Do you want to see Padua and have “only” 3 days available? Here is the itinerary to optimize your long weekend in our city.
To experience 72 unforgettable hours, follow our guide made especially for you!
Padua in 3 days: the places of greatest interest
Padua is a treasure chest full of treasures to be discovered. Art, culture, history and gastronomy, historic buildings, lively squares, alleys and shops… in our city nothing is really missing.
But what to visit in Padua in 3 days? The secret to getting the most out of your flash holiday is being skilled at organizing. That is, don’t leave anything to chance.
By following the advice of our guide, you can optimize your 72-hour visit to the city, making it an unforgettable experience.
Padua in 3 days: the itinerary of the first day
The Scrovegni Chapel with Giotto’s extraordinary frescoes is certainly the main reason to visit our city.
The visit lasts about 30 minutes: in the first 15 minutes they will take you to the compensation room to stabilize the internal microclimate. Here you can watch a video that will show you the cycle of frescoes inside the chapel.
In the next 15 minutes you’ll be able to access the Scrovegni Chapel and admire the extraordinary frescoes by Giotto commissioned by Enrico Scrovegni, a member of an ancient Paduan banking family.
A unique masterpiece in the world, a UNESCO heritage site, will open before your eyes.
The full ticket for the entrance to the Scrovegni Chapel costs € 14, but there are also more discounted formulas.
With the same ticket you can also access the Eremitani Civic Museums (2 minutes walk from the Scrovegni Chapel) and Palazzo Zuckermann.
In the afternoon you can dedicate yourselves to discovering the nearby “squares” of Padua.
Going along via Carlo Cassan, via Altinate, via VIII febbraio and via Municipio, head towards piazza delle Erbe. Reaching it will take 10 minutes on foot.
Adjacent to piazza delle Erbe is piazza della Frutta.
The two squares are divided by the Palazzo della Ragione, where you will find an extraordinary cycle of frescoes with zodiacal, animal and religious motifs.
Your visit to Padua in summary: first day
- Scrovegni Chapel (admission ticket € 14)
- Eremitani Civic Museums (combined ticket with the Scrovegni Chapel)
- Palazzo Zuckermann (combined ticket with the Scrovegni Chapel)
- Piazza delle Erbe (free)
- Piazza della Frutta (free)
- Palazzo della Ragione (entrance ticket € 5)
Padua in 3 days: the itinerary of the second day
The first stop of your second day in Padua? The Basilica of Sant’Antonio. A place dear to faithful from all over the world, but also to lovers of art and architecture.
The basilica was built between 1232 and 1310. The Romanesque façade, the gothic ambulatory, the Byzantine domes and the Moorish bell towers characterize it as a mix of styles that coexist in harmony.
Inside are the relics of the saint and his tomb. On this occasion, we recommend that you also visit the Gattamelata chapel and the one of San Giacomo.
Leaving the Basilica del Santo, head along Via Cesarotti towards the Loggia and the Odeo Cornaro, just a 3-minute walk away.
It is a jewel of the Paduan Renaissance: an open-air theater commissioned by Alvise Cornaro, a 16th-century Paduan intellectual and entrepreneur, to the famous architect of the time Giovanni Maria Falconetto.
You can dedicate the afternoon to the nearby Botanical Garden: the oldest University Botanical Garden in the world that has preserved its original location and has kept its original structure practically unchanged.
The Botanical Garden of Padua was built in 1545 with the aim of offering medical students a place where they can study medicinal plants.
Inside there are several protected species, including the famous Goethe palm, better known as the dwarf palm.
The garden also includes a large greenhouse where you can retrace all plant species and environments from the equator to the poles.
Once out of here, don’t miss Prato della Valle. A monumental square, frequented at any time of the day by all the Paduan people. A place of relaxation, which offers scenic views of rare beauty, with plays of light to be admired even and above all at sunset.
Your visit to Padua in summary: second day
- Basilica of Sant’Antonio (free)
- Loggia and the Odeo Cornaro (entrance ticket € 4)
- Botanical Garden (entrance ticket 10 €)
- Prato della Valle (free)
Padua in 3 days: the itinerary of the third day
Get ready: today you’ll be visiting the Cathedral and the Baptistery of Padua. The latter is one of the Padova Urbs Picta sites, featuring a remarkable fresco cycle created by Giusto de’ Menabuoi. The ticket costs € 5 per person.
Complete your morning by going to the nearby Piazza dei Signori where the famous Clock Tower stands. Do not miss the opportunity to see and understand how the clock works and learn how to interpret the dial that overlooks the square-lounge of our city.
For the afternoon: from Piazza dei Signori take via Manin, then piazza delle Erbe and then again via Municipio (3 minutes on foot). This will bring you to the ancient seat of the University of Padua where you can visit the Anatomical Theater and the Chair of Galileo Galilei.
Do you want to end your “three days” in style in our splendid city? With the complicity of this season’s mild temperatures, end your evening by reaching the Navigli of Padua.
It is the trendiest area, especially among young university students, where you can enjoy an aperitif while sitting in one of the kiosks that line the waters created by the basins of the Brenta and Bacchiglione rivers.
Your visit to Padua in summary: third day
- Cathedral and Baptistery (entrance ticket € 5)
- Piazza dei Signori (free)
- • Torre dell’Orologio (admission free offer). Reservations are required: call 392.4764353, from 9:30 to 12:00 and from 15:30 to 18:00 (also WhatsApp) or write an email
- Ancient seat of the University of Padua (admission ticket € 7, including guided tour). Reservation required
- Navigli (free or on consumption)
For your 3 days in the city, there is also PadovaCard
PadovaCard is the electronic card that offers more concessions both for visiting museums and places of worship, and for urban and extra-urban travel.
It lasts 48 hours (€ 16) or 72 hours (€ 21). In the city, you can buy PadovaCard at the information counters Iat – Information and tourist reception offices in Padua (at the railway station or in Galleria Pedrocchi).
The advantages of PadovaCard are many. Starting with the free access to the Scrovegni Chapel (except for the € 1 booking fee), to the Civic Museums at the Eremitani, Palazzo della Ragione (reduced ticket payment is required for exhibitions), Noble floor of the Pedrocchi factory, Museum del Risorgimento, Oratory of San Michele, Oratory of San Rocco, Baptistery of the Cathedral, Loggia and Odeo Cornaro, Palazzo Zuckermann and other sites…
Want to put our itinerary to the test? We’ll be waiting for you! And not just for 3 days…😊
Photo via:
shutterstock.com
envato.com
watermuseumofvenice.com
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