|
|
|
|
|
| Transportation
|
| |
Air
Venice's Marco Polo International Airport, located 12 km (7 miles) from Venice, is the main hub for European and national flights to the Veneto region. Airport facilities include ATMs (bancomat), restaurants, bars, shops, car hire, a post office, a 24-hour first aid service and a hotel reservations service.
The Alilaguna motorboat service departs hourly and has a traveling time of one hour. This is by far the most romantic way to arrive in Venice. Water taxi's are another possibility. By land, the ATVO airbus travels to Piazzale Roma, departing every 20 minutes between 08.20 and 23.50 (journey time about 20 minutes). Another option by land is the ACTV public bus number 5, which departs every 30 minutes, taking 25 to 40 minutes to Piazzale Roma. Car taxi's to Piazzale Roma can be found outside the arrivals hall.
|
| Public Transport
|
| |
Train
Santa Lucia station (in Venice simply known as the ferrovia) is situated at the west end of the Grand Canal. Facilities include a tourist office, left-luggage, a bureau de change and an accommodation booking service. Train tickets must be validated by stamping them in the yellow machines on the platform before boarding.
The legendary Orient Express runs regularly between Venice and London via Verona, Zurich and Paris from March to November.
|
| |
Bus
ATVO operates services to Treviso, Verona, Padua and Milan. All coaches depart from Piazzale Roma.
Eurolines offers coach services to major cities throughout Europe, including Amsterdam, London and Paris. The Eurolines office is located in Piazzale Roma.
|
| |
Taxi
Water taxi's are incredibly expensive. There are surcharges for luggage, extra passengers and travelling by night. Stands can be found at the station, Piazzale Roma, Rialto, San Marco and the Lido. Car taxi's only operate between the mainland and the airport.
|
| |
Car
Cars are not allowed in Venice. They must be left at one of the huge expensive car parks in Piazzale Roma or on the island of Tronchetto.
The main motorway is the A4, which runs across the top of Italy. This intersects with the A13 from Bologna, which in turn connects with the A1 (the central road artery of Italy passing through Florence, Rome and Naples). All motorways are tolled. The driving time to Venice from Milan is 2 hours, from Bologna 3 hours and from Rome 5 hours.
|
| Water
|
| |
Passenger ferries operate out of the Venice Passenger Terminal to the west of the city center.
There are two kinds of water buses in Venice, the Vaporetti and the Motoscafi. Vaporetti buses are mainly used on busy routes like the Grand Canal and are fairly slow, while the Motoscafi are smaller, faster and run on smaller canals. Gondolas depart from St Mark's Square, the Rialto, Piazzale Roma and the railway station. Gondolas can carry up to six people. Traghetti (public ferries) can be used to cross the Grand Canal.
|
| Weather
|
| |
Venice becomes extremely hot in July and August. Outside the summer months the weather is not too excessive. The most pleasant time of year to visit is late March into May, with clear spring days. Venice suffers from frequent thunderstorms and rain showers and flooding may occur in November and December.
|
| Currency
|
| |
The currency used in Italy is the Euro. Notes come in denominations of €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 and the coins in use are €2, €1, 0.50C, 0.20C, 0.10C, 0.05C, 0.02C and 0.01C.
|
| Tipping
|
| |
It is common practice to tip waiters in restaurants around five percent. Taxi drivers should get between five and ten percent. Tipping is widely practised in Italy, so small tips to any other staff are sure to be appreciated.
|
|
back |
|
