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Venice Practical Tourist Information

From: Venice Links

ABOVE: A water bus on the Grand Canal.

General Advice

Introducing Venice veniceforvisitors.com
Our three-page orientation article is designed for first-time visitors to Venice, Italy.

Top 11 Tourist Mistakes in Venice veniceforvisitors.com
(And how to avoid them.) Our illustrated article isn't just a list--it's packed with useful tips and links to related articles at Venice for Visitors.

Accessible Travel

Accessible Venice veniceforvisitors.com
This detailed article has photos and a map excerpt that shows wheelchair-accessible portions of the historic center. It also mentions guide services and agencies that cater to disabled travelers.

Baggage

Baggage Storage - Left Luggage veniceforvisitors.com
Here's a list of places where you can store suitcases before or after your arrival or departure at the airport, railway station, bus and taxi terminal, or cruise terminal.

Casino

Casinò di Venezia
Venice has two municipal casinos that are open year-round: the Ca' Vendramin Calergi on the Grand Canal, and a newer mainland branch beyond the airport.

Currency and Credit Cards

Money in Venice veniceforvisitors.com
Here's what you need to know about getting cash, exchanging currency, and using credit cards.

Ethnic Travel

Jewish Venice veniceforvisitors.com
Read about the Venetian Ghetto, the Museo Ebraico, and kosher hotels and restaurants.

Family Travel

Venice for Families veniceforvisitors.com
Churches, art museums, and walking tours may not be to every child's taste, but Venice does have its share of attractions for very young tourists.

Flooding

Acqua Alta veniceforvisitors.com
High tide, low atmospheric pressure, and a scirocco wind can make Venice feel like Atlantis. Our illustrated article tells what to expect and how to prepare for "high water."

Internet Access

Venice Wi-Fi Network veniceforvisitors.com
The Comune di Venezia has hot spots along the Grand Canal and in many campi. You can use them for a small daily or weekly fee.

Cellular Abroad's MiFi Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot veniceforvisitors.com
Rent a pocket-size device that includes unlimited Wi-Fi bandwidth for up to five smartphones, tablets, computers, etc. at once. (Unfortunately, it's available only to residents of the U.S. and Canada.)

Language

Foreign Languages for Travelers
Use the selection dialogue to generate an online English-Italian phrasebook (or Italian-English phrasebook) with recorded pronunciations.

Istituto Venezia
Learn Italian just around the corner from one of Venice's liveliest squares, the Campo Santa Margherita. The language school operates year-round and can help long-term students find housing.

Laundry

Venice Laundromats veniceforvisitors.com
Self-service laundries are a rarity in Venice, but our article will help you find them.

Maps

See our Venice Travel Planner: Maps page.

Miscellaneous

Tourist Fines for Illegal Behavior veniceforvisitors.com
Read our article before you sit on the pavement, feed a pigeon, or take off your shirt.

Walking in Venice veniceforvisitors.com
How to find your way with directional signs, street signs, and maps.

Venice Street Signs veniceforvisitors.com
Local place names don't always correspond to map and guidebook spellings, so know how to interpret signs in Venetian dialect.

St. George's Anglican Church
Venice's only English-language church welcomes Anglicans, Episcopalians, and other Christian visitors of all denominations. The church has been operating for nearly 400 years.

Opera

Teatro La Fenice
Venice's opera house was gutted by a fire in 1996, but performances moved to other venues during the theatre's restoration. The theatre is again open for business, and you can buy tickets or take an audioguide tour.

Shopping

Venice Gifts and Souvenirs veniceforvisitors.com
Carnival masks and glow-in-the-dark gondolas may be hard to resist, but don't ignore practical purchases--especially if you're on a budget.

Fines for Fakes veniceforvisitors.com
"Let the buyer beware" has a new meaning in Italy, where purchasing a Prada knockoff or a pirated CD could cost you an extra 3,333 to 10,000 euros.

Carnival Masks veniceforvisitors.com
Whether you're headed for Carnevale or enjoying it vicariously at home, you can learn about Venetian Carnival masks--and even order them online.

Murano, the Glass Island veniceforvisitors.com
In 1296, the glassblowers of Venice moved to an island called Murano. Seven hundred years later, their descendants are still turning sand into gold.

I Tre Mercanti veniceforvisitors.com
This may be the best Italian wine and food shop in Venice. If you're buying wine in bulk, ask about VAT-free shipping with customs duty prepaid.

Venice Supermarkets veniceforvisitors.com
In recent years, supermercati have spread throughout the city. Here are several brands to look for, with tips on how to shop.

Illegal Street Vendors veniceforvisitors.com
Phony designer handbags are the main stock in trade for the vu compra (immigrant Senegalese peddlers who sell from blankets in the street).

Venice Master Artisans veniceforvisitors.com
If you buy just one coffee-table book about Venice, make it this one. The large-format, 272-page book has 210 color photos and 30 profiles of artisans who use traditional techniques to make everything from glass to footwear to metal castings. (There's even an American-born gondola maker.)

Spas

Hotel Cipriani's 'Gondola Massage' veniceforvisitors.com
Pressed for time and stressed by a tight vacation schedule? Get a soothing spa treatment and see the sights in one two-hour session.

Time zones

World Time Zones
Check the current time in 1,000 places around the world, view a map of world time zones, etc. From ConvertIt.com.