The most critical thing to understand about Venice is that it is a island, or better, a clutch of 118 islands, floating in the middle of a blue-green lagoon. Until the early 1930s this assemblage of islands was completely surrounded by water and accessible only by boat; thanks to the 2.8 mile causeway that was constructed mid-20th century, you can arrive by car, bus, motor coach, or train directly into Venezia Santa Lucia Station. The other obvious means of travel in a lagoon is by water, and in fact there are numerous means of water transportation.
The good news is that the Venice’s Marco Polo airport is new, small, and easy to manage. It’s not a hub, but a destination, which reduces the Foreign Airport Intimidation Factor significantly.
Like the airport, the Venezia Santa Lucia station is a destination, not a hub, and so is not large. It can become quite busy, but is still fairly easy to navigate and find the information you need.
Your goal to be to drop your car, not to park it — because no matter what, you can’t drive a car in Venice.
A Documentary Project of LivingVenice.org.
On a sunny day, watch schools of fish bob by the underwater webcam of the CNR sea tower in the high Adriatic.