Venice in a Day

Since a single ride ticket is 9.50 EUR, you could benefit buying a day pass for 25 EUR. 3 rides and you got your money back. Then you can hop on and off all day as you please.

Gondola rides are simply tourist rides that return to the start point after about 45 minutes and are very expensive. They are not for point-to-point transportation.

I assume you’re referring to the vaporetto, Venice’s equivalent of a city bus? You can buy a one-day vaporetto pass, which makes it ‘hop on, hop off’, you just have to validate it (hold it up to the sensor ‘til it beeps) each time you get on one of the vaporetto docks (they are recognizable as white cubes with a mustard-yellow stripe).

The "slow boat #1" is a vaporetto, which is basically a municipal bus, except it's a boat. It goes in both directions. Basically, you pay your fare every time you get on the vaporetto. When I was there, I had a plastic card that a tapped every time I went through the fare gate. There may be various options for day passes and such -- I don't recall.

A gondola is a fancy (and very expensive) rowboat. You hire a gondola basically for the experience of riding on a gondola. You would not use it to get from St. Mark's to the station.

The distance from St. Mark's to the station is definitely walkable.

You don’t pay a fare every time if you have a vaporetto pass. In case you wanted to stay longer, you could get a 2-, 3-, or 7-day pass.

The distance from St. Mark's to the station is definitely walkable.

Yes - and it is easy to find. Check https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/finding-your-way-in-venice.htm, look for the yellow signs saying "ALLA FERROVIA" (Italian for "to the railway station")

On Italia Rail, I find I can ride the high speed train, get to Venice by about 9:30 am

There are two competing railway companies running high speed trains, trenitalia.com and italotreno.it

ItaliaRail is a reputable re-seller, but do they sell tickets of both companies? Once they had an exclusive agency agreement with Trenitalia.

Walking in Venice is totally safe, and a real pleasure. You will see much more as you explore on foot, and have time to stop and enjoy the sights you really like. Consider buying a single ticket (€9,50 each) and taking the #1 vaporetto all the way down the canal to the San Marco area without getting off until the end. Then spend your time exploring instead of waiting to board successive vaporetti. Be sure to include Dorsoduro, across the Accademia Bridge, and be sure to walk out to the eastern tip, Punta del,Dogana, for a nice view across to San Marco.

When you are ready to return to Florence, allow at least an hour to make your way back to the train station, using the main path through San Marco and Cannaregio. We walk this in 30 minutes but we know the route and don’t stop. You will want more time. Signs point the way “per Ferrovia” (to the train station). Do not take a route through San Polo, as that becomes very confusing. The main path uses a wide street named Strada Nuova through Cannaregio.

I suggest you get a real map for this to aid your navigation rather than relying on phones. The Streetwise map of Venice is convenient and easy to use, and costs less than one vaporetto ticket.

https://www.amazon.com/Streetwise-Venice-Map-Laminated-Michelin/dp/2067259946/ref=asc_df_2067259946/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=652432746373&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2063625878242978855&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033255&hvtargid=pla-2029746208954&psc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7PCjBhDwARIsANo7CgmpxRsO0YpFHjYqhWRgkMDK_7C90lJZGnhZPm03IWIIh2HQX4xs8D4aAgymEALw_wcB

I suggest you get a real map for this to aid your cavitation rather
than relying on phones.

When I was in Venice this past March, I was surprised how well the maps app on my iphone worked. I have never been good at reading paper maps (sometimes it’s hard to figure out where you are on the map!) and prefer using the app. I turn the sound off and hold my phone down and just glance at when I need to.

I suggest taking the earliest train you can get to Venice. I did a couple of day trips from Verona and arrived in Venice at 8:30 am. Not crowed at that time. Head straight to St. Mark's as that will get busier as the morning goes on. After St. Mark's get away from the square and wander around away from the crowds.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but purchase your ticket to St. Mark's ahead of time, if you plan to go inside. This is the skip the line ticket which will save you lots of time. We walked past a lot of people and walked right in. When i was there, the skip the line entrance was on the left side of the church, looking at the front of the church.

One thing you might like to include is a visit to the rooftop terrace at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, by the Rialto bridge. It is free, but must be booked in advance, 21 days ahead of your visit. You are allowed 15 minutes up there and it is not crowded due to the reservation system.

https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/service/rooftop-terrace

Book for midday and then have lunch nearby. If you want a lunch spot right on the Grand Canal, cross the Rialto Bridge and wander down along the numerous cafes with canal side tables. Note that they will be “touristy” and higher-priced than restaurants away from the canal.

A better (less touristy) option for a waterside lunch might found along the Zattere, the wide sidewalk that runs along the south side of Dorsoduro, bordering the wide Giudecca canal. Have a look at the floating deck in front of Pensione La Calcina.

https://www.lacalcina.com/

We have not eaten there, ut we have stayed at this hotel. It is a Ling established and well-regarded hotel, and I would expect their restaurant to meet the same standard.

For gelato, the best in Venice is at Suso, near the Rialto Bridge and Campo San Bartolomeo in San Marco. This Campo is on the route back to the train station, so you could make this a late afternoon stop for a snack on the way. Or combine it with the FDC rooftop terrace and/Rialto Market if you want your gelato earlier in the day.

https://suso.gelatoteca.it/en/

Another popular gelato spot is Nico on the Zattere.

https://www.gelaterianico.com/

They have lots of “sundae type” confections and seating at tables if you like. But my husband is a purist and prefers Suso for a cone of their excellent dark chocolate gelato.

Carrie, I am so glad you posted and quoted me, as I didn’t not proofread and see the typo ( actually an autocorrect by my iPad). I would hate to,see them trying to cavitate around Venice!

I have nothing against using a phone to find your way around Venice; we occasionally do it ourselves, particularly if all we have is a typical Venetian address with 3 or 4 digits and the sestriere, such as “Dorsoduro 1051”. A street map will not show that.

But if one relies solely on that phone, they never get oriented to the general shape of the island, the actual location of the sights, and how they relate to one another. I need both hands to count the number of people I helped on our most recent visit to Venice, after seeing them staring at their phone trying to figure out where they are and which way to turn to follow the route shown on the phone. They had no idea of the “lay of the land” or which direction they were trying to go.

Thank you so very much! These suggestions are perfect!

Should we buy the train tickets ahead of time for our travel to and from Venice, or just get them when we get to the train station? We want to know we have tickets, but if that is guaranteed, then we could be more flexible in our travel day, especially for our return train ride back to Florence.

Thank you again.

Lola made a very good suggestion. Take the vaporetto from the train station to St. Mark's and then walk your way back. That way you have only one vap. fare, and can spend as much time as you like wandering about. Venice is really small, and (assuming you are reasonably fit) you should be able to walk all over without any problems. The RS book should have the routes for several walks. And it is safe to walk everywhere. If memory serves correctly, the # 1 and # 2 vap. routes are the same. The # 1 stops at all the docks, and the # 2 only stops at some of them. Might save some time and still see the same things. You can google their web site to be sure that is still the case. For the best food at lunch, get off the beaten path and find a place on a small back street. If you are in the Rialto Bridge area at lunch time, consider Trattoria Da Marco Valla Fava on Calle Stagneri. It is a bit pricy, but has some of the best sea food ever!! Try to eat inside rather than outside. The place has been around at least 50 years so they must be doing it right. Easy to check out their location and prices on their web site.

If you know the day you want to travel, purchasing your train tickets ahead of time will likely save a lot of money, but they are non-refundable. In March we prebooked all of our train tickets, using Italo high speed train from Florence to Venice, we paid 7 euro each, we used a discount code which we got via email after signing up for a free account. If, on the other hand, flexibility is key, then you can just wait, the most you will pay is whatever is listed as the base price (~53 euro?). I'm not sure if you will get the kind of discount we got, but you will still save quite a bit booking in advance.

For the best experience on the #1 vaporetto, I recommend crossing over the Grannd Canal to Piazzale Roma on the modern and controversial Ponte della Costatuzione (stopping at the top to enjoy the view). Head to the right along the canal after you exit the station to reach the bridge. This gets you away from the Ferrovia crowds and long lines for tickets and boarding. The #1 actually begins its journey at Piazzale Roma, so by boarding here instead of at the Ferrovia, you board earlier and have a much better chance to get a seat outside at the front, or a good spot on the railing if you prefer to stand.

https://ilgiornaledellarchitettura.com/2022/02/21/il-ponte-di-calatrava-a-venezia-una-storia-infinita/

Turn right off the bridge and walk along the fondamente to dock “C”, which is according to the current schedule the one used by the No.1. You will walk past G, F, E, and D to reach C. Confirm the dock when you buy your tickets.

https://moovitapp.com/index/en/public_transit-line-1-Venezia-2083-851802-905207-0

Here is a general map of all vaporetto routes:

https://www.venice.nu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/mappa_linee_di_navigazione-_aprile_2023_web.pdf

Re: “Should we buy the train tickets ahead of time for our travel to and from Venice, or just get them when we get to the train station? We want to know we have tickets, but if that is guaranteed, then we could be more flexible in our travel day, especially for our return train ride back to Florence”. I was there right when things opened up from Covid so less crowded but here is my experience….. I pre booked all my tickets and was able to reschedule to new times every single time I changed locations without any problems. (My exact route was Rome > Florence > Venice> Naples (Sorrento) > Rome. ). This let me leave destinations earlier or later depending on how I felt. Their website will have all the info you need on rebooking guidelines and it was very easy.

I really appreciate all the thoughts and suggestions. We have bought our Italia Rail tickets and are very excited.

Should we pre-buy the tickets for the boat ride down the canal? Or buy them upon arrival?

After reading the comments, we have decided to just ride all the way from beginning to end, without getting off, and will walk back, stopping at the areas of extra interest.

Thank you!

You can buy your vaporetto tickets (or passes) upon arrival.

Since we are not planning to get off the boat until St. Marks Basilica, I am thinking we should get tickets for Vaporetto #2, to simply enjoy the ride and sites, rather than #1 that has so many stops. Would you agree?

Thank you so much!

More stops means more time for the ride, plus you will have the chance to get a better seat or place to stand as people get off the boat. More time to look at whatever is near the stop. We enjoy the stops themselves, too, maybe because we have several (small) boats and a dock --- interesting for us to see how the vaporetto maneuvers.

Vaporetto tickets are not route specific
You can ride whichever boat you like
Be sure to validate each and every time you board

ItaliaRail is a reseller so you have Trenitalia tickets- there is no such thing as ItaliaRail tickets