How was my day in Venice?

I came to Venice for just one day and I understood in advance that this is the case when a plan can only be beautiful on paper. I wanted to see St. Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, ride a vaporetto, walk through the small streets, look at the Rialto Bridge and, of course, not get completely lost among the canals. As a result, I completed part of the plan, I had to move some of it a little, and a few more times I just turned off where I wanted to go, because Venice is a city where sometimes it makes absolutely no sense to follow a strict route.

I arrived in the morning and tried to start the day early on purpose. Venice seemed very different to me in the early hours: there weren't many tourists yet, the streets were relatively calm, and the water in the canals reflected the old facades of houses. Even then, I realized that one day here is not enough, but if you don't try to set a world record for the number of sights you've seen, you can get a very intense and beautiful trip.

St. Mark's Square – the first real impression

St. Mark's Basilica

The first thing I did was go to St. Mark's Square. This is probably the most obvious place to start exploring Venice, but sometimes obvious places become obvious for a reason. When I went out to the square and saw the Basilica of San Marco, the bell tower and the surrounding historical buildings, my first impression was something like this: "Now I'm really in Venice."

I liked the combination of architecture and water the most. The square itself is huge and solemn, but the lagoon begins literally nearby, so the whole space is perceived in a completely different way than an ordinary European square. I took a little walk, took photos, and just stood among the buildings, looking at the details. I especially liked the Basilica of San Marco - its Byzantine architecture is very different from what I used to see in Italian cities, and that's why I remember it the most. Of course, I took a few photos, although I promised myself in advance to take fewer photos. But let's be honest: if you came to Venice and didn't take a picture of San Marco, you can assume that you just happened to be in Italy.

The Doge's Palace is a place where history is literally all around

After the square, I went toThe Doge's Palace. I expected to see a beautiful old palace, but inside the monument of architecture of Venice turned out to be much more interesting than I expected.

The Doge's Palace

I liked the huge halls, the grand staircases, the paintings on the walls, and the very atmosphere of the place. It is especially well understood here how rich and influential the Republic of Venice once was.

I walked from hall to hall and periodically stopped to examine the ceilings and paintings. At some point, I caught myself thinking that I didn't understand at all how much time had passed, because Venice had made me forget about the clock again.

The Bridge of Sighs

Separately impressedThe Bridge of Sighs. Of course, I saw it in photographs before the trip, but it turned out to be much more interesting in person, especially when you understand its historical significance.

It was here that I liked the feeling that you are not just looking at a beautiful building, but literally passing through a part of the city's history.

Vaporetto is the best way to see Venice from the water

After the Doge's Palace, I decided to take a break from hiking and took a vaporetto. And that's where my favorite part of the day started. If you walk around Venice, you constantly see the canals from one level, but the city opens up from the water in a completely different way. Old palaces, house facades, bridges, boats, and churches gradually float by, and at some point it feels like you're inside a movie.

I sat down so that I could look out, and I spent most of the trip with my phone in my hand. Then I realized that I already had enough photos to make a separate photo album, but I continued anyway.

I especially liked the view of the Grand Canal. This is perhaps one of those cases when even an ordinary trip by public transport becomes an attraction in itself.

The Rialto Bridge is beautiful, noisy and not empty at all

The next stop was the Rialto Bridge. If St. Mark's Square is a symbol of Venice's parade grounds, then the Rialto turned out to be more lively and everyday for me.

Of course, there were a lot of people here. Very much.

Rialto Bridge

I tried to take a photo without a crowd, but after several attempts I realized that it was like taking a picture of Venice without water. So I just stopped fighting reality and started looking around.

The bridge offers a beautiful view of the Grand Canal, and there are shops, cafes and shopping malls around. I liked this particular combination: a historic bridge, old buildings, water, boats and ordinary urban life.

I stayed here longer than I had planned, because the traffic on the canal can be watched almost indefinitely.

The small streets of Venice are what I liked the most.

After the Rialto, I decided to move away from the main tourist routes a bit. And this is where I liked Venice, perhaps the most.

I just turned into one of the small streets and walked without a map. After a few minutes, it became much quieter around, there were almost no people, and instead of the next famous landmark, small squares, old houses, laundry on ropes and small bridges appeared.

This is the Venice I wanted to see – without the crowd, without the obligatory photo, and without the feeling that there are still five points to go. I opened the map several times to make sure I still understood where I was, but then I decided to put it away. However, after a while I realized that I had no idea where I was at all. But it turned out to be no problem. Getting lost in Venice is almost an obligatory part of the program.

Gondola – is it worth a ride?

Of course, I couldn't spend a day in Venice without at least thinking about a gondola. In the end, I decided to go for a ride.

And here I had mixed expectations. On the one hand, this is a very tourist story, on the other hand, there are things that you want to try at least once. When the gondola left the shore and we sailed through a small channel, I realized that the decision was right. Venice looks completely different in narrow canals: the facades of houses are just a few meters away from you, small bridges float by from above, and the noise of the big city gradually disappears.

Island Venice

I especially liked that from the water you can see the details of buildings that are impossible to notice when walking.

However, when the trip was over, I looked at my watch and realized that the day was starting to come to an end too quickly.

Venice in the evening is a completely different city

In the evening, I returned to St. Mark's Square again. And here I had my second big impression of the day. Evening Venice is completely different from morning Venice.

Piazzetta

There are fewer people, the light is getting softer, the facades of buildings are starting to light up, and the water reflects the lights. I just walked around the square, then went out to the embankment and looked at the lagoon for a while. After a whole day on foot, I was already tired, but I didn't want to leave at all. Perhaps this is the main drawback of Venice: the city constantly makes you think that in five more minutes you will see something even more beautiful.

What I liked the most

If you choose a few places that are particularly memorable, I would put myself in the first place.Venice from the water. Not a specific attraction, but the feeling of a city when you sail along a Large Canal or a small side canal and see old buildings very close.

St. Mark's Square

The second place for me was St. Mark's Square. Yes, it is touristy, noisy and quite crowded, but its scale and architecture are really impressive.  I liked the Doge's Palace for its history and interiors, and the Rialto because it feels like real urban life. But most of all, I was surprised by the ordinary small streets.

It was there that I stopped perceiving Venice as a famous tourist attraction and began to perceive it as a real city.

My one day in Venice

If you put everything together in one route, my day looked something like this: St. Mark's Square → St. Mark's Basilica → Doge's Palace → Bridge of Sighs → vaporetto ride along the Grand Canal → Rialto Bridge → walk through the quiet streets → gondola ride → evening walk at San Marco.

The courtyard of the Doge's Palace

The route turned out to be intense, but I have never regretted that I came just for one day. Of course, one day is not enough to explore Venice in peace, especially if you want to visit museums, islands and other areas of the city.

But sometimes a short trip can also turn out to be real. I managed to see the main sights, rode on the water, got lost, returned several times to where I had already been, took a lot of photos, and by evening I finally stopped realizing how many kilometers I had walked.

Rialto Bridge

When I left Venice, for some reason it seemed to me that I had spent several days here, although in fact only one had passed. Perhaps this is the peculiarity of this city. Venice doesn't look like a place you just visit. You enter it for one day, and you come out feeling like you've left a piece of yourself there. And, of course, I already knew then that I would be back. But next time I'll try not to build such a dense route. Although who am I kidding? Five minutes after buying the ticket, I'll open the card again and start adding everything there.