The perfect day in Venice

How to spend your time if you have only one day in Venice

Kill two birds with one stone by being at the Basilica di San Marco before it opens at 9:45am; that way you (a) get to see its treasures and the thousands of square feet of glittering mosaics swathing its interior, and (b) won't have to wait in a long line, which can stretch the wait to as long as an hour or more later in the day.

Don't dawdle too long, however, because you have to be next door at the Doge's Palace by 11:35pm to take your (pre-booked) "Secret Itineraries" tour for an insider's glimpse into the hidden offices, courtrooms, archives, and prisons from which the true Venetian Republic ruled for 900 years.

Grab a light lunch on your way over the Grand Canal to tour the Accademia, the major painting gallery in town, packed with Old Masters, and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, decorated with dozens of Tintoretto paintings.

Spend the evening before dinner just wandering aimelssely around Venice's labyrinth of alleyways. After dinner, sit on Piazza San Marco to listen to the dueling trios playing for the tables in front of competing chichi cafes.

Oh, and at some point—either when you arrive or as you are preparing to leave—be sure to hop aboard the no. 1 or no. 82 vaporetto line to for a poor man's cruise of the Grand Canal from Piazza San Marco to the Ferrovia (train station).

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