Venice in 3 days

Morning

• St Mark's Basilica and Piazza San Marco1h15

  Take your skip-the-line slot at St Mark's Basilica first thing, before the cruise crowds land, and add the Pala d'Oro and the upstairs loggia out over the square. The dress code covers shoulders and knees.

  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

  Move next door to the Doge's Palace on your timed ticket, crossing the Bridge of Sighs to the prison cells. Book the separate Secret Itineraries tour instead if you want the doge's private chambers and the hidden passages.

  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 couple of lanes off the piazza where prices drop fast, or grab a stand-up plate of cicchetti and a small wine at a bacaro to keep moving. Keep it light before the afternoon walk.

• St Mark's Campanile45 min

  Ride the lift up the Campanile on a timed slot for the view over the domes and lagoon, avoiding the noon bell. Then thread the lanes toward the Rialto.

  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 Market1h

  Cross the Rialto Bridge to San Polo and, if it is still morning enough, catch the tail of the fish and produce market. Photograph the bridge from a passing vaporetto rather than from the crush on top.

  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

  Ride vaporetto line 1 the length of the Grand Canal at dusk, standing at the stern rail past the lit palazzo fronts, then step off near the Accademia for your Dorsoduro base. Buy a multi-day ACTV pass now, since you will use it again for the islands.

  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.

• 2h

  Dinner near your Dorsoduro base, perhaps around Campo Santa Margherita where the prices are fairer and the crowd is more local. Aperitivo on the Zattere first if the evening is warm.

Morning

• Gallerie dell'Accademia2h

  Start at the Gallerie dell'Accademia at the foot of the wooden bridge on your pre-booked slot, for the great Venetian painters from Bellini to Veronese. Two hours covers the highlights before the day fills.

  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 along the canal to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in her former Grand Canal palazzo, for Picasso, Pollock and the sculpture garden. It shuts on Tuesdays, so plan around that.

  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

• Scuola Grande di San Rocco1h15

  Cross into San Polo for the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, where Tintoretto covered the halls in more than 60 canvases, the densest body of his work anywhere; use the mirrors to read the ceilings. It rarely queues.

  TipTintoretto spent over two decades covering this confraternity hall in more than 60 vast canvases, the densest single body of his work anywhere, and the ticket includes mirrors to study the ceilings without craning your neck. It rarely queues, so pair it with the enormous Frari church next door and its Titian altarpieces for a quiet art-heavy morning in San Polo.

• Gondola or Traghetto Ride45 min

  From the San Polo bank take a shared gondola to split the fixed fare, or cross the Grand Canal standing up on a traghetto ferry gondola for a couple of euros, the cheapest gondola ride in the city. Agree the route and price before you step aboard.

  TipA private gondola runs a fixed 80 EUR for about 30 minutes by day and 100 EUR after 7pm, so share the boat with up to five others to split the fare, and agree the route and price before you step in. For the local shortcut, cross the Grand Canal standing up on a traghetto ferry gondola at one of the remaining crossings for a couple of euros, the cheapest gondola ride in the city.

Evening

• Cannaregio and the Jewish Ghetto1h15

  Head north into Cannaregio for the Jewish Ghetto, the world's first from 1516, arriving late afternoon while the museum still runs its synagogue visits. The tall crowded houses tell the story on their own.

  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 for the evening along the Fondamenta della Misericordia, where the local bars fill with spritz and cicchetti once the day crowds leave. This is the slow, food-first Venetian night the two-day plan struggles to fit.

Morning

• Murano and Burano Islands2h30

  Take vaporetto line 12 from Fondamente Nove out to Murano early, before the tour boats land, and watch a glass-blowing demonstration at one of the furnaces. Walk the glass museum and the quieter back canals while the island is still calm.

  TipTake vaporetto line 12 from the Fondamente Nove stop for the lagoon islands: Murano for the glass furnaces and Burano for its painted fishermen's houses and lace, about a half day all in. Go in the morning before the tour boats land, watch a glass-blowing demonstration in Murano, then push on to Burano, which is 40 minutes further out and the more photogenic of the two.

• 2h30

  Push on by vaporetto another 40 minutes to Burano for its painted fishermen's houses and lace tradition, the more photogenic of the two islands. Wander the bright canals and stop for a plate of the local risotto de gò or the ring-shaped bussolà biscuits.

Afternoon

• Dorsoduro and the Zattere1h30

  Ride back to the city by mid-afternoon and settle into Dorsoduro, walking the long Zattere promenade as the light softens over the Giudecca canal. Queue for a gianduiotto scoop at Nico along the way.

  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

  If you have not yet, drop into the Libreria Acqua Alta, the flooding bookshop that stacks its stock in boats with a staircase of old books out the back. It is free and quick, best caught before the midday jam.

  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

• 2h

  Last dinner in Dorsoduro or over in Cannaregio for a final round of cicchetti and a proper sit-down of lagoon seafood. Aperitivo on the Zattere first if the weather holds.

• 30 min

  If tomorrow is an early flight, remember the airport is on the mainland: allow for the ATVO or ACTV bus from Piazzale Roma, about 20 minutes plus your walk or vaporetto to reach it, or the slower Alilaguna water bus from San Marco at about 1h15.