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Parking in Venice
Venice is a city of
pedestrians and boats. When you come to Venice's historic center, you'll need to
park your car until you're ready to leave.
Your Venice parking options fall under three headings:
- At the edge of the historic center,
in the parking facilities on
Tronchetto (an artificial
island that was designed for parking) or at the Piazzale Roma (the
last stop for cars, taxis, and buses that arrive in Venice).
- On the mainland,
beyond the causeway that connects Venice with Mestre, Marghera, Marco Polo
Airport, and other locations on "terrafirma" (as the Venetians
refer to the mainland).
- On the Lido di Venezia,
the car-friendly island strip of beaches, resort hotels, and
villa neighborhoods that separates the Venetian Lagoon from the Adriatic Sea. (You can get
to the Lido by car ferry, and your
hotel on the Lido will give you advice on parking).
In this article, we'll focus on the two most popular
options: expensive parking next to the historic center, and cheaper parking on
the Venetian mainland.
ABOVE: The main entrance to the Tronchetto
parking garage next to Venice's historic center.
Historic center
The two areas where you can park near the centro storico
are:
-
Tronchetto,
where a huge garage and surface parking lots have
thousands of spaces for cars, campers, and buses. You'll see an exit for
Tronchetto as you approach Venice on the causeway from the mainland. The
island is easy to navigate, and it's your best bet if you want to park near
the center and don't mind paying a daily fee of €21 or more. From
Tronchetto, you can take the inexpensive People Mover to the Piazzale Roma
or catch a vaporetto to other locations within the city center. See
our Tronchetto Parking Garage
article for more information.
-
Piazzale Roma, a large
square that's jammed with city and suburban buses, tour coaches, taxis, and
cars. It does have several expensive garages, such
as the Garage San Marco (where you'll pay €30 for 24 hours of parking).
Unless you're a glutton for punishment, we'd recommend avoiding the Piazzale
Roma with its confusing layout, busy traffic, and ongoing reconstruction work.
Mainland
On the Venetian mainland, your best bets are:
-
Parking at a hotel in Mestre,
where you can take a train or city bus into Venice. We personally recommend
the
Best Western Hotel Bologna, an attractively modernized 100-year-old
hotel directly across from the Mestre railroad station. Buy your train
tickets from the hotel's front desk, walk across the street, and grab one of
the frequent trains to Venice Santa
Lucia railroad station (journey time: 10 to 12 minutes).
- Parcheggi San Giuliano,
in the Parco San Giuliano at the foot of the causeway that leads to Venice.
You can park your car at the "Porta Gialla" or "Yellow Gate" lot for about
€5 per day and catch a direct water bus to Venice. See our
San Giuliano Parking
article for details, photos, and maps.
Other, less convenient locations include:
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Public parking near the Mestre
railroad station. Mestre has a number of lots and garages, but finding
them can be a nuisance, and you may waste time that could have been spent
sightseeing.
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Parking in more distant mainland areas,
such as Fusina and Punta Sabbioni. These alternatives are worth considering at
exceptionally busy times of the year when you may worry about finding a parking
space closer to the city.
For annotated links to parking Web sites for Venice and its
suburbs, go to page 2 of this article.
Next page:
Web links for garages and parking lots
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Hotel tip:
Location can be important when
choosing a hotel in Venice or on the mainland. Before booking, read our
No. 1 Warning
and Venice Hotel
Recommendations by Area.
Venice for Cruisers:
All Venice Cruising Articles
Roundtrip Cruises from
Venice
MSC
Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Review
From our
Venice Travel Blog:
A water taxi ride to Venice Airport
A
warning about water taxis
Venice Railroad Station: a vaporetto view
Long lines at Venice Airport
Free boat trips to Murano
Need to
pee? Prepare to pay
The perils of overpacking
Flood
warning: the sound of sirens
Stupid tourist
tricks
Venetian daily life
From
Maggie in Venice:
A dog's life in Venice
A
Beagle boards a water bus
Venice Carnival for dogs
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Durant
& Cheryl Imboden's
