Venice, Italy is a really easy day trip from Florence! And with Florence being one of the most perfect cities in all of Italy (ok, that’s maybe just my opinion), it’s a great launching point for a day trip to Venice.
Getting There
Venice is less than a 2 hour train ride from Florence. In the summer months, trains do fill up so make sure to book your travel in advance if you’re planning a day trip. Don’t wait until the last minute like me and be stuck on a 12:20pm train from Florence, making only an 8 hour trip to Venice!
There is a fast train and a slow train in Italy. The fast train took about two hours and was obviously a little more expensive. But much more convenient!
What To Do With Only a Day
In Venice, the canals are the roads! There are literally no cars. Taxis are boats and everyone seems to have a little motorboat outside their home for getting around. Spend most of your day wandering the little streets and alleyways between the canals.
Find a cafe or restaurant to sit in an people watch. It’s Italy so even the crappiest restaurant has amazing pasta.
When in Venice you have to take a gondola ride, right? I mean think of that Instagram photo! There is a gondola stand just outside the Venice train station. It is expensive (duh, it’s a tourist trap) but I really enjoyed it. It was also fun to talk with our Italian gondolier Fabio! He looked about 21 years old but said he’s been doing this for 22 years. There’s no way he started when he was two. But we never found out his age.
Food for Thought
Venice seemed to have a lot more tourists during our visit in July than Florence or Rome. I’m not sure if this is because the city is smaller or because the streets are so narrow it seems more crowded.
So shoot me if I really didn’t mind only having a day in Venice. We walked non-stop for 8 hours and I feel like I got a feel for the city. It was beautiful and I loved exploring all the little alleys and canals but I’m not sure there’s too much to do or see there.But I can check a gondola ride in Venice off my bucket list so I’m incredibly happy we made the trip!