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VENICE |
getting into Venice
By plane
From the Marco Polo airport you can reach the historic center in several ways:
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By taxi: the 15-minute trip to Piazzale Roma will cost you about 30 euros (radiotaxi Mestre tel. +39-041-936222). From here, you can either walk into town or take an ACTV water bus.
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By water taxi: water taxis are private taxi-powerboats for passenger transport. They are smaller than water buses (they can't carry more than a dozen people) and are perhaps the fastest way to reach the center (about 30 minutes) but undoubtedly the most expensive too: one trip may cost you up to 55-60 euros.
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By shuttle bus: the direct ATVO shuttle service from the airport allows to reach Piazzale Roma in 20 minutes, with departures at regular intervals (every half an hour). The 3-euro fare includes the transport of luggage. For information on the ATVO buses timetable, see the ATVO web site at the following Internet address: www.atvo.it.
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By bus: the service is operated by the municipal transit service (ACTV, line n. 5) therefore several stops are made on the way to Piazzale Roma (the automotive gateway to Venice). The bus line n. 15 will take you to the centre of Mestre. The trip requires about 30 minutes and costs 1 euro, but you'll have to pay the same amount for each piece of luggage.
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By Alilaguna powerboat (Blue and Red lines): a private taxi-powerboat service that uses the ACTV landing jetties network. They'll take you straight to Venice from the airport, calling only at major stops. This service is much cheaper than private water taxis. The Red line (Linea Alilaguna Rossa) stops in Murano (30'), Lido (55'), Arsenale (1h.05'), S.Marco (1h.10') and Zattere (1h.20'), while the Blue line (linea Alilaguna Blu) calls at Fondamenta Nuove (30') and S.Marco (58'). Moreover, a direct shuttle service has been activated from the airport to the Stazione Marittima (the harbour station). The Alilaguna blue and red lines offer an hourly service.
The fare may vary from 5 to 13 euros (for the airport-Stazione Marittima trip) and includes the transport of luggage. For further information on fares and timetables, see the Alilaguna web site at the following address: www.alilaguna.com.
By car
You can easily get to Venice through motorway (A4 from Trieste and Turin, A27 from Belluno, and A13 from Bologna) and road links (highways SS.309 Romea from the Adriatic coast, SS.14 from Trieste, SS.13 from Treviso, and SS.11 from Padua). Once you've reached the lagoon take the Ponte della Libertà, the bridge that literally links Venice to the mainland. If you follow the signs to Venice you'll find yourself in Piazzale Roma, which is as far as you can go by car, so you'll have to park your car in one of the following parking garages: Autorimessa Comunale, Garage S.Marco, S.Andrea. There is also a large parking lot on the Tronchetto island (turn right at the end of the bridge).
However, another possible solution is to leave your car in Mestre (either in the parking lots by the entrance to the Ponte della Libertà or the ones by the Mestre railway station) and continue from there by bus or train to Venice.
By train
If you decide to get there by train, you'll be taken straight into Venice. Indeed, it is the easiest way to reach the Grand Canal. If you need to stop in Mestre or Marghera, remember to get off at Venezia-Mestre (one stop before Venice). The train is the best solution to go from Venice to Mestre and vice versa as it only takes 10 minutes.
Getting around Venice
You can either walk (we can assure you that it is a magical experience) or take ACTV water buses and powerboats. As the one way fare is 3.50 euros, we recommend that you purchase one of the tickets specified underneath. The following ACTV special fares allow to use all ACTV water buses (apart from the Alilaguna, Fusina, Clodia and LineaBlu lines) and land buses in Mestre and Lido with one piece of hand luggage allowed.
24-hour ticket: it costs 10.50 € and it is valid for 24 hours from the time of stamping.
3-day pass: it costs 22.00 € and it is valid for 72 hours from the time of stamping.
If you are going back to Mestre late in the evening, ask in Piazzale Roma what buses will take you back and check the timetable, as there are fewer buses at night and trains stop running at about midnight till early in the morning.