4 Day Venice Itinerary: Rialto, San Marco & Burano

Stop 18:00 AM~ 1 hour

Airport Bus to Piazzale Roma

If you are flying to Venice, you will likely land at Marco Polo Airport, this means you need to cross the bridge over to Venice island. The airport bus gives you a straightforward start: ACTV's Aerobus line 5 runs from Marco Polo Airport to Piazzale Roma. There's also a separate ATVO express coach on the route for if you have really large luggages. We grabbed Express coach tickets from a kiosk at the airport at about 10 to 15 per person and the trip is only about 20 minutes, so this is a pretty casual transfer!

Stop 311:00 AM~ 1 hour

Gelatoteca Suso

Suso is an artisanal, takeaway-only gelateria near the Rialto Bridge, known for signature flavors like Pistacchio Assoluto, Opera, Gianduja, and Tiramisù, plus rotating seasonal creations. It became my FAVORITE gelato 🍨 stop in all of Italy! The pistachio was the best pistachio ice cream I've ever had hands down and the mint chocolate chip was really good too. We loved it enough to return, then shared strawberry and coconut flavors on our second visit. Both trips absolutely delivered.

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Stop 512:30 PM~ 2 hours

Ristorante Caffè Saraceno

This Grand Canal restaurant sits right beside Rialto Bridge, with a waterside terrace looking directly toward the bridge and passing boats. We stopped here for our first meal in Italy, and it became one of our favorites of the whole trip! The seafood pasta was some of the best I've ever had, perfectly al dente, while the prosciutto-and-burrata pizza tasted incredibly fresh. I only wish we'd ordered more of that standout pasta! 🍝

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Stop 18:30 AM~ 1 hour

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco is a huge plaza that holds all of the main Venice landmarks - St Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, the Campanile, and Bridge of Signs. You can also see the clock tower ringing while its two figures at the top move to strike the bell every hour. In the morning the square is quite tranquil but by 11:30AM it gets pretty packed with tourists, live music, and shopping. My favorite part was actually the waterfront near the Bridge of Sighs. The gondolas floating there made me think, damn, I’m really in Venice.

Stop 312:00 PM~ 1 hour

St. Mark's Basilica

St. Mark’s Basilica is a monumental complex you can explore through the church itself, then continue into the Pala d’Oro, museum, and Horses Loggia. The Pala d’Oro combines gilded silver with roughly 250 cloisonné enamels and 1,927 precious stones and gems. Upstairs, you’ll find the original bronze quadriga among the museum’s displays, then step onto a loggia overlooking St. Mark’s Square.

Stop 52:30 PM~ 1 hour

Tiramisù — I Tre Mercanti

I Tre Mercanti is a tiny gourmet shop where tiramisù is assembled in the front window throughout the day, then handed over for you to eat at the counter or take away. We arrived before opening, watched the staff whip up the first batches, and soon had a big line behind us. I tried the classic and pistachio; the classic was much better to me. Seeing it made fresh and tasting it right away was genuinely really fun!

Stop 76:30 PM~ 2 hours

Ristorante La Piazza

La Piazza is a lively two-floor restaurant just steps from Piazza San Marco. We had a reservation and received a little glass of prosecco during our brief wait, which was such a nice touch. It has a lively, warm ambience with great service. The risotto was the BEST we ate on the entire Venice trip—an easy ten out of ten for me! The pasta was good too, but that risotto is exactly why I'd happily come back.

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Stop 18:00 AM~ 1 hour

Bottega del Caffè Dersut

Bottega del Caffè Dersut is a modern coffee bar directly in front of the Frari basilica. The apricot cornetto was probably the best one we had in Italy! It wasn't too sweet and was somehow moist while still feeling crispy. The coffee was pretty good too, making this an easy morning stop before your walk from the Frari and San Rocco toward Rialto.

Stop 310:00 AM~ 1 hour

Leonardo da Vinci Museum

At Venice’s Leonardo da Vinci Museum, you can try out working models of his inventions and see how the mechanisms move. ⚙️ Flying machines and war machines give you plenty to explore, with explanations that help you follow the science behind them. It’s a good stop if you’re curious about how things work. You’ll also find life-size reproductions of his paintings, lit from behind so you can look closely at the details. All of this sits inside the historic Scoletta di San Rocco.

Stop 511:30 AM

Ponte dell'Accademia

Ponte dell’Accademia is one of only four bridges crossing Venice’s Grand Canal, linking Dorsoduro and San Marco near its southern end. The wooden arch began as a temporary 1933 replacement for an 1854 steel bridge and was later reinforced with steel. The version standing today is a 1985 replica of Eugenio Miozzi’s design, so even a quick crossing carries a surprising piece of Venice’s modern history.

Stop 73:30 PM~ 1 hour

Peggy Guggenheim Collection

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum with intimate rooms that bring you close to European avant-garde and American modern art, with Picasso, Kandinsky, Miró, Magritte, and Pollock among the artists represented. You can move from Cubism and Futurism to Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism, then continue into the sculpture garden. Admission also includes the temporary exhibition on view.

Stop 19:00 AM~ 5 hours

Murano and Burano Lagoon Islands Day Trip

Murano and Burano give you two distinct lagoon islands in one outing. Murano centers on working glassmaking traditions and the Glass Museum, while Burano pairs brightly colored houses with its historic lace tradition and Lace Museum. I'd recommend booking a guided experience, so that you don't need to worry about Venice's boat timetables when hopping between the three islands.