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Venice has two means of transport, the canals and the pavements, and strangley enough you will use the sidestreets more than the canals. They don't cost, trips on the boat have become quite expensive in recent times and they tend to be just quicker. Distances between major sights are extremely short once you've got your general bearings although it can be tiresome and reminiscent of a thigh master workout with all those bridges. Apart from services #1 and the #82 are the ones most used which cut through the city along the Canal Grande. A water-bus is the quickest way of getting between furthest areas and sometimes it is simply nicer and more in keeping with the atmosphere of the city. You can buy a single ticket or return. If you are staying more than a day get a day pass as it is definitely worth it and allows you the freedom to hop on and off at will. Tickets are available from most landing stages with ACTV offices or from tabacchi (shops) displaying the ACTV sign. You can buy your tickets on board at the standard price, as long as you state this as soon as you board, otherwise you are liable for a fine. The gondola, the famous form of transport, is now just a tourist attraction. However it is the most romantic, if somewhat embarrassing way to travel. To hire one costs €60 per about fifty minutes for up to six passengers and a little more after 8pm. Establish the price before setting off and minimize your chances of being ripped off by only taking a gondola from one of the following official gondola stands. Ask to be taken off the beaten track and not on the Canal Grande or near San Marco as you may as well be on a vaporetto and the light Gondolas get bashed by the surf of the vaporetto on the larger canals. Few cities reward walkers so generously as Venice! It may not be worth following the interminable signs directing you to 'San Marco', 'the Rialto', 'the Ferrovia' or all three at once, sometimes pointing simultaneously in different directions! An idea to ensure you get the best of all worlds is to head inland on foot, simply let your feet be your guide, ramble through the little back streets and soak in the atmosphere of the labyrinth of lanes until you arrive at an interesting destination and make you way back out on the vaporetto. |