Ciao, and a warm welcome to this comprehensive guide that looks at the best Venice city passes to help you choose the right pass for you to visit the city.
Venice is in the minds and hearts of many travellers arriving from all over the globe.
It’s well-known that the Lagoon city is an expensive city to visit and a good portion of any Venice trip budget goes towards attractions, transport tickets and tours.
In order to keep these ticket costs down, you can purchase a Venice city pass that will allow you to save time and money during your trip.
Venice City Pass
If you’re currently planning your trip to Venice and asking yourself what’s the best Venice city pass for your needs, then you’re in the right place!
With this guide we’ll be looking at the different city passes, their costs and what’s included in each pass so you can make the most of your time in Venice.
What is a Venice City Pass?
The Venice City Pass is a tourist card that gives you access to the best museums of the city and/or unlimited public transport rides.
To take advantage of the best things to do in Venice you’ll find that the visitor’s pass is the best investment you can do if you want to experience this city to the max.
No matter whether it’s to make the most of its cultural and historical offer or simply use public transport to navigate the city and nearby islands.
But which pass is the best pass for you? Let me help you!
For a start, ask yourself two questions to understand if these passes might be right for you or you should explore other options:
- Am I interested/do I have the time to visit more than 3 museums? Write a list of the attractions you really want to visit, then their entrance ticket prices and compare the city pass offer with the total you would spend to visit your chosen museums.
- Do I need to use public transport to move around multiple times every day or I rather explore the city on foot?
You can purchase your museums and transportation Venice city passes from the Venezia Unica website or from Venezia Unica ticket points in Venice.
If you purchase your city pass online, you’ll receive a voucher via email with a booking code (PNR). You can use the voucher straight away to get access to the city’s attractions and museums.
To use public transport, once in Venice, you’ll have to use the booking code to collect the travel tickets from ACTV ticket machines or from any ACTV and Venezia Unica retail points (full list here).
IMPORTANT: if you purchase your city pass ONLINE and 30 DAYS BEFORE the date of use, you’ll have access to discounted rates.
Is the Venice City Pass worth it?
The Venice city pass is worth it, as long as you study beforehands the right city pass for you and your travel plans.
See below a couple of advantages that offers the city pass:
- The Venice city pass allows you to save up to 20% on the services included. If you’re serious and really mean to visit all the attractions included in the pass, you can save a lot.
- There are discounted rates for junior travellers (between the age of 6 and 29), families (at least 2 adults and 1 child) and senior travellers (over 65).
- Extra benefits and discounts in selected city’s businesses. For example, glass blowing demonstrations in Murano and their glass artworks you can buy, paintings from local art galleries, Venetian masks, Illy coffee and ice cream from Grom and much, much more.
How much time do you need in Venice?
You need ideally 3 days in Venice. I believe, that with 3 days you can easily cover Venice’s most popular attractions, have a bit of time to enjoy the city at a slower pace and explore some of its less touristy sights.
To optimise your limited time, you might want to consider joining a walking tour or guided tour and let a professional guide show you around the city.
Still not sure how long you should spend there and how to allocate your precious time? Read my post about how many days to spend in Venice to find out!
Best Venice City Pass
Now that you know how a Venice city pass works and what you should bear in mind before purchasing it, let’s get into it and find out the best Venice city passes to explore the Floating city.
All Venice City Pass
The All Venice City Pass is the most comprehensive city pass you can buy.
This city pass gives you access to:
- Doge’s Palace and 11 Civic Museums
- 16 Chorus Churches
- Querini Stampalia Foundation
There’s no expiry date for this pass, apart from the Doge’s Palace that you must visit the day you selected at the time of your purchase. It’s a smart purchase if you’re planning to spend more than 4 days in Venice.
It means that you can actually have the time to visit all (or most) museums included in the pass and spread their visit over a prolonged period of time.
Be sure to check each attraction’s terms and conditions + visiting rules in advance.
Optional: you can also purchase the All Venice City Pass + La Fenice theatre tour. If you purchase this pass, you get the same attractions free entrance of the city pass mentioned above + the guided tour of La Fenice theatre with audio guide for an extra 10 euros.
See the different pass costs for the All Venice City Pass below:
Adult | Junior & Family | Senior | |
All Venice Pass | €52,90 | €31,90 | €31,90 |
All Venice Pass + La Fenice tour | €63,90 | €38,40 | €39,90 |
Important things to know:
- Junior pass is for those aged 6 to 29 and senior pass for over 65s.
- Family offer: valid for families with 2 adults + at least one child from 0 to 14 years. The offer allows family members to purchase the Junior City Pass rate.
- Public transport NOT included.
- Free entrance for children aged 5 or under.
- Free entrance to disabled people and a carer.
You can purchase your pass from the Venezia Unica official website or here where you can select the pass option that includes the 1/2/3/7 days ACTV transport pass.
ACTV Transport Pass
Moving around Venice on foot can be quite exhausting, with all the bridges you have to constantly cross and in particular if you’re carrying heavy luggage.
The good news is that you can always rely on the public network system owned by the local public transport company ACTV.
The ACTV transport passes are ideal for travellers that are planning to use more than a couple of times the following means of transport:
- Vaporetto
- Buses
- Trams
- People Mover
Let’s take a look at the different ACTV city transport passes you can purchase that guarantee unrestricted access to almost all ACTV services:
75’ minute ticket | 1 Day | 2 Day | 3 Day | 7 Day | |
Adult | €9,50 | €25,00 | €35,00 | €45,00 | €65,00 |
Young people (6 to 29) – Rolling Venice | €9,50 | €25,00 | €35,00 | €33,00 | €65,00 |
Children under 6 | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Student groups (at least 10 people) | €6,00 one way/€12,00 return | Wheelchair users | €1,50 (free for carers) |
Important things to know:
- Tickets must be validated before boarding public transport.
- ACTV Services from / to Marco Polo Airport, water bus line 16, Alilaguna and ATVO lines are NOT included on the ticket/pass.
- The Venezia Daily Pass (1 Day Pass) also gives access to Trenitalia train service on Regional (R) and Fast Regional (RV) trains within the territory of the municipality of Venice.
- 3 pieces of luggage per person included in the price of the ticket/pass.
- Download or view the interactive map of the waterborne routes (vaporetto map) here.
On the Venezia Unica website you can also purchase the Alilaguna transport pass. Alilaguna is another local public transport company, popular for providing the water bus service from and to the Marco Polo airport.
The Alilaguna water bus stops in the main locations in Venice historic centre and some islands of the Venetian lagoon.
After purchasing the Alilaguna transport pass you get unlimited access to the:
- Blue line
- Orange line
- Red line
You can check their routes, stops and timetable from the Alilaguna lines map page.
Alilaguna passes you can buy from Venezia Unica or Alilaguna websites:
24 hours pass | €30,00 |
48 hours pass | €50,00 |
72 hour pass | €65,00 |
Panoramic city tour & Murano, Burano and Torcello |
€25,00 |
Important things to know:
- The green line is excluded.
- When you buy your pass online, you’ll receive a voucher that MUST be converted into a regular pass to be able to board the water buses. You can do that at the Alilaguna ticket offices. (There’s no ticket office in Murano so make sure to convert the voucher in other offices in Venice or at the airport!)
- The pass includes round trip ride Airport-Lido of Venice/Venice and Cruise Terminal.
Finally, it’s worth knowing that you also have the option to buy the ACTV ticket or pass that includes transfers from/to the Marco Polo airport and Treviso airport.
Prices for ACTV city transport pass + ONE WAY airports shuttle bus transfers:
90’ minute ticket | 1 Day | 2 Day | 3 Day | 7 Day | |
Adult | €18,00 | €32,00 | €42,00 | €52,00 | €72,00 |
Young people (6 to 29) – Rolling Venice | €18,00 | €32,00 | €42,00 | €40,00 | €72,00 |
ACTV – Children under 6 | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | ACTV – Wheelchair users | €1,50 for 75’ minute from validation (free for carers) |
From Treviso Antonio Canova airport by ATVO express bus:
75’ minute ticket (one way) | 2 tickets 75’ minute (return) | 3 Days (return) | |
Adult | €19,50 | €37,00 | €63,00 |
Young people (6 to 29) – Rolling Venice | €19,50 | €37,00 | €51,00 |
ACTV – Children under 6 | Free | Free | Free | ACTV – Wheelchair users | €1,50 for 75’ minute from validation (free for carers) |
Prices for ACTV city transport pass + Marco Polo airport RETURN shuttle bus transfers:
75’ minute ticket | 1 Day | 2 Days | 3 Days | 7 Days | |
Adult | €9,50 | €25,00 | €35,00 | €45,00 | €65,00 |
Young people (6 to 29) – Rolling Venice | €9,50 | €25,00 | €35,00 | €33,00 | €65,00 | Children under 6 | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | Student | €6,00 one way/€12,00 return | Wheelchair users | €1,50 (free for carers) |
Important things to know:
- Show your Venezia Unica voucher to the bus driver before boarding the ATVO shuttle bus.
- ATVO bus route: Treviso airport – Mestre Corso del Popolo – Mestre train station – Venice Piazzale Roma.
- One piece of luggage per person included for the ATVO buses.
While you’re here, you can find out more information on how to get from Marco Polo Airport to Venice and how to get from Treviso Airport to Venice on this site if you wish to learn other about trip durations, other modes of transport and local tips.
Museum Pass
The Museum Pass is a city pass that allows free entrance to the Fondazione Musei Civici of Venice museums such as Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, Ca’ Pesaro, Glass Museum in Murano and many more!
As you look closer you will find that there are different Museum passes you can choose from, based on your travel plans and interests while visiting Venice.
See a comprehensive table for each Museum pass available for purchase:
Museum Pass | Description | Price |
St. Mark’s Square Museums (St. Mark’s Square Museums – Reduced) | Admission to Doge’s Palace, Correr Museum, Archaeological Museum and Monumental Rooms of the Marciana Library | €31,00 (€16,00) |
Museum Pass + (Museum Pass – Reduced) | Admission to Doge’s Palace + 11 Civic Museums of Venice (see list below) | €41,00 (€23,00) |
Museums of the Islands + (Museums of the Islands – Reduced) | Admission to the Glass Museum in Murano and the Lace Museum in Burano | €13,00 (€9,00) |
St. Mark’s City Pass
The San Marco City Pass is the best city pass if you have 2 or 3 days to spend in Venice and your priority is to visit the main attractions based in St. Mark’s Square.
This city pass gives you access to:
- Doge’s Palace and the other 3 St. Mark’s Square Museums;
- 3 Chorus Churches: Santa Maria del Giglio, Sacred Art Museum, Santo Stefano and Santa Maria Formosa;
- Querini Stampalia Foundation;
You can also purchase the San Marco city pass + La Fenice tour. You get free access to the same attractions + the guided tour of La Fenice theatre with audio guide for an extra 10 euros. Why not read more about St Mark’s Square while here?
Adult | Junior & Family | Senior | |
St. Mark’s City Pass | €38,90 | €23,90 | €23,90 |
St. Mark’s City Pass + La Fenice tour | €52,90 | €38,40 | €31,90 |
Important things to know:
- Public transport NOT included.
- Free entrance for children aged 5 or under.
- Free entrance to disabled people and carer.
Useful things to know:
List of Civic Museums and Chorus Churches network in Venice:
Fondazione Musei Civici of Venice | Chorus Churches |
Doge’s Palace | Santa Maria del Giglio |
Correr Museum | San Stae |
Archaeological Museum | Santo Stefano |
Monumental Rooms of the Marciana Library | Sant’Alvise |
Cà Rezzonico | Santa Maria Formosa |
Palazzo Mocenigo | San Pietro di Castello |
Carlo Goldoni’s House | Santa Maria dei Miracoli |
Ca’ Pesaro | Santissimo Redentore |
Glass Museum in Murano | S.Giovanni Elemosinario |
Lace Museum in Burano | Santa Maria del Rosario (Gesuati) |
Natural History Museum | San Polo |
Fortuny Museum | San Sebastiano |
Clock Tower (NOT included in the city passes) | San Giacomo dall’Orio |
San Giobbe | |
Santa Maria del Carmelo (Carmini) | |
S.Giovanni Battista in Bragora | |
San Trovaso |
Venice City Pass
At this point, you should have a clear idea of all the Venice city passes available.
Before you purchase a city pass, take time to understand which Venice attractions you’re interested in visiting and available time to make the most of your pass.
If you’re a first time visitor I’d personally recommend the St. Mark’s Square Museums pass. Then to purchase a skip-the-line ticket to visit St. Mark’s Basilica separately, or, alternatively, the St. Mark’s Campanile ticket to help you save time.
Also, I highly suggest that you check both the ACTV vaporetto and Alilaguna lines and see what’s the most convenient pass for your particular itinerary (remember that Alilaguna includes transport from/to the airport!).
Remember, I’m here to help, so if you need further support with planning your time in Venice, book a chat with me today and I’ll be more than happy to help you out!
📌 Like this article? Click to Pin it…
If you found this Venice travel guide helpful, feel free to buy me a virtual coffee here.
“Dear traveller! Some links in this post contain affiliate links. Meaning, if you click through and make a tour booking or reserve a hotel, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your support means a lot to me and helps me to keep creating and maintaining the quality of this site for you.”