ITALY - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1045

schedules,andissuetickets. Ifyouneedinternational tickets orlivehelp,theticket windows
are open from 6:00 to 20:30. Or you could take care of these tasks online or for a fee at
downtown travel agencies (see here ) .
To get from the train station to downtown Venice, walk straight out of the station to
the canal. You'll see vaporetto docks and ticket booths on both sides. For vaporetto #2 (fast
boat down Grand Canal), go left. For vaporetto #1 (slow boat down Grand Canal), go right.
See here for details on vaporetto tickets and passes. A water taxi from the train station to a
hotel in central Venice will cost about €60.
By Bus
Venice's “bus station” is actually an open-air parking lot called Piazzale Roma. If you arrive
at the Piazzale Roma bus station, find the vaporetto docks (just left of the modern bridge)
and take #1 or the faster #2 down the Grand Canal to reach the Rialto, Accademia, or San
Marco (St. Mark's Square) stops. If your hotel is near the train station, you can walk there
by crossing the modern Calatrava Bridge.
The square is a jumble of different operators, platforms, and crosswalks over busy lanes
of traffic. But bus stops are well-signed. The ticket windows for ACTV (local public buses,
including #5 to Marco Polo Airport) are by the vaporetto stop. The ATVO ticket office
is in the big, white building, on the right side of the square as you face away from the
canal (for express buses to Marco Polo and Treviso airports and to Padua; office open daily
6:40-19:35).
PiazzaleRomahastwobigparkinggaragesandthePeopleMovermonorail(goingtothe
cruise port and then the parking-lot island of Tronchetto). A baggage-storage office is next
to the monorail at #497m (€5/24 hours, daily 6:00-21:00).
By Car
The freeway dead-ends after crossing the causeway to Venice. At the end of the road you
have two parking choices: garages at Tronchetto or Piazzale Roma. As you drive into the
city, sign boards with green and red lights indicate which lots are full. (You can also park in
Mestre, on the mainland, but this is less convenient.)
Parking at Tronchetto : This garage is much bigger, a bit farther out, a bit cheaper,
and well-connected by vaporetto (€3-4/hour, €21/24 hours, discounts for longer stays, tel.
041-520-7555, www.veniceparking.it ).
AfterparkinginthebigTronchettogarage,crossthestreet.Whileyoucanheadleftfora
long walk to the ill-conceived People Mover (which takes you to Piazzale Roma for €1), it's
easiesttogorighttothevaporettodock(notwell-signed,lookfor ACTV ).Atthedock,catch
vaporetto #2 in one of two directions: via the Grand Canal (more scenic, stops at Rialto, 40