Free Time in Venice
Venice, Italy
About This Activity
Venice rewards aimless time — take a water bus down the Grand Canal with a €2.50 single ticket (the world's cheapest boat tour), find a bacaro in the Cannaregio sestiere for wine and cicchetti away from tourist crowds, or sit in a campiello (small square) with an Aperol spritz watching Venetians pass. The Fondamenta delle Zattere on the south shore offers sun and views of Giudecca island. Venice is one of the few Italian cities where doing nothing in particular is the point.
Seasonal note: Year-round; avoid November-January for acqua alta flooding
See This in an Itinerary
This activity appears in 8 of our curated itineraries.
Best 21 Days in Italy — Food & Wine
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
Best 21 Days in Italy — Based in Venice
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
Best 28 Days in Italy — Food & Wine
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
Best 28 Days in Italy — Walking Tours
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
Best 28 Days in Italy — Without Art & Culture
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
Best 28 Days in Italy — Solo Travel
Rome → Florence → Venice → Sorrento → Capri → Positano → Milan → Cinque Terre → Tuscany → Lake Como
More Activities in Venice
St. Mark's Basilica & Doge's Palace, Venice
Enter St. Mark's golden Byzantine basilica and the Doge's Palace — book the Palace in advance to skip long queues
Grand Canal by Vaporetto & Gondola, Venice
Ride vaporetto Line 1 the full length of the Grand Canal past 200 Gothic and Renaissance palaces — then take a gondola through back canals
Murano Glass & Burano Lace Island Day Trip, Venice
Take the vaporetto to the Murano glass museum and glassblowing demos — kids love the fire — then ride to Burano's candy-colored houses
Venice Jewish Ghetto — the Original Ghetto
The world's first ghetto (1516) — where the word 'ghetto' was born, with five historic synagogues and a living community
Rialto Fish Market & Bridge, Venice
Visit the Rialto Fish Market at dawn, cross the 16th-century stone bridge, and watch Grand Canal boat traffic below
Venetian Mask-Making Workshop for Families
Children and parents paint their own Venetian carnival masks in a traditional artisan workshop near San Polo
Venice Treasure Hunt Walking Tour for Families
Children solve riddles and follow clues through Venice's hidden squares, bridges, and canals on a gamified family walking tour
Venetian Cicchetti & Bacaro Gluten-Free Tasting, Venice
Navigate Venice's bacaro wine bars sampling naturally gluten-free cicchetti — baccalà, polpette, and seafood