How To Spend 1 Day in Venice, Italy
If you plan to spend just one day in Venice, this itinerary will guide you through the city for the full day. It includes restaurant and gelato recommendations, Vaporetto information, and the top sights.
I created this itinerary to ensure you get the most out of your one day in Venice without completely overloading it. You can also remove or swap out any activities to tailor your perfect Venice day trip!
The route will start at the train station, take you to all the sights and activities throughout the city, and back to the train station at the end of the day. While it’s ideal to spend at least a few nights, you can still see and do a lot with just one day in Venice.
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1 Day in Venice Itinerary
I’ve created this one-day Venice itinerary to ensure you see and do as much as possible in just one day. It involves some walking and a few Vaporetto (the water bus) rides, but I’ve organized it to be efficient while still hitting the best spots.
Once you arrive in Venice, you may choose to throw out the whole itinerary and just walk around instead! My best recommendation is to have a tentative plan going in, then do whatever your heart desires once you’re actually there.
Venice is magical and you may be pulled to do other things or move itinerary items around. There’s no wrong way to explore, as long as you’re a respectful and mindful visitor.
Arrive & Get Vaporetto Tickets
If you’re spending just 1 day in Venice, you’ll likely arrive by train. When you arrive at the train station, head towards the main exit and go to the Vaporetto (water bus) dock. You will see a building along the canal with yellow accents and “Ferrovia” in large letters.
Either walk up to the ticket booth or go to a self-service kiosk to purchase a one-day Vaporetto pass. This will give you unlimited Vaporetto rides for the day. Each person needs to purchase their own pass.
Keep the pass handy as you will need to scan it each time you take a Vaporetto. The Vaporetto stops differ slightly from each other, but look for the machine on the land at each one to scan your pass.
Vaporetto to Rialto Bridge
Once you have your Vaporetto day pass, hop on the Vaporetto to the Rialto Bridge. You can use Google Maps to determine which vehicle you need to take — just input your location and destination, then select the public transportation option.
In this case, you can take the 1 or 2 Vaporetto line, but the 2 is non-stop and faster. Both the 1 and 2 Vaporetto lines go down the Grand Canal, so you will get some amazing views during the 12-20 minute ride to the Rialto Bridge.
This bridge spans across the Grand Canal and is a popular tourist attraction due to its unique architecture, though it wasn’t my favorite bridge in Venice. The areas on either side of it are filled with shops and restaurants, which mostly cater to tourists.
Tip: If you want to stop for food or coffee, venture a bit further away from the bridge for better quality and lower prices. This is the case for any major tourist attraction area.
Piazza San Marco
Known as St. Mark’s Square in English, Piazza San Marco is the main square in Venice next to the Grand Canal. This may be the most obvious and touristy spot, but it’s worth a visit. The earlier you can get here the better!
From the Rialto Bridge, it’s just a quarter-mile walk (500m) to Piazza San Marco. If you need coffee and breakfast first, head straight to the next item on the itinerary and come back to the piazza afterward!
Piazza San Marco is by far the most crowded area in Venice and it becomes frustratingly busy by 10am. If you can get here before 10am, you might be able to avoid the crowds.
You can admire Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, and the campanile (the bell tower) all from the Piazza. Nearby is also the Bridge of Sighs, which is a famous landmark in Venice!
Outfit: Dress | Reef shoes
Optional: If you want to go inside both the palace and basilica, you can get a combo ticket with a tour guide! Alternatively, you can do self-guided tours for 3€ at St. Mark’s Basilica and 40€ at Doge’s Palace (purchase online in advance).
Coffee & Dolce at Venice Bakery
It’s true that Italians typically have just coffee and pastries for breakfast! This is my kind of breakfast and I indulged every morning during our two-week trip to Italy.
Venice Bakery is just a short walk from Piazza San Marco and has good coffee and a selection of pastries, panini, and pizza. They have tables inside to relax and plan your next activity while you enjoy your breakfast.
Libreria Acqua Alta
This bookstore has become a viral sensation on social media, and as such, is a popular spot. It has a lovely selection of books and stationery, with lovely cats hanging out among the shelves.
What makes this bookstore unique is the photo ops. At the back of the store, there’s a small outdoor area with tall stacks of water-logged books, which you can walk up and over. There are also stacks and stacks of water-damaged books lining the walls of the side exit.
One of the best photo ops at this bookstore is the gondola in the water to the right and at the back of the shop. It’s an easy way to get a free photo in a gondola instead of paying $150+ for a gondola ride.
The bookstore is tiny and can get crowded. During peak times, there’s some crowd control with just one route in and out. If you aren’t buying something, you’ll be directed to the side exit to give space to people waiting in line to pay for their purchases.
Outfit: Dress | Reef shoes
Lunch & Gelato
After a stop at Libreria Acqua Alta, head to Fusion Puppa for lunch. The food is delicious, but the service can be slow and you need to budget an hour or two for lunch here.
If you’re short on time and don’t want to spend it at a restaurant, Baci + Pasta is also a short walk from Libreria Acqua Alta and has great takeaway pasta. Choose your pasta type and sauce, and they’ll make it for you!
Gelato is always the perfect way to finish a meal. Gelateria Ducale has good gelato and is just around the corner from Fusion Puppa. Gelo - Artigiani del Gelato is my favorite though, and just a 5-minute walk from Baci + Pasta, or an 8-minute walk from Fusion Puppa.
Explore the Streets of Venice
Take time after lunch to stroll the streets and enjoy the quieter areas of Venice tucked away from the main squares and crowded areas. There is so much more to Venice than the popular piazzas.
There are seemingly endless alleyways and bridges, each with its own beauty and charm. The best advice I got before visiting Venice was to “try and get lost.” It’s great advice and tough to truly get lost — I kept ending up in popular piazzas and familiar streets!
To get to the next item on this itinerary, you have two options:
Head back to the Rialto Bridge and take a Vaporetto to the Academia stop (about 15 minutes).
Continue your walk to Accademia Bridge (also about 15 minutes).
I recommend walking instead of taking the Vaporetto so you can explore even more streets less visited. This is where the real Venice really shines! This also gives you the option to make stops along the way in any shops or areas you find interesting.
Accademia Bridge & Gallerie dell’Accademia
Accademia Bridge is a wide bridge spanning over the Grand Canal. Walk across it for some of the best views of the Grand Canal and Santa Maria Basilica. I ended up on this bridge in my search for Claude Monet’s painting spot, which was from the boat dock at nearby Palazzi Barbaro.
Walking across the bridge will take you directly to Gallerie dell’Accademia, which is an art museum of Venetian artwork created during the 1200s-1700s.
You can either wait in line (which can be long) and buy tickets when you get to the museum or buy tickets online in advance and pick a time slot. A timed entry can be tricky on a day trip to Venice with a full itinerary, but doable if you keep track of the time!
Sunset at San Giorgio Maggiore
The best spot to view the sunset in Venice is San Giorgio Maggiore. It’s a small island just a 5-minute vaporetto ride from the mainland near Doge’s Palace. There are a few different routes and vaporetto lines you can take to get to San Giorgio Maggiore.
I would recommend taking the vaporetto from a dock near Gallerie dell’Accademia to S. Marco - Zaccaria. From one of the S. Marco docks, take the 2 lines to San Giorgio Maggiore (5-minute, non-stop ride). You will take the same route back to mainland Venice as well!
This island is much less crowded than the mainland and has a gorgeous church on it. We were lucky to get an incredibly vibrant sunset after an overcast day! There were maybe just a dozen people here, all taking photos and admiring the sunset together.
Photo tip: To get mirrored photos, bring your phone/camera all the way to the ground as close to the puddles of water as possible. If using a phone, flip it upside-down so the camera is even lower to the ground.
Dinner & Gelato
After you take the Vaporetto back to the S. Marco docks, walk to Antica Osteria Ai Tre Leoni for an incredible local dinner. The people at this restaurant are friendly and welcoming — they made space for us even without a reservation, but I recommend making one if you can!
We had one of the best dinners in Venice here. The sea bass (for two people) was the most delicious fish we had in Italy and the ambiance felt local and cozy, but still elegant.
After dinner, walk 2 minutes to Gelo - Artigiani del Gelato for the best gelato in Venice. We had a hard time finding authentic, good gelato in Venice, compared to the amazing spots we found in Florence. Artigiani del Gelato makes fresh, authentic gelato every day! The Cremino flavor was 10/10.
Back to the Train Station
Once you’ve had your fill of Venice in 1 day, make your way back to the train station. There are multiple routes you can take, some with more walking than others. Check Google Maps to determine which route is best for you.
A couple of options:
Walk to the S. Marco - Zaccaria docks (~5-minute walk) and take a vaporetto around the edge of Venice to the train station.
Walk to the Rialto Bridge (~10-minute walk) and take a vaporetto down the Grand Canal to the train station.
Either option is great! I would favor the second option to have more time to stroll through Venice at night and have one last ride on a vaporetto down the Grand Canal.
Tips for Visiting Venice in 1 Day
Get a Vaporetto Pass
Get a day pass for unlimited Vaporetto rides throughout the day! The pass is a low-stress way to ensure you can ride the Vaporetto as many times as you need/want to during your one day in Venice.
As mentioned earlier, you can get this pass at the train station and other major Vaporetto docks with ticket booths and/or self-service machines.
Pay the Venice Day Visitor Fee (Seasonal)
Venice has implemented a visitor fee for people who are just visiting for the day. There are only specific days when this is needed and in 2024 (the first year it was introduced), it was only required from April-July.
You can visit the Venice Visitor Fee website to check which dates require the fee and pay it if you plan to visit one of those days.
Get There Early
To make the most of your 1 day in Venice, get there as early as you can. Many cities have train routes that arrive in Venice before 9am. You can use the Treinitalia App to find and book your train tickets.
Early arrival will let you explore Venice for a bit before the crowds start to grow and before it gets too hot (if you’re visiting in summer). It’s also nice to get a jump start on your 1 day in Venice so you can pack in all the things you want to see and do.
Wear Good Walking Shoes
There are no cars in Venice — just boats and pedestrian streets! You will have to do some walking to get between places and comfortable shoes are key. I wore my AllBirds most days and they kept my feet from getting tired and sore.
Bring a Theft-Proof Backpack
Any popular, crowded tourist city has the risk of pickpockets. We didn’t experience any pickpocketing or see it, but I was thankful to have my theft-proof backpack in more crowded areas.
I bring this backpack with me on all my travels because it holds so much, is comfortable to wear, and the main zipper is on the back so pickpockets cannot access its contents.
It’s perfect for spending one day in Venice! You can fit sunscreen, an extra jacket or shawl (shoulders need to be covered if you want to go inside churches), a camera, your wallet/passport, and still have room for a few souvenirs to take home
Store Your Luggage (if needed)
If you have luggage with you during your one day in Venice, there are storage facilities where you can pay to leave your luggage for the day. We used a self-storage facility on our last day in Venice while we waited for our afternoon train and it was great!
There are storage facilities inside the train station, but they are much more expensive than the options just outside of it.
The closest storage facility outside of the train station is S. LuciaPoint Luggage Storage, which is operated by a person (not self-storage). There was a line when we walked by, so give yourself plenty of time to collect your luggage before your train if you use it. Open 9am-11pm.
The luggage storage facility we used is called Stow Your Bags. It’s a short walk from the station and is completely self-service. You choose what size and how many lockers you need (they’re large!) and how long you need them. Open 7am-11pm.
Make it a 2-day Trip
One day in Venice just isn’t enough! Extend your trip with a night or two in Venice to experience even more of the city.
We absolutely loved the apartment we stayed at in Venice. It’s in a great, quiet neighborhood with a nearby Vaporetto stop and plenty of restaurants within walking distance.
It’s just one bedroom, but large and spacious! The kitchen is well-stocked, there’s a washing machine for laundry, and areas to sit and relax. Add all that to the lovely views over the canal and it’s perfect.
We booked our Venice apartment (and all of our stays in Italy) through Booking.com and they were all great!
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