Venice might’ve been made for us. A city with no cars? No roads? Just walkways and waterways and footbridges – a seemingly endless labyrinth to get lost in.

After Rome and Turin, we were so curious to see what Venice feels like. Or rather walks like.

Rather unoriginally, we found Venice magical. It looks exactly how you imagine it would and we were enthralled by how thickly atmospheric it was. For us it wasn’t so much about the big sights of Venice, but the little things. The turquoise seawater throwing shimmering reflections on the buildings. The Gothic vanilla-and-cream facades. Tiny tucked-in bars that almost feel underwater. And how we would be walking along only to find the pavement suddenly stop at the water’s edge, and there’d be no way across. Venice was like a perfect puzzle.

It was not as busy as we thought – perks of visiting in December. At this time of year Venice has a slower pace, as calm as the water running through its veins.

So firstly we’d recommend coming in winter. As well as less people it’s cooler and cheaper too. And seeing as Venetian authorities have announced they’ll now be charging day visitors a fee anyway, we reckon you might as well allow at least 3 days in Venice to explore too.

But in case you don’t fancy walking endlessly aimlessly trying to find everything -both big and small- here is our 3-day walking itinerary, complete with maps.

3 days in Venice: a walking itinerary

Day 1

This day is important, and it has no map attached. That’s because this is the day to just wander. No direction, no stress, just breathe in the briny air of Venice and get lost. We always have our first day in a city like this as it’s the way we discover The Magic – whatever the magic of that particular place is.

With nothing particular to do, you could catch your first glimpse of some of Venice’s must-sees. All streets seemed to lead us to St Mark’s Square and we surprised ourselves by how blown away we were at first sight. The basilica, the Campanile (the bell tower) and the gothic façade of Doge’s Palace, all opening out onto the lagoon: it’s nothing short of spectacular. (Tip: it’s lovely at sunset, when the last light hits the water).

Or you could drop into one of Venice’s museums. The Guggenheim was our favourite, the modern art collection housed in an 18th century palazzo.

You could also visit your first bacaro – the snack bars all over the city selling classic Venetian food and teeny-tiny glasses of wine. Cantinone gia Schiavi is just a 5 minute walk from the Guggenheim… But no, anyway, we are ~trying~ not to tell you what to do this day!

Day 2

Start: St Mark’s Square
Distance: 7km
Route map here

There is no better place to start a walk in Venice than St Mark’s Square. Linger here if you haven’t already but from the piazza we walked to Acqua Alta bookshop, one of the most interesting spots in Venice. A bookshop sitting right on the canal, it floods if the water rises and is a fascinating place to wander between the shelves.

Head to the waterfront where, if you like, you can board a little ferry to go to Burano. It’s the multi-coloured lace village on a lagoon island and to us, definitely worth the trip. It’s a lovely 45 minute boat ride and Burano is perfect for both photography and lunch.

Back on the mainland, we headed to the Jewish Ghetto, the oldest ghetto in the world. We moved under a covered walkway into a wide, quiet square with the Jewish Museum tucked in one corner and synagogues tucked in others. We walked around, noticing the Hebrew signage and the small building offering Chubud – a light meal after Sabbath services. It’s a beautiful place.

Coming out the other side of the Jewish Quarter, we walked down the main canal of Cannaregio, our favourite area. It’s just a friendly, unassuming area, far from the grandeur of other areas of Venice, and we like that kind of stuff. It was here we stopped at Cantina Do Spade for cicchetti (snacks!)and went to walk over the old Rialto bridge spanning the Grand Canal (the most famous bridge in Venice, really), before heading back to our hotel.

Day 3

Start: Rialto Bridge
Distance: 6.5km
Route map here

On day 3, we made our way back to the Rialto Bridge. It’s nice in the mornings, quieter, in contrast to where we walked on to, the buzzing Venice fish market. Gulls, stalls, the fresh catch in crates.

Importantly, there’s a coffee and snack stop near the market, All’Arco.

We walked through a different part of Cannaregio, on into San Polo and Dorsoduro, other sestieri of Venice. This is where Universita Ca’ Foscari is, offering tours and sweeping views of the grand canal. We ourselves carried on instead down the lovely corniced lagoon walkway out all the way to Punta della Dogna.

Punta della Dogna is perfect for those late afternoon views/light, looking back across the water to St Mark’s Square. Heading back to the Gallerie dell’Accademia (if you want to go to the Accademia, probably best to follow signs to go after Universita Ca’ Foscari), we got that classic view of Venice from the Gallerie bridge; you know, the wide canal with the dome of Santa Maria, out onto the lagoon? So satisfying to see guide book shots isn’t it?

This got us back into San Marco and back to Piazza San Marco via Harry’s Bar and finally, the limestone Bridge of Sighs.

And before you quite realise it, your 3 days in Venice are up!

More than anywhere we’ve visited, we felt that Venice can be enjoyed best not with huge landmarks, but just by wandering around. Let us know what you think of 3 days in Venice in the comments.

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