Lonely Planet Pocket Venice: Top Experiences - Local Life (Pocket Guide)

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Residents and their relatives of Venice and the wider Veneto region, children under 14, and people staying at least one night in local hotels will not have to pay an entry fee. People with disabilities, students enrolled in the city and those visiting the city for the day for health reasons or a sporting event or concert are also exempt. How do I pay? How to get to Treviso from Venice: Trains run every half hour or so, and take 30-40 minutes to Treviso Centrale. Otherwise, it’s a simple, if not particularly scenic, 40-minute drive from Piazzale Roma. A prime mistake visitors make (and I should know – I did this even when I first moved here) is seeing Venice through its vaporetto map, and calculating the nearest stop to places you’re going. It’s understandable – this is famously a city to get lost in – but unnecessary. Often described as a mini Venice, Chioggia certainly shares a lot with La Serenissima – a settlement clumped over islands, linked by bridges – but where Venice has an elegant feel of decay, Chioggia is a living, working town. Instead of tourist gondolas, you’ll see fishing boats lined along the canals, and there are even cars driving along the streets. Don’t miss the church of San Domenico, where a painting of St. Paul by Renaissance artist Carpaccio sits in the dark, alongside votive paintings by fishermen. It’s a brilliantly atmospheric yet cheap day trip from Venice. Yes, many churches in Venice are free, but many are worth paying for, even when you’re on a budget. The Chorus collection of 18 churches offers some of the city’s finest art and architecture. Again, ditch the false economies – instead of paying €3 per entry, stump up for the pass to all the churches – it costs €12 and lasts a year.

This is when Venice is at its best: with nice weather and sun lasting long past 8pm. The closer to summer it gets, the more tourist numbers and prices rise but the best free things to do in Venice can help you keep within your budget. At the height of summer, the weather crosses the threshold from nice to stiflingly hot – something to be aware of if you’re planning to explore the city on foot. The crowds arrive for Carnevale (held on Shrove Tuesday) in spring too.Buses run to Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto (for the monorail to Piazzale Roma). Buses run to Treviso train station for trains to Santa Lucia station. Venice is not stroller-friendly either, with numerous staircases throughout the city making for an exhaustive workout for parents. Your main routes, however, will be with the public transport company ACTV. This runs the vaporetti – waterbuses – in and around town. If you’ll be using them a lot, it’s worth getting a timed pass rather than paying by the ride. Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. While Venice's public toilets do have baby-changing facilities, you'll need money (and good timing) to use them. Bars and restaurants cannot be counted on for baby-friendly bathrooms. A portable changing mat for on-the-go changes, wherever there's a flat surface, is the way to go.

Boutique hotels offer a unique and personalized experience that larger hotel chains can’t match. These smaller, independent hotels often have unique decor, amenities and services that make them stand out. Boutique hotels also provide a more intimate atmosphere than traditional hotels. Guests can enjoy a more personalized experience with friendly staff members who are knowledgeable about the local area and attractions. Additionally, many boutique hotels are now part of larger chains, so you can book them with points to save money on your stay. Also known as Pineta di Sant’Elena, the pinewood of Sant’Elena, this huge park is located on the island of the same name and just a bridge away from the Biennale area. Facing the waterfront, the Pineta is the perfect spot to reach when one wants to spend some downtime under the pine trees, staring out at the sea and at some breathtaking landscapes of the city. Like the Giardini Papadopoli, the Pineta di Sant’Elena is also equipped with a playground for children. Parco San Giuliano So put aside what you may have heard – you absolutely can visit Venice on a budget – and you don’t have to do it in an unsustainable way, either. Instead of being a ‘hit and run’ daytripper, you can take your time in this magical city without breaking the bank. Our local tips will help you find the cheapest way to travel to Venice on a budget. Work out which airport is really the cheapest to fly toOne floating city, three ways to get in from the airport. The chi-chiest way is by water taxi, which will whisk you from the airport’s pontoon area straight to your hotel (or as near as it can get, depending on the canals). However, it’s pricey – think €130 and up.

Until the Second World War, Ferrara had a renowned Jewish community; this was the setting for The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, by Giorgio Bassani, and you can still wander the narrow streets of what used to be the Jewish quarter. Learn the history of the community – both here and more widely in Italy – at the exceptional MEIS, or National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah. Another great Venetian celebration that's also free to enjoy is the Festa del Redentore. Each third Sunday of July the city gets together to commemorate the end of the terrible 16th-century plague epidemic with spectacular fireworks that light up the canals – especially around the area of the island of Giudecca. These places are iconic for a reason, of course – but they’re also full of tourists and prices are sky-high. Instead, follow the sound of the Venetian dialect to nearby places that are just as memorable but at a fraction of the cost. With the exceptions of Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the colder months are as empty as they can be in a city like Venice – with school and work in full swing, tourist numbers are much lower than they are in June and July.This is one of Italy’s chi-chiest ski resorts, but there’s plenty to do year round, from hiking to eating (try the Michelin-starred SanBrite, whose owners source all their ingredients locally). This is part of the Ladin community, an ancient population of the mountains that have their own language and traditions. Learn about the Ladins, and the Regole – essentially a collection of centuries-standing families who "govern" the town – at the Ethnographic Museum, housed in an old sawmill. It’s true that what most people think of when they imagine Venice is only the part of the city that’s floating on the Lagoon, but the mainland is only a bridge away and very much a part of the greater Venice area. So if you’re intrigued by a location outside of the usual city centre routes, you could take the day off and head to Parco San Giuliano in Mestre, the last city on the mainland before the bridge to Venice. A huge 74-hectare (183-acre) green space meant first and foremost as a flora and fauna preservation area, the Parco San Giuliano is also well-equipped for outdoor activities like skating, biking and football. If you want to organise a day out with family and friends, then this is definitely a place you should keep in mind.

Then there’s the Alilaguna ferry, which has various routes and stops around the city center – at €16, it’s much cheaper and the views are the same. Finally, you can get a coach or bus to Piazzale Roma, the road terminus on the edge of the city (€10). From there, walk or take a vaporetto (€9.50). 2. Know your boats…Learning to voga (Venice's signature stand-up rowing technique employed by gondolieri throughout the city's canals) is another fantastic option. Row Venice will have the kids piloting their own gambero (shrimp-tailed boat) in no time. Planning tips In fair Verona, where we set our scene, little has changed since the 16th century, when Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet here. The Piazza delle Erbe still hosts a lively market beneath its frescoed palazzos; the Adige river still loops around the elegant center; and the Giardino Giusti’s impeccably laid out garden hasn’t undergone anything more radical than a trim in 500 years. Juliet may not have existed in real life but her spirit lives on in Verona, where " Juliet’s House" – complete with balcony, of course – lures visitors, and a bronze statue is said to bring love to those who rub its breast (nobody could accuse Italy of being politically correct). That’s the same for any destination, of course, but it’s more extreme in Venice, partly because of the overcrowding and partly because there are just two main sights that a lot of people come for, Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. I always say a week is the best way to explore the city, and possibly add in a day trip further afield, but if time is tight, five days should be enough to get a good idea of the city and the islands. In three days, you can get a taster of the main sights and islands, though it’s unlikely that you’ll "get" Venice as a place, or an atmosphere. 5. Plan your journeys