In Venice you walk or take a boat — there's no third option. The entire historic center can be crossed from the station to San Marco in forty-five minutes, making walking the fastest way to get around; the vaporetto along the Grand Canal takes a bit longer, since it stops fourteen times. A single vaporetto ticket costs 9.50 € and is valid for seventy-five minutes, so it's worth it only occasionally; anyone planning more than two rides should get a 24-hour pass for 25 € or a 48-hour pass for 35 €. Tap the ticket against the reader post on the dock before boarding — checks happen at random, and the fine is sixty euros. Gondolas have a fixed price list: ninety euros for thirty minutes until seven in the evening, a hundred ten after seven, for the whole boat seating up to five, not per person. A cheaper experience is the traghetto, a ferry gondola crossing the Grand Canal for two euros, ridden standing up.
VaporettoWater bus, the main way to get around the city and into the lagoon. Line 1 runs the full Grand Canal with every stop, line 2 is the express version. Lines 4.1 and 12 run to Murano and Burano from Fondamente Nove. · 9.50 € single ticket
ACTV time pass24 hours for 25 €, 48 hours for 35 €, 72 hours for 45 €. Valid on all vaporetto routes, including the islands. Worth it from the third ride onward; anyone staying central and walking should buy single tickets instead. · 25 € / 24 h
TraghettoA ferry gondola crossing the Grand Canal where there's no bridge. The ride takes two minutes, costs two euros, and is taken standing up — even locals don't sit down. Runs only certain hours during the day. · 2 €
GondolaFixed pricing: 90 € for thirty minutes until 19:00, 110 € after 19:00, for the boat seating up to five, not per person. Singing costs extra and is negotiated beforehand. A route off the Grand Canal through the small canals is prettier.
Water taxiFast wooden motorboats that can reach any hotel entrance directly. From the airport to the center, 120 €; around the city, from 70 €. Makes sense for four people with luggage, otherwise not. · from 70 €
On footThe fastest way to get around the center. Yellow signs on corners point the way to San Marco, the Rialto and the station — follow them and you won't get lost, even when the streets' own logic fails you. · free