Venice? Is it worth it? Not enough time?

[CosyNavyLeader]

We have an opportunity for a child free weekend away.

Friday flight out 11.35am. Land Venice 2.45pm.

Sunday flight back home. Depart Venice airport 3.30pm. Land back home 5pm.

Flights are £200 for the both of us in total.

I can find accommodation for around £150 for the two nights.

Is it worth it? Has anyone else done such a short trip?

Is it enough time to at least feel like we've seen enough of Venice?

It will be in January, 2nd to 4th. Not sure if this would still come under the Christmas crazy time or if it will be quieter (which is better for us if we are on a tight schedule)

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thankyou!

We were in Venice last December, just before Christmas, so the weather will likely be pretty similar. Cold and a bit foggy. But it’s quieter, and so a better time to visit.

Your times are ample - it’s a great place to just wander around. Steer clear of eating/drinking in St Mark’s square, or in the restaurants that front the Grand Canal, unless you have money to burn!

And definitely get the water taxi from the airport - it feels like you’re arriving like James Bond!

We did a day in Venice a few weeks ago, and it’s definitely doable if you plan ahead. We also did a boat trip with Venice On Board, where you can book a private session on a traditional Venetian boat and learn how to row it whilst also taking in the sights from the canal. It was a fantastic experience, and all of the guides are Venetian so you find out loads!

Love Venice. Loads of people just visit as a day trip so a weekend is 'enough' but DH and I spent a week there before we got married and had a lovely time exploring all the bits that are off the main tourist trail.

You won't see everything, even in a lifetime, but you will get a good "feel" for the city just by walking around. And it's gorgeous in winter (tho still pretty busy).
Book a private water taxi from the airport to maximise your time (€170) - it's a fabulous way to travel, and gives you an amazing first view of the city.

I've been to Venice 4 or 5 times, and still haven't had time to see Murano or Burano, so just concentrate on the main part of the city and you'll be fine.

Definitely worth doing, Venice is incredible. We went in March, it was cold but sunny and before the crowds got huge. We loved every minute and fit so much into 3 nights. 2 nights is definitely doable.

For my 30th birthday I flew out of Stansted airport early Saturday morning, was having coffee in Venice by 10.30 and was back home by 10pm Sunday night. It was a lovely weekend, we walked all over the city and took a boat trip out to Burano and then to the Lido (wouldn't bother with this again). I had already seen some of it on a day trip but I think two days is plenty to visit. When I first went I was prepared not to like it but I loved it and it remains my favourite place that I have visited.

Oh, it's worth it! I once went for a one night stay and it was worth it even for that.

The Rick Stein ' From Venice to Istanbul' Venice episode was filmed in the winter so gives you a good idea.

I went to Burano on the Vaporetto and it was amazing. When we got back we stopped and had aperativo where the boat landed, on the edge of the lagoon

I never really 'got' City breaks until I went to Venice. Just wandering and looking is enough. Eat 'one canal back' and it's cheaper and better food. If you see a queue of locals outside a restaurant join it.

Feels like a theme park museum - beautiful but lacks soul, food is not great, very touristy, short visit is probably all you need.

Thanks for the replies!

Can I ask what the Vaporetto is?

I've also seen on GetYourGuide you can pre book the water taxi from the airport. It's around £35 each. I believe it's shared with other passengers. But it seems a good, affordable way to have the experience. Has anyone else done it this way?

Yes it’s enough time. It’s not that far from the airport by water taxi we stayed near the rialto bridge so taxi stopped nearby and it was very central so no travelling in
Its not very big so you can see everything in the time you’ve got.
We went to Murano because I wanted to see it, dh I don’t think saw the point but I liked it, it’s not necessary though. I think we walked quite far to get to the boat.
We didn’t book restaurants we just ate where we passed by and went to the small supermarket and picked up some snacks.
We saw everything, went into the basilica etc and a gondola ride. We used the water taxis I think to get from st marks sq back to rialto as we went in august and the heat and humidity was killing us.
The gelato is fabulous. Have a great time

The first time I went to Venice, after an hour of walking around we said if we had to go home right there and then it would have been worth the journey. I've also been to catch a cruise ship there and all we did was take a vaparetto ride - again, totally worth it

The Vaparetto is the water bus that you can use to travel around Venice, but if you're sufficiently fit you can walk everywhere very easily.

Yes of course it's worth it to see a unique city.

Venice is amazing, I'd definitely go.

Friday - there's a public water bus that does the length of the grand canal and I found a podcast that narrates what's going on around. I'd suggest that as a good start and orientating.

Saturday - morning I'd get up early to beat the queues and do a site/ church/ museum. Afternoon I'd just wander. Maybe late afternoon/ early evening gondola ride if budget allows.

Sunday - up early to go to an island for a wander.

My favourite thing was looking for the perfect mask to take home. I hadn't realised there were so many styles.

Staying in the centre and being there after the cruise ships leave is great. Being up early in the morning and seeing the locals getting on with their things is interesting too. Definitely worth being central when there for limited time.

Lots of positive feedback. I'm happy to go for it as long as husband is on board.

We are happy to walk. But I do like the idea of a gondola ride, or using the water taxi from the airport.

I will miss the kids but I think 2 nights is okay. I can manage that.

Oh and I definitely want a Venetian mask!!

Not worth it to me.

• I didn't much enjoy Venice, but of course different people like different places.
• I have gone to a different city on a similar time schedule before, and it was much too much airport time vs enjoyable time.
• I'm older and wiser now and morally think flying somewhere for such a short time is wrong.

For a lot of cities I’d say it’s probably not worth it because you’re spending so much of the time with stressful travelling - but Venice is a bit different, as long as you’re 100% sure your hotel is on the island of Venice itself because that makes all the difference. It starts with the fact that you can get a vaporetto from the airport, so even the transfer is magical.
While Murano (glass) and Burano (colourful houses) are both wonderful, I don’t think you have time with only one full day. Spend the whole of the Saturday instead just wandering down the back streets (the calle). It’s quite easy to get away from the crowds once you’re away from San Marco and the Rialto bridge.
The winter weather can be wonderful sometimes so you might be lucky. As a pp mentioned, Venice has the most delicate translucent light which is so beautiful in winter, and the carnival is in February so it’s by no means a dead time of year. However, from memory January is most likely to have high water, which would make your trip memorable for perhaps the wrong reasons.
The street food you mean is cicchetti (chick-etty), it’s quite easy to find a good cicchetti bar accompanied by an Aperol spritz. Just point at the cicchetti you want and hope for the best :-). My favourite sestiero (district) is Dorsoduro, I can recommend Osteria al Squero for the cicchetti (if you’re lucky the boatyard opposite will be operational), or Skilla bar on Campo Santa Margarita. It’s the university quarter so it has a more authentic vibe than in the touristy centre. Absolutely avoid the bars on San Marco - they’re rip-off joints.
Another tip would be to book (weeks in advance) a free slot to go up the roof of the department store Fondaco dei Tedeschi, which looks out onto the Grand Canal and Rialto bridge. It’s stunning at sunset, which would be quite early at that time of year.
I’m also quite fond of the bookshop Acqua Alta, but it’s very much for cat lovers…

We loved Venice we arrived at 10am and left at 6pm and enjoyed it so I’m sure a weekend there would be plenty of time. We prebooked doges palace but everything else was on a whim, gondola was easy enough to get and that was in the middle of august. We walked around and had breakfast and lunch. It was so quiet in the morning I would loved to have stayed in Venice just to make the most of the quiet mornings and watch the traffic on the canals.

Just beware, because most of the ‘Venetian’ masks in the lower-end tourist stores are actually made in China. One fun option might be a mask-decorating workshop at a famous shop in Dorsoduro, Ca’Macana. I think they sell authentic masks too.

That's a good point about the Aqua Alta in Jan - but it's easy to navigate, you just need to pack wellies (which is how Venetians do it.) You can check the tide times before you go.

Vaporetti = water buses. (It actually means "little steamer", although it's been many a year since they switched to diesel).

If you want a taste of travelling in a gondola without the cost, there are several points where there are public gondola ferries across the Grand Canal, costing 3 euros. Look for the "Traghetto" signs - they're marked on Google Maps, too.

No more acque alte- they've finally completed the flood barriers at the entrances to the lagoon. Sad, I secretly used to love them.

Yes, I think you're looking at least €40 for something handmade. But they are beautiful and so much more interesting than the generic things you'll have seen on amazon