Where is Venice – arguably the most romantic city in the world?
Because if you’re planning to visit the city of canals and bridges, famous for its gondolas, St. Mark’s Square and the romantic Rialto Bridge (just to name a few attractions), the first thing you have to find out is where it actually is on the map.
Venice’s extensive artistic, cultural, historical and architectural heritage never fails to impress visitors arriving from every corner of the world.
In fact, Venice is an open-air museum, as you walk around its streets and squares, don’t be surprised to see sublime churches and lavish palaces overlooking canals dating back to the glorious Serenissima Republic days.
Venice is the capital of the Veneto region. Built on 118 islands, the city is located in the Venetian Lagoon, in the northwestern side of the Adriatic Sea.
Where is Venice?
In this guide you can find more information about Venice’s geographical position, how to get there and how far it is from other Italian cities.
Towards the end, I’ll share a boatload of fun and curious facts about Venice too!
Where is Venice in Italy on the Map?
Before we get started with this informative guide, to get a visual image of where Venice is in relation to other cities and countries, take a look at the map below:
Based in north east Italy the territory of the municipality of Venice, Italy is geographically divided into two parts: the insular area (that includes the historic centre and the islands) and the mainland. Venice municipality’s area extends for 414,57 km² with a population of 249 726 inhabitants.
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How to get to Venice
There are different ways to get to Venice and it’s pretty straightforward too. If you arrive by plane, it’s very likely that you’ll land at one of the airports near Venice.
Venice is connected to many European capitals and most of the big cities, also by intercontinental direct flights to New York, Atlanta and Dubai.
From Marco Polo airport you can either get a bus, water bus, shared or private water taxi or land taxi to get to Venice. If you happen to be travelling to Venice from Treviso airport instead, the best options are bus or land taxi.
Learn how to get from Marco Polo airport or Treviso airport to Venice:
Venice is connected to the mainland by the Ponte della Libertà, a 4 kilometre long bridge that can be crossed by cars, buses, trams and trains.
If you’re getting to Venice by train, your arrival station is Venice Santa Lucia whereas if you’re getting there by car, bus and tram is Piazzale Roma.
At the end of the bridge, you can also reach the Marittima Cruise Terminal and Tronchetto island where you can park your car.
Once you get to the train or bus stations, you can either walk around Venice, get a water taxi or the water bus (vaporetto).
Learn more on how to get around Venice by visiting my dedicated guide.
Distance to other Italian cities from Venice:
| Journey | Distance | Estimated travel time by car |
| Venice to Verona | 75 miles / 121 kilometres | 1 hour and 15 minutes |
| Venice to Lake Garda | 87 miles / 140 kilometres | 1 hour and 25 minutes |
| Venice to Lake Como | 213 miles / 344 kilometres | 3 hours and 45 minutes |
| Venice to Milan | 170 miles / 273 kilometres | 2 hours and 50 minutes |
| Venice to Florence | 167 miles / 269 kilometres | 2 hours and 50 minutes |
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Where to Stay in Venice?
I would like to make myself clear when I say this, Venice is not a city for a hit and run visits, it deserves time to be discovered and appreciated.
For most first time travellers to Venice, I generally recommend spending at least a minimum 3 days in Venice, but the more you can afford to stay the better.
See this list of hotels for different budgets for you stay in the heart of Venice:
- Palazzo Veneziano – this elegant 4 star hotel in the Dorsoduro district, is the perfect location to be far from the crowds, but not too far from the main attractions. The beautiful rooms welcome guests with their parquet floors and marble bathrooms. For a superb stay, book the room with a spa bath.
- UNAHOTELS Ala Venezia – The 3 star hotel located in an 18th century Venetian palace is just 10 minutes walk from St. Mark’s Square. You can choose a room overlooking the canal or a square, from where you can observe life passing by and feel a bit like a Venetian yourself.
- Dimora Il Veliero Romantico – you can choose to book the ensuite rooms for more privacy or shared dormitories if travelling on a budget. The hostel is close to the train and bus station, in the Santa Croce neighbourhood.
Venice Fun Facts
Here’s a list of fun stories, scandalous revelations and interesting facts about Venice that will make your visit to the Lagoon city quite amusing, after reading them!
- Did you know that the Italian greeting ‘ciao’ has Venetian origins? It derives from the Venetian dialect ‘s’ciavo tuo’, a greeting used by the servant to greet his master. The word comes from the Latin word ‘sclavus’ that means slave and it was very common to hear it at the time of the Serenissima Republic.
- Venice was the first in Italy to drink coffee. Prospero Alpini was a botanist and physician of the Venetian consul in North Africa called Giorgio Emo, and thanks to him the first coffee beans were introduced to Venice.
- Prostitution in Venice was widespread and brought great income to the Serenissima. The government tried to contain it by confining women in some well-identified areas of the city, like in the Carampane (which means ‘prostitute’ in Venetian) district between San Polo and Rialto.
- Casino Venier, the Casino of Commerce in St. Mark’s Square and the Casino Zane are just some of the private houses that existed in Venice. Here players used to play dice and cards. Gambling was popular in Venice during the period of greatest economic expansion of the Serenissima Republic.
- Many houses in Venice have peepholes and hidden grates. House owners used them to look out without being seen.
- The ‘pissotte’ or ‘pissabraghe’ of Venice are castings of mortar, in Istrian stone or wrought iron, built to prevent Venetians from urinating in the calli, on the corners of buildings. Also called ‘gobbe anti bandito’ which means humps anti-bandit, some say that they were built to prevent criminals from hiding from the police who’d chase them around the city’s dark streets.
Venice FAQs
Here are questions people ask when it comes to planning a trip to Venice:
Where is Venice?
Now you should have a clear idea of where Venice is and how far it is from other Italian cities that you might be visiting during your time in Italy.
Venice is very straightforward to be able to reach by plane, by car and by train and it’s worth adding it in any Italian itinerary that you have in the planning stage.
If you’re thinking about visiting Venice and require help on what to see here, why don’t you take a look at my guide on the best things to do in Venice for some ideas?
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