I went to Venice a couple of years ago - Oh my god what a beautiful place!! We took the bus (river bus) to Murano where all the glass is made, we saw a demonstation of glass blowing and got to keep the horse he made during the demo. We obviously did the gondola (although my bf is 6'5" and weighs 23 stone - it managed to take his weight, tho was low in the water). The gondaleers give a talk on all the interesting facts and buildings. The bridge of sighs you can only get to via the palace and had lunch at a little restaurant at the side of the Rialto Bridge - perfect. We of course had to do St Marks Square which was expensive, but it had to be done. We stopped for a coffee there and had to pay extra as the band were playing!! Although there are constant renovations going on the buildigs concerned are covered with dust sheets with a mural of that building on them. The hotel I stayed in was 3 star and was absolutley superb. Only 2 doors away from the 5 star that my boss stayed in. You will have a wonderful time. Got me envious now