What can I say about Venice that hasn’t already been said? It’s a city out of a fantasy world. You’re walking through history with every footstep. Everywhere you look the scenery is magical. There’s so much to see and do in Venice it would take a lifetime to cover it all.
We spent five full days in Venice and covered a lot, but felt like we barely make a dent. There will be a return trip in the future.
My Posts on Venice
General Info:
Districts:
Areas:
Canals:
Attractions:
- Church of St. George of the Greeks
- Church of San Zaccaria
- Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale)
- St. Mark’s Basilica
- Synagogues of the Venetian Ghetto
Events:
Day Trips:
Introduction to Venice
Venice is a dream world. A romantic city set on islands separated by canals and connected by bridges, it’s one of the most fascinating places on earth. It’s a place where there’s so much to see and do that it would take ages to finish everything, but it’s perfectly acceptable to just wander through the narrow streets and enjoy the atmosphere for your entire stay.
There are enough books on the city’s history and its importance and contributions to the world for you to read, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Venice gained fortune and power through commerce in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It was its own independent republic from 697 until May 12, 1797, when it fell to Napoleon. It was ceded to Austria later that year, became part of Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy in 1805, returned to Austrian rule in 1814, and united with Italy in 1866.
Venice is made up of 118 island separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987.
Getting to Venice
You have a couple options on how to get to and from Venice.
Train Stations in Venice
We arrived in Venice at Santa Lucia Railway Station (Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia) on a 25-minute train ride from Padua. It’s located at the edge of the historic city in the Cannaregio district. The station provides direct service to cities such as Florence, Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Verona, Vicenza, Trieste, and Bologna. A second railway station is located at Mestre, which is the mainland district of Venice.
Marco Polo International Airport
We left Venice from Marco Polo International Airport (VCE). It’s a crowded modern airport with several flights to major cities in Europe and the Middle East and seasonal flights to North America. The airport is connected to the historic city via vaporetto service or scheduled buses to and from Piazzale Roma. Buses can also get you to and from Mestre and the Mestre Railway Station as well as nearby cities such as Treviso.
Venice Access Fee
The Commune of Venice charges an access fee to day trippers over the age of 14. It applies on specific days of the year between April and July, from 8:30am to 4pm, and is not applicable to visitors staying overnight in a hotel or other accommodation. The purpose is to fund infrastructure and cultural heritage and to protect the city from over-tourism.
The access fee costs €5 if you pay at least 4 days in advance of your visit, or €10 within 3 days (as of March 2025). After you pay online you’ll be presented with a QR code to show in case you’re asked. If you’ve booked overnight accommodation, you have to provide proof.
Getting Around Venice
You have two choices to get around Venice’s historic city – on foot or by boat. In fact, everything is done by boat including garbage pick-up, ambulance, and fire services. Bicycles are forbidden. We enjoyed walking around and even getting lost at times, but Venice is also too big of a city to be walking around in all the time.
The vaporetto service saves lots of time and is very convenient, dropping off passengers just a short walk from most attractions. The service also runs 24 hours with more limited frequency at night, and can take you to nearby islands such as Murano, Burano, Torcello, and Lido.
For the majority of tourists, the most economic option is to buy a time-limited ticket offering unlimited rides on the city’s entire public transport network (excluding trips to the airport and the People Mover). You can buy a ticket for 1, 2, 3, or 7 days costing €25, €35, €45, or €65 respectively (as of August 2024). This is far more convenient than paying a whopping €9.50 for a one-way ride. You can purchase tickets online or at VeneziaUnica sales points and automated ticket machines in the city. To use the card, you validate it by touching it to a machine before boarding the vaporetto.
Tourist Cards in Venice
There are several options for tourist cards to help you visit the city’s seemingly endless attractions. Some are more general and include things like transportation, while others concentrate on specific types of attractions.
VeneziaUnica
The VeneziaUnica City Pass is a card that allows for free or discounted entry into some of Venice’s biggest attractions as well as transportation, tours, wifi, and more. You can even skip the queues. It’s possible to purchase a pre-packaged card or build your own online. We decided not to purchase a card because many of the places we wanted to visit weren’t included.
Museum Pass
The Museum Pass is good for those who plan to visit several of the civic museums of Venice. It costs €41 for adults, €22 for people ages 6-25 and over 65, and free for kids under 6 (as of August 2024). The pass grants access to 12 of the city’s civic museums, including the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ Pesaro, Correr Museum (Museo Correr), the Glass Museum in Murano, the Lace Museum in Burano, and more. Again, we decided not to buy the pass because we didn’t plan on visiting any museums other than the Doge’s Palace.
Chorus Pass
Chorus Pass is a useful pass if you plan on visiting several of the historic churches in Venice. It covers 19 churches for just €14 for adults and €10 for students age 12-25 (as of August 2024). Entrance to each church individually is €3.50 or free for kids under 12. We didn’t buy this pass either because we only planned on visiting two of the churches on the list.
Where to Stay in Venice
There are seemingly countless options on where to stay in Venice for every budget.
B&B Le Marie
We stayed at B&B Le Marie in Castello, just off Campo Santa Maria Formosa. It’s a cozy place with comfortable rooms near lots of good restaurants and attractions. We enjoyed our stay very much. It included a simple breakfast.
The only minor issue we had is there was no lift and we had to carry our heavy bags up three flights of stairs to get to our room. The views from our room were fantastic.
Money and Tipping in Venice
Venice is definitely not place to visit on a budget. There are plenty of restaurants but you’ll most likely pay much more for a meal than in other Italian cities. Sometimes, the quality of the meal doesn’t justify the price. Also be prepared to dodge people trying to get you into their empty restaurants.
We had a few instances where the servers were rude when we didn’t leave a tip even if a service charge was included on the bill. Tipping is appreciated but isn’t customary Italy. Don’t give in.
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- Doge’s Palace
- Peggy Guggenheim Collection
- St. Mark’s Basilica
- Chorus Pass
- Ticket to St. Mark’s Campanile
- La Fenice Opera House
- Boat Trip to Murano, Torcello, and Burano
- Sightseeing tour with a local guide
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