Content

• To step
• Tips
• Warnings

Venice in Italy is famous for its art, its canals and its beauty, but not for its affordability. You can easily spend a small fortune in this romantic city in Italy, but you don't have to. You can see Venice on the cheap with plenty of planning by seeing the city like the locals do. Getting around Venice can also be cheap, especially as it is impossible to spend money on rental cars, taxis or buses. Since the city is surrounded by water, you can only move on foot or across the water. Stay cheap in Venice by sleeping in budget hotels, enjoying free or cheap attractions, eating small, simple meals, and taking advantage of water buses and leisurely walks.

To step

1. Walk as much as you can. Venice is a walking city, with streets designed purely for pedestrians. All you need is a good map, unless you don't mind getting lost while walking.
   • Benefit from a guided tour if you want to see historical sites with the help of a guide. Venice's winding, narrow streets can be frustrating and overwhelming if you've never been there.
2. Use water buses. The vaporetto is the ferry that takes residents and visitors from stop to stop on the water.
   • Look at the timetables and times throughout the city. To get from one (the train station) to the other (San Marco) end of the Canal Grande takes 20 to 30 minutes. You can hop on and off at various stops on the Grand Canal.
   • Consider what you get for the price of a ticket. A single ticket costs 7 euros, but you can see beautiful sights along the canal such as the Basilica of San Marco, Gothic palaces and restored Renaissance houses.
3. Invest in a vaporetto pass if you plan to spend several days in Venice and want to travel by waterbus more often. You can get a discount based on the number of trips you want to make.
   • Buy passes at the train station or at any ticket kiosk where you also buy a normal one-way ticket for the vaporetto.
4. Use traghetti to cross the Grand Canal. If you don't want to travel down the Grand Canal or looking for a bridge, but want to get from one side to the other, take a traghetto. It takes about a minute and costs about one euro.
5. Sleep in budget accommodations. Most hotels, even the cheap ones, have rooms that face some canal, even if it's not the Grand Canal. The further the hotel is from the San Marco, the cheaper it is likely to be.
   • Consider sleeping in a hostel. Venice has several hostels that have dormitories for travelers who don't want to pay too much.
   • If you're staying in Venice for a longer period of time, consider finding accommodation in the suburbs like Mestre or Marghera. Rent is usually lower there and you can easily reach Venice by train or bus (the train journey from "Venezia-Mestre" to Venice itself takes about 10 minutes).
6. Eat small, simple meals and avoid restaurants that cater to tourists. Unlike other parts of Italy, Venice is not known for its food. You shouldn't spend a lot of money on food when you are in Venice.
   • Try cicchetti; that's Italian style tapas. You can order different small plates as snacks or meals. Grab a glass of wine and you still pay less than in a tourist-oriented restaurant.
   • Look for pizza and panini. You can often buy these at a bar or cafe for less money than you would pay in a restaurant.
   • If you're looking for a restaurant or cafe, make sure it's not too close to the main tourist attractions. Food and drink prices are usually much higher around St. Mark's Square and along Strada Nova, the main tourist route connecting the train station to St. Mark's Square.
   • Fill your water bottle at one of the 122 public taps scattered around the city. The water from these taps is drinkable and completely free.
7. Take advantage of free or cheap attractions. You can enter for free at the basilica of San Marco and you can also enjoy the energy on the square or walk around for free.
   • Buy a museum pass for Venice. For 18 euros you can visit 9 museums in Venice, including the Palazzo Ducale and the glass museum on the island of Murano.

Tips

• Read travel review sites, blogs and books. People who go to Venice always post information about their trip on sites like TripAdvisor. You can also check travel guides from Frommer's, Lonely Planet or Rick Steves for budget-friendly travel tips.

Warnings

• Avoid water taxis and gondolas. While convenient, they are expensive ways to get around Venice. The gondola in particular is expensive and a trip on the canal will cost you almost 100 euros.