Arriving in Venice by train - then what?

Walk through the station, through the front doors and you are at the top of a flight of steps (ramp right around the side)looking straight at the view of the Grand Canal. You have arrived. Cheapest way to the "touristy areas" is to walk. Turn left, follow the yellow signs to Rialto and then the yellow signs to S Marco. The only problem is that half the world will be on the same well trodden path. Or get a Vaporetto ticket or pass and take the ride down the Grand Canal. Its all covered in quite a lot of detail in the Rick Steves Venice book. The secret of Venice is to get off the well trodden route and get lost in the back streets. Enjoy.

Hop on the No 1 Vaporetto at the dock in front of the train station. Cost is 7 euro. That will take you to the Rialto or further on to San Marco. Suggest you download the RS Grand Canal audio tour from this website to an MP3 or IPod. That will give you a guide to what is what as you ride to San Marco. You can work your way back to the station by walking to the Rialto and its not a bad walk from there to the station, if you want to save 7 euro on the return journey. Its pretty much touristy all the way.

Definitely take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal. go to a stop past San marco and begin working your way back. After you have seen Piazza San Marco and the basilica, fiind a twisty way through the less-touristed areas.

Thanks All! Does anyone have any idea if the train station there has lockers for luggage? That could potentially be a problem, and we may need to check in to a hotel in Verona ahead of time.

I remember lockers being there, but that was a few years ago. RailEurope says there is. 3.80 Eu first 5 hours, 0.60 Eu each hour after. http://www.raileurope.com/europe-travel-guide/italy/venice/train-station/santa-lucia-train-station.html

The raileurope website offers the following information for Santa Lucia train station: Baggage consignment: Hours: 6 am to midnight Rates 3.80 for the first 5 hours 0.60 for each additional hour from the 6th-12th 0.20 for each additional hour from 12th and on
Location: ground floor

I suggest that the first thing you do is walk out of the front of the train station and stop at the top of the stairs. Next, what you see will make your world stop. It's everything you expected but nothing you understand. Everything is in motion. We just stood and watched for a few minutes. Next, there are no lockers in train stations in Italy. Better yet, they have staffed luggage storage at most main train stations. There is such a facility at the Venice train station. It's on the ground floor near Platform #1. About 4Euro per bag for the first 5 hours. After storing your luggage and standing on the top of the stairs, walk down to the ticket booth and buy vaporetto tickets for your stay. They come in 12hr, 24hr, 36hr, 48hr and 72hr versions. Once you have your tickets, hop onto the #1 vaporetto that says LIDO. It will come from your right and go off to your left. Take a gentle tour down the Grand Canal. You'll love it.

A vaporetto ride is a cheap experience I haven't found anywhere else. I'd start with the ride to San Marco and work back from there. Another cheap experience is a traghetto ride across a canal. If a Gondola is a limo and a vaporetto is a bus, a traghetto is a taxi. Here's a good article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122411174975038299.html

I'd say a traghetto is more like a giant rickshaw.

Zoe, Which, I guess would make a Vaporetto more like a Jitney/Jeepney. :) http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/World/Philippines.html