The city of Venice is situated on top of 127 islands that are separated by a series of expanses of water and canals, and linked together by more than 470 bridges. Known affectionately as the “City of Water” or the “The Floating City” it is one of the most popular tourist destinations globally and is often described as being the most beautiful man-made city in the world.
Here, tourists can find a collection of famous landmarks, statues and monuments, cathedrals, palaces and museums. This city is not too large in terms of its physical size, but its many interconnected waterways and narrow streets place an emphasis on being aware of your surroundings, in order to reach your destination in time.
To make your travel experience easier, our interactive map will help you find your way around this city. Our map not only highlights the locations of all the most important tourist landmarks in Venice, but it also allows you to click on each highlight to learn more including the locations of nearby hotels and other popular attractions.
The map is free to download and offers the perfect solution when you are offline. Print out a copy for yourself and take it with you wherever you go.
Exploring the districts of Venice
Venice is composed of six main districts, which are locally known as the six sestieri. The sestieri of San Marco for example, offers a number of great tourist attractions. These include St. Mark’s Basilica, Doge’s Palace, the Piazza San Marco, and St. Mark’s Clocktower. It is one of the most popular sites for tourists to visit and can get very crowded during peak hours of the day, so it is sometimes best to start here early in the morning or finish here towards the end of the day.
Located approximately a 7-10 minute walk north from San Marco, you will find Rialto Bridge, one of the most famous bridges in the city. It crosses the Grand Canal at its most narrow point and provides the connection between San Marco and the district of San Polo. A smaller neighbourhood, San Polo is known for being home to the Rialto Market, a fresh foods and fish market that is convenient for grabbing a bite to eat, open until 1:00 pm daily.
Meanwhile southwest of San Polo, is where you will find the district of Dorsoduro. This part of Venice is known for its artistic and academic flavours, and offers several museums and art galleries to explore. You can find Gallerie Dell’Accademia here, along with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.
Getting around in Venice: Options for transportation
For many tourists, Venice is often best explored by walking on foot. Many of its most popular attractions are located nearby to each other and this can be a great city to enjoy by wandering through its narrow, historic streets.
There are also several popular modes of transport for traveling through the city’s network of waterways. These include most notably the vaporetto, the traghetto, gondolas, and water taxis.
The vaporetto, also known as the “the water bus” is the main mode of public transportation in Venice. A single ticket will cost under 10 EUR and is valid for 75 minutes. Multi-use day passes are also available for purchase.
Traghetti, or the traghetto are ferries that travel at scheduled times across the Grand Canal. They can be an inexpensive means of transport for travelers to get across the canal and usually cost less than 2 EUR per ticket.
Water taxis in Venice operate in basically the same way as regular road taxis would operate in most cities. They can be booked in advance, or at designated taxi stands for private trips around the city. Prices will vary dependant on the time of day and how busy it is. Rides will typically cost at least 40 EUR to 70 EUR and often greater than 120 EUR if making a trip to the airport.
Gondolas offer the more traditional and often, more romantic means for traveling about this city. These trips are actually found to be more of a tourist experience than they are a convenient mode of transport but are nevertheless very famous and popular among tourists. Prices will usually start near 80 EUR for a 30-minute ride.
