Venice Transportation

Aside from on boats, the only way to explore Venice is by walking -- and getting lost repeatedly. You'll navigate many twisting streets whose names change constantly and don't appear on any map, and streets that may very well simply end in a blind alley or spill abruptly into a canal. You'll also cross dozens of footbridges. Treat getting bewilderingly lost in Venice as part of the fun, and budget more time than you'd think necessary to get wherever you're going.

Street Maps & Signage -- The free map offered by the tourist office and most hotels has good intentions, but it doesn't even show -- much less name or index -- all the calli (streets) and pathways of Venice. For that, pick up a more detailed map (ask for a pianta della città at news kiosks -- especially those at the train station and around San Marco) or most bookstores. The best (and most expensive) is the highly detailed Touring Club Italiano map, available in a variety of forms (folding or spiral-bound) and scales. Almost as good, and easier to carry, is the simple and cheap 1:6500 folding map put out by Storti Edizioni (its cover is white-edged with pink, which fades to blue at the bottom).

Still, Venice's confusing layout confounds even the best maps and navigators. You're often better off just stopping every couple of blocks and asking a local to point you in the right direction (always know the name of the campo/square or major sight closest to the address you're looking for and ask about that).

As you wander, look for the ubiquitous yellow signs (well, usually yellow) whose destinations and arrows direct you toward five major landmarks: Ferrovia (the train station), Piazzale Roma, Rialto (the main bridge), San Marco, and the Accademia (also useful as the only other Grand Canal bridge below the train station).

By Boat

The various sestieri are linked by a comprehensive vaporetto (water bus/ferry) system of about a dozen lines operated by the Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV), Calle Fuseri 1810, off the Frezzeria in San Marco (tel. 041-528-7886 for both offices; www.actv.it). Transit maps are available at the tourist office and most ACTV stations. It's easier to get around on foot; the vaporetti principally serve the Grand Canal (and can be crowded in summer), the outskirts, and the outer islands. The crisscross network of small canals is the province of delivery vessels, gondolas, and private boats.

A ticket valid for 1 hour of travel is a steep 6€ ($7.80), while the 24-hour ticket at 15€ ($20) is a good buy if you'll be making more than two trips spread out through the day. Most lines run every 10 to 15 minutes from 7am to midnight, and then hourly until morning; most vaporetto docks (the only place you can buy tickets) have timetables posted. Note that not all stations sell tickets after dark; if you haven't bought a pass or extra tickets beforehand, you'll have to settle up with the conductor onboard (you'll have to find him -- he won't come looking for you) for an extra .50€ (65¢) per ticket or risk a stiff fine, no excuses accepted. Also available are 48-hour tickets (25€/$33) and 72-hour tickets (30€/$39). If you're planning to stay in Venice a while, it makes sense to pick up a Venice Card, with which you can buy 1-hour vaporetto tickets for 1€ ($1.30).

Just three bridges span the Grand Canal. To fill in the gaps, traghetti skiffs (oversize gondolas rowed by two standing gondolieri) cross the Grand Canal at eight intermediate points. You'll find a station at the end of any street named Calle del Traghetto on your map and indicated by a yellow sign with the black gondola symbol. The fare is (.50€/65¢), which you hand to the gondolier when boarding. Most Venetians cross standing up. For the experience, try the Santa Sofia crossing that connects the Ca' d'Oro and the Pescheria fish market, opposite each other on the Grand Canal just north of the Rialto Bridge -- the gondoliers expertly dodge water traffic at this point of the canal where it's the busiest and most heart-stopping.

Cruising the Canals -- A leisurely cruise along the Grand Canal from Piazza San Marco to the Ferrovia -- or the reverse -- is one of Venice's must-dos. It's the world's most unusual Main Street, a watery boulevard whose palazzi have been converted into condos. Lower water-lapped floors are now deserted, but the higher floors are still coveted by the city's titled families, who have inhabited these glorious residences for centuries; others have become the summertime dream homes of privileged expats, drawn here as irresistibly as the romantic Venetians-by-adoption who preceded them -- Richard Wagner, Robert Browning, Lord Byron, and (more recently) Woody Allen.

As much a symbol of Venice as the winged lion, the gondola is one of Europe's great traditions, incredibly and inexplicably expensive but truly as romantic as it looks (detractors who write it off as too touristy have most likely never tried it). Though it's often quoted in print at differing official rates, expect to pay 80€ ($104) for a 40-minute tour (100€/$130 between 7pm and 8am), with up to six passengers, and 40€ ($52) for every additional 20 minutes (50€/$65 at night). That's not a typo: about $200 an hour for an evening cruise. Note: At these ridiculously inflated prices, there is no need to tip the gondolier. Aim for late afternoon before sundown, when the light does its magic on the canal reflections (and bring a bottle of prosecco [a champagnelike drink] and glasses). If the gondola price is too high, ask visitors at your hotel or others lingering about at the gondola stations if they'd like to share it. Before setting off, establish with the gondolier the cost, time, and route explanation (any of the back canals are preferable to the trafficked and often choppy Grand Canal). They're regulated by the Ente Gondola (tel. 041-528-5075; www.gondolavenezia.it), so call if you have any questions or complaints.

And what of the serenading gondolier immortalized in film? Frankly, you're better off without. But if warbling is de rigueur for you, here's the scoop. An ensemble of accordion player and tenor is so expensive that it's shared among several gondolas traveling together. A number of travel agents around town book the evening serenades for around 30€ ($39) per person. The number of gondolieri willing to brave the winter cold and rain is minimal, though some come out of their wintertime hibernation for the Carnevale period.

There are 12 gondola stations around Venice, including Piazzale Roma, the train station, the Rialto Bridge, and Piazza San Marco. There are also a number of smaller stations, with gondoliers standing alongside their sleek 11m (36-ft.) black wonders looking for passengers. They all speak enough English to communicate the necessary details.

By Water Taxi

Taxi acquei (water taxis) charge high prices and aren't for visitors watching their euros. The meter starts at 8.70€ ($11) and clicks at 1.30€ ($1.70) per minute. Each bag over 50 centimeters long (20 in.) costs 1.50€ ($1.95), plus there's a 5.50€ ($7.15) supplement for service from 10pm to 7am and a 5.90€ ($7.70) surcharge on Sundays and holidays (these last two charges, however, can't be applied simultaneously). If they have to come get you, tack on another 6€ ($7.80). Those rates cover up to four people; if any more squeeze in, it's another 1.60€ ($2.10) per extra passenger (maximum: 20 people.)

Six water-taxi stations serve key points in the city: the Ferrovia (tel. 041-716-286), Piazzale Roma (tel. 041-716-922), the Rialto Bridge (tel. 041-523-0575 or 041-723-112), Piazza San Marco (tel. 041-522-9750), the Lido (tel. 041-526-0059), and Marco Polo Airport (tel. 041-541-5084). Radio Taxi (tel. 041-522-2303 or 041-723-112) will come pick you up anyplace in the city.

By Gondola

To come all the way to Venice and not indulge in a gondola ride could be one of your biggest regrets. Yes, it's touristy, and, yes, it's expensive, but only those with a heart of stone will be unmoved by the quintessential Venetian experience. Do not initiate your trip, however, until you have agreed upon a price and synchronized watches. Oh, and don't ask them to sing.