Our essential travel guide to Padova (Padua): the best things to see, where to eat, where to stay, why we loved spending a day in this beautiful art city in northern Italy
Padova is a beautiful university city in the north of Italy, only a short train ride away from Verona and Venice.
Padua, as it is known in English, is well know to art lovers for the stunning Scrovegni Chapel, a masterpiece by Giotto dating back to the 14th century, but it is vastly overlooked by mass tourism, which tends to focus on its more famous neighbours.
However, while understated in many ways, Padova is very much worth seeing and, for many, may even become a highlight.
Its off the beaten track feel, its buzzy university life, its outstanding art and amazing food are all reasons to visit and will give you a sense of Italy that is now often hard to find in busier areas.
Padova is a small town and you can visit its highlights in about one day, if you are short on time, or decide to make it your home for a while, if wishing to immerse yourself in local life.
We have been to Padova just last week. I had always wanted to visit the Scrovegni Chapel (we learn about it in school!) and was craving some time sightseeing, but without having to deal with masses and Padua was just the ticket.
We had an amazing time!
We came here by train, spent a night here, explored, ate, relaxed and had a perfect time. This is my mini guide to spending one day in Padua, with also info on how to book the Scrovegni Chapel, what the visit entails and my tips on where to eat. I hope you enjoy it!
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Why visit Padua / Padova
I recommend you visit Padova if:
You love art and want to see one of the highest examples of Giotto’s mastery in the Scrovegni Chapel
You love exploring smaller towns and immerse yourself in local atmospheres
You want to visit or take a pilgrimage to the Basilica of Sant’Antonio da Padova
You are looking for an easy and satisfying day trip by train while staying in a locality nearby
How long to stay in Padua
You can visit the highlights of Padua city in a day. I recommend to stay longer if you want to use Padua as a base for day trips to the area while staying in a local, not overrun town.
The best things to do in Padua in a day
Visit the Scrovegni Chapel
The Scrovegni Chapel is the most famous attraction in Padua and one I highly recommend you visit, not matter what your art background or interest is: it is just that special!
The Chapel dates back to the 14th century, and more specifically to the years 1303 – 1305 and takes its name from the person who commissioned it: Enrico Scrovegni.
The artist behind it is Giotto, one of the most famous painters in the history of Italian art, and the chapel is considered his highest accomplishment.
The chapels is entirely frescoed, top to bottom on three sides, so when you enter, you are literally surrounded by images and colors.
Giotto divided the chapel in different areas so that its images would paint a coherent story and theme: that of the life of Mary, from the marriage of her parents to motherhood, the life of Jesus and, finally on the main wall, the Last Judgment.
The visual impact of the chapel is powerful and the mastery unbelievable.
The colors are popping, the details are outstanding and the imagery really alive: there is no forgetting the image of Giotto’s Lucifer eating the damned!
Visiting the Chapel is easy but requites advance booking and a bit of time. Access is timed and strictly organised as, for preservation reasons, the doors to the Chapel can only open at predetermined timed, and the visit is preceded by a short video explaining what you are about to see.
The video is in Italian with English subtitles and it’s wonderful: you don’t need any previous knowledge to enjoy it and gives a lot of easy to digest information about the Chapel and helps you know what to focus on.
I recommend you book the chapel ahead from the official site.
Top tip: when looking for the Chapel, do NOT trust google maps! They bring you to the wrong place! You want to enter the park and look for the entrance to the Eremitani museum – the chapel is NOT in the church, like the map suggests! (Do see the church though, it’s beautiful!)
See the Basilica of St Anthony: Sant’Antonio da Padova
The Basilica of St Antony from Padua is the other major landmark in Padua and an interesting one to visit on a couple of accounts.
The first one is its peculiar architecture. As you get close to the basilica, the first thing you notice is its size: its bell towers and domes dominate the landscape around them and their peculiar decorations and shape are bound to make you curious and get closer to see them better.
The thing that really stood out for me where the many domes, which I found very reminiscent of those of St Marks’ in Venice. They are several and they are nothing like those I am used to seeing in Rome or many other areas of Italy as they have a distinctive, Byzantine looking shape and color that is unusual in most of Italy.
As well as its appearance, the basilica is interested at sociological level as it is a big pilgrimage place for people devoted to St Anthony, to the atmosphere is here is rather special, where you share that background ot just happened to be here as a bystander.
The Basilica is open to the public and you can go in for free: just be conscious of those who are here for religious reasons as you explore.
Enjoy Padova’s Piazze
Padova has many piazzas but there are three that stood out to me and I highly recommend you visit: the lovely and aptly names Piazza delle Erbe (Piazza of herbs, aka the market), Piazza dei Frutti (Piazza of the Fruits, aka the fruit market) and Piazza dei Signori (Piazza of the Sirs, signore meaning genetleman, sir but also the head of the city).
Piazza delle Erbe and Pizza dei Frutti are contiguous and develop along the two sides of the so called “Palazzo della Ragione’ a stunning historic palazzo in the center of Padua.
The Palazzo and the piazzas are simply stunning: the palazzo’s entrance floor is now home to several cafes and restaurants, where locals and visitors sip aperitivo and watch life pass by, while the upper floor is decorated by a fantastic and elaborate ceiling fresco you can spot from below.
The piazzas themselves are still sort of true to their names and host the market daily or I should say: they host some stalls, the still give the sense of them originally being market squares!
Piazza dei Signori is immediately beside them, large and scenic. Very easy to visit, the three of them won’t take more than a few minutes overall, but they are worth seeing and make for a wonderful area to stroll, eat and shop.
See Prato della Valle
Prato della Valle is the name of a very peculiar square in Padua with a distinctive water feature, and monumental appearance.
The piazza is a large expanse surrounded by pretty houses and has, at its centre, a circular canal that creates an artificial island with a park, they you can access via small bridges.
The places is unique and worth seeing although slightly peculiar too: it feels very much like a place for events and maybe because there was none when we were there, it has a slightly abandoned feel to it, although not in an unpleasant way.
We visited one morning and it was lovely for photos ops, I think coming at a time when a market or seasonal event is on would make it more interesting and give it more justice. Definitely work popping in to see it anyway!
Stroll Padua city center
Aside from individual attractions, what we enjoyed the most about Padova was its city center as a whole.
Padua is an ancient city as you very much see its long history in its architecture, layout and many historic buildings.
Enjoying it is as simple as taking a stroll. Padua city center felt really safe to us so walked with the kids extensively at all hours, including late evenings.
As expected, Sunday saw closures of most shops, so our first impression of the place wasn’t particularly lively or enticing, but as apertitivo hour arrived, all the locals poured to the streets, cafe lights came on and the town revealed itself as teeming with life!
The same continues on Monday morning, when everything reopened and we could enjoy the many cafes, shopping opportunities and the unmistakable buzz of a city with a thriving university.
Where to eat in Padua
We had two lovely meals in Padua, one for lunch and one in the evening.
For lunch, we stumbled upon a Mama Eat (which we know from Rome) and that didn’t disappoint. We felt the price was relatively high for what it was but we had no complaints: the pasta was nice, the service and armpshere pleasant and the location convenient.
For dinner, I had put a lot of research in and it paid off as the meal was genuinely SO good, I am still talking about it! The place we went to is called VinET and is a restaurant with a strong focus on wine and a great wine list.
We went early without a reservation and got seated straight away, but it filled up rather quickly so I would recommend you book instead.
We felt the price was good value, considering the level of the meal and wine.
The menu is not extensive (a good sign, it means all is fresh) but varied and we were delighted when they agreed to make a simple pasta with tomato sauce for our daughter.
This is common in Italian restaurants but not a given, especially in places like this one, which clearly tend to cater to a discerning eater rather than a loud family meal. They were very welcoming to all of us, graciously offered the accommodate her taste and we all had a wonderful evening.
Where to stay in Padua
We stayed in a lovely hotel in Padua called Casa del Pellegrino, just beside the basilica. We had chosen it because of their spacious family rooms and it was a very pleasant surprise: the room was huge, spotlessly clean, quiet and even nicer than the photos suggested.
The location was great for us and we had a lovely breakfast at the cafe just in front (my daughter had a super fun, Halloween shaped biscuit that made her day!) and since we were so close to the basilica and Prato della Valle, we could see both in a matter of minutes.
If I was to stay again, I would stay here or would consider somewhere even closer to the three piazzas, just to shorten the walk the Scrovegni Chapel.
We did not like the atmosphere around Padua train station so, personally, would not choose to stay there.
More tips for visit Padua
Some random thoughts about our visit to Padova that may help plan yours!
I recommend you come to Padua during the week, rather than on Sunday.
While it is still very possible to enjoy Padua city center with things closed, we found Sunday, especially on a grey day, a little too quiet for our taste and didn’t make for the best first impression. We adored Padua the day after so timing really can make a difference!
We walked everywhere and never needed to take a bus nor a taxi.
However, the walk from the station to the city center can fee a little long with luggage and, until you get to the chapel are, is nor particularly interesting either. If you have bags or are not used to long walks, I recommend you hop on a taxi or bus to your hotel instead: we saw both just in front of the station.
Good shoes for extensive walking are a must
We visited Padua in late October and the weather was mixed: grey and a little chilly (jacket, scarf) one day and sunny and dry (short sleeves) the day after. Summer can get VERY hot here so this was, overall, a great time to visit.
The Scrovegni chapel is a must, in my opinion, and needs planning as it does sell out.
Padua has a nice city center, flat and kid friendly. In the same park as the Scrovegni Chapel you have a nice green area for them and playground. Padua is, overall, stroller friendly.
Padua is a living and breathing city so we found lovely shops with anything, from essential to fashion, to small stored to bigger chains. I was particularly impressed buy its many cafes and wine places: it gave me the sense of place locals really enjoy, with many options to meet friends and have nice meals.
I hope you found my quick guide to Padua useful and it made you curious to go see it! Safe travels!