7 Days: Venice and the Veneto
A full week from a Venice base covers the entire Veneto day trip circuit. This plan takes the 6-day route through Padua, Verona, Vicenza, Lake Garda, the Dolomites and the Prosecco road and adds the toughest, furthest trip of all: Ravenna’s Byzantine mosaics. Have fewer days? The 2 through 6 day versions cover shorter slices of this same spine.
Book these before you go:
- Padua’s Scrovegni Chapel: book a timed slot at cappelladegliscrovegni.it days ahead, there is no same-day daytime ticket.
- Your Prosecco road car: reserve a rental at Piazzale Roma well ahead for summer weekends.
- The Dolomites bus from Piazzale Roma: only a handful of ATVO or Cortina Express departures run daily.
- Vicenza’s Villa Rotonda opens on limited public days, commonly Friday through Sunday, April through October.
- Your Venice base for the week: check rates on Booking.com early, a 7-night stay near San Polo or Santa Croce books out first.
| Day | Focus | Distance/Train Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padua, Scrovegni Chapel | 25 to 30 min, EUR 4 to 9 |
| 2 | Verona, the Arena | 54 min, EUR 9 to 12 |
| 3 | Vicenza, Palladio | 45 to 50 min, EUR 5 to 8 |
| 4 | Lake Garda, Sirmione | 1h15 to 1h30, change at Verona |
| 5 | Dolomites, Cortina | 2h45 to 3h10+ by bus from Piazzale Roma |
| 6 | Prosecco road, self-drive | About 1.5h drive to Valdobbiadene |
| 7 | Ravenna, Byzantine mosaics | 2.5 to 3h+ by train, one transfer |
Day 1: Padua and Giotto’s Frescoes
Padua opens the week, and it is the shortest hop of the seven: 25 to 30 minutes by regionale, roughly EUR 4 to 9. Your timed Scrovegni Chapel slot buys 15 to 20 minutes with Giotto’s 1305 fresco cycle after the mandatory anteroom wait, full price about EUR 15 plus a EUR 1 presale fee. Piazza dei Signori and the Prato della Valle fill out the rest of the afternoon comfortably.
Day 2: Verona and the Arena
Roughly 54 minutes out, EUR 9 to 12. The Arena, a first-century Roman amphitheater still seating around 15,000 for summer opera, earns the trip on daytime entry alone, roughly EUR 10 to 12. Wander Piazza delle Erbe and skip “Juliet’s House” if pressed for time, it is a manufactured 20th-century tourist add-on.
Day 3: Vicenza and Palladio’s City
Just 45 to 50 minutes, EUR 5 to 8. The Teatro Olimpico runs on a normal schedule; Villa Rotonda is limited to Friday through Sunday, April through October, so check first. The City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto listing covers the wider network.
Day 4: Lake Garda and Sirmione
Change at Verona for Peschiera or Desenzano, roughly 1h15 to 1h30 total, fares in a similar band to the Verona leg plus a short extra hop. Sirmione’s peninsula is under 30 minutes further. Our Lake Garda page has the detail.
Day 5: The Dolomites and Cortina d’Ampezzo
This day starts at Piazzale Roma, since no direct train reaches Cortina. The ATVO or Cortina Express bus runs roughly 2h45 to over 3h10 depending on stops, with a handful of departures daily. Jagged Dolomite peaks and real alpine air are the payoff. Our Dolomites page covers Cortina in more depth.
Day 6: The Prosecco Road, Self-Drive
Pick up your rental at Piazzale Roma, where driving into Venice starts and stops. The UNESCO-listed hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene run about 90 scenic kilometers of terraced vineyards, with driving time to Valdobbiadene around 1.5 hours. A designated non-drinking driver is a legal requirement, so settle who is driving before the first tasting.
Day 7: Ravenna and the Byzantine Mosaics
Be honest with yourself about this one before you commit: Ravenna sits 2.5 to 3-plus hours away by train, typically with a transfer via Bologna or Ferrara, meaning 5-plus hours of round-trip transit for maybe 4 to 5 hours on the ground. The payoff is real, the Basilica di San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia hold mosaics roughly 1,500 years old, both covered under the Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna UNESCO listing. Take the earliest train you can stomach and treat the transfer city as a bonus, not a delay.
Ravenna is the one day this week where an overnight genuinely earns its cost, if the schedule allows it, splitting the transit across two shorter travel days beats grinding out ten-plus hours of trains in a single day.