A Brummie Home and Abroad Guide to a Weekend in Venice, Venice, Italy

Venice is one of those cities where plans should only be made very very loosely. The beauty is wandering around the back streets, stopping in beautiful campi for a coffee or glass of wine (or Aperol Spritz…) and absorbing yourself in this unique and beautiful city. However if you do want to follow a flexible itinerary, here are a few tips and suggestions:

Venice is generally a walkable city but when you want to take a canalside view of the buildings without paying a pretty penny for a gondola, a vaporetto (water bus) is a great way of getting around. The cost of a single ticket is obscenely high (7 euro per person) so I’d definitely invest in a multi-day pass if you’re planning on using the water bus half a dozen times or more – our three day pass was 40 euro per person, and we more than got our money’s worth. There are ticket offices (biglietteria) at most of the major vaporetto points, including outside the railway station, and also easy-to-use touch screen machines. They can also be bought on board from the attendant, but try and purchase before you board where possible. All tickets must be validated using the electronic readers at the entrance of each stop, even when a multi-day ticket is used. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).