Venice has two stations with confusingly similar names and only one of them is on the island. Trains cross the lagoon causeway into Santa Lucia; Mestre is on the mainland and a further ten minutes away.
Arriving
Stations
Venezia Santa Lucia
On the island. Walk out of the doors and the Grand Canal is in front of you. This is the one you want.
Venezia Mestre
Mainland interchange. Cheaper hotels, and every train stops here — but budget ten minutes and a second ticket to reach the island.
From the airport
Marco Polo has no rail link. The ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma is 20 minutes; the Alilaguna boat is an hour and much more pleasant. Treviso airport connects by bus to Mestre.
Onward
Connections
| To | Fastest | Operator | Reservation | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florence | 2h 05m | Frecciarossa | €13 | Hourly |
| Milan | 2h 13m | Frecciarossa | €13 | Hourly |
| Rome | 3h 15m | Frecciarossa | €13 | Hourly |
| Verona | 1h 10m | Frecciarossa | €13 | Hourly |
| Bologna | 1h 25m | Frecciarossa | €13 | Hourly |
Take the regional to Verona or Padua rather than the Freccia: same travel day, no reservation fee, and only half an hour slower.
See
Worth your time
Basilica di San Marco
Free to enter, small charge for the Pala d'Oro and the loggia. Book a slot to skip the line.
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
A ceiling of Tintorettos and hardly anyone in the room.
Vaporetto line 1
The whole Grand Canal for the price of a transport ticket. Not pass-valid — it is a boat.
Torcello and Burano
Half a day in the northern lagoon; the mosaics on Torcello are older than the city.
Eat
What to order
Cicchetti bars around Rialto
Small plates and an ombra of wine, standing at the bar.
Rialto fish market
Mornings only, closed Sundays and Mondays.
Anywhere ten minutes from San Marco
The price of a meal halves for every bridge you cross away from the piazza.
Day trips
Where the trains go from here
Verona
70 minutes on a Frecciarossa, or 1h 25m regional with no reservation fee.
Padua
25 minutes regional. The Scrovegni Chapel is worth the trip on its own.
Vicenza
45 minutes regional, a town built almost entirely by Palladio.
Book ahead
Tickets and tours in Venice
The sights below sell timed entry that genuinely runs out. Booking links are affiliate links.
Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs
Skip-the-line entry to the palace, prisons and the covered bridge between them.
Check availabilitySt Mark's Basilica timed entry
A booked slot turns a ninety-minute queue into a five-minute walk-in.
Check availabilityMurano, Burano and Torcello boat tour
Half a day in the northern lagoon, including the Torcello mosaics most visitors skip.
Check availabilityBookshelf
Read on the way to Venice
Three books that make the window, and the city at the end of it, more interesting. Links are Amazon affiliate links and cost you nothing extra.
Venice: Pure City
Peter Ackroyd
A biography of the lagoon rather than a guidebook. Ideal for the causeway approach.
Find a copyThe City of Falling Angels
John Berendt
Modern Venice, the Fenice fire and the people who actually live there.
Find a copyDeath in Venice
Thomas Mann
Short enough for Milan–Venice, atmospheric enough to change the arrival.
Find a copyMore titles on the full city bookshelf or the Italian bookshelf.