Just finished five days in Venice and wanted to give a little report from the ground. As always, check all websites for opening times and whether or not they require advance reservations.
St. Mark’s Basilica: several important changes. First, it is no longer free. This has drastically lengthened the line outside because of the time it takes for everyone to pick which ticket they want and then pay for it. Secondly, the little trick that RS has in his book about checking your backpack/luggage at the church down the alley no longer works. They have now switched to self-service coin-operated lockers. You can’t show your claim ticket to the guard at St. Mark’s to skip the line.
Doge’s Palace: the top about buying your ticket first at the Correr Museum to get in quickly isn’t as effective anymore. Every day that I went by the Doge’s Palace the “Already Have Ticket” line was almost as long as the “Buy a Ticket” line. I would guess 100-150 people in the “Already Have Ticket” line. All the lines in Venice were huge, but it is high season and Venice is very popular.
Burano/Torcello: there is a new vaporetto line (#9) that now connects Torcello to Burano. It leaves every 15 minutes from both sides and goes back and forth all day. The tips for vaporetto travel from Torcello back to Venice no longer work. There is no #12 service from Torcello, only from Burano. Not a big deal, but it took me a second to figure it out. The Torcello vaporetto is to the left of the Burano covered stops.
I’m sure there are lots of other changes in Venice, but that’s the major ones that I noticed.