Here are The Traveling Professor's top tips for planning a trip to Venice:
Go in the Off-Season: Venice can be incredibly crowded. Prices for hotels in the high season can be 50% more than the shoulder or low season. Airfares are lower too. Late October is a good time to go (although most flooding in Venice takes place in November) and so is March.
Stay in the Dorsoduro section of Venice: Areas near St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge or generally overpriced and mobbed with tourists. We find the Dorsudoro area to be close to the action, yet much quieter. The restaurants tend to be more relaxing too. The Traveling Professor's preference is the Hotel American Dinesen. We like it because it is a top-notch 4-star, small, family run hotel. It is located right on a canal so that a water taxi can pull right up. No dragging luggage through (sometimes flooded) streets.
Get a Guide: We found it well worth the cost to hire a guide for 3 hours to get us familiar with Venice. It will cost about 65 euros and hour but they will allow you to skip the ultra-long lines at St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace. The Traveling Professor can refer excellent guides.
Do as Much as Possible in the Evenings: Wait until later in the day to hit the tourist spots. The cruise ships deposit thousands of travelers in Venice during the day and when late afternoon/early evening hits, poof! they are gone. In the evening is when you want to visit St. Mark's Square and stroll the canal-side streets.
Enjoy a Cichetti Crawl: Frankly, I get tired of sitting at restaurants each and every night for dinner. A good break is to go out for cichetti. It's like a Venetian tapas. The food is good, extremely authentic, and inexpensive. Plus, it is a very social experience as travelers get the chance to meet Venetians and travelers alike in a relaxed setting. Here is a good description of a cichetti itinerary.
My Top Sights to See: The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a tour of the Venice Opera House, the Gallerie dell'Accademia, Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Cathedral. And don't forget to have a drink at Harry's Bar.
Join The Professor on a small group tour to Italy and Venice.