Venice is located in northern Italy on the Adriatic coast, about 120 km from the border with Slovenia and 220 km from the border with Austria.
The city is easily accessible via two airports and long-distance trains and buses from Italy and abroad also arrive directly in the centre.
By air
Venice has 2 international airports in its vicinity and is perfectly and very cheaply accessible, especially from European destinations.
For information on transport to/from the airport, terminals or services, click on the airport name.
- Venice Marco Polo VCE - medium-sized airport with many low-cost and regular routes throughout Europe, but also to the USA or the Middle East
- 13 km from the centre
- Venice Treviso TSF - small airport with only low-cost airlines from Europe
- 41 km from the centre
Where to buy tickets to Venice
Ideally, buy your tickets to Venice 2 to 3 months in advance for the lowest price, either on the airline website or through a flight search engine.
The cheapest tickets for most routes across Europe can be purchased from low-cost airlines Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air, which have a significant presence at both Venice airports.
And many more. For example, you can compare all flights via Skyscanner. We recommend that you always choose from the options offered by clicking directly on the airline's website.
Compare prices for flights to Venice in 1 click
The advantage of visiting Venice from European destinations is the price of flights, which often cost no more than 100 eur for a return ticket, especially in autumn, January or March. When promotions are available, you can get prices attacking 50 eur or less for a return flight.
Direct flights from Venice to other continents can be purchased from the following airlines:
- qatarairways.com - Doha
- emirates.com - Dubai
- delta.com - New York, Atlanta
- united.com - New York
- aa.com - Chicago, Philadelphia
By train
Trains run directly to the historic centre of Venice from Venezia Santa Lucia train station. All of these trains, plus other regional services, also stop at Mestre station in mainland Venice.
Domestic connections
Direct trains arrive in Venice from all over Italy, but the most frequent connections are to the cities of Bologna, Milan, Verona, Padua, Trieste, Udine, Ferrara. There are also trains to Rome, Florence and Turin.
Tickets for regional services (Regionale or Regionale Veloce trains) can always be paid for at no extra charge on the spot. All stations in Italy are equipped with a ticket machine.
For long-distance services, it is always worth buying tickets online. For the lowest price, we recommend buying at least 3-4 weeks in advance.
There are two rail carriers in Italy.
- Italotreno.it - A private carrier operating only high-speed trains to Venice, mainly from Milan, Verona, Bologna, Udine, Trieste, Turin
- Trenitalia.com - a public carrier operating high-speed trains and most regional trains throughout Italy
Compare the prices of both carriers, for example via thetrainline.com, where you can buy a ticket directly at the same price as on the companies' websites.
Compare prices and buy your train ticket
International connections
Direct trains from abroad arrive at Venezia Santa Lucia station only from Austria and Germany.
- Villach - Klagenfurt - Judenburg - Wien
- Brennero - Innsbruck - Kufstein - Munich
On both connections there is 1 day train and 1 night sleeper train.
You can book your tickets, including transfer options, for example on the Austrian Railways website oebb.at or compare all options via thetrainline.com.
Luggage storage at the train station
If you need to put your luggage away when you arrive in Venice, there is always a luggage room on Platform 1 at both stations - Santa Lucia in the centre and Mestre.
Both are operated by Kipoint. For storage up to 12 hours pay 10 eur and up to 24 hours pay 20 eur.
- Mestre - open from 8:00 to 20:00
- Venezia Santa Lucia - open from 07:00 to 23:00
By bus
Buses are a cheaper alternative to trains, especially on very busy national routes.
International connections
The vast majority of international buses to Venice are operated by Flixbus, and also by Regiojet towards Austria and the Czech Republic.
One-way ticket prices are very volatile and depend mainly on the availability of a particular service. To nearby destinations such as Ljubljana or Graz, the cheapest tickets can usually be purchased from 20 eur, while tickets to more distant destinations such as Munich, Prague or Vienna usually cost from 40 eur upwards.
| Online tickets | Travel time | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ljubljana | Flixbus.com | 3.5 hours | 7-9x daily |
| Prague | 12 hours | 2-3x weekly | |
| Vienna | Regiojet.cz Flixbus.com |
8.5 hours | 2-3x daily |
| Graz | Flixbus.com | 6 hours | 1x daily |
| Budapest | Flixbus.com | 10 hours | 2x daily |
| Munich | Flixbus.com | 8.5 hours | 2x daily |
| Zagreb | Flixbus.com | 6 hours | 3x daily |
National connections
To Venice you will use the following bus carriers the most. For the lowest price, buy your tickets online ideally at least 4-5 weeks in advance:
- Flixbus.com - Wide network of destinations throughout Italy with prices usually from 10 eur to nearby destinations such as Rimini, Bologna or Verona
- Itabus.it - the cheapest tickets from 5 eur with plenty of time in advance on the most popular routes, for example to Milan or Florence
Where are the stops for long-distance buses?
Buses arrive in the centre of Venice at Tronchetto station and also stop in Mestre on the mainland in front of the railway station.
- Tronchetto - map (you can reach Piazzale Roma by an automatic train for 1,50 eur, for which day and multi-day tickets are also valid)
- Mestre - map (to get to the centre of Venice, take the very frequent train service behind 1,45 eur or the city bus lines 2 and 2L)
After getting off at Tronchetto station, take either the automatic train or the line 2 boat to Venice, which has a stop about 300 metres away. Ignore the large "Boat to Venice" signs, which point to very expensive private boat operators.
By car
Travelling to Venice by car is particularly suitable if you are travelling with several people and perhaps larger luggage.
Venice lies on the main northern Italian A4 motorway and is also perfectly accessible from Austria or Slovenia.
Where to park in Venice?
Right in the historic centre of Venice, you can park in the pay garages on the artificial island of Tronchetto right at the end of the bridge from the mainland. Parking is not possible elsewhere.
There are several car parks on the Tronchetto or near Piazzale Roma.
Tronchetto Parking
The cheapest and largest garages are at the far end of the Tronchetto island. The central Piazzale Roma can be reached by automatic train for 1,50 eur in 10-15 minutes, even with the wait.
From Tronchetto there is also the number 2 boat line directly to Piazza San Marco or the Grand Canal.
All-day parking (counting 24 hours from the time of entry) costs 26 eur and detailed information can be found on the parking website: tronchettoparking.it.
Venezia Center Parking Garage
These garages are directly opposite Tronchetto Parking and therefore you can reach the centre of Venice by the same means (see above).
All-day parking (counting 24 hours from the time of entry) costs 28 eur and detailed information can be found on the parking website: veneziacenterparking.com.
Autorimessa Communale
The municipal garage is located right on Piazzale Roma, from where you can walk or take boat lines to Venice.
All-day parking (24 hours from the time of entry) costs 35 eur and if you book online, the price is reduced at 30 eur: actv.avmspa.it/parking-garage.
Garage San Marco
The most expensive garages are located right on Piazzale Rome near the automatic train station and are almost double the price compared to the above.
For 24 hours of parking here, pay 45 eur, see the official website: garagesanmarco.it.
Free parking
You can park for free on the streets south of Mestre station, unless there is a blue paid parking line painted on the roadway, but only a white line, in which case you can park for free for any length of time.
Just watch out for marked parking bans due to road cleaning, which takes place weekly in some areas.
An alternative to driving is the Mestre car park just before the bridge to Venice.
Venice City Park - all-day parking €6.50, online booking in advance (Sunday 25 Aug was full for the whole of the following week 10am-4pm), there should be a toilet and the ticket office sells public transport tickets.
Parcheggio Terminal Service - right next door, same price 6,50€/day, probably can't book in advance, according to reviews on weekday holidays there are places, we arrived on Monday at 9:30, free places about 10, maybe more. Pay before departure at a well marked booth. There is a bus stop around the corner with a ticket machine, one bus ride 1,50€, it runs every now and then, the stop is apparently on a sign - wave on the way there, press the stop button on the way back.
Heading away from the main further on, after the roundabout is a large free car park called Park Petroli, but reviews repeatedly mention car theft.