antonio Canova Airport, which is 33km away. There are several different ways to get to downtown Venice from both airports:

Where to Stay in Venice

Luxury: Sina Centurian Palace is a luxurious 5-star hotel located on the Grand Canal. The hotel is housed in a historic Venetian building dating back to the 19th century and offers a blend of ancient architecture and modern luxury alongside exceptional service.

Mid-Range: Hotel Saturnia & International is a historic 4-star hotel in the heart of Venice, offering a blend of classic Venetian charm and modern comforts. Owned and operated by the Serandrei family since 1908, it’s one of Venice’s most well-established hotels, known for its elegant style, exceptional service, and prime location.

Budget: In the Santa Croce district, Hotel Arlecchino is a charming 3-star hotel known for its convenient location and warm, welcoming atmosphere. It offers an affordable and comfortable stay making it a popular choice for visitors who want easy access to Venice’s key sites without the higher price tag of luxury hotels.

Hostel: Combo Venezia is a unique accommodation and cultural space in the Cannaregio district, one of Venice’s most authentic and lively neighborhoods. It offers hostel and hotel-style rooms and doubles as a cultural hub, hosting events, exhibitions, and performances.

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