✈️ TLV to Venice (VCE)
Italy
Venice
CityVCE
IATA2451.5 km
Distance3h 29m
Flight TimeCoordinates: 45.5053, 12.3519
Airlines:
About Venice
Weather in Venice
Climate
Venice has a humid-subtropical climate with hot summers and cool winters. For those who don't enjoy the heat, July and August may be the worst time to visit: it's sometimes very hot and often humid, there are mosquitoes and occasional infestations of flies, and there are a lot of tourists and large crowds. Mid to late spring and early to mid autumn are probably best, a compromise between temperature (expect 10-25°C) and the tourist load. Between November and January, you may manage to feel you have Venice all to yourself, an interesting experience. Beware of the weather during the winter months: it can be quite chilly, windy, and damp. Fog is an additional hazard if you are driving in or out, doubly so in the unlikely chance that you will pilot a boat. But if you've never been to Venice, it's better to go in summer than not to go. You won't regret it. Many cities are far worse in summer. Although Venice has no cars, diesel motors used by boats contribute to less than stellar air quality. Acqua alta (high water) has become a fact of life in Venice. The lagoon water level occasionally rises above the level of the squares and streets, flooding them. This can happen several times a year, at irregular intervals, usually in the colder months. Acqua alta usually lasts a few hours and coincides with high tide. You'll see raised walkways in side alleys ready to be pulled out when acqua alta hits. When the city begins to flood, sirens will sound to warn residents and businesses. If you speak fluent Italian, tune into news programs since their predictions of the times the flood begins and ends are usually accurate. Normally, the tide rises and falls in six-hour cycles. You can get an acqua alta map at the tourist offices either at the railway station or St Mark's Square. This will show you the higher, dry routes and the ones with walkways set up during the various flood alerts. There is a tide measuring station at the Rialto vaporetto piers, and a noticeboard at the base of the Campanile in the Piazza San Marco that shows a live tide reading and predictions for the next few days.
Get in
Water plays a crucial role in transportation, as Venice is on a lagoon. Whichever way you arrive, the last part of your journey will be on foot from the nearest waterbus/watertaxi jetty. Bear this in mind when choosing your hotel location and route to it, especially if you need to carry bags along the narrow streets. (The sound of hard suitcase wheels on cobblestones is annoying, and they can damage marble steps.) A lot of the higher priced hotels will offer complementary water boat transfers from the airport.
Get around
Venice, the world's only pedestrian city, is easily walkable, and the absence of cars makes this a particularly pleasant experience. However, walking and standing all day can also be exhausting, so it is best to pace yourself. The Rialtine islands – the 'main' part of Venice – are small enough to walk from one end to the other in about an hour, provided you don't get lost (a common occurrence). If you want to get around a bit more quickly, there are numerous vaporetti (water buses) and water taxis . The vaporetti are generally the best way to get around, even if the service route map changes frequently. If you are going to be in Venice for a few days visiting, it is a lot cheaper to use vaporetti than private water taxis. If you want to have a romantic ride along the canals, take a gondola ride, although they tend to exist for more scenic purposes, rather than getting people from point A to point B. GPS navigation services such as Google Maps are notoriously unreliable in Venice. The density of stone buildings makes it fairly difficult to receive a proper GPS satellite signal. You can mitigate some of these navigation issues using the Live View function in Google Maps, which uses your camera to orient yourself relative to businesses and landmarks around you. However, as of February,2024, Google Maps has been reported as to be working well for pathway navigation. The one surprising way you can't get around in Venice is by bicycle. Bicycles are banned in the main city. You are allowed to carry your bike in your arms (not ride, not wheel/walk) from the pIazzale Roma to the Venezia Santa Lucia train station, and if you are traveling through Venice to reach Lido or Pellestrina, then you can carry a bicycle like any other large package on public transit. There is a €100 fine for riding a bicycle in Venice.
See
Venice offers plenty for people of all ages to enjoy. See Venice with children for tips for making your visit with children a bit easier. Venice is packed full of sights, with something interesting to see around each corner. The most spectacular sights, such as the Doge's Palace and Saint Mark's Basilica , are in San Marco , the historic seat of power. Doge's Palace in San Marco: don't miss the guided tour named Secret Itinerary , which will let you discover the part of the palace where the city's administration worked, as well as Casanova's jail and the wonderful 500-year-old roof structure. A MUVE museum. Bell tower of St. Mark dates from 1912; an exact replica of the previous tower which collapsed in 1902. The top of the tower offers great views of Venice and the lagoon. The Clock tower has a restored astronomical clock which is now visible. The fascinating tour of the clock mechanism (and rooftop bell) can only be visited on a guided tour. A MUVE museum. Scuola Grande di San Rocco in San Polo is a masterpiece of Tintoretto. It is a guild house that is an exquisite example of Mannerist art at its best. Cycles of allegories, life and passion of Christ, scenes from the Old and New Testament. Jewish Ghetto of Venice in Cannaregio still has very active Jewish life, and is home to five synagogues. On Saturdays or late Fridays, shops, restaurants, and other Jewish places will be closed. Rialto Bridge , connecting sestieri San Polo and San Marco across Canal Grande, has become one of Venice's most recognizable icons.
Buy
Venice has always been a city of merchants. Consequently, most of the Venetians working in Venice still own or work at a shop. The pride of the Republic of Venice was the extreme diversity and quality of goods and services which could be found in Venice. These days, however, mass tourism led Venice to be populated with many shops selling low-quality souvenirs. The local shops are suffering a lot from this situation and it is not easy to identify them within the crowd of shops selling harmful imported goods. Buying from the authentic local businesses has never been more important, as it is essential to the future of the Venetians and guarantees you to get the real thing and to have a much better experience of Venice. It is not easy, though. Thankfully, there is a social enterprise in Venice that works closely with the Venetian business owners (shops, restaurants and bars included). They have a certification process where the local artisan shops attest and commit to be selling products both authentic and sustainable as well as to give a 10% discount to the customers carrying a Venezia Autentica Friends' Pass [dead link] (buyable online for only €10 ). Euronet runs the majority of ATMs within tourist areas, which carry both hefty ATM fees and extortionate exchange rates. To avoid the extortionate exchange rates, you should reject the first currency conversion offered to you, which will allow you to default to your bank's rate. When possible, you should use ATMs provided by actual banks and financial institutions. The Credit Agricole ATM machines are notable because they do not charge ATM fees or offer excessive currency conversion rates for most Visa Debit and Prepaid cards. If you've come to Venice thinking that you won't be able to do a bit of designer shopping, think again. Just like in every major Italian city, you get the big fashion brand names. For label clothing shopping, the best area is that around the Piazza San Marco, where you can find Versace, MaxMara, Gucci, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Prada (and numerous more) big names. If you want to shop for clothing or accessories, though, you don't necessarily have to shop through the biggest names in fashion. In the Campo Santo Stefano and Calle della Mandola, you can get less famous or local boutiques, but you can find some excellent quality and/or unique items such as clothes, shoes, wallets or handbags. Look for the hand-made paper and the exquisite miniature buildings made by Moro. Watch out for fakes; Moro "signs" his name on the back. Also, beware of fakes and "free" trips to neighbouring Murano for its famous glass. (See article for details.) Tourist traps: "Coloured Pasta" and "Venetian Limoncello" (not the original Napolitan one) are not Italian food, no Italian would ever eat them, they are particularly made for tourists. For typical regional Italian food in food shops, check the labels to discover where they have been made. Don't miss the Rialto market on San Polo, the smallest sestiere. The Rialto market is for shoppers. To the east is an area of small shops and restaurants; to the west is the Rialto farmers' market. Shopping is slightly less expensive than in the tourist-filled Piazza San Marco.
Eat
Venice is home to a rich and distinct regional cuisine and there are numerous wonderful restaurants, including a few Michelin starred ones. However, the city is also home to many more mediocre eateries that will not shy away from serving you undercooked pasta for overinflated prices. This has led to it becoming widely regarded that the restaurants in Venice serve food of a quality and in quantities much lower than anywhere else in Italy. However, with a bit of caution and planning ahead you'll have many excellent experiences eating in Venice. Rule of thumb is that if there's a waiter outside pimping for business, it's probably best avoided! One of Venice's trademark foods is Sepe al nero , cuttlefish and its ink. This intense black ink serves as a sauce and ingredient for polenta (corn meal), risotto (rice), and pasta. These dishes are normally indicated by the Italian words "nella seppia" (in cuttlefish), "alla seppia" (in the style of cuttlefish), or "nero di seppia," (black of the cuttlefish). For example, Polenta Nella Seppia is fried corn meal with the black ink of a cuttlefish. Despite the intensity in color, the ink has a surprisingly mild taste. Other Veneitian dishes include Fegato alla veneziana , chopped liver, cooked with chopped onions and Sarde in saor : fried sardines, dipped in fried onion, raisins and pine nuts, spices and vinegar. For snacks, Venice has its own version of tapas, the cicchetti . Often paired with wine you will find that most restaurants and bars serve some variant of it. There are also many ' bacaros in Venice, a wine bar that serves a wide selection of cicchetti to go along. What Venice is not famous for is its pizza, Italy is a big country and pizza is generally more of a speciality in its southern parts. While there are restaurants serving it and some even do it acceptably, don't compare it to other parts of the country. If you really are craving for pizza, try the local chain Pizzeria Ae Oche . Meals are plentiful and prices reasonable, look to spend between €5-10 for a pizza depending on how exotic your selection is. For Americans, you can find a place called Quanto Basta pizza that serves an American-style pizza with pepperoni and french fries. Be careful when the prices are on a weight basis (typically by the "etto", abbreviated "/hg". or 100 g). One dish can easily contain 400g of fish or meat (almost a pound) - coming to 4 times the indicated base price! Restaurants might offer low prices for food on their menus that they advertise outside the entrance, but they will sometimes compensate this by charging high prices for drinks (which is naturally *not* advertised). €5 for 33 cl of beer is not uncommon. Le Bauta, an eatery on Fond del Gaffaro, is a good example. Also, please make sure that you get your change back after payment as sometimes it may be 'forgotten' by the waiters.
Drink
The typical local drink loved by all Venetians is Spritz , which is a mix of liquor and Prosecco with sparkling water to top it off. Aperol Spritz is by far the most common but there are variants with Campari or Select too. Almost all bars in the city serves it with prices range from €5 to €12, depending on how close you are to the main tourist arteries. Spritz are usually paired with cicheti , the Venetian version of tapas. Another famous drink is the Bellini was invented in Harry's Bar in Venice. It is a mix of white peach juice and Prosecco (the ubiquitous Venetian Champagne-like sparkling wine). Fermented at a low temperature Prosecco develops amylic aromas (fruit drops), though these perhaps mix better with fruit juices than does the more austere Champagne. Classic Bellinis should never be made with Champagne. Although by normal standards expensive, a Bellini in Harry's Bar (€17 for a 1.5 oz drink is obscene) is still much cheaper than on the terraces of similar '5-star' establishments in the city. A small Grappa is a common way to end meals, but be careful as it is brandy with 30 to 60 per cent alcohol. Beer in a small pub is about €5 for a pint (birra media).
Sleep
Due to the historic city's constrained area and international popularity hotels are expensive. Bed and Breakfasts and guesthouses offer better rates. Real budget solutions (like camping and hostels) can be found in Mestre (mainland Venice) and on the island of Lido . Alternative accommodation can also be found on the island of Murano . These are worth considering since historic centre is quite well-connected with buses and ferries, so staying further from the centre is not such a big problem, as for example it takes only 11 minutes to travel from Mestre to islands of Venice by train. In the last few years, holiday or short rentals apartments have increased in number and quality, now you can rent (minimum stay is usually 3 nights) a Palazzo on the Grand Canal as a little flat near Rialto.
Stay safe
Venice is considered a safe city. You have to take the habitual travellers' precautions however. Keep your valuable items (like wallet and passport) close to you because there are pickpockets, especially in more crowded parts of the city. In case of need, you can dial free of charge on any phone 112 (no area code needed) to contact Carabinieri or 113 (no area code needed) to contact the Police. Sometimes, in the evening and night hours, Campo Bella Vienna and Campo Santa Margherita are places for violence, so be careful if you stay here. Since 2024-2025 there are a lot of pickpockets, so you should avoid highly crowded areas.
Go next
Metropolitan Venice has many interesting destinations far from the Venetian crowds. Around the Venetian lagoon are other smaller islands, which have since been deserted but are worth a visit. There is also the Lido, which is a long narrow island with more modern buildings, hosting a youth hostel and a hotel. Burano — Island famous for lace, textiles and colorfully painted houses. Lido — The island of tranquility, a beach district 10 minutes by boat from San Marco, and where the Venice movie festival is held. Mestre — Town in the mainland, but still a part of Venice. Murano — Nearby island famous for its glassware. San Lazzaro — Nearby island with Armenian monastery and impressive art collection, some world class pieces. Torcello — Nearby island with a 7th-century basilica church and an archeological museum. Riviera del Brenta — Palladian villas around Brenta River, 20 minutes from Venice by car, or you can get there via biking tours with a local bike hire shop. Lake Garda — An easy day trip by train, it is Italy's largest lake and stunning in scenery. Po Delta — Peaceful and scenic marshy area southwest of Venice with bike trails. Eraclea — Typical for its pinewood and Laguna del Mort, 55 minutes from Venice by car or by boat. Jesolo — Jesolo is one of the most important beaches in Italy, just 45 minutes from Venice by car or by boat (ferry from Treporti to Venice). Padua (It. Padova) — 40 km west of Venice, home to the Basilica of St. Anthony, the Scrovegni Chapel, and the oldest Botanical Gardens in the world, among others. Cortina d'Ampezzo — Lovely alpine town, site of 1956 Winter Olympic Games. Great mountain scenery, might be very expensive. A couple of hours of car ride to the north of Venice, more than 3 hours by train and bus.