Venice is one of the most incredible cities you will ever visit. The fact that it 'sits' on the water is so unique that you will never see anything like this. Sitting on the water and having a drink is one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. I highly recommend visiting Venice at least once in your lifetime!

Tips for a Venice trip based on my only visit in early May 2008. These are random thoughts. There is a lot of great information on the web that is much more detailed about these places, topics, etc.
1)Do not stay near St Mark's square. You need to visit it but why spend all of your night time near a lot of other tourists and overpriced restaurants. We stayed at the Albergo Casa Peron near the bus station/Piazza Roma and really loved it.
2)We took the ACTV bus from the airport to the bus station on Venice. Walk out the airport and look for the ACTV stop. You will take bus #5. The fare is €2.50 one way. Pay the driver and then stamp the ticket in the onboard machine to validate it. The buses leave every 15 minutes or so during peak times. It was pretty packed but we arrived at the end of the line (Venice) in 25 minutes. There are more expensive ways to get to Venice from the airport but this is an easy, quick, cheap option if your hotel is on the west side of Venice. The return trip is easy too. Our reutrn bus was 5D and showed Airport Tessera as the destination. Just ask the driver if it is going to “Marco Polo Airport” to confirm you are on the correct bus.
3)My parents' hotel was also five minutes from the bus station/Piazza Roma. They were on the Grand Canal. They paid for the private boat to the hotel (shared with two other couples). While it was enjoyable, the long walk from the airport terminal to the dock and the ride itself were not worth the cost. They took the bus back to the airport. If you hotel is further from the bus or train stations, it may be more worthwhile.
4)We were planning to go to Murano, Burano & Torcello. We did not make it off Murano before we ran out of time. I would recommend going to Torcello first and the work back to Burano and then Murano.
5)The cemetery island is worth a visit on the way to Murano. Just get off, walk around and then catch the next vaporetto going to Murano.
6)Also, there were no glass blowers in Murano working on the Sunday we were there. It could have been because it was a holiday weekend but I would go during the week if possible. Check with your hotel first.
7)Some of the glass items in the Murano shops was made in China, others used Murano glass but was made into products in Eastern Europe. Ask the shop to make sure you are getting what you expect.
8)Just wander the streets – even a night, cross the bridges and sit at sidewalk cafes. Venice is exactly what you expect. You will enjoy it. Just get off the tourist route that runs from the train past Rialto Bridge to St Mark's Square for part of your trip.
9)You can get church overload easily. Make sure to ration them unless you are really into churches.
10)Luggage with wheels was not the problem I expected. While you need to carry the luggage over the bridges, the sidewalks were smooth enough to roll the bags without issues.
11)Ristorante Riveria was an amazing dining experience. We had great seafood and had excellent staff. It's expensive but you can spend almost as much for a mediocre meal. http://www.ristoranteriviera.it/dovesiamo.htm
12)I spent more time than expected in Campo Santa Marguerita located in the Dorsodura neighborhood. Between the pizza slices, gelato, and sidewalk cafes, we lingered there more than any other place. There are a lot of locals and not too many tourists. Great people watching.
13)Don't feel embarrassed walking with your map or guide book. Almost everyone is! Don't forget to put it away sometimes and just get lost.
14)We debated on a gondola ride but then finally decided to take a ride. It was expensive but worth it. Where else can you do it? We took it at night and far from St Mark's Square. We picked it up on the Grand Canal across from the train station and took it one way to the Piazza Roma through small canals where we were the only people out. If you take one at the Square, you can get a rough ride in the grand canal and end up in a caravan of gondolas that are bumper to bumper in the same circuit. Get far away from there to really enjoy the ride. We paid for 40 minutes but received only 30. We chose not to protest the shortage. Don't know if it would have helped.
15)We had a very good dinner at La Zucca. My wife is vegetarian and it was recommended. Reservations are usually necessary. We learned that our reservation was for the dining room only and did not allow us to eat on the sidewalk tables. Those were reserved separately. Ask is the outside is available when you make your reservation.
16)We took the Secret Itineraries Tour of the Dogo's Palace. It was worth the additional expense.
17)The Vaporatto pass included ACTV buses too. My patents took the vaporetto to Lido and then rode the bus around the island before heading back to Venice. They enjoyed it and also enjoyed getting off their feet for an hour. The do wish they got off and walked the beach and then cought the next bus.
18)We were there for 4 days and bought a 36 hr vaporetto pass. We chose to walk for the first couple of days and pack the lagoon islands / grand canal ride in the last couple of days. If it did it again, I would buy a three day pass because an incremental two rides on the other days would have have made it worthwhile to get the longer pass. Since single rides are €6.5, you may hesitate to go by water on a day without the pass.
19)We took a traghetto (public gondola) across the Grand Canal. The €0.50 trip was convenient but does not really replicate a true gondola ride. You do get to ride standing up though.
20)My wife wanted to visit the fish market. We spent the morning meandering our way there. When we finally arrived a bit after noon, it had finished for the day!
21)We went to Harry's Bar for a Bellini. We sat at the bar and my wife ordered one for €18. We ate the complementary olives. They did not mind that I did not order my own drink. There was one group of people who came in for a meal. The waiter brought the menus and then the group got up and left. I guess the prices were too high!
22)I made flash cards of twenty common words to learn a bit of Italian. Numbers, street, excuse me, left, right, thank you, good day, good evening, etc. It helped to at least start a conversion with a local in their language.
23)We saw a performance of the Orchestra Opera di Venezia. One site called it, correctly, a tourist concert. It cost €35 each. There were five musicians and 7 or 8 costumed performers in the Opera. The three hour performance was of high standard and there was an enjoyable short tour of the building prior to the start.
24)St Mark's Basicalla is amazing. You have to see the interior. It is free to enter but there is a charge for thre museums within it. The Galleria is upstairs anfd allows you great views of the mosiacs and of the square from the outside. The Alterpiece was worth a couple of euros to see the back of the altar. Since you are aleary in the Basicalla, what's a few more euro. We did not see the Treasury. Don't know if it is worth it.
25)Pigeon feed vendors were officially banned from St Mark's Square a couple of days before we arrived. If you want to feed them, you should grab some bread from your meals.
26)We had some trouble with the ATMs. When we tried to take out the funds we received a message similar to “You bank has requested we not authorize the transfer”. The real problem was that we were askeing for too much money. When we lowered the amount, we receeive the cash!
My final takeaway is that we did not DO much but really enjoyed the Venecian experience.

Ciao

Venice Italy was full of art, churches, and pigeons. Venice had the most wonderful people that I had ever encountered. the food was marvelous. The jewelry stores, and glass blowers were my favorite. You could actually watch as glass blowers created the most stunning chandeliers, vases, and glass abstracts immaginable. the water cannals with their gondalas that gave way to a romantic time past. I felt transported to a time long ago full of poetry still alive and well in our modern time.

We travelled to Venice recently for Palm Sunday and had a great time. The only thing which we felt wasn't that great was the price of everything!! Having travelled extensively around the world we knew that Venice had a reputation for being a bit expensive but we didn't think it would be so expensive for day to day tourist needs.

The food was average and dreadfully overpriced - we tried an authentic Venice restaurant called the "Black Olive" just off St. Mark's Square which was recommended by our hotel but were extremely disappointed with the food and surroundings. Needless to say we will not be rushing back there.

However, we did try some of the restaurants on the Lido and the food and drink was at least half the price it is in Venice itself and very good - we even complimented the manager on giving us the best gastro experience since travelling to Venice.

So, top tip eat out in the Lido and you'll do well for good food at a reasonable cost.