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Venice is one of the most filmed, photographed, painted and written about places on earth. So you’d be forgiven for having high expectations of your first visit.
But no matter what those expectations, Venice never fails to exceed them.
Even after a second or third visit there’s still a high risk of repetitive strain injury from constantly pointing out amazing things to companions.
Proust may have summed up the experience most succinctly: "When I went to Venice, I discovered that my dream had become - incredibly but quite simply - my address."
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Gatwick and Stansted offer the most flexible flight times for Venice; arrival times are in brackets and all times are local.
To Marco Polo Airport
To Treviso Airport
For more information on who flies to Venice and from where, check out our booking and travel planning section.
The quickest way to get to the city is by land bus or taxi to Piazzale Roma - the end of the line for all road traffic.
ATVO runs an excellent non-stop coach service from just outside the arrivals hall.
It leaves every half hour from 10:20am onwards, takes 20 minutes and costs €3. Tickets are available in the arrivals hall or at the bus stop.
If you’ve not been to Venice before, you might want to consider arriving by boat.
This is a wonderful way to get to the city for the first time - or anytime - and not just a means of getting from A to V.
Turn left outside the terminal, follow the waterbus/water taxi signs, and in five minutes or so you’ll be lagoonside - the departure point for three types of water crossing.
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If you want to travel in style, a water taxi - beautiful
Almost as much fun is the hourly Alilaguna public motor launch direct to San Marco. This can also get you there in 30 minutes and costs €25.
The cheapest option is one of the hourly Alilaguna blue or red-line waterbuses. These take 70 minutes to reach San Marco, making a few stops on the way, and cost €11.
Ryanair flies to Treviso airport but this is 20 miles from Venice. ATVO runs a bus service linked to flight times; the €5 journey to Piazzale Roma takes 50 minutes. A taxi will be about €70.
Eco-friendly travel - to find out how you can make your travel carbon neutral visit CarbonNeutral or ClimateCare.
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Venice is made up of 117 islands connected by 400
Waterbuses - vaporetti - cost €6 for a single ticket (valid for 60 minutes) or €2 for a one-stop journey across the Grand Canal.
Public transport tickets must be validated at the start of your journey by stamping them in the yellow ticket machines.
For an ideal city introduction, take a waterbus up or down the two miles of Grand Canal; then do it again at nightfall.
Line 82 - the red ACTV route - takes half an hour from Piazzale Roma to Vallaresso at the mouth of the canal.
A 12-hour travel card is €13, or €18.50 buys a Venice Blue Card, which also includes concessions at a number of churches and museums, and discounts in many restaurants and shops.
It’s always worth haggling and ignore plausible-sounding yet fictitious reasons for not negotiating, especially anything to do with the government forbidding it. And there is no need to tip the gondolier.
You can get a cheap, albeit very brief, gondola experience on one of the gondola ferries - traghetti - which cross the Grand Canal from San Marcuola, Santa Sofia, San Tomà, San Samuele and Santa Maria del Giglio for €0.40.
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What To Visit
But wherever you go, there’s plenty to see and lots of people photographing it. Here are some highlights.
Piazza San Marco is the opulent heart of Venice (virtual tour) and contains three of the city’s most famous landmarks – the Basilica, the palace and the campanile. Map
The Campanile is a 325ft high bell tower that provides the best views in town and even has a lift. The 16th century original collapsed in 1902 but was rebuilt, and reopened in 1912 - admission times.
It has been continually altered since it was consecrated in 1094, and in 1807 ceased to be the Doge’s private chapel for state ceremonies and became the city’s cathedral - admission times.
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Palazzo Ducale, or the Doge’s Palace, was the seat of
The palace dates from the 9th century and is a jaw-dropping blend of Gothic, Byzantine and Renaissance architecture.
Inside it’s packed with the work of artists such as Bellini, Tintoretto, Titian and Veronese. Grand council chamber - virtual tour.
Highlights include the building itself - inside and out - the armoury, the prisons (virtual tour) and the Secret Itinerary tour - admission times.
The Rialto Market is a few hundred yards from the Rialto Bridge (one of only four bridges across the Grand Canal) and is the city’s most famous market. Map
The stalls have been selling fresh produce for hundreds of years but for me the fish market is the most interesting part. By noon traders are packing up, so you need to get there early to experience the real market bustle.
Gallerie dell’Accademia is in the Dorsoduro area and
It covers five centuries and includes masterpieces by Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione Tintoretto, Titian, Veneziano and Veronese - admission times.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection - this palazzo was originally bought by the millionairess as a home. Map
It now houses the 300 images and objects that make up the permanent Guggenheim collection, and is a must for anyone interested in European and American art from the first half of the 20th century.
It includes works by Balla, Dalì, Ernst, Kandinsky, Klee, Magritte, Miró, Moore, Mondrian, Picasso and Pollock - admission times.
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Campo Santa Margherita - Venice is full of fascinating and lively squares like Santa Margherita, which is surrounded by 14th and 15th century houses. You can browse the market stalls and shops, or imbibe at one of the bars and cafés. Map
It’s more informal than Piazza San Marco and you
don’t
Scuola Grande di San Rocco - this amazing building, overlooking the back of the Santa Maria Gloriosa de Frari, was set up as a charity for the sick. Map
Construction began in 1515 and in 1564 Tintoretto was commissioned to paint the central ceiling panel in the Sala dell’Albergo. He obviously decided that wasn’t enough and spent the next 23 years painting the rest of the building - admission times.
For a live peak at Venice, check out these webcams; or for a selection of panoramas around the city, click here.
If you want to find an address that’s not listed on this page, click here.
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As you’d expect from any city built in the middle of a lagoon, seafood is popular with the locals, and a staple of most menus. Risotto and polenta, rather than pasta, are also typical of the region.
The Veneto is the country’s largest wine-growing area and produces a significant number of Italy’s DOC and DOCG wines.
The downside of the city’s annual influx of 15 million visitors is that too many restaurants are tourist traps.
If you want to avoid paying a lot of money for a below average meal, avoid the tourist hotspots and be choosy.
If you want to book a restaurant, the dialling code is 00 39.
For special occasions, or if you just feel like a treat, Osteria Da Fiore in Calle del Scaleter is one of the city’s best restaurants, and unfortunately one of the most expensive. Closed Sunday and Monday - 041 721308. Map
Also one of the best in town, but less expensive, is Al Covo, a superb fish restaurant in Campiello della Pescaria. Closed Wednesday and Thursday - 041 5223812. Map
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Diners at the Grand Canal, Monaco Hotel in Calle Vallaresso
Do Forni - there’s no confusing this excellent restaurant for anywhere else in Calle Specchieri. If you don’t walk straight into a replica dining car from the Orient Express, you’re in the wrong place - 041 5232148. Map
For something a little more mid-priced try Vini Da Gigio in Fondementa San Felice. Despite being away from the crowds, this intimate eatery is very popular, so it’s advisable to book. Closed Monday and Tuesday - 041 5285140. Map
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Its vine-shaded dining courtyard is the perfect setting for a perfect meal. Calle del Pestrin; closed Sunday and Monday - 041 5227024. Map
Cantinone Storico in San Vio is a traditional trattoria with a typically Venetian menu. It’s worth going just for the seafood risotto with seasonable vegetables. Ask for a table outside by the canal. Closed Sunday - 041 5239577. Map
Campo San Stefano is home to Ristorante Masaniello, which
specializes in the cuisine of southern Italy and the
Try the tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad; the mozzarella is brought in daily from Naples. Closed Tuesday - 041 5209003. Map
Ristorante alla Borsa is tucked away down Calle delle Veste and has an impressive wine list to accompany its varied and interesting Mediterranean menu - 041 5235434. Map
Trattoria da Remigio in Salizida dei Greco offers excellent food and service at reasonable prices. A great place for seafood, and even simple dishes are outstanding. Closed Monday evening and Tuesday - 041 5230089. Map
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Usually it’s best to contemplate things from an outside table, but there are a few exceptions, such as Caffè Florian in Piazza San Marco. Map
Opened in 1720, Florian's is the oldest café in Venice and was a favourite of Casanova, Byron and Proust among others. Though in Casanova's case it probably wasn't because of the coffee and cannolis.
Order one of the ridiculously indulgent cakes and enjoy the stunning muralled interior. It's not cheap but nor is anywhere around San Marco.
One way to enjoy the opulence and service of some
of
Also worth a refreshment visit are the Danieli, the Metropole with its wonderful gardens, the Cipriani on La Giudecca, the Europa & Regina, and the city’s oldest hotel, the Luna Hotel Baglioni - frequented by Templar knights on their way to the Crusades.
You can also enjoy Harry’s Bar without having to pay the stratospheric prices to eat there by having a cocktail at the bar.
A Bellini, created at Harry’s in the 1940s, costs around €14 and includes optional free celebrity spotting. Calle Vallaresso just off Piazza San Marco. Map
These include Il Café in Campo San Stefano, Bar al Teatro in Campo San Fantin, all’Angolo in Campo San Stefano, da Baffo on Campo Sant’Agostino or Vinus in Calle del Scaleter.
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Venice has a full
calendar of festivals and events from
February - Carnival - steeped in history and tradition, this dazzling 10-day celebration in the run up to Lent turns the city into a giant open-air masked costume ball and culminates in a wild Mardi Gras.
May - La Sensa - this Ascension-day tradition dates back to AD997 and takes place in the lagoon in front of the San Nicolo church on Lido island. A flotilla of rowing vessels witnesses a ring being cast into the sea to symbolize Venice’s maritime supremacy. Map
July - Festa del Redentore - a Venetian favourite, this colourful festival is held on the third weekend in July. A temporary pontoon bridge is built across La Guidecca canal, people picnic in boats, there’s a massive firework display and the weekend ends with a gondola regatta.
This is a popular event and attracts big-name stars and directors, and films are screened day and night.
September - Regata Storica - the most spectacular and flamboyant of Venetian festivals is held on the first Sunday in September. A procession of 16th-century style boats with costumed occupants makes its way down the Grand Canal, after which there is a series of hotly contested rowing races.
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At first glance it
might appear that almost every shop sells
As befits the surroundings, this is a great city for all types of luxury goods.
The main shopping areas are clustered in and around Piazza San Marco, but there are few streets that don’t offer some form of retail therapy.
And if you fancy some designer fakes, these are often on sale near or outside the shops selling the genuine article.
Don’t forget to haggle and if the seller won’t budge on price, walk away and they’ll usually follow you budging frantically.
If gourmet foods, and wines and spirits are more your thing, you’ll be spoilt for choice, especially around the Rialto market where there’s a wide selection of specialist shops and delicatessens.
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Crime, particularly violent crime, was almost unheard of but petty crime such as pickpocketing is on the increase. According to local police, this is because of an influx of criminals from one particular EU country. As a result you'll need to be much more vigilant, especially around tourist hotspots and on the vaporetti.
Venice is a small city and regardless of which direction you go, if you follow the yellow landmark signs, sooner or later you’ll end up at Piazza San Marco, the Rialto, Ferrovia (the railway station) or Piazzale Roma.
But if you want the real Venetian experience, stay off the main tourist thoroughfares and try to get lost.
All major credit cards are widely accepted throughout the city, and there are plenty of ATMs and places to change money.
Tips and service charges - most restaurants include a
But if the service was good leave a few euros for the waiter. If service isn’t included, 12.5% is reasonable. Taxi drivers won't expect a tip.
Local time and other useful information.
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Copyright (c) 2008 daytripstoeurope.co.uk |
holds the
world’s largest collection of Venetian art.
Along a quiet and unpromising alleyway is one of Venice’s
hidden culinary gems, Corte Sconta.
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