Introducing Venice

In our "Picking the best hotel location" article, we make a statement that's worth repeating here:

• Don't pick a hotel in a location that's inconvenient or expensive to reach.

Many first-time visitors book hotels (or let their travel agents book hotels) without giving any thought to location. This can lead to frustrating and expensive mistakes.

To see why, let's look at another aerial photo:

Let's say that you're arriving by air and spending two days in Venice before departing on a small cruise ship from the San Basilio pier.

 Your travel agent books you into a hotel in Castello, inland from the Piazza San Marco. You're traveling with large, heavy luggage.

Because your travel agent knows a lot about cruising but very little about Venice, she didn't realize that:

• You'll need to walk over a series of bridges and down narrow, crowded streets with your bulky luggage to reach the hotel from the San Marco airport-boat stop, and...

• On the day of your cruise departure, you'll need to lug your suitcases to a distant  vaporetto pier where you can catch an expensive water bus to San Basilio, or--alternatively--pay 60 or 70 euros for a private water taxi.

You're going to have a frustrating experience that could have been avoided if you'd stayed at a hotel closer to your cruise terminal.

The same principle applies if you're arriving and departing by train: By staying within walking distance of the Santa Lucia railroad station, you'll save time, hassle, and money.

To find suitable hotels quickly and easily, see our Venice Hotel, B&B, and Apartments Guide.

• Tip: Most hotel reservations can be cancelled without penalty if you give notice at least 24 to 48 hours before your stay. If you discover that you're booked into a hotel that doesn't fit your needs, see if you can cancel the booking and choose another hotel at a more convenient location.

Venice Transportation

ABOVE: This photo, taken from the Ponte dei Scalzi bridge, shows two ACTV vaporetti (water buses) on the Grand Canal.  The Ferrovia ACTV piers and the Santa Lucia Railway Station are visible on the right, behind the boats and the Scalzi Church.

Arriving:

In our "Arriving in Venice" article, we tell you how to reach the city center from the Venice Marco Polo and Treviso airports, from the Mestre and Santa Lucia railroad stations, from the cruise and ferry terminals, or by car.

If you're driving, you'll also want to see "Parking in Venice," which has advice (with Web links) about where to park in Venice or on the mainland.

Also see our Venice for Cruisers section if you're arriving or departing on a cruise ship.

Getting around the city:

Our Local Transportation Index lists articles about water buses (vaporetti), water taxis, pedestrian and car ferries, tourist travel cards, and related topics.

Most of the time, you won't need to use water buses or other boats unless you have limited mobility or you're traveling to an island such as Murano, Burano, or Torcello. What you will need is a good map, so read our "Venice Street Maps" article before looking for a newsstand, souvenir shop, or bookstore.

Also see "Walking in Venice," which has more advice on maps along with tips about directional signs, street signs, and addresses.

More about Venice, Italy

After you've read this introduction to Venice, go to our Venice Travel Guide, which lists all of our Venice travel articles by category.

Finally, don't miss our Venice Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, which offers useful advice in an easy-to-read format.

About the author:

Durant Imboden has written about Venice, Italy since 1996. He covered Venice and European travel at About.com for 4-1/2 years before launching Europe for Visitors (including Venice for Visitors) with Cheryl Imboden in 2001.

PC Magazine has called this "the premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy." Over the years, it has helped more than 30 million travelers. For more information, see About our site, our Europe for Visitors press clippings, and our reader testimonials.