Getting around Venice
On the islands you walk and take the vaporetto (ACTV, AVM group): line 1 along the Grand Canal, 2 fast, 4 and 5 circular, 12 to Murano and Burano, N at night. Tickets and passes on Venezia Unica, with resident fares. Cars only as far as Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto, joined by the People Mover. Marco Polo airport linked by ATVO/ACTV buses, Alilaguna boats and water taxis; Mestre is the rail hub.
Sections: Arrival · Airports · Trains · Buses · Car & licence · Cycling · Accessibility
On the islands: feet, vaporetti, ferries
The historic city has no roads for vehicles: you move on foot (the fastest way for almost everything) and on the vaporetti of ACTV, a company of the municipal AVM group. The main lines: the 1 runs the Grand Canal stop by stop from Piazzale Roma to the Lido; the 2 follows the same route with fewer stops and continues to the Giudecca and Tronchetto; the 4.1/4.2 and 5.1/5.2 are circular lines around the city touching Murano and the Lido; the 12 from Fondamente Nove serves Murano, Burano and Torcello; the N lines cover the night. Gondola ferries (traghetti) cross the Grand Canal at a few points for a low fare, standing, as Venetians do.
The single navigation ticket is valid 75 minutes; there are tourist tickets from one to seven days and, for those who live or work in the city, the Venezia Unica card with reduced fares and monthly and annual passes valid on vaporetti, buses and trams. Young people aged 6 to 29 can get the Rolling Venice card with discounts. Water taxis are private and expensive; bicycles are not allowed in the historic centre but are the means of the Lido and Mestre.
Mainland and access
The Ponte della Libertà carries cars, buses and trains to Piazzale Roma and Venezia Santa Lucia station, the only arrival points on the islands. Cars are left in the Piazzale Roma garages (the AVM municipal garage and private ones) or at Tronchetto, linked to each other and to the Marittima by the People Mover, an automatic shuttle. Venezia Mestre station is the mainland rail hub (high speed, regionals to Padua, Treviso, Trieste) and from there trains to Santa Lucia take about ten minutes; buses and two tram lines (T1 Favaro–Venezia Piazzale Roma, T2 Mestre–Marghera) link Mestre with Venice and Marghera.
Marco Polo airport (VCE) at Tessera is reached from Piazzale Roma and Mestre with ATVO's Venice airport bus express and ACTV line 5 in about twenty minutes; Alilaguna boats (Blu, Arancio and, in summer, Rossa lines) go directly to San Marco, the Lido and the sestieri in about an hour; water taxis reach the hotels. Treviso Canova airport (TSF), the low-cost base, is served by ATVO buses to Mestre and Piazzale Roma.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Updated: 2026-10-14
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-04-30
No questions in the community · Ask the community