Venice: 3-Day City Itinerary
Three days is the sweet spot for Venice: enough to cover the core sights without rushing, plus a full day on the lagoon islands. This plan works the city centre first, then the museums and canals, then the islands. Prices are 2026 figures, so treat each as verify on site.
Day 1: San Marco and the Rialto
Be at Piazza San Marco before 9am. Enter St Mark’s Basilica on a timed slot (nave free, Pala d’Oro about EUR 5, shoulders and knees covered), then the Doge’s Palace next door on a booked ticket (about EUR 30 to 35) through to the Bridge of Sighs. Lunch at a bacaro on cicchetti (EUR 1 to 3 each), then cross to the Rialto Bridge and its market side, ending with a spritz on a quiet campo.
Tip: book the first Basilica slot of the day so both marquee sights are done before midday.
Day 2: Grand Canal and Dorsoduro
Ride vaporetto Line 1 down the Grand Canal from Santa Lucia (single EUR 9.50). Spend the morning in Dorsoduro at the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, then walk the Zattere. In the afternoon wander Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto, founded in 1516, for the calmest canals in the city and an early dinner away from the crowds.
Tip: take the traghetto standing ferry across the Grand Canal for a couple of euros rather than backtracking to a bridge.
Day 3: the lagoon islands
Buy a 24-hour vaporetto pass (about EUR 25) and start early from Fondamente Nove. Go furthest first to Burano for its painted houses, then Torcello for its Byzantine cathedral, and finish at Murano’s glass furnaces on the way back. The islands are exempt from the access fee.
Tip: reach Burano before the tour groups arrive mid-morning for empty canals and the best light on the houses.
Read more: the 4 day Venice itinerary adds Castello and more time in Cannaregio, the main Venice guide covers the sights in depth, and the Bridge of Sighs page expands on day one.