Plan your trip to Venice, Italy

Venice for Visitors has offered unbiased advice to more than 30 million travelers over the last quarter century. PC Magazine has called our site "The premier visitors' site for Venice, Italy."

Jumpstart your Venice travel plans by browsing the topics below, or scroll quickly through our Main Travel Guide Index.

Introducing Venice

• Learn about Venice and its 118 islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Our advice for first-time visitors includes how to arrive by plane, train, car, or ship and what do do in a medical emergency.

• Read our Venice Q&A, Top 11 Tourist Mistakes (and how to avoid them), acqua alta flooding, tips on walking in Venice, a guide to public toilets, a sampling of Venice tourism statistics, our guide to Venice's "access fee" for daytrippers, and examples of tourist fines for "forbidden behavior."

• We also have guides to Mestre and the  Lido di Venezia and advice on luggage storage and baggage porters.

• Are you eager to avoid crowds? Learn how traveling to Venice in the winter lets you see the city at its best while saving money on hotels and vacation rentals.

• Are you cruising? See Venice for Cruisers, including our article on "Venice" cruise ports (which can be far away from the city).

• Finally, our Accessible Venice article has advice and resources for mobility-impaired visitors.

ABOVE: A traghetto ferries passengers across the Grand Canal. (These oversize gondolas are rowed by two oarsmen and offer a shortcut for footsore pedestrians who'd rather not walk to the nearest major bridge.)

Transportation

• We provide up-to-date information on the vaporetto (water bus) network, including vaporetto fares, water bus routes,

• how and where to buy vaporetto tickets, ACTV maps and timetables, vaporetto stops, and 1- to 7-day transportation passes.

• We also describe the new "tap and go" ticket scanners that also let you pay fares on the spot with your credit or debit card. (There's even a new "best fare" guarantee.)

• You'll find guides to airport transportation, gondola rides, Venezia Santa Lucia railroad station, parking, bicyling, and the Piazzale Roma transportation hub where land taxis and most buses from the mainland arrive.

• Note: Some Ryanair and Wizzair flights use Treviso Airport instead of Venice Marco Polo Airport, and some trains to Venice arrive and depart at Venezia Mestre on the mainland.

ABOVE: This florist's shop near the Accademia Bridge does a lively business year-round.

Sightseeing

• Read about the Piazza San Marco, St. Mark's Basilica, the Rialto Bridge, the Venetian Ghetto, the glassmaking island of Murano, Venice's San Michele island cemetery, and more.

• Two other articles, Bridges of Venice and Canals of Venice, are packed with photos and useful advice.

• Don't miss our Top 11 Free Sights in Venice, our do-it-yourself Grand Canal vaporetto cruise, and our Venice islands tour itinerary by public transit.

• When you're looking for green space or a place to sit, check our guides to parks and gardens and public benches.

ABOVE: The Hotel Santa Chiara is on the edge of the Piazzale Roma, close to water taxis, land taxis, and airport buses.

Hotels, B&Bs, and Vacation Rentals

• Location matters in Venice, so minimize hassle and expense with our No. 1 Venice hotel warning. Our advice on changing your reservation is worth reading if you've already booked a hard-to-reach hotel.

• Also see 10 hotels near airport buses, 17 hotels near cruise ships, hotels for early-morning flights, and 43 hotels on the Grand Canal.

• Our Venice hotel directions for 200+ hotels will save you from getting lost.

• For a "home away from home" stay, see Venice apartment rentals. (And be aware of garbage and recycling rules.)

ABOVE: A man poses with his dog on the Accademia Bridge.

Venice for Dogs

• Before you bring Fido or Fifi, read our Venice for Dogs Travel Guide.