Air
UK airlines, including British Airways, Easyjet and Ryan Air, all fly to Venice. There are also some direct flights from the United States and Canada, but it may be that your airline will arrange a connection to Venice from a major European hub – London, Rome or Madrid, for instance. The Marco Polo airport is on the mainland about 8 miles north-east of the city. An ATVO blue bus will take you to Piazzale Roma in 20 minutes at a cost of 3 Euros. You can buy a ticket from the ATVO booth in the arrivals hall, or pay the driver. Alternatively, you can take the orange ACTV No 5. This costs a mere 2 Euros, but use only if your luggage is minimal and you’re not travelling in the rush hour. Once you reach the Piazzale Roma terminal, you could walk to your hotel or take a water-bus (vaporetto). The quickest and most impressive way to approach Venice is by water, and there are now water taxis (taxi acquei) that allow passengers to do just that from the airport. But they are expensive – it could cost up to 100 Euros. The fares should be agreed on before boarding. Most of the big hotels have their own mooring areas at the rear. A few flights arrive at Treviso, which is about 20 miles from the city centre. Buses leave from outside the airport terminal for the 30-minute trip to the city centre. There will be no chance of missing the bus as the time-table is linked to the flight schedule, and if the flight is delayed it will wait for passengers.
Train
It is possible to catch a train directly to Venice from Paris, which is itself just two hours from London by the Eurostar service that runs through the Channel Tunnel. For a really luxurious way of travelling, consider the Venice Simplon Orient-Express which links Paris to Venice in about 20 hours. Journey in the style of a bygone age with refined dining all the way. The 2-day, 1-night journey London-Paris-Venice costs about £1,500. Arriving by train in Venice is a great moment - the Venezia-Santa Lucia station is located alongside the Grand Canal.
Road
Someone once said that driving to Venice was like visiting a shopping mall: when you get there, you’ll need to park your car until it’s time to leave. During high season, you may want to consider parking on the mainland - either near the railroad station in Mestre (where trains depart frequently for Venice) or next to the causeway by the lagoon (where you can catch a boat into the city). This way, you'll avoid the traffic jams that clog the several miles of roadway between the mainland and the Piazzale Roma in Venice.
If you'd rather not park on the mainland, the Tronchetto parking garage offers the best balance between convenience and economy. The 3,500-car garage is built on an artificial island, and it's more likely to have empty parking spaces than the more centrally located (and considerably more expensive) public and private garages at the Piazzale Roma. Tronchetto is also the only place to park in Venice if you're driving a large camper or motorhome.
