Navigating Venice’s charming maze of canals can be tricky. Read on for 13 useful tips to help you make the most of your trip!
1 Don’t trust Google Maps. Especially when you navigate with the public transport aka boats. Google somehow doesn’t show it right which line to take or sometimes even completely “forgets” how to bring you somewhere by boat. Do it oldschool and get a picture of the plan and figure it out from there. Or manually click on Google Maps and see how the boats go (it should show it on the map after clicking on the stations).
The same is true when navigating the city. Even when on foot, Google Maps sometimes includes small ferries. That may stop working after 15:00 so even when you’re willing to pay up it can lead to a dead end. So double check before you start walking, prefer bridges, however, see next point:
2 Probably the most annoying thing to cross is the Grand Canal aka Canale Grande. It only has around 4 bridges which are not always in convenient spots. This also means that you end up walking the same streets over and over again since you need to reach those bridges. If you want to see something different, just stroll around and learn to live with the slight detour.
3 For food, you can use Google Maps, just look for places with a high rating at high review numbers and you should be fine. If it rains, make sure to check if they have enough indoor seating.
However, avoid places near the water, they are usually more expensive (like 18 Euro Pizza instead of 10-12 Euro ones). Usually, you can see the menu outside and check the prices first. As usual, if you want less crowds and cheaper prices literally walk 3 streets away from main touristy spots and you can find more space and better prices.
4 Figure out if you’re going to use boats a lot. Depending where your hotel is and where you want to go. Tickets for one ride are 10 Euro, daily tickets are 25 Euro, so going somewhere twice almost pays. Also, be aware that one ride tickets have a time limit, they are only valid for 75 minutes. So, if you wait in line for 30 minutes and it takes you 40 minutes to get somewhere (probably Burano), the ticket is not valid and you will actually pay a fine. So maybe figure out if a 3 days ticket is worth it, which is “only” 45 Euro and you can basically forget about tickets for the rest of your stay and just hop on. Just taking random boat rides can also be fun!
The 3-day ticket is actually a 72 hours ticket. So only buy/activate it right before you use it, so you can get the most out of your usage (e.g. the way back to the main train station on the day you’re leaving).
5 I would recommend to visit Burano, the higher up island (map wise speaking). But it takes some time to get there. And if you’re going late in the day, let’s say at around 11 to noon, the waiting line can be bad from the main island (like 1 hour waiting bad), especially at F.te Nove station. The same is true when you first go to Murano and then continue from there further up to Burano.
However, I didn’t really care to much for Murano, it has a lot of glass stuff. Apart from that its one big canal, with many glass stores (vases, figurines etc.). Figure out beforehand if you want to go there or skip and go right up to Burano.
6 Visiting San Michele (Island of the death) is quite nice. One hack to get there easier: Take line 4.1 but get in at some stations earlier, then you avoid the waiting lines at F.te Nove.
7 Go into https://maps.app.goo.gl/76cZVabGhYmfB4NYA, it’s a luxury department store where the rooftop is free to enter. You may need to get a free ticket with a time slot and if it rains it could be closed.
8 Most churches are free, so you can always have a look if you’re passing by.
9 Don’t buy water at small kiosks/grocery stores. Get them at proper super markets.