Venice Things To Do

One of the unique things about Venice – its lack of cars – makes the question of how to get around a slightly more interesting one than it might be in another city. This labyrinthine city built on the water is best explored on foot, but Venetians make great use of their many canals, too. As you might expect, there are a few different kinds of boats in Venice, so here’s a primer on what you need to know about getting around in Venice.

For most visitors, a trip to Venice would not be complete without a journey along its famous waterways. Yet navigating the canals of Venice (and their boatmen) can be a surprisingly complicated affair. The options are endless: you can take a vaporetto which, much like a city bus, jumps from stop to stop along the Grand Canal or you can sign up for a boat tour on a large, flat-bottomed vessel. Our two favorite options, however, are to take to the water on a gondola and water taxi.

Venice, La Serenissima, city of more than 150 canals, narrow streets, and wrought-iron bridges connecting over 117 islands. City of masks and gondolas, beauty and romance, wonderful artwork, elegant mansions, exquisite glassware and lace. Maritime capital of the medieval world, home to famous merchants and clandestine meetings in alleyways. This crumbling city on water is like nowhere else on earth, and is one of the world’s most visited tourist destinations. It has to be seen to be truly appreciated, so here are some tips for making the most out of your trip to enchanting Venice.

The only wheeled traffic in Venice are the trolleys used to take things from barge to shop. And prams. There are no cars and very few bicycles, because of all the steps. It seems obvious to say that there are no cars but there was once a plan to fill in the canals of Venice and bring cars to the city. Thankfully that failed, but some of the wider streets you encounter in Venice are actually filled in canals from the days of this ill-conceived plan. Boats are still the best way to get around, but with all the different types of gondolas, taxis and water buses, how can you make sense of it without overpaying? Here’s a quick guide to help you out.

There are many ways to arrive in Venice and your first view of this magical city will remain in your mind for a long time. The least romantic or memorable but easiest, is by train (to Venice Santa Lucia station). In the nineteenth century a two mile long causeway was built from the mainland bringing the railway out to the lagoon islands of Venice; in the twentieth century a road was built alongside it and a large carpark constructed – there are no cars in Venice itself so it’s park and ride (vaporetto or gondola).