Venice — 5 Days in the Lagoon
Five days in Venice is enough to move past the San Marco circuit and into something real. The plan below prioritizes early mornings, neighborhood wandering, and eating and drinking like a local — with one deliberate splurge built in.
Caffè Florian
Piazza San Marco 57 (Procuratie Nuove, south side of the square) Hours: 9:00 AM – midnight, daily
The oldest coffeehouse in Italy, open since 29 December 1720. Floriano Francesconi founded it as “Alla Venezia Trionfante”; the name shortened to Florian and stuck. Casanova was a regular. So were Goethe, Proust, Byron, and Dickens. It was the only coffeehouse in Venice that admitted women — which explains Casanova’s loyalty.
What to order:
- The dense, dark hot chocolate (served in a small pot — not a mug)
- Espresso or marocchino, ordered properly small
- Tiramisu — the Veneto region is where it originated
- Tramezzini (crustless sandwiches) — better here than they have any right to be at this price
Practical notes:
- An orchestra surcharge applies when the ensemble plays outside — budget for it, accept it as part of the event
- Sitting inside is the point: frescoed walls, gilded mirrors, Baroque detailing, the smell of old wood and coffee
- Budget €15–20 per person for coffee and a pastry. This is a one-time deliberate splurge, not a daily café
- Go on Day 1 morning at opening (9:00 AM) when the piazza is still quiet — the square transforms completely by 10 AM
The Six Sestieri (Neighborhoods)
Venice is divided into six administrative districts. Each has a different character; understanding them is the key to navigating intelligently.
San Marco
The tourist core. Worth a concentrated push — the Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, Florian — and then retreat. Restaurants within 50 meters of the Rialto Bridge or the Piazza are, with rare exceptions, traps.
San Polo
The oldest part of the city. Home to the Rialto markets, the Frari church, Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and the best bacari. The morning ritual of Rialto market + All’Arco + Cantina Do Mori is not optional.
Dorsoduro
The most livable sestiere. Students from Ca’ Foscari university give it a genuine local energy. Two world-class museums (Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim), the Zattere waterfront, the best informal bacaro strip (Fondamenta Nani). Campo Santa Margherita is where Venetians actually gather.
Cannaregio
The largest and most residential sestiere. The Jewish Ghetto (the world’s first, 1516) is here. So is Tintoretto’s parish church (Madonna dell’Orto). The fondamenta along the Misericordia and Ormesini canals are where locals drink on weekday evenings — no tourist infrastructure, honest prices.
Castello
Stretches east beyond the Biennale gardens. The further east you go from San Marco, the fewer tourists. Via Garibaldi feels like a different city. Contains the finest small painting cycle in Venice (Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, Carpaccio) and the best small restaurant in Venice (Osteria Alle Testiere, 22 covers — book weeks ahead).
Santa Croce
The least touristic sestiere despite containing Piazzale Roma at its edge. Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio is the most human-scaled, lived-in campo in Venice. Almost no tourist infrastructure.
Day 1 — The Historic Core, Oriented
Morning
Walk to Piazza San Marco before 8:00 AM — it’s a different world before the cruise ships arrive. Walk the full perimeter of the piazza. When Caffè Florian opens at 9:00 AM, go in. Order the hot chocolate or an espresso. Sit inside. This is the moment.
Pre-booked timed entry to St Mark’s Basilica at 9:30–10:00 AM. Aim to be inside during the 11:30 AM mosaic illumination — the golden interior lights up in a way that changes it entirely. Dress code enforced (shoulders and knees covered). Book at basilicasanmarco.it.
Late Morning
Skip-the-line entry to the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale). Book the Secret Itinerary tour (Itinerari Segreti) if available — it takes you through private rooms, attics, and interrogation chambers not accessible on the standard route. Allow 2.5–3 hours minimum. Walk the Bridge of Sighs from the inside.
Lunch
Walk east away from San Marco toward Castello. The area around Campo Santa Maria Formosa has honest prices. Order a tramezzino and a glass of wine standing at a bar.
Afternoon
San Zaccaria church (free, Bellini’s 1505 “Madonna and Child with Saints,” permanently flooded crypt visible through glass). Walk northeast into Castello to Santi Giovanni e Paolo — the great Gothic brick church where 25 doges are buried, with Bellini and Veronese inside. The Bartolomeo Colleoni equestrian bronze outside is one of the finest Renaissance sculptures anywhere.
Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni if time permits: a tiny room containing Carpaccio’s nine-painting cycle of the Dalmatian patron saints. Among the most intimate great art spaces in Italy.
Evening
Cross to Dorsoduro. Pre-dinner aperitivo at Campo Santa Margherita — join the student crowd, order a spritz, watch how Venice actually lives. Dinner at Osteria Alle Testiere (Castello, near San Lio — book weeks in advance) or a cicchetti dinner at Cantine del Vino già Schiavi (Fondamenta Nani, Dorsoduro).
Day 2 — San Polo, Dorsoduro Art
Very Early Morning
Walk to the Rialto fish market (Pescheria) — be there between 7:30 and 9:00 AM, Tue–Sat. Restaurant chefs select the morning’s catch. The energy before 9 AM is intense and completely local; after 11 AM it has largely shut down.
Late Morning
All’Arco (Calle dell’Arco, San Polo) at 10:00 AM — a few meters from Do Mori. The cicchetti here (particularly the crostini with baccalà mantecato and sarde in saor) are considered among the finest in Venice. Then Cantina Do Mori (Calle dei Do Mori, San Polo) — founded 1462, the oldest bacaro in Venice. Low ceilings, copper pots hanging overhead, ombra di vino in hand. This is the morning ritual.
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari: Titian’s “Assumption of the Virgin” on the high altar is one of the great paintings of the Renaissance — seeing it for the first time is a physical shock. Bellini triptych in the sacristy. Allow 45 minutes.
Walk next door to Scuola Grande di San Rocco: Tintoretto spent 23 years painting every wall and ceiling. More than 50 paintings. The vast “Crucifixion” in the Sala dell’Albergo. Mirrors on wheels are provided to view the ceilings — use them. Hours: Mon–Sat 9:30 AM–5:30 PM.
Lunch
La Zucca (Calle del Tintor 1762, Santa Croce) — exceptional vegetarian options alongside Venetian classics, reasonable prices, great wine. Book ahead. Short walk from the Frari.
Afternoon
Gallerie dell’Accademia (pre-book at gallerieaccademia.it, allow 2.5–3 hours). Don’t rush. Key rooms: Carpaccio’s “Legend of St Ursula” cycle, Giorgione’s “Tempest,” Bellini’s altarpieces, the Titian rooms, Veronese’s enormous “Feast in the House of Levi.”
Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, Dorsoduro — open until 6:00 PM Wed–Mon, closed Tue). Peggy is buried in the sculpture garden. The terrace overlooking the Grand Canal is one of the finest vantage points in Venice.
Evening
Aperitivo along the Zattere waterfront, watching boats cross the Giudecca canal as the light drops. Dinner in Dorsoduro — a giro of bacari or sit-down at a neighbourhood osteria.
Day 3 — The Lagoon: Murano, Burano, Torcello
A full day. Take the vaporetto from Fondamente Nove (Line 4.1 to Murano, then Line 12 for Burano and Torcello).
Murano (2–3 hours)
Watch a glass-blowing demonstration at one of the large factories — the skill involved is genuine and the process extraordinary. The Museo del Vetro (Glass Museum) covers 2,000 years of history and is better than expected. Avoid the commercial shops near the vaporetto stop.
Burano (2–2.5 hours)
The colored houses are genuinely that saturated — each painted a different color so fishermen could identify their home from the water. Lunch at Trattoria al Gatto Nero (Fondamenta della Giudecca 88 — book ahead). The seafood here at reasonable prices is the best practical reason to come to Burano.
Torcello (1.5–2 hours)
The most historically significant island and the least visited. Venice was originally settled from Torcello; at its peak it had 20,000 inhabitants. Today: perhaps 20 permanent residents, semi-wild lagoon landscape, one extraordinary monument.
Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral (founded 639 AD): the Last Judgment mosaic on the west wall (12th–13th century) is among the great works of Byzantine art in Italy. The Madonna on the golden apse mosaic is extraordinary in its simplicity. Ruskin wrote about this building at length — he was right to.
Also: the Ponte del Diavolo (single-arched stone bridge with no railings), Attila’s Throne (a stone seat of uncertain origin), the walk out through the lagoon marshes.
Return to Venice by late afternoon.
Day 4 — Giudecca, Cannaregio, Hidden Churches
Morning
Vaporetto to Giudecca (Line 2 from Zattere or Line 4.2 from San Zaccaria). Walk the full fondamenta from west to east.
Chiesa del Redentore: Palladio’s magnificent votive church, built 1577 after the plague of 1575–76 killed a third of Venice. Interior contains Veronese and Tintoretto. The view of the Redentore from the Zattere across the water is one of the iconic Venetian vistas — seeing it from the inside reverses that perspective.
Walk east along the fondamenta for views back across the full skyline of Venice — a panorama most visitors never see because most visitors never cross the canal.
Return to Venice by midday.
Afternoon
Cannaregio: The Jewish Ghetto — Ghetto Nuovo square, the Museo Ebraico with synagogue tours. Buildings stacked unusually high because the ghetto could not expand outward. The original “ghetto” (from the Venetian word for foundry) — all other ghettos take their name from this one.
Madonna dell’Orto: Tintoretto’s parish church, the most undervisited great church in Venice. He’s buried here beneath the right transept. The enormous canvases — “The Last Judgment,” “The Adoration of the Golden Calf” — fill entire walls. Almost never crowded.
Walk west to Ca’ d’Oro (Galleria Franchetti): the most ornate Gothic palazzo on the Grand Canal. Take the vaporetto to the Ca’ d’Oro stop first to see the facade from the water. Inside: Mantegna’s “St Sebastian,” Flemish tapestries, Venetian bronzes, the loggia view over the Grand Canal and Rialto market.
Santa Maria dei Miracoli (10 minutes from the Ghetto): a small, jewel-box Renaissance church clad entirely in colored marble, built in the 1480s. Often called the most beautiful small church in Venice. 20 minutes inside is enough; 20 minutes you’ll remember.
Evening
Giro d’Ombra on Fondamenta degli Ormesini (Cannaregio): a string of bacari and bars packed with locals on weekday evenings. No tourist infrastructure, honest spritz prices (€3–5). Move between three or four bars over the course of two hours. This is how Venice drinks.
Dinner at Osteria La Vedova (Cannaregio, near Ca’ d’Oro) — legendary polpette (meatballs), traditional trattoria atmosphere. Book ahead for dinner.
Day 5 — Grand Canal, What Remains, Departure
Very Early Morning
Ride the full Grand Canal on Line 1 from Piazzale Roma to San Marco, before 8:00 AM. Stand at the bow or stern. Watch the palazzos come out of the morning light. This costs a vaporetto fare and is one of the genuinely great free experiences Venice offers. The 45-minute journey will look completely different from anything you’ve seen from bridges or banks.
Morning
Revisit unfinished business — Accademia rooms you rushed through, Ca’ d’Oro if missed, a church or two. Alternatively: pick a neighborhood you haven’t properly explored and get deliberately lost. Walk until you stop recognizing street names.
The Campanile (Piazza San Marco bell tower, €10): Most visitors skip it. On a clear day the view takes in the entire roofscape of Venice, the full lagoon, and the Alps beyond. Worth the queue on a clear morning.
Lunch
Final cicchetti giro. Return to whichever bacaro meant most to you from earlier in the week. Order one last ombra di vino.
Afternoon
Walk whichever neighborhood you most want to see once more. There is no agenda for this afternoon. Sit in a campo, watch the city, let it go slowly.
Departure
By train: the station is walkable from almost anywhere in 20–40 minutes. Follow the yellow “Per Ferrovia” signs. By air: Alilaguna boat from San Marco or San Zaccaria to Marco Polo Airport (~75–90 minutes), or water taxi (faster, significantly more expensive, but a fitting last memory).
Food & Drink Reference
What to Eat
| Dish | What it is | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Cicchetti | Small crostini or polenta topped with baccalà, sarde, artichokes | Any bacaro, 11 AM–1 PM or 6–8 PM |
| Sarde in saor | Fried sardines marinated in sweet-sour onions, raisins, pine nuts | Bacari and trattoirie |
| Baccalà mantecato | Creamed salt cod whipped to a paste with olive oil, on polenta | All’Arco, Al Bottegon, Do Mori |
| Fegato alla veneziana | Thinly sliced calf’s liver with slow-cooked white onions | Traditional trattoirie |
| Risotto al nero di seppia | Black squid ink risotto — intensely Venetian | Trattoirie with fresh fish |
| Tramezzini | Soft crustless triangular sandwiches | Bars and bacari across the city |
What to Drink
| Drink | Notes |
|---|---|
| Spritz | Prosecco + Aperol + soda + olive. €3–5 at a local bar; if paying more, wrong bar |
| Ombra di vino | 100ml glass of wine, the Venetian daily unit. €1–2 at a bacaro |
| Prosecco | Local baseline sparkling wine — order by the glass, not the bottle |
Bacari Worth Knowing
| Name | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cantina Do Mori | Calle dei Do Mori, San Polo | Founded 1462. The original bacaro |
| All’Arco | Calle dell’Arco, San Polo | Best cicchetti in the city. Go early |
| Cantine del Vino già Schiavi (Al Bottegon) | Fondamenta Nani 992, Dorsoduro | Superb baccalà, serious wine |
| Osteria al Squero | Fondamenta Nani, Dorsoduro | Opposite gondola repair workshop |
| Do Spade | Calle delle Do Spade, San Polo | Ancient, mentioned since 15th century |
| Timon | Fondamenta degli Ormesini, Cannaregio | Popular with locals for evening spritz |
Restaurants (Book Ahead)
| Name | Location | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Osteria Alle Testiere | Castello (near San Lio) | 22 covers, daily seafood menu. Book weeks ahead |
| La Zucca | Santa Croce (Calle del Tintor 1762) | Best vegetarian in Venice + Venetian classics |
| Osteria La Vedova (Ca’ d’Oro) | Cannaregio (near Ca’ d’Oro stop) | Legendary polpette |
| Anice Stellato | Cannaregio (Fondamenta della Sensa 3272) | Excellent, off the tourist circuit |
| Trattoria al Gatto Nero | Burano (Fondamenta della Giudecca 88) | Best reason to have lunch on Burano |
Practical Notes
Vaporetto (Water Bus)
- Line 1: slow, all Grand Canal stops — the tourist route but also the most scenic. 45 min Piazzale Roma to San Marco
- Line 2: fast, fewer stops — useful for getting across the city quickly; also serves Giudecca
- Line 4.1/4.2: circular routes around the main island, Murano
- Line 12: Fondamente Nove → Murano → Burano → Torcello
- Prices: single ticket €9.50 (75-min validity); 24h €25; 48h €35; 72h €45. Three trips/day makes a 24h pass worthwhile
- Validate your ticket at the machine on the dock every time you board
Navigation
- Follow yellow signs: Per Rialto, Per San Marco, Per Ferrovia (station), Per Piazzale Roma
- Key vocabulary: calle (street), fondamenta (canalside street), rio (canal), campo (square), sotoportego (passage under a building), corte (enclosed courtyard)
- Getting lost is not a malfunction — it is the experience. Only Piazza San Marco is called piazza; all other squares are campi
Crowds and Timing
- Best time of day for San Marco: before 8:00 AM. The square is a different world before the cruise ships arrive
- Best months to visit: October–November or February–March
- Cruise ship days: when multiple ships dock, the San Marco/Rialto corridor floods with day-trippers 10 AM–5 PM. Plan to be in Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, or Castello on those days
- Museums: Doge’s Palace and Accademia are busiest 10 AM–3 PM. Book first morning slots when possible
What to Avoid
- Any restaurant with a menu displaying photographs
- Anything within 50 meters of the Rialto Bridge on the San Marco side
- “Tourist menu” signs (menu turistico)
- Gondoliers’ restaurant recommendations (there are financial incentives)
- Restaurants with touts standing outside
Luggage
- Pack light. Vaporettos are crowded. Bridges have steps. No escalators or elevators in Venice. Wheeled luggage is a serious burden on this terrain
- Most hotels are accessible on foot for the final stretch — know your precise walking route before arriving
Input Source Files
The following PDFs were saved as input for this plan:
input/Venice/A guide to the best neighborhoods in Venice, Italy - Lonely Planet.pdfinput/Venice/Off-the-radar Venice - Lonely Planet.pdf