Is it really possible to discover a city like Padua in just one day? We want to get straight to the point with this question: it is, but you have to make some compromises, like a lot of walking! If you choose your itinerary carefully, you can visit Padua's most interesting sights and fully enjoy the splendid city and its atmosphere.
First of all, most of the Padua attractions we'll see in this itinerary are included in the Padua Urbs Picta Cards , a card that allows you to explore Giotto's Padua and beyond, including admission to museums and chapels at a special price. By purchasing it online, the single 48-hour ticket allows you to avoid wasting time at ticket offices and maximize your day.
Let's set off to discover Padua and its most significant places with this one-day itinerary!
The Scrovegni Chapel
A tour of the city of Padua cannot fail to begin with a visit to this renowned chapel painted by Giotto in 1300. The fresco cycle you will find inside influenced world art with its innovative use of perspective, and today it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List : it belongs to the cycle of Padova Urbs Picta or "Painted Padua" which includes the entire series of frescoes that Giotto began in 1300 and that his followers painted inside both religious and civil buildings in the city, including:
- The Palace of Reason,
- The Oratory of San Michele,
- The Basilica of the Saint,
- The Baptistery of the Cathedral.
The University of Padua
A visit to the University of Padua, with its eight hundred years of history , is practically unmissable. In these places, including the Palazzo del Bo , the Museum of Geography, the Palazzo Liviano, and the Botanical Gardens , the history of science, teaching, discoveries, and achievements that make up this exceptional cultural heritage were made.
Here you can experience a love of culture, discovery, and knowledge that permeates these rooms. You can also visit the beautiful botanical garden, founded in 1545 and now home to 6,500 different species, and the Biodiversity Garden, a single greenhouse comprising four different environments.
Pedrocchi Coffee
If by now the visits have made you want to stop for a coffee and recharge your batteries, then do so at Caffè Pedrocchi : it is located in Piazza Garibaldi and can be reached from Corso del Popolo, and you will recognize it by the two lions of Caffè Pedrocchi, which dates back to 1800 and is particularly renowned for its liveliness: in this establishment the student insurrection against the Austrians broke out in 1848.
The café is open 24 hours a day and is divided into the White Room, reserved for special events, the Red Room, the historic one, and the free-access Green Room, created by Antonio Pedrocchi who wanted the café to be open and accessible to all.
The Palace of Reason
Among the must-see places in Padua is undoubtedly this palace, located between Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, in the heart of the city's historic center. Here you can admire 333 astrological frescoes , divided into 12 sections by zodiac sign. Inside this splendid palace are also the Foucault Pendulum, the Stone of Vituperation, and the Wooden Horse, an imposing sculpture.
Meadow of the Valley
A must-see is Prato della Valle, the second-largest square in Europe after Moscow's Red Square . It has an elliptical shape, with Isola Memmia at its center, an artificial island also elliptical in shape, bordered by a canal on which stand 78 marble statues, each more beautiful than the last. This enormous, grassless meadow is a unique and unmissable feature of Padua.
Is it possible to see Padua in one day?
A single day may be enough to tour Padua, but booking an apartment online easily and securely , even for just a weekend, allows you to enjoy more time to visit the city and admire its beauty at a more leisurely pace, perhaps even visiting the Baptistery and the Cathedral of Padua, the Church of the Eremitani, or the splendid Basilica del Santo, which at sunset is warmed by the color of the sun and appears in all its majesty.
