Venice in 2 days

Morning

• St Mark's Basilica and Piazza San Marco1h15

  Enter St Mark's Basilica on the skip-the-line slot you pre-booked, before the cruise crowds land, and pay the small extra for the Pala d'Oro and the upstairs loggia out over the square. Cover shoulders and knees, as the dress code is enforced at the door.

  TipBook the skip-the-line timed entry on the official basilica site ahead of time; the walk-up queue crosses an hour by mid-morning and dress code covers shoulders and knees. Pay the few euros extra for the Pala d'Oro gold altarpiece and the upstairs loggia, which puts you out on the balcony above the square with the bronze horses.

• Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs1h45

  Walk next door to the Doge's Palace on your timed ticket, crossing the enclosed Bridge of Sighs to the old prison. The route runs about ninety minutes; the same ticket also covers the Correr Museum across the square if you have the appetite.

  TipReserve a timed ticket online in advance to skip the long piazza queue; the ticket also covers the Correr Museum across the square. The standard route crosses the enclosed Bridge of Sighs, but book the separate Secret Itineraries tour if you want the prison cells and the doge's private chambers.

Afternoon

• 1h

  Lunch a few lanes back from the piazza rather than on it, where a plate of seafood pasta and a glass of wine cost half the square-side price. A stand-up plate of cicchetti at a bacaro works if you want to keep moving.

• St Mark's Campanile45 min

  Take the lift up St Mark's Campanile on the timed ticket for the classic view over the domes and the lagoon, aiming for a slot that dodges the deafening noon bell. Ten minutes at the top is plenty.

  TipBook the timed lift ticket online to skip the line for the 99-meter bell tower, which gives the classic view over the square, the domes and the lagoon; there is a lift, so no stairs. Go first thing or in the last hour before closing to dodge both the crowds and the noon bell, which is deafening from the top.

• Rialto Bridge and Market1h15

  Walk the lanes toward the Rialto Bridge and cross to the San Polo side; if it is before early afternoon the fish and produce market is still going. Shoot the bridge from a passing vaporetto rather than fighting the crush on top of it.

  TipThe bridge is free and always open but shoulder-to-shoulder by day, so come at 7am for empty photos or after 10pm when the shops shutter. Time it with the Rialto fish and produce market on the San Polo side, which runs mornings Tuesday to Saturday and shuts by early afternoon, and shoot the bridge from a passing vaporetto for the best angle.

Evening

• Grand Canal by Vaporetto45 min

  Board vaporetto line 1 and ride the full length of the Grand Canal back toward San Marco at golden hour, standing at the open stern rail past the lit palazzo fronts. Buy a 24 or 48-hour ACTV pass now if you will ride more than twice.

  TipRide vaporetto line 1 the full length from Piazzale Roma or the station down to San Marco for the city's best-value grand tour past the palazzo fronts; it stops at every landing and takes about 40 minutes. A single ticket is pricey for one hop, so buy a 24 or 48-hour ACTV pass if you plan more than a couple of rides, and stand at the open stern rail for the views.

• 1h45

  Dinner back in San Marco but chosen with care: skip the photo-menu terraces for a small trattoria on a back lane, then take the piazza itself late, when the day-trippers have gone and the square is floodlit and nearly empty.

Morning

• Gallerie dell'Accademia2h

  Cross the wooden Accademia bridge into Dorsoduro and take your pre-booked slot at the Gallerie dell'Accademia for the great Venetian painters, from Bellini to Tintoretto and Veronese. Two hours covers the highlights.

  TipReserve a timed ticket online for the city's great collection of Venetian painting, from Bellini and Giorgione to Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese; it is free on the first Sunday of the month, when you should expect a queue. Two hours covers the highlights, and it sits right at the foot of the wooden Accademia bridge in Dorsoduro.

• Peggy Guggenheim Collection1h30

  Walk five minutes along the canal to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in her former palazzo, for Picasso, Pollock and Ernst plus the sculpture garden and canal terrace. It closes on Tuesdays, so check the day before.

  TipPeggy Guggenheim's own Grand Canal palazzo holds Picasso, Pollock, Ernst and Calder in her former home, and you can usually walk in without pre-booking outside peak weekends. Leave time for the sculpture garden and the canal-side terrace, and note it closes on Tuesdays.

Afternoon

• Dorsoduro and the Zattere1h30

  Break for lunch in Dorsoduro, then walk the long Zattere promenade facing the Giudecca canal, the sunniest waterfront in the city. Queue for a gianduiotto scoop dropped in cream at Nico as you go.

  TipThe long Zattere promenade faces the wide Giudecca canal and catches the best evening light in the city, with the Gesuati church and Palladio's Redentore across the water. Walk it toward sunset and stop at one of the pontoon terraces for an aperitivo, or queue for a gelato at Nico for its famous gianduiotto scoop dropped in a cup of cream.

• Libreria Acqua Alta30 min

  Wander back toward San Marco and duck into the Libreria Acqua Alta, the flooding bookshop that stacks its stock in boats and bathtubs, with a staircase of old books out the back. It is free and quick, so treat it as a stop rather than a destination.

  TipThis chaotic bookshop stacks its stock in gondolas, bathtubs and boats so it floats when the acqua alta rises, and there is a staircase of old books out the back climbing to a canal view. It is free and quirky rather than a serious sight, so drop in when you are passing between San Marco and Castello, and go early because it gets jammed by midday.

Evening

• Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto1h15

  Head north into Cannaregio for the Jewish Ghetto, the world's first, established in 1516, with its tall houses and synagogues ringing the campo. Arrive late afternoon while the museum still runs synagogue visits.

  TipThe Ghetto Nuovo campo was the world's first Jewish ghetto, established in 1516, and its tall crowded houses and five synagogues still ring the square; the Jewish Museum runs guided synagogue visits on the hour. Come in the late afternoon and stay for a spritz and cicchetti along the Fondamenta della Misericordia canal, where locals fill the bars after the day crowds have gone.

• 2h

  Stay in Cannaregio for the evening along the Fondamenta della Misericordia canal, where the local bars fill with spritz and cicchetti after the day crowds leave. This is the real Venetian night the San Marco lanes cannot give you.