Venice
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Venice is a city in Veneto, Italy.
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Venice Couchsurfing
Venice is home to 112 Couchsurfers as of March 2008. It's consider one of the toughest places in the world to find a couch, and for this reason you should follow our tips in this page.
A couch in Venice?
There are not many active CouchSurfers Hosts and those who are active have a huge load of requests. You'd better also ask to members in other cities in the region, and not exclusively to those in Venice. The nearby cities are at close distance from Venice (30 minutes to 1 hour of train). Good options can be Padova, Treviso, Vicenza and the small towns nearby these cities. An effective way to search also in the smaller towns is doing a CouchSearch and extend it to a radius of 25-50-100km from Venice.
Also read the Guidelines on the Venice group.
Please consider the following advices to increase your chances:
1) It is better to ask for hospitality directly to the people rather than leaving an open message in the group. In this way you’ll have the chance to know better who your potential host is (we are sure it is your concern to know where you’ll end up sleeping!). Also, you won’t give the idea of being just someone looking for a free place to stay.
2) Once you selected some people, be clear in your request; specify when you are arriving and when you are leaving.
3) Be sure you thoroughly read your potential host’s profile. Do not ask for things that are already included in it!
4) Have your own profile properly filled, including some picture. Let your perspective host be able to understand what kind of person you are.
5) Explain your plans. Are you coming for a cultural visit or to enjoy the nightlife? Do you intend to sleep late or wake up early? ... These types of information will help the host decide whether he/she will take you in or not.
6) Write your couch request with the right advance. Some people write requests several months before they arrive (it can be too much) or just a couple of days before (too short notice). A 2-4 weeks notice would be ideal.
7) If you want to surf together with your partner or friends, specify if they are registered at CS as well, and eventually add a link to their profiles.
8) Usually asking to the newest members increases your chances of finding a couch. You can sort by newest members in the Couchsearch.
Meetings
Venice is a popular tourist and CS location, and the CS Veneto community often organizes meetings during some important events throughout the year, such as the Carnival or the Redemeer Feast. You can check the latest meetings in or around Venice in the Venice and Veneto groups or on the CS Veneto Calendar, as well as on the Meeting page.
Emergency Couch
You can contact Tiziano if you find yourself in an emergency situation (no more than 48/24Hrs before the arrival) like your planned host is not reacheable, the hostel is full, or other similar situations (and not because you can't find a host ahead of time!). In that case, despite not being always available for hosting, he will try to help you finding an alternative solution. Please mention the fact that you have read this wiki page!
For a similar purpose, there is a SOS Couch group available for all the Veneto Region here.
Tips
If you are in Venice don't miss the Spritz, the common pre-dinner drink.
Getting to Venice
By plane
Venice has a main airport, Venice Tessera Marco Polo Airport (IATA code: VCE; ICAO code: LIPZ) and another airport is located in Treviso, Treviso Sant'Angelo Canova Airport (IATA code: TSF; ICAO code: LIPH), at 40km from the Venice. VCE is mainly used by normal airlines, but as well as by some low cost airlines like EasyJet, TUIFly, while TSF is could be defined as the Ryanair Airport of Venice.
From VCE to the city center
The airport has no rail connection to the two main stations of Venice (Santa Lucia and Mestre), but there is a bus and water-taxi service. There are bus lines departing from the airport to Piazzale Roma (close to Venezia Santa Lucia and to the center):
- line ACTV 5 or 4/ (4am-1am)
- line ATVO Venezia Air Terminal (8am-12pm) - 20 minutes - 3€ one way or €5,50 return
and others to Venezia Mestre:
Timetables and more info can be found here.You can buy tickets from the ACTV and ATVO stand in the arrivals lounge from 8.00 to 24.00. You can also buy the ATVO tickets on board.
From TSF to Venice
Info about the airport public transport can be found here.
By direct bus
Just outside the airport building catch ATVO bus in coincidence with Ryanair or Transavia. They reach Venezia Mestre and Venezia Piazzale Roma in 1h 10m. The ticket is 6€ one way or 10€ return.
By bus+train
When outside the airport building, turn on your right till you'll find, after 100mt, the city bus stop along the national road. From there catch line ACTT 6 to Treviso train station. The bus runs every 15 minutes and it takes 15 minutes. The ticket costs 1€. Once at the terminus, cross the road to reach the station. From the train station catch a train to Venezia (it takes 30 minutes to Santa Lucia and the ticket is 2,35€ (Trenitalia)). You can catch all the trains going to Venice - better cheaper Regional ones.
Public transport
Venice is a very particular city, being built on the water, you cannot go around with car or buses but only by foot or water bus. It can be reached from the mainland by:
- train, arriving in the Santa Lucia train station, with many connections from all over Italy and Europe or from the nearby mainland Mestre;
- bus, arriving in Piazzale Roma, the only point of Venice that you can reach with a bus or a car;
- car, arriving in Piazzale Roma and using the expensive parking places.
Venice city public transportation is handled by ACTV for buses and water buses. Check their page or HelloVenezia for timetables and routes.
Buses runs in the suburbs of Mestre, Marghera Lido and they reach Venice city center from nearby Mestre, where most Couchsurfers live and which may be a more affordable option concerning hostels and hotels. The public buses are cheap, run 24 hours a day, and can often make it into Venice in 10 or 15 minutes.
Also trains, handled by Trenitalia are a convenient option, especially if coming from other cities. Many trains are running between Mestre and Venezia during all day, with a travel time of around 10 minutes. Fare: 1.00€.
In Venice, instead of buses, water buses (so called Vaporetto) are running. The tickets for water buses are fairly expensive, so usually it's okey to walk.
The fares are:
- 1,10 € for a one-way 75 minutes land bus ticket (10,00€ for the 10 tickets-booklet)
- 6,50 € for a one-way 60 minutes water bus ticket
The best solution is probably to buy a pass with unlimited travel on the water and road networks:
- 14,00 € - 12-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 16,00 € - 24-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 21,00 € - 36-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 26,00 € - 48-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 31,00 € - 72-HOUR TRAVELCARD
- 18,00 € - 72-HOUR YOUTH CARD (you need the Venice Rolling Card and age 14-29)
If you are staying for more than 3 days, there are also monthly tickets available:
- Monthly for one area - Lagoon services (including the Lido's land service)
- ordinary € 28,00
- employees € 24,00
- students € 20,00
- Monthly card for two service networks - Lagoon Services+Mainland Services (urban routes of Mestre)
- ordinary € 33,00
- employees € 27,00
- students € 22,00
Venice Rolling Card
The Rolling VENICEcard is designed for people aged between 14 and 29. The membership card costs € 4 and entitles the member to some discounts. For example, the 72-hour ticket good on all the Venice, Mestre and Lido water and road transportation lines can be purchased at € 18,00 instead of € 31,00.
Carrying around luggages
If you plan to carry around your bag, consider that it can be hard to cross bridges with big and heavy bags, so the easiest thing is to leave your luggage at the train station in the baggage deposit.
They don't charge much (around 3,50€ for 5 hours and 0,30€ for every additional hour). The deposit is a bit hidden in the train station but look for it behind binario (track) 14-15. As you get off your train it is to the left of the exit into the ticket hall. It's open from 7.00 till 23.00.
Address: Baggage Depot - Binario/Platform 14-15 - Stazione F.S. Venezia Santa Lucia - Fondamenta S. Lucia - 30121 Venezia [1]
Eat & Drink
You can eat cheap pizza slices in a 'pizzeria per asporto' in Campo Santa Margherita for 1,80€. There is another pizzeria in a nearby Calle that has pizza slices for 1,50€.
If you are looking for a more elaborate meal, here you are selection of nice restaurants & osterias suggested only by other Couchsurfers [2]
- OSTERIA LA ZUCCA - Santa Croce, 1762 - 30135 Venezia - Phone: +39 041 5241570 : small osteria near Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio, alternative and vegetarian food (but not exclusively vegetarian), booking recommended.
- Antica Osteria Ruga Rialto - San Polo, 692 - 30125 Venezia - Phone: +39 041 2419946 [3]
- El Timon - Fondamenta degli Ormesini, Cannaregio - 30121 Venezia
- Ribot (Santa Croce)
- Ai 40 Ladroni - Fondamenta de la Sensa, Cannaregio 3253, Venezia - Phone: +39 041 715736 [4]
- Anice stellato - Fondamenta de la Sensa, Cannaregio 3272, Venezia - Phone: +39 041 720744 [5]
Typical dishes
- Spaghetti al nero di seppia (spaghetti with cuttlefish black ink sauce)
- Spaghetti ai frutti di mare
- Risotto al radicchio rosso (rice)
- Baccalà mantecato o alla cappuccina
- Fegato alla veneziana
- Polenta (corn meal)
- and much more!
Water
CS Veneto encourages you to drink public water instead of buying bottles of expensive, not environmentaly-friendly mineral water. Italian public water is among the most checked and of the best quality.
Alternative Accommodation
Being Venice a difficult city for finding a couch, you can consider also the alternative accommodation options.
You can find a good list of hostels, B&B and hotels on Wikitravel.
Here are two suggested hostels from Couchsurfers:
- Ostello Santa Fosca, Cannaregio - +39 041 715775 [6]
- Ostello Giudecca, Fondamenta Zitelle 86 - +39 041 5238211 - 21€/night [7]
Hostelworld.com features a quite comprehensive list of hostels, budget hotels, B&B, campings, etc... located within Venice city center or in Mestre, Marghera, Lido, etc...:
But be careful, because many hostels/budget hostels might be located in Mestre, Marghera, Lido or somewhere else: this means you have to catch a bus to Mestre or Marghera (even though they run all day and night long and it takes 10 minutes from Piazzale Roma) or a water bus to Lido. Also for the above mentioned Giudecca hostel you need to catch a water bus, because it's located on Giudecca island. So always check the description of the accommodation, the location is usually mentioned (or check the linked map).
Also, there are some camping places on mainland Venice (near Mestre and Marghera) where you can sleep for cheaper prices (10€) with your own tent or in their 'bungalows'.
Medical First-aid
In case of need you can always go to the first-aid at the hospital. The hospital is in Campo S. Giovanni e Paolo (Castello 6777, Venezia) - tel: 041 5294111 There is also a service for the night (8pm to 8am) and for public holidays:
- Venice: 041 5294060;
- Lido Malmocco Alberoni: 041 5267743;
- Pellestrina: 041 967549;
- Burano: 041 730005;
- Murano S. Erasmo: 041 5274078;
- Cavallino Treporti Ca’ Savio: 041 5300214;
- Mestre Sud - Marghera- Mestre Nord: 041 951332;
- Marcon Quarto d’Altino: 0422 824146.
Trivia
- This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.
External Links
Categories: Italy | Europe | Stubs
