Must see, off the beaten path places in Venice

I feel like there's not much of an "off the beaten path" in Venice, but there are certainly places that lack the crowds of Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge!

If you're going to be in Venice for a week and you're into art or history, I'd buy a Chorus Pass. It's 12 Euros, and lets you into many churches that otherwise charge a couple Euros each. The Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, San Polo, Santa Maria Formosa (pictured above with a soccer ball in the window) and San Sebastiano were a few of my favorites.

One of the few places I regret not making it to when I studied in Venice was the Old Jewish Ghetto. It's a historically interesting area that's still a center for Jewish culture in the city.

As far as day trips go, I'd recommend Torcello Island and Burano, and tell you to skip Murano (though I know other people who have liked it). Lido can be nice in the summer and is really the only place for nightlife without leaving the lagoon.

I'd also recommend a walk down to Giardini one afternoon (above). Via Garibaldi Venezia is a nice peek into a mostly residential neighborhood. Basically, if you pick one corner of the island each day and stroll around, getting nice and lost in the process, it's the best way to find interesting things and unique moments!

I'd also add a visit to the Giudecca Prison in La Giudecca, within those walls you’ll find a space of 6,000 square meters  used as vegetable garden called “Orto delle Meraviglie”. Every Thursday morning the locals in Giudecca line up between 9 and 10 to buy their grocery.

I also recommend to attend the opera at Teatro La Fenice (if you are there during the opera season). If you are not into opera you can still book a guided tour of the premises.

Finally, I love San Lazzaro degli Armeni, a small island on the Venetian lagoon, where Lord Byron learned Armenian in 1816. It's a great half day excursion and you can visit the monastery and the beautiful island surrounded by a mystical, almost magic atmosphere!

I also recommend Torcello Island.  Take the vaporreto and have lunch at Locanda cipriani.  The Cipriani family also owns Harry's Bar in Venice.  It is a very nice little island to explore.  It is possible to make a donation to Saint Mark's Basilica, of around EUR 500 to have a private viewing at night of the famous gold leaf mosaic ceilings.  Arrive in the dark and then spotlights go on illuminating every part of the gold leaf mosaic ceilings, it is breathtaking.  See a blog we have written about a night visit to St. Marks Cathedral:  A Mystical Magical Night in Venice. 

I also like to head to the far edges of the island as far away as possible from the Grand Canal, as here are the local people of Venice, working in their shops, plying their trades, with local restaurants, cafes, and antique shops sprinkled in.  In the back edges of Venice, I watched an older gentleman apply gold leaf with rabbit glue to a frame in his shop, which is a dying technique.  I found antique Murano beads in an antique shop.  And bought a beautiful oriental style glass hanging light from the iron welder that make the framework from which the glass light hung, after watching the iron welder at work in the back of the shop.   

Hi Lyn! please take a look at this as well, there a few more good pointers: https://www.trippy.com/question/Venice-Off-the-beaten-path-Venice