Venice tours: discover the city by water, on foot and after dark

St Mark’s Square is a natural focus when the palace and basilica are the reason for your visit. A guide can connect the public rooms, the Bridge of Sighs and the church into one outing. Read the access details before booking, particularly if the basilica interior is essential to your plans.

For a different perspective, take to the canals. The gondola experience gives you about half an hour aboard, moving between the Grand Canal and smaller waterways near La Fenice. The lagoon islands make a longer outing, with time divided between boat crossings, craft demonstrations and exploring.

Start with our guide to what to see in Venice, then choose one main experience to build the day around.

Murano and Burano give an outing a clear focus. On Murano you watch glassmaking; on Burano the visit turns to lace and the streets of brightly painted houses. The five-hour guided excursion arranges the crossings and returns you to Venice after both islands.

Choose it when seeing the crafts and islands matters more than keeping the whole day in the city. If you would rather linger over lunch or spend longer exploring one island, make that the priority instead. Read how to plan Murano and Burano in one day before deciding.

Choose the things you care about first, then compare their full timing. A short gondola ride can have additional activities around it. The islands take five hours including boat travel; the food walk and dinner cruise each take three hours. Allow extra time to reach every meeting point.

Our two- and three-day planning examples show ways to divide the experiences without treating the trip as a race between bookings. Keep some space for a meal, a return visit or a change of plan.