One day trip from Venice: top 10 itineraries between hidden gems and iconic places

Would you like to organize day trips from Venice? You are enjoying your wonderful holiday, when at a certain point you decide that you want to visit something outside the city of the Biennale. You have already planned what to see in the city with the Venice Pass and have already taken advantage of its advantages. So, you immediately start searching.

In this article you will find 10 suggestive and captivating ideas to enjoy unforgettable day trips from Venice. Historical and cultural places, such as the cities of Verona, Treviso, Padua and the Brion Memorial, a monument built by the architect Carlo Scarpa; but also relaxing, pleasant places with uncontaminated and preserved nature, loved by great writers such as Ernest Hemingway, a stone's throw from Venice and ideal for a walk or bicycle ride.

Discover Venice with the Venice Pass

The lagoon city with its unrivaled heritage never gets boring, but leaving it for a few hours to go on a simple one day trip from Venice will give you the chance to discover that its surroundings are no less. Traveling through the green hills of Prosecco, you will discover countless art treasures, small villages rich in history and lively cities, all within reach.

In fact, it is not difficult to get around from Venice either by car or by public transport, so, with short trips, you can enjoy a day outside the mass tourism routes, discovering hidden gems or famous UNESCO heritage monuments. An experience that will make your trip even richer

Explore the prosecco hills

44 minutes by car and 46 minutes by train, just perfect. Padua with its famous Sanctuary is a city to explore step by step. Whether summer or winter, enjoy a romantic walk under the arcades of the historic centre. There are a few places you absolutely must see once you set foot in the city: our advice is to stroll non-stop and let the atmosphere guide you, keeping these landmarks:

- Scrovegni Chapel, UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way to or from the station, you will find Giotto's masterpiece dating back to 1305, immortalising the wonderful Last Judgement that is the envy of the whole world.

- Between Piazza della Frutta and Piazza delle Erbe is the Palazzo della Ragione, also called 'Il Salone'. We recommend stopping here for an aperitif with an unparalleled view.

- Palazzo Bo, seat of the historic University of Padua founded in 1222. It is the second oldest university in Italy after Bologna, and it was here that Galileo Galilei taught.

- Botanical Garden of the University of Padua, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating back to 1545, it's the oldest botanical garden in the West.

- Prato della Valle, one of the largest squares in Europe, second only to Moscow's Red Square and adorned with no fewer than 78 statues. Try it to believe it!

And if you think about one day trips from Venice, perhaps it's because you want to leave the chaos of the city for a while. If this is the case visit Villa Pisani, with its green and peaceful park. Less than fifteen kilometers from Padua, the elegant residence inhabited by Napoleon Bonaparte and the emperors of Austria today houses a national museum.

Book your visit at Villa Pisani

39 minutes by car from Venice and 32 minutes by train: Treviso is also perfect! Whether you are a couple, with children, a family or a solitary traveller, Treviso is for you. Mentioned in the Divine Comedy, this city surrounded by beautiful landscapes known as Marca Trevigiana, is considered the little sister of Venice. With its lodges, bridges, islands and canals, this still not too well-known place, where tiramisu was apparently also born, will surprise you.

- Stroll along the tree-lined avenue that runs alongside the city walls, demolished in 1500 by the Republic of the Serenissima, we can still see the five entrance and exit gates that defended Treviso.

- Bastion San Polo. There were as many as 12 bastions along all the walls. Not far from Ponte Dante we find the one of San Polo, a stronghold surrounded by the waters of the river Sile stretching from Padua to Treviso.

- Canale dei Buranelli. This canal owes its name to the presence - as far back as the 16th century - of a family of merchants from Burano, who inhabited the area and enriched it with their customers and much laughter from morning to night.

- Isola della Pescheria. Not far from the Buranelli area, we find the fish market every morning on this small island connected by two bridges.

Furthermore, many do not know that Treviso also has an airport well connected to Venice.

Book a transfer from Treviso's airport to Venice

If you are among the lucky ones who can travel by car, 37 minutes from Treviso (if you leale directly from Venice 55 minutes) you can visit the Brion Memorial.

Don't despair, if you have always dreamed of visiting this mystical place and your only means of transport is a train, from Venice or Treviso you only need to take the regional train to Castel Franco Veneto, and from there a bus runs every 40 minutes. Total estimated time: 1 hour and 45 minutes. It will be worth it, you have our word!

The Brion Memorial is a family cemetery donated to the FAI by Ennio and Donatella Brion in 2022. It was commissioned to their friend and architect Carlo Scarpa, a 20th-century genius who here gives shape to a huge garden, a place of sacred silence and harmony, where he blends different cultures and religions, inviting visitors to a universal reflection on love. A visit to the memorial located in the Treviso countryside is a unique experience to be had at least once in a lifetime. It was, among other things, one of the architect's last works: 2200 square metres offering a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape and also housing the tomb of Scarpa himself, who left important traces of his genius in Venice, including the famous Olivetti shop, or the exceptional restoration of the Querini Stampalia Foundation, now an important Venetian museum.

Visit Querini-Stampalia foundation

To embellish the lagoon there are several islands, small and large. The most famous of all, Murano, Burano and Torcello are truly a must among day trips from Venice. In addition to an indisputable charm, they have the undoubted advantage of very easy, fast and frequent connections with the city center. Ferries leave from the Fondamente Nove stop every half hour to nearby Murano. From there it is possible to continue the tour to the other islands.

-Murano: the fame of this beautiful island is inextricably linked to glass processing, one of the flagships of Italian craftsmanship. A thousand-year history, Arab/Byzantine influences and secret processing methods have made Murano glass famous throughout the world and even today the island is full of shops, laboratories, studios of important artists and of course the Glass Museum. Also not to be missed are the beautiful Duomo, the Palazzo da Mula and a pleasant walk along the streets.

-Burano: also in this case an important Italian artisan tradition, that of lace making, contributes to giving a strong identity to the island. However, Burano is famous above all for the thousand colors of its houses, which become even more bright in the sun. Also worth seeing are the church of San Martino Vescovo with its crooked bell tower, inclined due to a collapse a bit like the tower of Pisa, the Three Bridges which connect three of the canals of Burano, and the Old Peschiera, with the tables in stone where fish were once sold.

-Torcello is the furthest and least touristy of the three islands in the lagoon and has a very particular charm. The Byzantine mosaics of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta are truly remarkable, as is the square bell tower located next to the church from whose top you can see a beautiful panorama. Although today it is sparsely inhabited, this island was one of the first settlements in the lagoon and was once rich and frequented by markets, before the swamping of the land pushed them towards safer ports. Traces of this illustrious past can be admired in the small but interesting museum of Torcello.

Book a boat tour to Murano, Burano and Torcello

Verona, the romantic city par excellence, home of Romeo and Juliet but also with many other things to do and see, is undoubtedly worth a visit. Reaching it for day trips from Venice is very easy, since it is only an hour away by train.

Among its many beauties, here are the most unmissable must-sees:

-The Arena of Verona: an amphitheater with two millennia of history behind it, today a venue for concerts of all kinds, it is certainly the symbolic monument of the city, and one of the most representative in Italy.

-Juliet's House. Paintings, frescoes, prints, and stage costumes from the famous film by Franco Zeffirelli. And then the bronze statue of Juliet and the famous balcony from which the young woman looked out to see her Romeo. This beautiful medieval house pleases everyone, both inveterate romantics, Shakespeare fans and lovers of historical monuments.

-The Cathedral: a short distance from the Arena, this beautiful church is actually part of a large complex which includes, among other things, a cloister, the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte and the library.

-Castel San Pietro: a little outside the centre, but still easy to reach, the castle overlooking Verona is not only a monument of great value, but also one of the most beautiful panoramic points from which to see the city from above.

In any case, to savor the atmosphere of this city, a walk in the historic center is an absolute must. On this occasion, perhaps you will also be able to stop and taste the exquisite typical desserts of Verona. You are in the city of Pandoro, in fact, one of the most beloved Christmas desserts in Italy, but even during the rest of the year, those with a sweet tooth will find all sorts of delights.

Join the guided Verona city tour

Caorle has been included in the list of historic seaside villages in Italy, it is a small town north of Venice, which with its uncontaminated lagoon, rich in reeds, fish, birds and the typical Casoni (old fishermen's houses, built in reeds and wood) overlooks the Adriatic Sea. If you loved Ernest Hemingway's books, then Caorle cannot be missed among your trips from Venice. The Nobel Prize for literature Ernest Hemingway, in love with Italy and the Veneto in particular, dedicated to Caorle some of his most beautiful pages in the book Beyond the River and in the Trees, among the books set in Italy that will make you dream.

The Caorle lagoon is a protected natural area with a very particular flora, waiting to be discovered. The Casoni were the homes where fishermen lived with their families until a few years ago, they are buildings with sloping roofs built of cane and wood, picturesque huts. Today their use has changed a lot, they are no longer simple fishermen's homes on the edge of the lagoon, but many have been renovated and transformed into restaurants, where it is possible to eat good fish, in some cases they are real refuges away from life frenetic, the perfect place to write a book. Clearly don't neglect a nice walk in the historic center of the town and the magnificent fishing village. Day trips to Veneto offer rare opportunities, take them.

Fascinating city, rich in history and art, Chioggia is located in the southern part of the Venice lagoon, between the Po Delta and the Serenissima from which it is just a few kilometers away, so much so that if you want to have a different and even a little romantic experience, if If you are in Venice you can reach Chioggia with Vaporetto Line 11, which leaves from the Lido of Venice. This town, also called Little Venice, boasts one of the most beautiful and evocative historic centers in the Veneto and is lucky enough to be much less known and frequented than Venice. Tourism here is moderate and you can enjoy the town where Carlo Goldoni also lived, who wrote works in this town and even fell madly in love.

Chioggia is a very special town where there is a strong contrast between the elegant buildings that overlook the canal and the ancient fishing village. If you choose Chioggia for one of your 1-day trips from Venice, you will be relaxed and satisfied when you return. The historic center is of medieval origin and to best visit it you can start from the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta; a short distance from the cathedral is the Tower of Sant'Andrea with one of the oldest clocks in the world, which is still in operation. Don't miss a walk to the fish market. If you want to take a dip then cross the long San Giacomo bridge and arrive at Sottomarina beach, equipped with every comfort. Chioggia is certainly among the 10 most beautiful villages to visit in Veneto.

Discover Carlo Goldoni's house

Pink flamingos and 15 km of coastline with golden beaches, dunes lapped by the waters of the Adriatic Sea, in the background, in the distance, but no less beautiful Venice. We are in Cavallino-Treporti, a long and fertile peninsula between Venice and Jesolo that seduces every visitor with its uncontaminated nature and the beauty of its landscapes, to be visited on foot or by bicycle to better absorb the energy that these territories will give you.

In Cavallino-Treporti it seems like we have ended up in a corner of paradise. If you are thinking about trips from Venice, ideal for a sustainable holiday, Cavallino-Treporti is the place for you. Don't miss the beach of Punta Sabbioni, its lighthouse and the 20 km of cycle path which will connect the beach of Punta Sabbioni to Cavallino-Treporti. The cycle path will take the suggestive name La via del Respiro, a very evocative name that goes well with this place. The first 3 km of the cycle path are already passable, we suggest you experiment with them.

Trips to Venice and its surroundings have the invaluable advantage of discovering the hidden gems of this area. Alvisopoli is a small hamlet in the municipality of Fossalta di Portogruaro, this location is very interesting not only for its beauty but also for its history. The ancient territory of Alvisopoli had been inherited in the 19th century by the Venetian nobleman Alvise Mocenigo, who decided to build an ideal city that would bear his name. The project involved the creation of a self-sufficient community.

In addition to the eighteenth-century manor house of Mocenigo, with the adjoining church of San Luigi, the village includes a printing press, a rice mill, a furnace, a mill and a long row of ante litteram terraced houses intended for farmers, highlighted by some details fireplaces. All around is a 3.5-hectare park, now managed by the WWF. In his ambitious project, Alvise had thought of this forest transforming it into a fashionable garden with the introduction of exotic species, the digging of canals and the opening of a series of paths. The forest is very inviting, ideal for a regenerating walk during a day trip from Venice.

Day trips from Venice to get to know the surrounding area are countless and full of rare gems, sometimes this area is hidden and set aside by the beauty of the Serenissima, which overshadows everything that surrounds it. The last proposal we make for your day trip around Venice is to undertake a wandering itinerary in the lands of the Lower Piave. Visiting these lands and these towns means retracing the history of a great river which in the past was one of the main communication routes. During the First World War the front line passed over the Piave and separated the Italian fire from the Austro-Hungarian one. Many of the cities found in these parts have been entirely rebuilt, such as Noventa di Piave, as the etymology of its name suggests. Knowing these places means retracing history.

It would be ideal to follow this itinerary by bike, favoring the Jesolo area and making stops at:

- Torre del Caligo, in the Middle Ages it was the military garrison where all those who wanted to enter the lagoon had to pay the toll.

- Lio Maggiore, a destination that is definitely worth it for the great wealth of flora and fauna.

- Crossing the ancient Caposile bridge, due to its features it has been compared to the famous Langlois bridge, recurring in Van Gogh's works.

- Pass through Cortellazzo, near the mouth of the Piave, the territory of Cortellazzo extends to the sea, including part of the Mort lagoon, which according to Legambiente is one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy.

These destinations are perfect for those seeking relaxation, nature, landscapes where only the beauty and sound of nature exists, refined and wonderful places that will give you the feeling of knowing many facets of the Veneto, moving only a little from the Serenissima. If you are in Venice for your holidays, we once again suggest you consider the Venice Pass, a unique card that can be used as an access key to all the main attractions of the Lagoon.

Discover the Venice Pass