Venice itinerary

Perfect Venice Itinerary in 5 days: The Best Itinerary

by Adventurer Atlasin Europe, Veniceon Posted on

City of Canals: Perfect Venice Itinerary in 5 days

Known for being one of the most romantic cities in the world and of course for its canals, Venice is the perfect destination for a getaway of a few days, in which walking and relaxing is the main objective. And, although there are many places to see in Venice, the main attraction of the city is exploring and getting lost in its streets and canals.

We really had the best time on our Venice itinerary during the 5 days that we stayed there. We also had time to see Murano and Burano, two little and very colorful islands near Venice that are a must if you are visiting. It is obvious that the more you spend in a country the more you learn about it, but we think that 5 days is the perfect amount of time to spend in the most romantic place in Italy, making this Venice itinerary a comprehensive guide to experiencing Venice in 5 days.

We would say that Venice is not one of these places where you go from one tourist attraction to the next one but rather a tourist attraction itself. Yes sure, you have some stunning places to visit such as the Rialto Bridge and the Saint Marco square, but the most beautiful thing you can do in Venice is to walk through the streets, visiting each one of the little bridges and canals. Everything is an experience in this since, from having breakfast on the canals to spending some time in a gondola.  

What is this 5 days in Venice itinerary about?

In today’s post, we’ll outline a 5-day plan for visiting Venice which includes Murano and Burano. But, keep in mind that if you are just visiting Venice, you probably just need 2-3 days at most.

We are confident that this Venice itinerary will help you in planning your trip. 

Short list of the itinerary

  • Day 1: Arrive at Venice and walk around a little bit
  • Day 2: Highlights of Venice
  • Day 3: Venice
  • Day 4: Murano and Burano
  • Day 5: Final visits and return back home
Venice trip

Day 1 in Venice: Arrive at Venice and walk around a little bit

We arrived at Venice Airport and took a bus to get to the center. There are other options that you can consider in our post “How to get from Venice airport to Venice City”.

We had to walk a little bit to our hotel but since we just travel with a backpack it was not as hard as if you are traveling with trolleys. We have a great post about the best backpack to travel through Europe, check it out!

We got to our hotel, left our bags there and headed ourselves to walk a little bit around the area before having dinner. We did not go to any special place, we just walked around random streets and we recommend it a lot, there are a lot of little streets that may go unnoticed but that deserve as much love as the bigger ones.

We had dinner at a little restaurant near the hotel. We had pizza and aperol spritz. It was one of the best pizzas we’ve ever had but the aperol, it’s just not for us. 

🏨We were staying at Corte Loredana, a very centric guest house with private bathroom. The room was big and very comfortable and it was very affordable

Day 2 in Venice: Highlights of Venice

Today was THE DAY in our Venice itinerary. We spent most of our day visiting the “must visit” places in Venice. No matter how many days you are in Venice, these are the places to go in your Venice itinerary to make the most of Venice in 5 days.

St. Mark’s Square or Piazza San Marco

Our day started at Sant Mark’s square, known as Piazza San Marco. This is the main public square in Venice and you will probably have the hotel near this square since it is the most touristic area.

The square by itself doesn’t have anything that other squares in Europe does not have, but it is unique in its way. When the phenomenon aqua alta occurs, the whole square floods and besides what you may think, it is quite an experience. Everyone walks barefoot or with boots but life continues to go on as usual.

Leaving apart this phenomenon that may or may not happen to you, St. Mark’s square has some of the main tourist attractions in it: the basilica, the torre dell’orologio and the Campanile. 

The remainder of the square is lined with arcades, which were once the homes and offices of the officers during the days of the republic of Venice. Now, the arcades are home to shops and restaurants.

ST. MARK’S SQUARE

St. Mark’s Basilica

St. Mark’s Basilica dates back to the 9th century AD and it is very well preserved taking into account the acqua alta and the amount of little battles that have taken place in infront of this basilica. Over the course of eight centuries, mosaics were added to the interior of the cathedral, as well as treasures from the Crusades. The Pala d’Oro is a Byzantine altarpiece that is covered in gold and studded with almost 2,000 gems.

With the entrance (3€ onsite / 6€ in advance) to this basilica, we paid 5€ extra and included the entrance to the Torre dell’Orologio, or the Clock Tower in English. 

Mark’s Basicila opens at 9:30 am, (2pm on Sundays) and we highly recommend gettin in line at 9am or even earlier. The lines that form infront of the basilica are legendary. luckly, if you prepare your trip with time, you can purchase your ticket online and skip the line.

St. Mark’s Basilica Venice

Torre dell’Orologio

Its clock dates back to the 15th century and it is an absolute masterpiece.

The Clock Tower in Venice is an early Renaissance building on the north side of the Piazza San Marco, at the entrance to the Merceria. It comprises a tower, which contains the clock, and lower buildings on each side. It adjoins the eastern end of the Procuratie Vecchie. Both the tower and the clock date from the last decade of the 15th century, though the mechanism of the clock has subsequently been much altered. 

It was placed where the clock would be visible from the waters of the lagoon and give notice to everyone of the wealth and glory of Venice. The lower two floors of the tower make a monumental archway into the main street of the city, the Merceria, which linked the political and religious centre (the Piazza) with the commercial and financial centre (the Rialto). Today it is one of the 11 venues managed by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.

St Mark’s Campanile

St Mark’s Campanile is the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica. The current campanile is a reconstruction completed in 1912, the previous tower having collapsed in 1902. At 98.6 meters (323 ft) in height, it is the tallest structure in Venice and is colloquially termed “el paròn de casa” (the master of the house). It is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.

The price is 12€ (10€ onsite) on their website and it is open from 9:30 am to 5:15 pm. However, be aware that the last admission is at 4:45.

Ducal Palazzo

The Doges’ Palace is a palace built in Venetian Gothic styles. For centuries, this building served as the residence for the Doge, the seat of the government, and a palace of justice. Now, it is a museum.

It is really a must to enter this palazzo, not only for the interior design, but also because you get views of the San Mark’s square and, at the same time, it has a view to Venice’s lagoon. However, most people visit this palace to cross the Bridge of Sighs. From this window, prisoners on their way to execution would have one final view of the city.

We did not enter this palace since we were on a very tight budget as uni students; however, if you have the chance, it has to be amazing.

The price is 25€ and it is open from 9am until 6pm every day. As well as for the basilica, you can get the tickets online.

Ducal Palazzo​

Bridge of Sighs

Even though it is true that on your Venice itinerary you can only cross it if you enter the Doge’s Palace, once you are in it, you cannot really see it. What we did on our Venice itinerary was go around the Doge’s Palace and from there, there is an amazing view of the bridge with the gondolas going under it. It is truly a fairy tale image.

We stopped here to eat something at a very cute restaurant near San Marcos Square, there are tons of restaurants on the Venice itinerary and they are all amazing, contributing to the delightful experience of Venice in 5 days.

Fenice theatre

When our stomachs were full, we walked to the Fenice Theatre. This opera house is one of the most famous and historic opera houses in the world. The theater was destroyed by a fire three times, the most recent being in 1996. It reopened in December 2003, truly earning its name “the Phoenix,” as it continually rises from the ashes.

The theater is open for tours on a daily basis and the admission fee includes the audio guide tour.It costs around 12€ and it is open from 9:30 to 6pm daily.

Rialto bridge

The last attraction of the day must be the Rialto Bridge, we recommend not going straight to it but walking around the streets and the bridges to enjoy Venice at its full. There is not a correct path, just let your feet guide you, the smaller the street, the better!

This bridge is not only the oldest one but also the most beautiful one. You must see it with daylight, but also at the golden hour and at night. It has its own magic each time and you will enjoy it very differently. 

There are a lot of restaurants near the bridge with views to the grand canal, we really recommend eating dinner there at least once during your visit to Venice.

Day 3: Venice all day

Our third day, outlined in our Venice itinerary, was the day we used to visit the “other places” in Venice outside the touristic San Marco.

Ponte dell’Accademia

We started the day walking around the canals while going to the Ponte dell’Accademia. It is a must visit, it really feels like you are in a Victorian movie and you can feel, with a little bit of imagination, how those days would have been walking through this bridge with such bigg dresses.

Just after crossing the bridge, you can also observe the Gallerie dell’Accademia, which even though not having the most stunning architecture, has a lot of history. It was founded in 1750 and since then, has guarded masterpieces from some Italian artists such as Giovanni Battista Piazetta and Renier. 

Squero di San Trovaso

Just a few minutes walking on your Venice itinerary, you can find the squero di San Trovaso. Squero di San Trovaso is one of the oldest and most famous Venetian shipyards. The squaro is the classic yard where large boats such as gondolas, pupparini, sandoli, sciopóni and other typical ships of the Venetian naval tradition were built and repaired.

We highly recommend passing by on your Venice itinerary, it has this old essence that captivates anyone who is lucky enough to see it.

Santa maria de la salute

We decided to walk 15 minuts more, but you can take a bus or a vaporeto to get here.

It is not only the views and the architecture that make it worth it to visit this basilique, but also its history. 

The plague was brought by the Count of Mantua, who was interned on the Lazzaretto Vecchio island, but it was enough for him to come into contact with a carpenter for the infection to spread throughout the city from Campo San Lio. On March 22, 1630, the Patriarch of Venice, Giovanni Tiepolo, made a promise:

“I solemnly promise to erect a church in this city and dedicate it to the Blessed Virgin, calling it SANTA MARIA DELLA SALUTE, and that every year on the day that this city is declared free from the present evil, its Serenity and the his successors will solemnly go with the Senate to visit this church in perpetual memory of the public gratitude for so much benefit.»

On March 26, in Saint Mark’s Square, the Duke of Venice Nicolò Contarini, the clergy and the people gathered to pray. When the plague ended, 80,000 Venetians had died, and 600,000 in the territory of the Serenissima, from Brescia to Trieste, from Polesine to Belluno. Among the people who died were the duke and the patriarch.

On November 28, 1631, construction began on the Punta della Dogana, the customs house of Venice. Its construction was entrusted to Baldassare Longhena, and it was finished on November 9, 1687, when Patriarch Alvuse Sagredi blessed it. In order to be able to erect the basilica in this place, it was necessary to insert 1,156,650 poles into the ground and gain a vast area of ​​land in the sea.

Acqua alta library

After visiting the basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, we went down to the port “Zattere” from where we took boat 2 to “San Marco – San Zaccaria “B””. From there, it’s just a 10 minutes walk to get to the Acqua alta library. 

We visited this library and we highly recommend you to do it. If you go inside you will find a gondola where you can take pictures for free and also tons of cats and books. There is a terrace inside full of books that kind of look like a staircase, you can take photos there too. 

We ate something at the same street of the Acqua alta library where there are a lot of good and cute restaurants, if you can, ask to seat at the gardens, most of them have one and they are full of flowers and greed leafs. 

Gondola ride

After eating something on our Venice itinerary for Venice in 5 days, we decided to go on a gondola ride, they are approximately 80€ the ride but it is worth every penny. You may take them anywhere you like but we recommend doing so at little canals on the Venice itinerary to make the experience more complete and less touristy.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking by and eating gelato and for dinner, we had pizza to take away. We just sat down near a bridge and enjoyed the gondolas riding through the canals on our Venice itinerary for Venice in 5 days.

Day 4: Visit to Burano and Murano

On our forth day in the Venice itinerary, we decided to go to Murano and Burano to see these colorful islands.

Burano

Discover Burano: The Most Colorful Island in Venice

We started our day walking from our hotel at San Marco square to the vaporetto stop Fondamenta Nuove A where we took the Vaporetto 12. In 42 minutes we were at Burano. In Burano we stopped at the Burano B Vapporeto stop which is at just 5 minutes of the center.

Here we mostly wanted to walk and enjoy the colorful houses. However, we had some spots we din’t wanted to miss:

  • Bepi House: a very colorful house full of geometry
  • Lace museum also known as Merletto
  • Piazza Baldassare Galuppi
  • San Martino Vescovo Church and its inclined tower

We had lunch in a typical Venetian house, in a random street where there were not many tourist. We recommend training to find less touristy spots where the food will be better and cheaper. 

Murano

Discover Murano Venice: The Glass Island’s Ultimate Guide

We took the Vaporetto 12 to go from Burano to Murano after lunch. 

Our first stop was a venetian glass factory. Just getting out of the boat there were a lot of people offering the entrance to their shop. We took the first one we saw, paid 3€ and enjoyed a 30 minute visit with quite nice explanations and demonstrations. 

After this magnificent visit, we went to see the Basilica of Saint Mary and Saint Donatus which is the oldest in the whole Venice province, it is believed that it was built during the VII century. 

And, finally we had on our checklist the Palazzo da Mula which is worth seeing from the other side of the canal from where the architecture can be better appreciated. 

After these visits, we walked a little bit more through the island before eating some pizza to take away and we took the vaporetto back to Venice. 

Day 5: Finals visits and return home

Last day in Venice and we wanted to enjoy some of the places we didn’t have the time to visit during our Venice itinerary these past days.

Venice in 5 days

Jewish neighborhood

We started our day with a free tour through the Jewish neighborhood in Cannaregio. It is very nice to go here with a guide because you get tons of information about places that otherwise you would probably miss.

We had lunch in a kosher restaurant that our guide recommended us, it was a nice different experience for sure. 

Scuola Grande si San Rocco

On the way to the next neighborhood we wanted to visit, we stopped at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco which is one of the most important buildings in Venice. It was built at the beginning of the XVI century and it is kind of the Sixtine Capille of Venice. Tintoretto painted the walls and ceilings during 24 years, from 1564 to 1588,

The price is 10€ and you can visit 3 rooms. If you cannot decide between visiting the Scuola Grande di San Rocco or the Academia, visit this one, it is smaller but if you don’t know much about art, you will better enjoy this one. 

Dorsoduro neighborhood

We have a lot of energy and we like to pack our days full of activities, so after the Jewish neighborhood tour we went down to Dorsoduro neighborhood and we spent our afternoon there just walking by. It is a less crowded neighborhood and less touristy, it’s mainly residencial so it is quite nice to see how life feels living in Venice. 

Conclusion of our Venice Itinerary

In conclusion, the 5-day Venice itinerary provided invites you into the heart of Venetian culture and picturesque scenery. This Venice itinerary has been meticulously crafted to ensure a blend of iconic experiences and hidden gems.

From architectural marvels to serene gondola rides, every aspect of the Venice itinerary is a step into a captivating world. We invite you to share your thoughts or additional tips in the comment section below. Your engagement will help other travelers make the most of their Venetian escapade.

Check out other Venice Posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *