Venice parking?

To be honest, the best idea would be to turn the car in. You will have no use for it while in Venice and the fee for three days' rental, plus the parking fee at Piazzale Roma, will buy you a nice meal!

You can park in the enormous parking garage on the Tronchetto for about 20E/day. It has a water bus stop.

Piazzale Roma is another, closer and more expensive parking garage on the island.

Short of those two choices, you can park for much less near the train station in Mestre and take the train in from there. We opted for the Tronchetto for one less transfer.

I recomend parking at the tronchetto as Doug suggested. When you drive into venice, take a right at the first stoplight on the island. You'll see big parking garages, just head on over.

Thanks!

We parked at the Tronchetto a couple of weeks ago. The car was secure and it was very easy to get into town.

Enjoy - don't get sucked in by the free taxi rides to the glass factories in Murano.

I know this is where everyone always disagrees about Mestre, but I find it to be the cheaper option without that much more fuss.

Tronchetto for 20 E/day x 3 = 60 E

Mestre for 6 E/day x 3 = 18 E (+ 1 or 2 E to take the 10 minute train ride in to Venice)

Or in dollars at today's rate, the Tronchetto is about $85 vs Mestre at about $28.

(The one exception would be during Carnevale because that stuff is crazy! :)

I agree with Tamara about Mestre. Really easy if they have room at the parking lot across the street from the train station and much cheaper.

What a waste of money to park a car and not use it for 3 days. Turn it in.

It's only a little presumptuous to assume that she is renting the car. She might also be borrowing it. What if she has family here who will loan her the car for exploring?

I will be getting to Venice around 6pm on a Friday and leaving Sunday in the am. Then we are going to Milan.

Barbara,

We drove and parked there in mid to late October. As I recall there were two parking lots when we arrived. The main parking area and a more secure lot that Rick suggested. We parked at the secure lot.

It took a long time to get parked and was very expensive but the car was in one piece when we picked it up. I would estimate it took an hour to two hours each time to drop off and pick up our car. The daily fee was pretty outrageous too.

If I had to do it over I would save time and money by parking on the mainland and training into Venice. I think Rick's book has suggestions on where you can park near a station.

If you want to save money, do the Mestre option. It is less than 1/2 the cost of parking in Venice and very, very, easy.

Is parking at Mestre easy? We're going to have some luggage?

It is easy to park in Mestre especially if the lot across the street has available spaces. Based on your statement I am assuming that you are checking some of your luggage. The luggage should not be a problem since the parking lot is so close to the train station. It may be more of a problem when you get to Venice depending on the location of your room. Is packing lighter an option for you? Two of the best tips I could offer to anyone would be to pack light and if driving take a gps.

We are driving all around Italy then to Venice and dropping the car off in Milan. My boyfriend wants the car. Is it safe to leave things in the trunk at Mestre or are their lockers(for sure) at the train station? I've been to Venice before and have lugged my luggage(hey is that why they call it that!)through the streets.

We are driving all around Italy then to Venice and dropping the car off in Milan. My boyfriend wants the car.

Driving all around Italy? Where else are you driving besides Venice and Milan?

Parking in Mestre is easy. You exit the freeway and follow signs for the train station. There is a large multi story parking garage across the street form the the station. Pull in, get your ticket and park your car. Cross the street and catch the train to Venice. (Trains go every few minutes) From there, you can catch a vaperetto to where you want to go. (If you drive into Venice, you still have to catch the vaperetto and walk to your hotel, so it really isn't any easier doing luggage from the tronchetto than from Mestre) As for leaving stuff in the car...it is your call. We did leave a couple of things in the trunk that we could live without if stolen, but never leave anything where it can be seen. Our stuff was fine, but it is a risk. (but that is true wherever you park..Venice or Mestre) Just to give you an idea, we paid 6.00 euors a day, 10 Saturday and Sunday. (You pay for any day your car is there. We arrived Wednesday night, left 8:00 Saturday morning: 4 day $28.00. Paying for any day your car is there is the policy of all parking lots in Venice and Mestre) We were 4 people, so it cost us 8 euros to go round trip to Venice..total 36 euros. Contrast that with 20 euors a day at the Tronchetto (4 days= 80 euros) and you can see the savings. (also, there are just 2 of you so only 4 euros to go back and forth to Venice.) We've done it twice and it really isn't difficult. Have a great trip.

I don't think there are lockers at the train stations in Italy. I do not remember seeing any in Mestre but I was not looking for any. There may be a left luggage place at the station that would have an attenedent but again I am not sure about that. From what I have read there is a place where you can leave your luggage or personal items at the Venice train station but it is probably not open 24 hours a day. If this service is not available at the Mestre station you could leave it at the Venice station and pick it up when you leave Venice.

Actually Barbara I believe the word luggage does come from "lugging" or "to drag" around. Seems I read that somewhere but this prompts me to research it to make sure.

The parking lot across the street from the train station in Mestre where we parked is not a multi story one. It was 4,50 euros per day but that was 2 years ago. It is secured and has an attendent on duty however I personally would not leave anything in the car overnight but that is your call of course.

We will be flying into Rome, train to Sorrento, renting a car there, then to Tuscany, then to Turin (to pick up his daughter) then to Venice and home from Milan.
Are there lockers in the train station @Mestre?
Thanks!