Venice has the nickname La Serenissima, “the most serene”, and if you get lost there are far worse places for it to happen. Getting lost is half the fun. But if you need to be somewhere at a certain time, or you’ve got tired legs and a suitcase, it helps to know how the city fits together.
This is everything we learnt about getting around Venice on our trip, from reading the map and following the yellow signs to mastering the vaporetto and crossing the Grand Canal like a local.
Venice is best explored on foot, with the vaporetto (water bus) for longer hops and tired feet. A traghetto is the cheap way across the Grand Canal, and water taxis are fast but expensive.
For those of us who like a picture to hang things on, Venice is shaped like a fish. Look at a map and you’ll see it straight away. The six sestieri (districts) wrap around the Grand Canal, which snakes through the body of the fish:
San Marco: The heart of the city, home to St Mark's Square. See our San Marco guide.
Castello: The old shipbuilding district and home to the Biennale.
Cannaregio: Largely residential, and home to the historic Jewish Ghetto.
Santa Croce: Small, and one of the least touristy districts.
San Polo: The smallest sestiere, with the Rialto Market, wonderful churches and art.
Dorsoduro: Home to top galleries, the university and the Zattere waterfront.
Each one is a maze of narrow streets (calli) and canals lined with old buildings, every so often opening onto a square (campo) that’s perfect for a coffee stop and some people-watching. Beyond these central islands, the lagoon is scattered with more, including Murano, Burano, Torcello, Giudecca and the Lido. Our Murano and Burano guide explains how to reach the two most popular.
Walking is the best way to see Venice. It’s said you can cross the whole city in about an hour, but why would you want to? This is a city to savour, not rush.
When you first arrive, you’ll almost certainly get lost in the sestieri without a map. Look for the yellow signs painted or fixed on the walls along the main routes. They point you towards the big landmarks, like the Rialto, San Marco, the Accademia and the station. They’re not everywhere, but they work well for the main points of interest.
A phone map helps, but don’t be surprised if it gets confused in the narrowest lanes. And wear comfortable shoes. Between the bridges, steps and uneven paving, flip-flops are a real hazard here.
Most visitors fly into Venice Marco Polo Airport, which is on the mainland across the lagoon. You have three main options:
Public boats run from the airport across the lagoon to several stops in the city, including Fondamente Nove in Cannaregio. It’s slower, but a lovely first view of Venice.
Pick one up from the airport’s water transport dock, a signposted walk of around ten minutes from arrivals, or book ahead. It’s expensive, but it takes you close to your hotel door, which helps a lot when you don’t know the city yet. The Venice Airport: Private Water Taxi Transfer can be booked in advance.
The quickest and cheapest option. Express buses run across the causeway to Piazzale Roma in around 20 to 25 minutes, and from there you pick up a vaporetto or walk.
Trains arrive at Venezia Santa Lucia, which must have the best arrival view of any station in the world. You walk out of the doors and there’s the Grand Canal right in front of you. Bellissimo! Once you’ve admired the view, pick up a vaporetto from the stops outside if your accommodation isn’t within walking distance. Make sure you get off at Santa Lucia, not Venezia Mestre, which is on the mainland.
The Ponte della Libertà is the only road link between Venice and the mainland at Mestre, carrying cars, buses and trams to Piazzale Roma on the edge of the historic centre. There are car parks there, but it’s best to book a space online in advance. Otherwise, leave your car on the mainland and take the train, bus or tram across.
If you’re walking to your accommodation from the station or a vaporetto stop, travel light. You’ll be dragging your bags over bridges, steps and uneven paving, and the narrow lanes aren’t much fun with a big suitcase.
Venice has no cars, so boats are your best friend, particularly the vaporetti (water buses), which run on an extensive network around the city and out to the islands. I’ll admit it took us a little while to get the hang of the routes when we first arrived, but once we had, the vaporetto was invaluable. ACTV, which runs the network, publishes route maps on its website.
A few things we learnt:
They're frequent: On the main routes boats come every few minutes, and a night service (Line N) keeps running through the small hours.
Expect queues: Boats are used by locals and visitors alike, so allow extra time at busy stops. We got to Fondamente Nove 20 minutes early for the boat to Burano and were at the front of a long queue, and that was in October.
Lines 1 and 2 are the Grand Canal lines: They run the length of the canal, stopping on both sides. Line 1 is the slow one that stops everywhere, so it doubles as a cheap Grand Canal sightseeing trip. Line 2 is faster and also calls at Giudecca.
Pay as you go or buy a pass: You can buy single tickets, but if you're making more than a couple of journeys a day, a travel card for a set number of days works out cheaper. We also found we could tap on with a contactless bank card, just as you would on the London Underground, and the system works out the best fare for your day's journeys. If you'll be riding a lot over several days, a multi-day card still wins.
Validate before you board: Tap your ticket or card on the reader at the stop before you get on.
Teenagers and young adults: Look into the Rolling Venice card, which offers discounted travel passes for young visitors (currently aged 6 to 29).
Know which queue to join: At some of the busiest stops there are separate boarding gates for residents. Visitors aren't blocked; just use the general queue for all passengers.
Sometimes it’s the simple things. Jumping on and off the vaporetto was one of our teenagers’ favourite parts of the trip. Our guide to Venice with teenagers has more ideas for keeping everyone happy.
The Grand Canal curves for several kilometres through the middle of the city, but only four bridges cross it: the Rialto, the Accademia, the Scalzi by the station and the modern Ponte della Costituzione. That can mean long detours on foot.
There are two ways round it. You can hop across on a Line 1 or 2 vaporetto, which zigzag between stops on both banks. Or, better still, take a traghetto. These are large, plain gondolas rowed by two gondoliers, which ferry locals and visitors straight across the canal at a handful of crossing points. A traghetto costs a tiny fraction of a gondola ride, and it’s a fun way to get a taste of one. They only run in the daytime, hours can vary, and you pay the gondolier in cash as you step aboard. Locals traditionally stand for the short crossing, though most visitors sit.
If you’re short on time, carrying lots of luggage or heading somewhere specific in a hurry, a private water taxi will take you straight from A to B. They’re sleek and exciting, and they’re also expensive. You’re paying for the convenience of travelling exactly when and where you want. For most journeys, the vaporetto does the job at a fraction of the price, but for an arrival or departure with a family and bags, it can be worth the splurge.
In closing
Venice is small, but it's not a city to see at speed.
Take your time, jump on and off the vaporetti, and let yourself get lost now and then. Once you've got the hang of it, try our self-guided walking tour through San Polo and Dorsoduro to put your new skills to the test.
Good luck!
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