Venice and Padua (maybe?)

The train to Padova takes 26 minutes, so easy to do in half day if necessary, not sure I would want to do it on a day when I was flying, too many things could cause you too miss your flight. St Marks Square is best seen early in the morning or early evening. Before and after the day trippers.

We too want to reach Padua as we are booked there for 6 days to visit Venice, Verona and of course Padua. Our flight is after midnight so we had to book an airport hotel (who knew that the Italians of all people would close down public transit early) Two question por favor, will it be any problem getting a taxi from the Marco Polo airport cab stand and, as we will have to be out of our airport hotel five hours before checkin in at Padua, is there a checked luggage area at the bus station in Venice?
Thankyou,

Thanks richiavo! But I guess my question is, given all the things to do, the walking, the getting lost, the churches, the artwork, the palaces, etc. (and yes all those things are things we want to do and enjoy seeing), how feasible is it to do Padua? I'm torn between wanting to enjoy Venice and not rush things, and really wishing I can make time for the Arena Chapel as I doubt I'll be able to come back to Italy for quite a while.

Alternatively, how about Torcello? I'm always hearing about Murano & Burano, with rarely a mention of Torcello. In my opinion, Torcello seems the most appealing, but is it really a distant 3rd when compared to other two?

Re the Scrovegni Chapel, make sure that you reserve in advance, if you do plan to make a quick trip to Padua. You have to reserve for a specific entry time. Fortunately the Chapel is very close to the train station; you are only allowed an hour in the chapel. My wife and I are planning to make a quick trip from Bologna to see the Chapel when we are there next month.

you are only allowed an hour in the chapel.

No, You are allowed 15 minutes in the chapel:
"Groups of maximum 25 people wait at the door to the air-conditioned waiting-room for 15 minutes, the time needed to stabilise the interior microclimate. They then enter the Chapel for another 15 minutes. Visits last a total of about 30 minutes."
[http://www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it/index.php/en/book-now/information-on-ticket-reservation]

However, it looks like for the duration of the late hours "Giotto Under the Stars" offer, you can buy a turnaround ticket that allows you to stay in the chapel for 40 minutes.

You'll also want to time your travel carefully. That 26-minute travel time can cost anywhere from 4 to 18 euro. That 4 euro price can be for longer travel times, too.

So yes, you could do a half-day (or even less--or evening) trip to Padova. The question is, is it worth it for a meager15 minutes in the chapel? Opinions will probably vary.

Padova is pleasant enough to walk around, and has a couple other attractions: a very pleasant if touristy piazza, a huge cathedral, a large public park, plus a civic museum (about which I remember nothing) included in the cost of the chapel. But given your very limited time, maybe the question is: what will you miss in Venice in order to accommodate this side-trip?

In all fairness, it should be noted that a trip to Torcello and back will cost 15 euro per person on the vaporetto--more than a trip to Padova--and probably take as much time. Unless you were already planning on buying vaporetto passes. Torcello has less art than the Arena Chapel alone, but what it has is about 900 years older than the chapel and quite stunning.

Your ticket to the Doge's Palace is a "combo ticket" that also includes admission to the Correr Museum in Piazza San Marco, and that's worth a look. There's a small cafe in the museum that is the cheapest place to sit down and eat with a view over the piazza (in the piazza proper, you will be stopped from sitting down to eat takeaway food).

Some people seem quite enamored of the "Secret itineraries" tour of the Doge's Palace that costs a few extra euro.

So I think you're quite right to schedule a full day in Piazza San Marco, with the basilica (and its upstairs museum with access to the "horse balcony" and better views of many interior mosaics) your first stop.

Also, The Accademia opens early and if you get there within 45 or so of opening time, you can pretty much have the place to yourself.

I would do the half day trip to Padova(not on last day though)..it sounds like that is what you really want to do.Early start,early finish and back to Venice....or else a later visit? Its open until early evening,that could be an option.If you have the budget then take the fastest possibke trains.

Onviously your timeframe is brief and you won't be able to see everything of interest in Venice itself.Something has to give....

You could see two or three highlights of Padova in half a day, but not "most of the city". It would be a rush, and you would have to make sacrifices in this time. The city is worth most of a day - it's a very pleasant place to wander round and see "real" life (there's large student population centred on the university). I tend to agree that given your relatively short time in Venice Padova is best saved for another occasion, and that the islands would be more rewarding - a trip there gives you a great feel for the lagoon, and Venice's place in it. Torcello has fewer tourist sights than Murano and Burano, but I've always found it much more atmospheric, a kind of ghost island. There are good views across the lagoon from the top of the cathedral tower.

IMHO it's impractical to attempt this trip on your last day. Allowing two hours to check in at the airport, an hour to get to the airport from your Venice accommodation, and hour back from Padova (including to/from the railways station at wash end), and you would have to leave Padova by 11.30.

Should you decide to visit Padova, book tickets for the Scrovegni Chapel well in advance. You usually get 15 minutes there, certainly not an hour.

The best time for the Doge's Palace is first thing in the morning. I don't usually recommend "must sees", but on this occasion I strongly recommend that you pay for the extra Secret Itineraries tour (in English). This gives you access to the private parts of the Palace from which the Republic of Venice was run, and it's fascinating. You can usually walk across the inside of the Bridge of Sighs to the new prisons. Also accessible are the old prisons where some of Venice's most notorious prisoners were kept, and from where Casanova escaped. Book tickets online in advance. You will need several hours for the whole Palace, so don't leave your visit till very late in the day.

P.S. I've just been thinking about this "Giotto Under the Stars" option. I see that the last entrance to the Chapel is 9.20 p.m. If the Chapel really is such a priority to you, then I would do it as an evening trip. You can stay in Venice till early evening, take a train to Padova in less than half an hour (there are trains every few minutes), walk to the Chapel for your visit (pre-book tickets), have dinner in Padova (it'll be cheaper than in Venice anyway), and take a late train back (last train 23.21). All you're then sacrificing is an evening in Venice - but you have two more of those anyway. I stand by my advice to try and get to the islands, and all I would say is not to attempt Padova on the same day as the islands - start from Venice itself. I think this could work quite well for you if you stick to the Chapel in Padova.

Oh man. Thank you SO much guys (& gals)!!! This is so much info to take in!!! Torcello sounds AMAZING - just up my alley! And the Giotto Under the Stars sounds like a great idea in order to see the Arena Chapel. I'm getting excited just talking about it!

Question: Does the "Secret Iteneraries" tour include San Marco? Or is that free?

Also, we wanted to do a walking tour of the city. And doing some research, it certainly appears there are a lot of "free" walking tours (not including tip). And I found it surprising that many of them got some fairly good reviews. They all sound legitimate. Does anybody have any in particular they would recommend? Maybe some to avoid? Thanks everyone!!!!!