7 hours in Venice

[Pearlsofmadness]

I’ve booked a holiday to Rome in April but I’ve also booked a day trip to Venice on the train while we’re there. I’ve been to both Rome and Venice before but I was about 17 and only spent a day in Venice so I can’t really remember it well. Does anybody have any recommendations of ‘must see’/‘must do’ things while we’re there? We’re only there for about 7 hours so obviously things we could realistically fit in.
Thanks!

McDonald's.

I've not been yet - desperate to go! - but would just say out for the restaurants in st mark's square - there are lots of tales of tourists getting really ripped off. 4 Japanese students got a bill of 1100 euros for their lunch in the papers recently!

Have a fab trip.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/21/police-called-venice-restaurant-tourists-claim-charged1100-steak/amp/

We went to Salzburg last Wednesday for three hours. We went in to the tourist information and told them we had three hours and what could we do in that time. They gave us a map told us where to go, we had a vague idea and off we went. They were very helpful. I don’t know if they have bus tours there but a bus tour in a new city is a great way to see it.

Eat at la Corte sconta - I dream of going back for a meal there - best ever - but only if you love seafood! I just love wandering around Venice and jumping on their river buses!

Da Francesco in Rome is a good reasonable place to eat and Cacio e Pepe is lovely too.

There are some good tips in this article

thedesignfiles.net/2017/11/a-personal-guide-to-venices-art-and-culture/

Deste

Oh and while walking around stop off for a sprtiz or two! Sorry everyone else I know looks at Canalettos etc - I loved the food and drink!!

When you leave the train station (beautiful vista there for starters if it is Santa Lucia station which I presume it is), the vaparettos are just in front of you. Take the Grand Canal one. You will see everything waterside.

If you want to exit the vaparetto, then just exit at San Marco and have a bit of a wander.

Seven hours is short, but you can maximise it too!

Just walk and walk, see all the famous stuff, eat where you fancy, have a coffee, watch the world go by. Get on a gondola or water taxi, the grand canal buildings are stunning. The view from the campanile is impressive too. I love Venice, I don't think there is anywhere in the world like it.

IME The best thing about Venice is Venice.

If there is one place you can wander around aimlessly and still get a good feel for the place, Venice is it.

Forget the tours. We were there for just over a day and loved the place. Yes, see St Mark’s Square (you can’t miss it), visit the Bridge if sighs. But more importantly have an ice cream and coffee with a guide book and take in the atmosphere.

Good little shops too

I love Venice - been many times.
If I had a day to explore I'd probably get on a Vaporetto (boat bus) and go down the Grand Canal seeing sights like the Rialto bridge from the water. A great way to soak up the atmosphere without getting lost (all the little streets in Venice are a bit of a maze!).
You could get off the vaporetto at st Marks sq and go in the Doges Palace. I wouldn't recommend eating around here though.
If you like modern art, walk over the Academia bridge into the Dorsoduro (spelling?). Walk down to the Peggy Guggenheim gallery and then along to Salute (large church). I would have lunch in one of the cafes near the Zattere vaporetto stop, overlooking the water.

Writing this is making me want to go back again!

I really wouldn't bother with a gondola. Overpriced and cheesy!
But you can pay a couple of euros to be taken across the Grand canal from one side to the other in a gondola if you would like the (brief) experience of going in one.

Venice is miles away from Rome. Will you even get there and back in a day?

We are talking seven hours here remember!

Not possible to be too ambitious except see it from the canals on the vaparetto, and maybe a stop or two for walking around.

But OP will thoroughly enjoy the experience anyway. I am sure of it.

You could buy a hop on hop off sightseeing boat ticket which is valid for 24 hours from the time it's been purchased. Then you can go and see some places ie St Marks Square etc the usual places. Then you can hop on the boat and go round (and round on a loop) all day and night if you want. Not that you would want it of course but my point is; it's still a cheap option of killing time instead of waiting for the train time in a noisy stuffy restaurant or cafe.

I can't help but your title sounds like a horror movie op 🙈

If you have more than seven hours, I can recommend a walk back from San Marco (after hopping off the vaparetto) to the train station at Santa Lucia.

It is a lovely walk, and you can find many a square or bridge and you don't know where the heck you are, but that's part of the fun, and you will always find your way. Off the beaten track so to speak, if that is even possible in Venice, but it is, we found some lovely gems.

Enjoy.

Thanks everyone! Lots of great ideas! Will def look into the water bus and just taking in the main sights/main square.

To a PP who asked if we can get to Venice from Rome in a day- I’ve booked the train and the journey is just under 4 hours there However, my DH has never been to Italy & we’re willing to sacrifice sleep to cram everything in.

@Magic it does sound a bit sinister, now you mention it!

Vaporetto from outside train station along Grand Canal.
Rialto bridge and market.
You can get local gondolier style boat across Canal here.
Peggy Guggenheim Museum.
Scuola di San Rocco, if you have time.
You’ll love it. We were there last summer and I can’t wait to go back. Enjoy. Trains are fabulous too.

pearlsofmadness we once went to Venice for a day trip from Rome by train. Like you, we went with fast train from Rome in the morning, arrived at lunchtime, did the usual sights etc but our return train was the sleeper train departing Venice Mestre quite late at night time around 10.30 pm-11pm or thereabouts and arriving in Rome at 6.30-7.00am the next morning.
We utilised the hop on hop off water bus going round in circles when we were tired of walking around the sights or bored of sitting in a cafe.
Good old days.
At the time it seemed a good idea to do that itinerary. Sleeper train was a good experience. We've been given complimentary Italian daily newspapers with the morning cappuccino.
Have a good time.

Vaporetti pass, get on and off at will, a PP has mentioned the vaporetti stop at Zattere, there is a wonderful ice cream shop there, Nicos where you can sit and nosh next to the water. Walk round the corner from there and there is a gondola boatyard, very photogenic. If you are a book fan and have read Miss Garnett’s Angel. The church is nearby too. Get a map and you’ll be fine and find everything.

Pre-book at marks basilica to skip the line. Bag drop is round the corner, don't miss the stairs just before the exit to the upper level and outside roof access for a great view over the square

YY to those saying just wall around and soak up the place. Water tax/bus to the lido.

And sorry deste - but LOL at the advice to take a bus tour of Venice!!

The Arsenale, the fish market and pottering around the little lanes were things I enjoyed seeing and doing

The ghetto is also interesting to visit