# A Sunday in Venice: the Grand Canal by vaporetto, the secret Doge's Palace, the campanile and fish at Rialto Line 1 along the Grand Canal first thing, the secret itineraries of the Doge's Palace, the St Mark's campanile and a fish lunch in a trattoria from 1954 next to Rialto. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/veneto/venice/itineraries/venice-sunday-grand-canal-secret-itineraries-doges-palace · Revisado: 2026-11-12 ## El día - 08:30 · The Grand Canal on the line 1 vaporetto (Line 1 from Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma to San Zaccaria · €9.50 for the 75-minute ticket) - 5 min on foot - 10:00 · Secret Itineraries of the Doge's Palace (10:00 slot in English · €40 with the museums of the square; booking) - 3 min on foot - 12:00 · St Mark's Campanile and Loggia dei Cavalli (Lift up to the bells · €15; named ticket online) - 15 min on foot - 13:30 · Trattoria alla Madonna (Fish from the Rialto market · €€€; closed on Wednesdays) · Trattoria alla Madonna, €€€ - 16:00 · Vuelta (From Rialto, line 1 or on foot to your accommodation) Getting there from Spain. The plan starts in Venice: you arrive the day before. There are direct flights to Marco Polo airport (VCE) from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and Alicante, among other cities; from the airport, the bus or the Alilaguna boat drops you in the city. This is the Sunday you would spend if you had only one day in Venice and wanted to understand the city, not just see it. It starts on the water, as the palaces were conceived; carries on inside the power of the Republic, with the passages and cells that the normal visit does not show; climbs up to see the lagoon from above and ends seated at a table next to the Rialto market. All on foot and by vaporetto, unhurried and without a car, because in Venice there is no other way. If you sleep in the city, you save the access fee and you start while the Grand Canal is still empty. If you arrive only for the day and it is one of the dates flagged by the city council, register and pay the €5 before setting out. ## The day, hour by hour 8:30 · The Grand Canal on line 1. Board at Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma, the first landing stages, to get a seat outside. Line 1 stops at almost every bank: you pass under the Rialto bridge, opposite Ca' d'Oro and the market, under the Accademia, and come out into the St Mark's basin with the Salute on your right. Get off at San Zaccaria. The 75-minute ticket costs €9.50; if you are going to take more boats, the €25 day pass pays off. 10:00 · The secret itineraries of the Doge's Palace. Five minutes on foot along the Riva degli Schiavoni to the courtyard of the palace. For an hour and a quarter, in a group of 25 at most, you walk through the offices of the secretaries of the Council of Ten, the torture chamber and the Piombi, the cells under the lead roof from which Casanova escaped. It costs €40 and afterwards includes free entry to the rest of the palace and the museums of the square. There is no Spanish-language slot: the 10:00 one is in English. Book in advance and arrive with time to spare; if you are more than a quarter of an hour late, you do not get in. 12:00 · The St Mark's campanile. On leaving, cross the square. The campanile, rebuilt in 1912 after collapsing in 1902, is climbed by lift in about 30 seconds: up top you see the whole city, the Lido and, on a clear day, the Alps. Admission costs €15 and is named; buy it on the basilica's website. 13:30 · Lunch at Trattoria alla Madonna. A quarter of an hour on foot to Rialto along the Mercerie. The trattoria opened in 1954 and buys at the market next door. Order the fish antipasto, with mantis shrimp, baby octopus and sea snails from the lagoon, the seafood risotto or the spider crab in its shell, and a fritto to share. Open on Sunday and closed on Wednesdays. 16:00 · Return. From Rialto, line 1 takes you towards the station or towards St Mark's. If you have time left, stroll through San Polo to Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio. ## What if you want to spend less? Swap the trattoria for the bar of the Cantina Do Spade, a minute away: fried cicchetti and a glass of local wine for a few euros, standing up, as people eat in Venice. If you do not climb the campanile and buy only the vaporetto ticket, the day drops to about €60 per person. ## With children and teenagers The secret itineraries do not admit under-6s, and the stairs are narrow. Teenagers are usually hooked by the cells and Casanova's story. With small children, skip the palace, take the vaporetto, climb the campanile, which is by lift, and in summer spend the afternoon on the Lido beach, on the same line 1. Children under 6 do not pay for the vaporetto. ## Cómo llegar ### Without a car It is the only way: on foot and by vaporetto. If you come from outside, you arrive by train at Santa Lucia or by bus at Piazzale Roma, and line 1 leaves from both. ### By car You cannot enter with a car. Leave it at Piazzale Roma or the Tronchetto, with a booking, or better on the mainland, and continue by vaporetto. ## Consejos ### Book the palace and the campanile Both with a named ticket and a time. ### Board the vaporetto at the first landing stage At Ferrovia or Piazzale Roma you have more chance of sitting outside. ### Book lunch On a Sunday, the trattoria fills up at midday. ## Un consejo más ### If it rains The whole plan still works: the vaporetto is covered and the palace and the trattoria are indoors. Leave the campanile for another day if there is fog. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How much does the day cost? Between €110 and €140 per person with the palace, the campanile and lunch at the trattoria. With cicchetti instead of the trattoria, much less. ### Is there a Spanish-language visit of the secret Doge's Palace? No: the slots are in English, French and Italian. ### Can it be done in winter? Yes. The palace, the campanile and the vaporetto run all year; only the trattoria closes in January. ### Do you have to pay the access fee? Only if you go for the day, without sleeping in the city, on one of the dates flagged by the city council: €5, or €10 if you register late.