# Two nights in Venice by plane from Madrid or Barcelona: Venetian rowing, lagoon islands and the secret Doge's Palace

Direct flight to Marco Polo and a boat to the city; Venetian rowing and the Grand Canal on Friday, the lagoon islands on Saturday and the secret Doge's Palace on Sunday.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/veneto/venice/itineraries/two-nights-by-plane-with-rowing · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Venice

Venice in a day leaves you with the city of St Mark's Square at midday, packed to the brim. With two nights inside it, everything changes: you see the Grand Canal empty first thing, the north of the lagoon at leisure and the city at night, when the day trippers leave. And you save the access fee, which only those who do not sleep in the city pay. This getaway brings together what best explains Venice: rowing in a wooden boat, touring the islands by vaporetto, entering the Doge's Palace by the service doors and eating what arrives every morning at the Rialto market.

## How do you get there from Spain?

By plane, with a direct flight. According to AENA there are direct flights to Marco Polo airport (VCE) from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Seville. Take an early one on Friday and return on Sunday afternoon: you make the most of three full days with two hotel nights.

From the airport to the city you do not need a car, and you would not want one: they do not circulate in the centre. You have two ways. The ATVO or ACTV bus drops you at Piazzale Roma in about 20 minutes, and from there you continue by vaporetto. The Alilaguna boat leaves from the airport quay, about ten or fifteen minutes' walk from the terminal, and takes you by water: the blue line stops at Murano and reaches Fondamente Nove in about 40 minutes, and continues to San Marco; the orange line goes into the Grand Canal as far as Santa Maria del Giglio. Neither is covered by the normal vaporetto passes.

## Where to stay

AccommodationAreaWho it suits

Foresteria ValdeseCastello, beside Santa Maria FormosaEighteenth-century palace with frescoes; five minutes from the airport boat and from Fondamente Nove

Hotel FloraSan MarcoFamily hotel with a garden, breakfast included and family rooms

Generator VeniceGiudeccaTight budget; dormitories for adults and private rooms with a canal view

For this plan, the Foresteria is the best base: the Alilaguna blue line drops you five minutes away and Fondamente Nove, from where the islands leave, is next door. If you are travelling with small children, Hotel Flora lends a pushchair and has cots and high chairs in the family rooms.

## Where to eat

At midday on Friday, the bar of Cantina Do Spade, with cicchetti and wine by the glass, open every day. For Saturday dinner, Trattoria alla Madonna, with fish from the Rialto market since 1954; book the 19:00 or the 21:00 sitting. And to say goodbye on Sunday, Al Covo, lagoon cooking with vegetables from its garden on Sant'Erasmo and a seven-course tasting menu for €108. In Burano, on Saturday, eat wherever you happen to be: it is a good place to stop.

## How much does it cost?

Not counting flight or accommodation, reckon about €45 for the 72-hour vaporetto pass, €50 to €80 per person for the rowing if there are two of you, €40 for the palace, €15 for the campanile and meals: about €20–35 at the cicchetti bar, €35 to €60 at the trattoria and €60 to €120 at Al Covo. To that add the airport boat or bus, which are separate from the passes.

## If you have one more day

Stay on Monday at the Lido beach if it is summer, on line 1, or do the rowing along the Grand Canal below Rialto, which Row Venice schedules on Sundays and public holidays. If you prefer mountains, from the same airport it is about two hours by motorway to the Dolomites.

## El plan

### Friday · 07:00 · Direct flight to Venice Marco Polo
From Madrid or Barcelona. On arrival, walk to the Alilaguna quay and take the blue line to Ospedale, five minutes from the Foresteria Valdese. Leave your bag in left luggage: check-in is from 14:00.

### Friday · 13:00 · Cicchetti at Cantina Do Spade
Twenty minutes' walk to Rialto. Fried cicchetti at the bar and a glass of local wine, or a table with sarde in saor and bigoli in salsa. Open every day.

### Friday · 15:00 · Venetian rowing lesson with Row Venice
At the Sacca della Misericordia, in Cannaregio. Eighty minutes rowing standing up in a batela along quiet canals, from €100 for a boat for two. Book more than a day ahead.

### Friday · 17:00 · The Grand Canal on line 1
Buy the 72-hour pass, €45, and board at Ferrovia. From the Scalzi bridge to the Salute in the afternoon light, and get off at San Zaccaria. A light supper of cicchetti around Castello.

### Saturday · 08:30 · Murano, Burano and Torcello
From Fondamente Nove, five minutes from the Foresteria, line 12 leaves. First Torcello, almost empty, with the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta; then Burano, with its coloured houses, and on the way back Murano, with the glass furnaces. Allow seven hours; you already have the pass.

### Saturday · 19:00 · Dinner at Trattoria alla Madonna
First dinner sitting, beside Rialto. A starter of lagoon fish, granseola or seafood risotto. Book, and remember that it is closed on Wednesdays.

### Sunday · 10:00 · Secret Itineraries of the Doge's Palace
An English-language slot, 1 h 15 min, €40, with entry to the museums of the square. From the offices of the Council of Ten to the Piombi, from which Casanova escaped. Leave your bag at the Foresteria before you go.

### Sunday · 12:15 · St Mark's Campanile
Lift up to the bells, €15, with a named ticket. The city and the lagoon from 98 metres.

### Sunday · 13:00 · Lunch at Al Covo
Ten minutes' walk along the Riva degli Schiavoni. Fish from the Upper Adriatic, bigoli mori in salsa or fritto di paranza; the kitchen closes at 14:00. Book.

### Sunday · 16:00 · Back to the airport
Collect your bag and return by Alilaguna from Fondamente Nove, or by vaporetto to Piazzale Roma and bus, leaving a margin for the afternoon flight.

## Consejos

### Book the rowing for the first day
If the wind forces a change, Row Venice offers you another date and you still have leeway.

### Buy the 72-hour pass
For €45 it covers the Grand Canal, the islands and the other boats, except the airport ones.

### Sleep inside
You save the access fee and see the city without day trippers.

## Cuándo no ir

### Hiring a car at the airport
In Venice you will not use it and parking at Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto is expensive.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Are there direct flights from Spain to Venice?
Yes: according to AENA, from Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga and Seville to Marco Polo airport.

### How do you get from the airport to the centre?
By bus to Piazzale Roma, about 20 minutes, or by Alilaguna boat to Fondamente Nove, San Marco or Santa Maria del Giglio.

### Do you have to pay the access fee?
No, if you sleep in Venice. It is paid by those who come only for the day on the dates set by the city council.

### What do you need to book?
The rowing lesson, the Secret Itineraries of the Doge's Palace, the campanile and the meals at the trattoria and at Al Covo.

### Is it a good idea with children?
Yes: rowing has no minimum age, the vaporetto is free for under-6s and they like the islands. The Secret Itineraries, however, are from age 6.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Hotel Flora**: A family hotel beside St Mark's
Hotel Flora is run by the Romanelli family on a quiet street in the sestiere of San Marco, a few steps from the square and the Grand Canal. It has forty rooms spread through an old building, with a hidden garden in the inner courtyard that is what most distinguishes it: in a city almost without greenery, having breakfast or a drink among plants, away from the noise of Calle Larga XXII Marzo, changes the day. The hotel also has a bar with an old-fashioned air, a lounge, 24-hour concierge, laundry service and daily cleaning.
The rooms
The rooms keep period furniture, damask fabrics and Murano glass lamps. All have air conditioning and free wifi, and the corner rooms look onto the inner garden or the private courtyard of the neighbouring Palazzo Contarini. There are singles, doubles, triples and family rooms, as well as a family suite.
For those travelling with small children it is one of the most comfortable options in the centre: the family rooms have a cot and high chair, and they ask for a changing table if you need one. The hotel lends a pushchair during your stay, offers babysitting by reservation and has nappies or wipes ready if you ask before arriving. There is a lift, which in Venice is not always the case.
Italian breakfast is included in the price. The hotel does not publish fixed rates: the price appears on its booking engine according to the date.
Getting there without dragging your bags
The nearest stops are Santa Maria del Giglio and San Marco-Vallaresso, both on vaporetto line 1 and about three minutes' walk from the hotel. From Santa Lucia station or from Piazzale Roma, take line 1 to either; the journey along the Grand Canal is already a first sightseeing trip.
From Marco Polo airport you have three options, according to the hotel: the Alilaguna boat, orange line to Santa Maria del Giglio or blue to San Marco; the ACTV or ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma and, from there, line 1; or a water taxi to the door. If you come by car, the hotel recommends leaving it at Garage San Marco in Piazzale Roma or at Tronchetto, with prior reservation.
What is nearby
St Mark's Square is about five minutes' walk away, so it is a good base for climbing the bell tower first thing or for arriving on time for the Doge's Palace secret itineraries tour. From Santa Maria del Giglio line 1 leaves to travel the Grand Canal by vaporetto or go down to the Lido in summer.
- **Foresteria Valdese**: Sleeping in an 18th-century palace without paying palace prices
The Foresteria Valdese occupies Palazzo Cavagnis, in the sestiere of Castello, a few minutes from Campo Santa Maria Formosa. It is the guesthouse of the Waldensian Church, which bought the palace in 1868 and turned it into a place of welcome and a school for poor children. The building was rebuilt in the early 18th century to a design by the architect Domenico Rossi, and on the piano nobile frescoes by Venetian painters remain; the ceiling with the myth of Bacchus and Ariadne was painted by Carlo Bevilacqua in 1810. Today the palace is a declared national monument.
It is not a luxury hotel, nor does it pretend to be: it is a simple, well-located house, with common lounges for reading or chatting, a small book-swap library and a play corner for children. It is open all year.
The rooms
There are singles, doubles, triples and rooms with several beds. All have wifi, air conditioning, hairdryer and towels. The bathroom varies by room: some have it inside, others private but outside the room and others shared, the cheapest option.
The most requested are the rooms with a view, bright and overlooking the canal; some retain frescoes by Santi and Bevilacqua. The rooms with four to seven beds, with their own bathroom, are intended for families and groups and look onto the canal or the rooftops. There is a lift.
Continental breakfast is served from 8:00 to 9:30, and during the day there are coffee, tea and chocolate machines. Reception is open from 8:00 to 19:00; if you are going to arrive later, tell them beforehand, because out-of-hours arrival is arranged and may carry a supplement. They speak Spanish, as well as English, Italian, French and German.
Getting there
From Marco Polo airport, the house recommends the Alilaguna boat, blue line, to the Ospedale stop: about 40 minutes by boat to Fondamente Nove, plus ten or fifteen minutes' walk from the airport to the jetty. From Ospedale it is five minutes on foot: you skirt the hospital along Fondamenta dei Mendicanti, cross Campo San Giovanni e Paolo and continue along Barbaria de le Tole to Calle dell'Ospedaletto and the Cavagnis bridge. If you come by car, leave it on the mainland: the house suggests the Marive service, with guarded parking and a launch to Fondamente Nove.
What is nearby
Fondamente Nove, from where the vaporettos leave for Murano, Burano and Torcello, is a walk away. You reach St Mark's on foot in a quarter of an hour, and the Venetian rowing lesson leaves from the Sacca della Misericordia, in Cannaregio, about twenty minutes away.
- **Generator Venice**: A hostel on the island opposite
Generator Venice is on the Fondamenta delle Zitelle, on the island of the Giudecca, the strip of land that closes Venice to the south, across the Giudecca Canal. From the waterfront you see St Mark's straight ahead, and at night the contrast is great: the district is residential and quiet, far from the crowded streets of the centre, and yet you are a short vaporetto ride from the square. The ground floor is a large common space with a bar, restaurant and seating areas.
Dormitories and private rooms
It is a hostel, so there are beds in shared dormitories: small ones of three to seven beds with an ensuite bathroom, a women's one of twelve beds with bathroom and large ones of ten to sixteen beds with shared bathrooms. All shared dormitories are for over-18s only.
For couples and families there are private rooms: a Deluxe double with a large bed, bathroom and canal view; a triple with shared bathrooms; family rooms for four and for five with bathroom and canal view; and private rooms of seven and eight beds for groups. There is air conditioning in rooms and dormitories.
Prices change daily: the hostel publishes them on its booking engine. If you book on its website, it includes breakfast, a discount on food and drink at the bar and a later check-out.
Bar, terrace and services
The bar runs all day and the restaurant serves a buffet breakfast every morning. From April to September, if the weather is good, the Giudecca terrace opens, from 7:00 to 23:30. There is a happy hour in the afternoon, activities for guests, free wifi, 24-hour reception, laundry, luggage storage and a shop. The hostel advertises itself as wheelchair accessible.
Getting there
From Santa Lucia station, the landing stage is in front of the door: take line 2 or 4.1 to Zitelle, and the hostel is about a hundred metres to the right. From Marco Polo airport, the ATVO bus takes you to Piazzale Roma in about 20 minutes, and there you take the 2 or 4.1 to Zitelle. From Treviso, the bus takes about 40 minutes to Piazzale Roma. By water taxi, for up to four people, the journey takes about 40 minutes.
What is nearby
From Zitelle you cross to St Mark's in a few minutes for the bell tower or the Doge's Palace. And for the Lido beach in summer, you change line at San Zaccaria.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hotel Flora**: A family hotel beside St Mark's
Hotel Flora is run by the Romanelli family on a quiet street in the sestiere of San Marco, a few steps from the square and the Grand Canal. It has forty rooms spread through an old building, with a hidden garden in the inner courtyard that is what most distinguishes it: in a city almost without greenery, having breakfast or a drink among plants, away from the noise of Calle Larga XXII Marzo, changes the day. The hotel also has a bar with an old-fashioned air, a lounge, 24-hour concierge, laundry service and daily cleaning.
The rooms
The rooms keep period furniture, damask fabrics and Murano glass lamps. All have air conditioning and free wifi, and the corner rooms look onto the inner garden or the private courtyard of the neighbouring Palazzo Contarini. There are singles, doubles, triples and family rooms, as well as a family suite.
For those travelling with small children it is one of the most comfortable options in the centre: the family rooms have a cot and high chair, and they ask for a changing table if you need one. The hotel lends a pushchair during your stay, offers babysitting by reservation and has nappies or wipes ready if you ask before arriving. There is a lift, which in Venice is not always the case.
Italian breakfast is included in the price. The hotel does not publish fixed rates: the price appears on its booking engine according to the date.
Getting there without dragging your bags
The nearest stops are Santa Maria del Giglio and San Marco-Vallaresso, both on vaporetto line 1 and about three minutes' walk from the hotel. From Santa Lucia station or from Piazzale Roma, take line 1 to either; the journey along the Grand Canal is already a first sightseeing trip.
From Marco Polo airport you have three options, according to the hotel: the Alilaguna boat, orange line to Santa Maria del Giglio or blue to San Marco; the ACTV or ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma and, from there, line 1; or a water taxi to the door. If you come by car, the hotel recommends leaving it at Garage San Marco in Piazzale Roma or at Tronchetto, with prior reservation.
What is nearby
St Mark's Square is about five minutes' walk away, so it is a good base for climbing the bell tower first thing or for arriving on time for the Doge's Palace secret itineraries tour. From Santa Maria del Giglio line 1 leaves to travel the Grand Canal by vaporetto or go down to the Lido in summer.
- **Foresteria Valdese**: Sleeping in an 18th-century palace without paying palace prices
The Foresteria Valdese occupies Palazzo Cavagnis, in the sestiere of Castello, a few minutes from Campo Santa Maria Formosa. It is the guesthouse of the Waldensian Church, which bought the palace in 1868 and turned it into a place of welcome and a school for poor children. The building was rebuilt in the early 18th century to a design by the architect Domenico Rossi, and on the piano nobile frescoes by Venetian painters remain; the ceiling with the myth of Bacchus and Ariadne was painted by Carlo Bevilacqua in 1810. Today the palace is a declared national monument.
It is not a luxury hotel, nor does it pretend to be: it is a simple, well-located house, with common lounges for reading or chatting, a small book-swap library and a play corner for children. It is open all year.
The rooms
There are singles, doubles, triples and rooms with several beds. All have wifi, air conditioning, hairdryer and towels. The bathroom varies by room: some have it inside, others private but outside the room and others shared, the cheapest option.
The most requested are the rooms with a view, bright and overlooking the canal; some retain frescoes by Santi and Bevilacqua. The rooms with four to seven beds, with their own bathroom, are intended for families and groups and look onto the canal or the rooftops. There is a lift.
Continental breakfast is served from 8:00 to 9:30, and during the day there are coffee, tea and chocolate machines. Reception is open from 8:00 to 19:00; if you are going to arrive later, tell them beforehand, because out-of-hours arrival is arranged and may carry a supplement. They speak Spanish, as well as English, Italian, French and German.
Getting there
From Marco Polo airport, the house recommends the Alilaguna boat, blue line, to the Ospedale stop: about 40 minutes by boat to Fondamente Nove, plus ten or fifteen minutes' walk from the airport to the jetty. From Ospedale it is five minutes on foot: you skirt the hospital along Fondamenta dei Mendicanti, cross Campo San Giovanni e Paolo and continue along Barbaria de le Tole to Calle dell'Ospedaletto and the Cavagnis bridge. If you come by car, leave it on the mainland: the house suggests the Marive service, with guarded parking and a launch to Fondamente Nove.
What is nearby
Fondamente Nove, from where the vaporettos leave for Murano, Burano and Torcello, is a walk away. You reach St Mark's on foot in a quarter of an hour, and the Venetian rowing lesson leaves from the Sacca della Misericordia, in Cannaregio, about twenty minutes away.
- **Generator Venice**: A hostel on the island opposite
Generator Venice is on the Fondamenta delle Zitelle, on the island of the Giudecca, the strip of land that closes Venice to the south, across the Giudecca Canal. From the waterfront you see St Mark's straight ahead, and at night the contrast is great: the district is residential and quiet, far from the crowded streets of the centre, and yet you are a short vaporetto ride from the square. The ground floor is a large common space with a bar, restaurant and seating areas.
Dormitories and private rooms
It is a hostel, so there are beds in shared dormitories: small ones of three to seven beds with an ensuite bathroom, a women's one of twelve beds with bathroom and large ones of ten to sixteen beds with shared bathrooms. All shared dormitories are for over-18s only.
For couples and families there are private rooms: a Deluxe double with a large bed, bathroom and canal view; a triple with shared bathrooms; family rooms for four and for five with bathroom and canal view; and private rooms of seven and eight beds for groups. There is air conditioning in rooms and dormitories.
Prices change daily: the hostel publishes them on its booking engine. If you book on its website, it includes breakfast, a discount on food and drink at the bar and a later check-out.
Bar, terrace and services
The bar runs all day and the restaurant serves a buffet breakfast every morning. From April to September, if the weather is good, the Giudecca terrace opens, from 7:00 to 23:30. There is a happy hour in the afternoon, activities for guests, free wifi, 24-hour reception, laundry, luggage storage and a shop. The hostel advertises itself as wheelchair accessible.
Getting there
From Santa Lucia station, the landing stage is in front of the door: take line 2 or 4.1 to Zitelle, and the hostel is about a hundred metres to the right. From Marco Polo airport, the ATVO bus takes you to Piazzale Roma in about 20 minutes, and there you take the 2 or 4.1 to Zitelle. From Treviso, the bus takes about 40 minutes to Piazzale Roma. By water taxi, for up to four people, the journey takes about 40 minutes.
What is nearby
From Zitelle you cross to St Mark's in a few minutes for the bell tower or the Doge's Palace. And for the Lido beach in summer, you change line at San Zaccaria.