Venice is small, but it is easy to spend a first visit queuing in the busiest corner around St Mark’s. Three days gives you time for the great sights, a day in the lagoon and the quiet canals where most of the city’s charm lies. This plan groups sights by area so you walk more and wait less.
Before you go
Book timed tickets for St Mark’s Basilica (from €10) and the Doge’s Palace (€30 online at least 30 days ahead, €35 otherwise), especially at weekends and in spring and summer. If you are coming for the day between late March and mid-August 2027, check the Access Fee calendar on cda.ve.it. A waterbus pass is worth it for three days: 72 hours costs €45, against €9.50 for a single 75-minute ticket. From Marco Polo airport, the bus to Piazzale Roma takes about 20 minutes; the Alilaguna boat is slower but brings you in across the lagoon.
Day 1: St Mark’s and the Grand Canal
Start early at St Mark’s Basilica, before the square fills, and add the Museum and Horses Loggia for the terrace view. Next door, the Doge’s Palace takes two to three hours, including the walk across the Bridge of Sighs to the prisons; your ticket also covers the Correr Museum. In the late afternoon, ride the lift up the Campanile for the view over the domes and the lagoon. As the light fades, take waterbus line 1 from San Marco along the whole Grand Canal to Piazzale Roma, then walk back into the centre for dinner.
Day 2: Rialto, San Polo and Dorsoduro
Come to the Rialto market early, before 9am, when the fish stalls are busiest (Tuesday to Saturday), and cross the Rialto Bridge before the crowds. Walk west through San Polo to the Frari for Titian’s Assumption, then next door to the Scuola Grande di San Rocco for Tintoretto’s paintings, using the hand mirrors to study the ceilings. After lunch around Campo Santa Margherita, head to the Gallerie dell’Accademia (closed on Mondays, as far as the official site shows) or, if you prefer modern art, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which is closed on Tuesdays. End at Santa Maria della Salute and watch the sunset from the Zattere waterfront.
Day 3: Murano and Burano
From Fondamente Nove, take line 12 or lines 4.1 and 4.2 to Murano for the Glass Museum and a glass-blowing demonstration. Continue on line 12 to Burano, about half an hour further, for the brightly painted houses and the Lace Museum, which is closed on Mondays. With time to spare, cross to Torcello on line 9, five minutes away, to see the mosaics in its ancient cathedral. Back in Venice, spend the evening in Cannaregio, around the Jewish Ghetto and the canalside bars of the Fondamenta della Misericordia.
Eating and drinking
Do as Venetians do and stop at a bacaro, a small wine bar, for cicchetti, small snacks such as creamed salt cod on bread, with an ombra, a small glass of wine, or a spritz. Restaurants right on St Mark’s Square are expensive; a few streets away prices fall. Sitting down at a café usually costs more than standing at the bar.
Tips
Wear comfortable shoes, because you will climb many bridges, and travel light, as lanes are narrow and luggage is banned in many sights. Get lost on purpose: the yellow signs to Rialto and San Marco will always bring you back. Respect local rules, such as not sitting on bridges or monuments and not swimming in the canals. In autumn and winter, check the tide forecast for acqua alta.