podtour
At a glance
- Country
- Italy
- Region
- Veneto
- Language
- Italian; Venetian is also spoken. Hello: “buongiorno”. Thank you: “grazie”.
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Population
- Around 250,000 across the municipality, including the mainland
- Sockets
- Types C, F and L, 230 V
- Emergencies
- 112
- Tap water
- Yes. Tap water is safe to drink.
- Card payments
- Cards are widely accepted; a little cash can still be useful for small purchases.
- Tipping
- Tipping is optional; leave something if you would like to thank the staff.
- Driving side
- right
When to go
| Season | Approximate temperature | Rain | Daylight | Atmosphere |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Roughly 10–22 °C | Showers | Lengthening days | Good conditions for neighbourhood walks |
| Summer | Roughly 20–30 °C; hotter spells are possible | Occasional thunderstorms | Long days | Humid heat and many visitors |
| Autumn | Roughly 8–22 °C | Wet spells | Decreasing daylight | Damp with possible fog |
| Winter | Roughly 0–10 °C | Damp, rain and fog | Short days | Cold that makes itself felt by the water |
- Spring and autumn suit walking if you accept changeable weather; summer calls for water and breaks in the humid heat.
- February usually brings Carnival atmosphere, which can extend into March. July has the Redentore celebration and November the Salute, bringing more activity to their areas.
- Autumn and winter can bring acqua alta, flooding low areas. Follow marked routes and raised walkways where they are in place, and bring footwear that can cope with water.
Walking the city
- Terrain: the city looks flat, but many bridges have steps. A short walk may involve repeated climbing and descending.
- Surfaces: stone gets slippery with moisture; take particular care near canal edges.
- Weather on foot: wind and damp by the water, sticky heat in summer.
- Distances: a façade opposite may be a long walk away without a nearby bridge. Check the whole route before setting off.
- Movement: travel in the historic city is on foot or by water. Keep landing-stage entrances clear.
- Daily rhythm: St Mark’s and Rialto draw crowds; residential streets need quieter voices, especially at night. Leave room for a proper lunch; dinner can come later than you’re used to in Britain.
Getting there and around
- Marco Polo Airport has buses towards Piazzale Roma, water services and taxis. Choose according to your accommodation and luggage.
- Santa Lucia is the historic city’s railway station; Mestre is on the mainland. Check which appears on your journey.
- The vaporetto is public water transport, useful for longer journeys. Walking lets you explore the streets between stops.
- With luggage, count the bridges between your arrival point and accommodation. They don’t all have ramps.
The neighbourhoods
| Neighbourhood | What it's like | Who it suits | Our routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marco | Major monuments and busy streets | A first visit | St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free; The Doge's Palace from Outside: Conspiracies, Prisons and Casanova |
| Rialto and eastern San Polo | Market, bridges and busy lanes | Commercial life and a compact walk | Rialto: The Bridge, the Market and the Money |
| San Polo and Santa Croce | Squares and streets off the most direct axis | A quieter wander | San Polo and Santa Croce: Courtesans, Turks and Runaway Lovers |
| Dorsoduro | Open waterfronts and neighbourhood squares | Alternating art and water | From the Frari to San Barnaba: Painters, Punches and Players; From the Accademia to the Salute along the Zattere |
| Cannaregio | Long canalside streets and the Ghetto | A residential scale | The Venice Ghetto; Legends and Crimes of Cannaregio |
| Castello | Squares, churches and streets towards the Arsenal | Moving beyond the busiest paths | Zanipolo and Santa Maria Formosa: Heroes, Doges and Brides; Castello and the Arsenal: Vivaldi, an Elephant and Lepanto |
What to try
| Dish or drink | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cicchetti | Small savoury bites, on bread or served as little plates. |
| Baccalà mantecato | A creamy preparation of dried fish worked with oil. |
| Sarde in saor | Sardines with onions and a sweet-and-sour contrast. |
| Risi e bisi | Rice and peas with a loose, moist texture. |
| Risotto al nero di seppia | Risotto with cuttlefish ink. |
| Bigoli in salsa | Thick pasta with an onion and salted-fish sauce. |
| Fegato alla veneziana | Liver with plenty of onions. |
| Polenta | A maize-flour preparation accompanying many dishes. |
| Fritole | Sweet fritters associated with Carnival. |
| Spritz | An aperitif of wine, a bitter ingredient and sparkling water. |
What to pack
- Grippy shoes for bridges and damp stone.
- Light luggage: wheels don’t remove the need to lift a case on stairs.
- Layers and a waterproof; coat and scarf in winter.
- Water bottle and sunscreen in summer.
- An adaptor for Italian sockets, including type L; British plugs won’t fit.
- A bag you can close and keep near your body at busy landing stages.
- Download your routes and audio before setting off: Podtour works offline.
For the trip
Customs and common mistakes
- Keep right in narrow streets and don’t stop at the top of a bridge to open your map.
- Don’t sit down to eat on bridges or steps: you’ll get in the way. Choose a bench in a campo, a Venetian square, and keep house entrances clear.
- On the vaporetto, let people off and follow the crew’s directions.
- Avoid making unnecessary luggage noise in residential lanes.
- Ask before photographing people close up.
- Cover shoulders and knees in churches and keep voices low.
- Don’t treat canal water as a fountain or use it to cool off.
- Use a suitable food container and bins; never leave leftovers beside the water.
If it rains (or it's very hot)
- St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free lets you plan an interior visit nearby; the arcades don’t make the whole route covered.
- From the Frari to San Barnaba: Painters, Punches and Players can be combined with a church or museum visit, according to your choice and its access arrangements.
- Postpone the exposed stretches of From the Accademia to the Salute along the Zattere in rough weather. If tides affect an area, follow the marked route.
Itineraries with Podtour
These plans leave time for meals and an interior visit. Listen at the outdoor points on each route; arrange interior visits separately.
Days Plan
1 day
Start with St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free, then The Doge's Palace from Outside: Conspiracies, Prisons and Casanova, in the same area. Leave a separate block to go inside a building.
2 days
Day 1: follow the previous plan. Day 2: Rialto: The Bridge, the Market and the Money and San Polo and Santa Croce: Courtesans, Turks and Runaway Lovers, through neighbouring areas around the Grand Canal.
3 days
Days 1 and 2: follow the previous plans. Day 3: From the Frari to San Barnaba: Painters, Punches and Players and From the Accademia to the Salute along the Zattere. Connect towards Dorsoduro, with a pause before the waterfront stretch.
What to see with Podtour
= a place covered by our free route, St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free.
| Place | Why go | Route and stop |
|---|---|---|
| St Mark’s Square | The free walk begins in a square that asks you to notice the ground too. | St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free · “The lowest square in Venice” |
| St Mark’s Campanile | A vertical landmark helping you find your bearings from many streets. | St Mark's Square: Basilica, Campanile and Bridge of Sighs Free · “The giant that fell by itself” |
| Doge’s Palace: façade, Porta della Carta and lion mouths | The palace façade has stories to hear without going inside. | The Doge's Palace from Outside: Conspiracies, Prisons and Casanova · “Why did the doge conspire? The palace façade towards the Piazzetta” |
| New Ghetto and Old Ghetto | Approach the history of the Jewish community with attention. | The Venice Ghetto · “The word that came out of a foundry” |
| Arsenal: Porta Magna and the Piraeus lions | A monumental gateway changes the scale of the neighbourhood. | Castello and the Arsenal: Vivaldi, an Elephant and Lepanto · “The factory of hell: the Arsenal” |
| Columns of St Mark and St Theodore, Piazzetta | Two columns deserving more than a background photograph. | The Doge's Palace from Outside: Conspiracies, Prisons and Casanova · “Between the two columns: gambling and the scaffold” |
| San Giacomo di Rialto and the Gobbo di Rialto | The market’s stories go well beyond shopping. | Rialto: The Bridge, the Market and the Money · “The night Rialto burned” |
| Santi Giovanni e Paolo, or Zanipolo | A large church to view in relation to its square. | Zanipolo and Santa Maria Formosa: Heroes, Doges and Brides · “Tiepolo’s dream and the doges’ funerals: Zanipolo” |
| Rialto Bridge | A bridge connecting banks and carrying a great deal of foot traffic. | Rialto: The Bridge, the Market and the Money · “The bridge that kept sinking” |
| Campo San Polo | A broad square where you can pause clear of narrow crossings. | San Polo and Santa Croce: Courtesans, Turks and Runaway Lovers · “Campo San Polo: “messer Dario”” |
| Fondaco dei Turchi | A building speaking of trade and people arriving from elsewhere. | San Polo and Santa Croce: Courtesans, Turks and Runaway Lovers · “Fondaco dei Turchi, the western side” |
| Madonna dell’Orto and Tintoretto’s house | A way to discover Cannaregio beyond the most direct path. | Legends and Crimes of Cannaregio · “Tintoretto’s house” |
| Equestrian statue of Colleoni | A statue that raises a question about its subject’s preferred location. | Zanipolo and Santa Maria Formosa: Heroes, Doges and Brides · “The commander who wanted the square: Colleoni” |
| Santa Maria Formosa | A square with its own church and stories. | Zanipolo and Santa Maria Formosa: Heroes, Doges and Brides · “The abducted brides: Santa Maria Formosa” |
| Accademia Bridge and Galleries | A Grand Canal crossing for a look across the water, without blocking the bridge. | From the Accademia to the Salute along the Zattere · “The bridge they laughed at” |