Dolomites is too far for one day. You’ll spend as much time in the car as you will on the hike. Plus, the Veneto (countryside outside Venice) is stunning, with great architecture (Palladian villas) and outstanding food and wine. It’s much closer but still too far. As much as I love Venice, only one day there (or anywhere that takes a half day to get to) is better off skipped and enjoying where you are at.
Completely agree. Enjoy your time in Venice. It’s a magically city. I would never even consider travelling somewhere else with only 2 days there, Murano notwithstanding.
Venice is such a great walking city. Just stroll around without somewhere to go and you will find something incredible and interesting. Grab a gelato, walk some more. Have an apertivo of aperol and prosecco with some cichetti small bites and walk some more.
I respectfully disagree with the Dolomites being too far. We drove from Venice to trails near Agordo two days in a row to hike and it was worth every minute of the drive. We never made it into Venice and I have no regrets.
Despite what the glossy brochures say, it is not possible to ‘see’ Italy in a week, and the harder you try to fit extra things in, the less you actually see (and enjoy). Two days in Venice is nothing more than a taster, so trying to do side trips would suggest that Venice doesn’t have as much appeal as originally thought… or this glossy brochure ‘see it all’ mentality is kicking in.
FWIW I really like the mountainous area near Trento, so I’m not against the Dolomites, but come back for it another time and give it a larger chunk of time.
^^^ Lake Garda. Excellent area.
Sorry but unconvincing anecdote. Why not stay in the Dolomites?
Also you must mean outside of Venice since you never made it into Venice. Add 40 minutes each way from inside Venice.
ETA I see Ian made essentially the same point.
We were staying in Padua and the train would take us to Venice in less than 30 minutes, so add maybe 20-30 minutes to get to the Dolomites if you were driving from Venice. We spent 12 days staying just outside of Rome, Florence, and Venice, that is not trying to see too much in too short of time in my opinion.
The original plan was to spend a day hiking the Dolomites and a day in Venice, after the first day we decided to skip Venice; my wife had been there before and I had more interest in the mountains.
Whenever we travel we try to stay in a location that is central to the things we want to do. It may mean that we are going to drive an hour or two east one day and an hour west the next, but it gets us to the places we want to be. I guess one thing to consider is that I do not mind driving and I have no desire to be in big cities. After spending two days walking around Rome and one walking around Florence, I just wanted to be in the hill towns.
To each his or her own.
Indeed, to each his own. I would make the opposite choice in nearly every instance. The very LAST thing I want to do on vacation (esp n Italy) is drive. I like hiking in hills too, but I do that here; a walk in Venice cannot be duplicated anywhere on earth, and one day there would seem like torture to me.
It just underscores that your itinerary has to match your values. Decide what you most want to really experience and plan accordingly; don’t let guide books (or people on a wine board) tell you what you “must” do.
You will be happy you booked timed tickets at major attractions… I was in Florence in April and the lines were crazy long.
For meals and gelato, i would really do some online research. Book tables where you want to eat (as you won’t be able to get in the certain places as a drop in). Venice and Florence both have some great spots to eat at many price points, but also more than their fare share of tourist spots with average food.
I liked Alle Testiere in Venice (mentioned abouve) and Cammillo in Florence.
Hi Paul
Indeed, though it sounds like ‘your own’ isn’t the big 3 tourist cities (and frankly neither am I a fan of what mass tourism brings).
I do worry that so many tourists feel compelled to go to Rome, Venice and Florence, because they are the big attractions. However many discover, like you did, that other places call more to their heart. Be it the big northern mountains, a rugged coastline, rolling hills of a top wine region, or the vibrant intimacy of a Napoli or Palermo.
Perhaps Matt is also thinking the same? If so, then it’s better to decide that now, when accommodation can be rebooked, rather than find out in the holiday itself. I always like to ask what people want to experience, as for me no place is a ‘must see’ for everyone. Each to his or her own, as you say.
For me it’s pretty crazy to pay for the premium to stay in Venice, to then drive away from it, especially when that would be one of only two days there (and we’ve not even discussed potential jetlag yet). However Padova isn’t Venice, and is very much more a practical option for venturing out from, than Venice itself.
Regards
Ian
We’re back from our travels in Italy! We spent two nights (Saturday and Sunday) and a morning in Venice, then were in Florence through Friday morning. Wanted to give a few highlights and some of my thoughts after going.
VENICE
VENICE IS CONFUSING ON FOOT. Google maps works OK but its a data eater and is definitely not perfect. some of the alleys are literally only a few feet wide and Maps has a lag factor of sometimes dozens of yards between the buildings, which often means you are backtracking to find the correct turn. That being said, the city is beautiful and the walking is extremely pleasurable. Wandering those alleys rewards you with all kinds of great things to stumble upon if you are willing and have time to. Also important, there are only two or three main bridges across the Grand Canal, so walking can mean a lot of extra steps if you have to cross often. Its worth doing when you have time, but if you want to be more direct, get a pass for the waterbus. Its cheap, has stops on both sides, and actually pretty quick and convenient.
the first night, our only plan was dinner at Osteria alle Testierie. I had high hopes for this meal, and, while I wasn’t exactly let down by it, I don’t think I was as impressed as some others have been. Really good wine selections (we went BTG and had a nice '07 Coravin’d CCR and a Fruili), attentive service, but also our most expensive meal of the whole trip by about 3x. Be advised: this was the only place that we went that had a minimum number of plates a table HAD to order (4 plates for a couple, most other places we just shared 3). We had Razor clams, which were admittedly excellent, but then the Caprese dish was served with Prawns, which were also delicious, but a flavor combination I question (and the caprese itself was meh with a weird very bitter salad). Our two mains were ravioli with baby shrimp which was probably the favorite dish of the night, and the famous sole… which had a fall-spice note that seemed out of place on a 92 degree July day (although the fish was well cooked and fresh). Overall, a good meal, but not worth the 115 Euro we paid in my mind (although I will admit we probably would have paid similar for the same meal/atmosphere in the US)
The next net day we spent partially in Murano (note: it was sunday, a lot of the actual Fornos were closed, except for the one run by the public transport system, Alilaguna). And all our touristy stuff at San Marco Square (Saint Marks, Doges, Correr). Skip the line for Saint Marks was just as long but twice as fast as the regular entrance (note: regular entrance is free, Skip the line is 3 euros each). We had mostly the snack style cicchetti for dinner. We found a great place with good wines and making each thing by hand behind the bar named Estro Vini e Cucina and another called Osteria al Squero, and ended at Cantine del Vino gia Schiavi. Recommend them all! Our Airbnb host also suggested a gelato place called Nicos which is right on the lagoon (looking away from St Marks) but makes some fantastic stuff. Wine at these places was all good, but fairly generically labelled on the menus, which seemed to be a trend in general at these type places. Sunday night we hired a small wood boat with a motor to take us around the Canals and it was one of the most cool things we did on the entire trip. Beat the hell out of a gondola. Was the same cost as a 45 minute ride but was a guaranteed 1:30, and we actually ended up staying on the boat for over 2 hours at the same cost because we just got along well with the guy driving, Daryl (the Irish Pirate). If anyone would like his contact, let me know. It was fantastic. Recommend PLUS.
Monday morning before leaving we stopped at the Realto Market (good to know: the fish part of the market is closed Sundays and no one fishes on Sunday either, so its also closed Monday. Although the veggies and fruits are there Monday.)
FLORENCE
We arrived in Florence Monday afternoon and dropped our bags at our Airbnb (4th floor… UGH!). We had a snack at the Central market’s second floor, which has a wine bar with a pretty good selection actually. Casanova de Neri and a few other good ones, lots of Franciocorta sparklers, some decent nebbiolo, with a shop attached that has fairly good prices. After we stopped at Enoteca Alessi. The list there is OK, but the feature here is a giant cellar with wines from all over Italy in the basement under where you eat. Its well stocked, features some great producers, and has reasonable pricing (especially considering its one street off from the Duomo. Dinner this day was at Il Vivandiere. Recommend plus. Wild boar pasta with big fat house made perfectly cooked spaghetti is the play here, but everything was good. Wine came directly from old 250L botti stacked on one of the walls and was either a choice of Sangiovese, Syrah, a blend of the two, or “vin santo” (which I doubt was very good from a 250L botte). The place is also right next to Vivoli Gelato, so you know what to do next.
Tuesday was our winery tour day. We did it with Grape Tours from Tuscan Wine Tours. RECOMMEND PLUS. We were very torn between renting a car, hiring a driver and scheduling our own wine tours, or booking a full tour. So glad we picked the last option. Montalcino is about 1.5 hours from Florence, and our guide (who is a certified Italian sommelier) picked us up just across the Ponte Vecchio and drove us. Our total group was 9 people but we were the only 2 originating in Florence, so we basically had a personal tour. He was extremely knowledgable, especially about Italian wine and products, and we had great conversation the entire drive down. We visited three wineries: Prima Donna (Donatella Cinelli), a winery run by an all female winemaking team, where we got some history about the town. Then we moved onto one I’ve never heard of, Cava d’Onice. Its a small family run winery at the family’s home. The grandfather started it after being a winemaker for Frescobaldi for 40 years. We met him first, then the current winemaker (along with wife, 7y/o daughter, and son) sat down and shared lunch with us (handmade by his wife) to taste their wines over their own cheese, olive oil, handmade pasta, and dessert. a very memorable experience. We ended at Le Chiuse. This tour was led by the winemakers 7 month pregnant wife. The tasting was the star here, featuring their Champagne-method sparkling Sangiovese Rose, their 100-point 2013 Brunello, and a 2009 Brunello Riserva. such a great day. Our guide suggested Osteria Pazzi for dinner, a fun little place where the owner sings as he serves you each dish. Pistachio cream spaghetti was so good. The locals were all springing for the pappa al pomodoro and the steak it seemed.
Wednesday was tourist day. We climbed to the top of the Duomo BE THE FIRST ONES IN THE MORNING TO DO THIS. its cooler in the am and much less crowded. Plus, we were the first ones up and that was incredible to have it to ourselves for the first few minutes as the sun came up. we stopped at the bottom floor of central market for a snack (the main floor market is only open mornings but the second floor which is more of a food court is open all through the day). Lunch was a three course wine tasting with four wines at Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina. Recommend! Fantastic wines paired with really outstanding food. Octopus pasta was a huge winner. Wines were a northern Piemontese pinot nero sparkler, Contratto. Octopus was with Musso Rio Sordo Barbaresco, 2014, and Tiramisu dessert was paired with my favorite wine of the afternoon, a Felsina Vin Santo. Delicious wine! Dinner this day we really just wanted some veggies by this point so a smoothie place was hunted down.
Thursday we hopped on a train early to do a day in Parma. We toured a small family owned Parmesan Cheese factory, mostly noted for the fact that they allowed us to stuff ourselves with 12, 20, 30, and 48 month parmesan. The smell in the aging room was intoxicating. We also went to a Parma Ham producer. again, the smells! Dinner afterwards was maybe the best meal of the whole trip at Osteria Vini e Vecchio Sapori. BEST MEAL. if you are going to Florence make a reservation at this place because it is tiny and it is worth it! Really good wine list (Biondi Santi on a wine list for 115 euro a bottle? YES PLEASE.) and attentive, charming service with delicious food. Braised duck papperdeli, Beef stew, smoked swordfish carpaccio… its all good. Great meal to end the trip on.
Overall, I think for us we spent just the right amount of time in each city for our first times there. More time in either city would have made us want to head outside the city as Paul was noting and get into the outdoors and country a little more, and we really would have needed a car for that. Maybe next time now that we’ve seen the things you’re “supposed” to see we will do that.
thanks for everyone’s suggestions and advice! you were all really helpful in our planning and booking.
Great report
Google maps “offline map” is your friend. Navigation works too.
It sounds like you had a great time, I enjoyed following yoru adventures on Instagram too.
I actually did this for Florence, but I didn’t think of it for Venice because i didn’t do quite as much research for that part of the trip. I think it still would have been kind of tricky as far as navigation because theres not really much as far as labelling of the alleys goes as far as I could tell. without the GPS aspect I would have been hopeless lol
We had so much fun. We’ll have to get together sometime soon to catch up on the trips!
I sorta like the fact that getting lost in Venice is a certainty. You find things you’d never have seen, including areas well off the beaten path. It is especially fun at night, after having a nice meal and a bottle, meandering along until you eventually find your way back “home”
i agree. there were definitely times (normally like you mentioned, after dinner) when we let ourselves wander and get lost before trying to actually get back home first. A lot of times though, with only two days there, we had to make sure we knew the fastest way just so we could fit everything in during the day!
Yeah, Venice is not laid out for anyone making a beeline anywhere
It’s the world’s largest human maze.
Yup. The maze, the water, the lack of the modern, and the absence of traffic make Venice one of my favorite places. I totally get those who dismiss it as touristy, but tourists want to go to unique places of historic and architectural significance; if you avoid areas tourists want to go, you miss out on some of the most amazing places in the planet. Venice is one of those, to me.
All these.